Last ski day of 2011...

Today the team reported good conditions with sun, blue sky and barely a breath of wind. They were expecting a climb between 86 and 87 degrees and today they got just that, with uphill travel all day. They skied 25 kilometers and ended at S86.12.224, W86.46.073.

They were celebrating the arrival of the new year in their tents with a little whiskey and vodka, and a wonderful photo of the Ladies Walking Group from Dennis' other life back home in the UK. Sounds like a grand time! They are, of course, all thinking of loved ones and friends back home, and wishing them well on this New Year's Eve. They hope to be sending some photos of their party to us, and if they come through we will post them tomorrow.

We forwarded all the New Year's greetings that we received. We know that your messages of support and congratulations mean a lot to the team! Thanks for keeping them in mind as you celebrate your holidays!

Make sure to listen to Dennis' audio report and check back again tomorrow for another update from the team!

Much better conditions...

Today the team reports much better traveling conditions with full sun and gently rolling hills. The team was shooting to reach 86 degrees and they almost made it, ending at S 85.58.800, W 86.49.621. That is a total of 24 kilometers. We didn't get a temperature from them, but we will ask for it again tomorrow.

BB leaves a wonderful audio update telling us about the day with a description of what keeps them going through the monotony of pulling. They are all looking forward to New Year's Eve but BB wonders, from the sound coming the boy's tent, if there will be any vodka left with which they can celebrate!

Camp with Thiel Mountains in background

BB leaves two audio reports today. Make sure to listen to them both and check back again tomorrow for another update from the team.

Giant sastrugi, low light...

Today the team reported a tough day after encountering 2 meter sastrugi (that's big!). When they diverted to avoid the sastrugi they encountered blue ice which is very tricky to travel on. To make matters worse the sunny day that they woke up to changed to overcast with very flat light.

Flat light, as we've mentioned before in the blog, makes skiing very exhausting and arduous. You simply cannot see even the slightest variations in the terrain. You might be skiing over large sastrugi and you don't even know it until all of a sudden you are on your butt and your sled has tipped over. There is no doubt there will be some deep sleeping going on tonight. Given the rugged conditions they are probably very pleased with their 21 kilometers. They ended the day at location S 85.46.700, W87.27.845. The temperature was -20C.

Almost at the top of the climb yesterday.

Skiing on blue ice in better weather.

We received many guesses on the mystery person melting snow and (drum roll please)..... no one guessed right! Almost everyone guessed either Oskar (most votes) or BB (second most votes). The most correct answer we received came from Tim Woods who simply said "it doesn't look like my old man Dennis." You're right Tim, it wasn't Dennis. The mystery melter was LISA! Nice try to everyone who submitted an answer, but you'll have to do better next time. We'll try to post another mystery picture again soon.

For those of you interested in records, the South Pole set a new one on Christmas day. From Wunderground.com "On Christmas Day, December 25th, the temperature at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole site soared to an all-time record high of 9.9°F (-12.3°C) eclipsing the former record of 7.5°F (-13.6°C) set on December 27, 1978. The low temperature on December 25th was a mild (relatively!) 4°F (-15.5°C). Records at the site began in January 1957. Its elevation is 9,301 feet (2,835 meters)."

Bob leaves another of his wonderful audio updates (I learn something new each time I listen to him!) so make sure to check it out, and visit again tomorrow for another update from the team!

Up and over the mountain...

Today the team continued their journey up and through the pass of the two mountains next to the Thiel resupply point, then down the other side, and then up again towards the polar plateau. Despite the ups and downs (no pun intended) they made over 24 kilometers and ended at S85.35.622, W 87.20.883. This mileage was made in 10 hours of travel, which is quite good for the team, considering they have heavy sleds again.

We received a new batch of photos from the expedition and will post them over the coming days. The photo below shows the process of melting water, a continual task that takes almost every minute of time in camp, depending on the number of hours you spend in camp of course. Melting snow into water outside is a luxury that comes with having such nice weather. It is most commonly done either in the vestibule of the tent, or in the tent itself.

Believe it or not there is a trick to melting water. If you start the process by putting snow in a pot then heating the pot you are bound to have water that tastes burnt. Rather the correct way to melt snow is to start with a little water and slowly add more snow in small quantities. If you add too much snow at one time it will absorb all the water and you will end up with the same burnt taste. Thus, you need to be mindful, and it is best to plan your day so that you end up with a little water to start the melting process. It goes much quicker!

Any guesses who the person in the photo is? The first person to contact us with the correct response will get special shout out in the next blog!

Making water takes hours every day. Can you guess who this mystery person is?

Make sure to listen to Dennis' audio update and check back again tomorrow for another update from the team!

Ain't No Mountain High Enough…

Today the team left their second resupply and headed south between two mountains. The route took them higher than they expected, but they were rewarded with a beautiful view from near the top. They traveled 21 km to their current position of S 85° 22.872, W 87° 44.339. Be sure to listen to today's audio update from BB and check back again tomorrow for another update from the ice.

Rest, reorganize, and Christmas pudding...

Today the team slept in and had a leisurely morning before digging into the the new ration. They spent the day organizing, washing their bodies, and getting ready for the second half of the expedition. Some people had sent new long underwear in with this ration and the feeling of slipping into fresh undies was most wonderful. They celebrated boxing day with some of Dennis' mother's Christmas pudding.

The second resupply, because of it's location next to a regularly used ice runway, is the only location on the entire route where the team can leave anything behind. Old long underwear, trash, and and any items the team decides that they are not using they can leave at the resupply point and it will be at Union Glacier (or somewhere!) waiting for them after the expedition. Thus, when they leave this camp tomorrow morning it will truly be a fresh start.

Make sure to listen to Bob's audio update and check back again tomorrow for another update from the team!

Xmas, resupply and best mileage yet!

Merry Christmas to all (including our followers in the UK who will read this posting on Boxing Day). Today the team had a remarkable day. Long, yes, but beautiful and very satisfying. They skied amongst the peaks of the Thiel Mountains where sunlight sparkled against the terrain like tiny Christmas tree lights. Dennis' audio report is so descriptive it is worth finding some speakers to listen to it.

The team covered a remarkable 27.8 kilometers before reaching the resupply and at the time that they contacted us they were settled in their tents enjoying some of the "treats" in the resupply, in this case, vodka! Tomorrow they plan to take it easy, do some reorganization with the new ration, and possibly put in a few miles. Dennis also plans to make a Christmas pudding provided by his mother. The phone cut out before the end of his message, but it sounded as though he might have been preparing to sing a song ?!*!

The team is camped tonight at the Thiel iMountain weather station & airstrip located at 85.11.971, W 87.52.326. They have crossed the half way mark! All of your messages of support and greetings are getting through and they mean a tremendous amount to the team, especially on the hard days when they need to dig deep just to put one foot in front of the next.

A couple days ago, when the wind was up.
On tough days messages from the "outside world" mean a lot!

Make sure to listen to Dennis' most excellent audio report and check back in tomorrow for another update from the team! Merry Christmas!