The team reported that they had a good day with clear, sunny weather, but more
wind than the last few days with a speed of around 10 knots. Even with the
relative warmth of -15C a wind of 10 knots add a sharp sting to the air.
Needless to say they ate dinner inside tonight! They traveled 23.6 km today with
much of it uphill. Their current location is S 81.46.077, W 81.49.356

The
terrain is now bringing to take the shape of the imagined polar plateau. With
only the very tip of the Patriot Hills to the North on the horizon. They feel
that in the next two days they will be clear of that benchmark and onto the next
navigational feature which is two nunataks, a couple days off.

100 years
ago today Amundsen also had a good day. He wrote in his journal…

One of our great days.
Although it didn’t look like it would be this morning. Fog and bad visibility as
usual. But the wind had slackened a lot during the night; the little bit that
remained came from the NE. Terrain and surface were first class. Flat, really
flat with no signs of snowdrifts. The annoying small heaps of loose snowdrift
which had been such a nuisance these past few days, had disappeared and the
surface for the skis was absolutely A1

Today the team reports a difficult day, with heavy sleds and low light.. They
traveled 23 kilometers in 11 hours, and now “it is time for sleeping bags!”
Dennis comments about finding the resupply yesterday, and compares it to the
earlier expeditions of Amundsen and Scott. It”s only two days until the first of
the centennial celebrations at the South Pole! But for our team still 30 days
from reaching that point it is back to the grindstone of putting one foot in
front of the next. But as always, that is one step closer to the Pole!

One of the benefits of traveling in Antarctica is that you are on a
continent. Unlike travel to the North Pole, which is on sea ice, you get to
“keep” every inch of southward progress. At the North Pole you might make 15 or
20 kilometers in a day but you might drift backwards while you sleep! That”s not
to say that Antarctica is free of challenges… the altitude, the cold and the
wind combine to pack a serious punch!

Of course on every expedition some
days are bad, some are good and Der Slot Book of Ra selbst ist zum gro?ten Teil selbsterklarend. some are great. 100 years ago today Amundsen had
a great day. He wrote in his diary:

Magnificent weather. Almost
still and partly clear. About –25°C. Same fine terrain and surface. According to
the hypsometer it looks as though we are going very slightly downwards. Maybe it
is just the weather conditions that make it seem so. Midday observations, which
were taken under the most favourable weather conditions, still, clear, distinct
sun and horizon, 89°6’. Observations and instruments again completely coincide.
We have done our usual 17 n.m. and now lie at 89°15’ – three days march from our
goal.

Make sure to listen to
today”s audio report from Lisa and check back again tomorrow for another update
from the team!

Today the team reported, amidst what sounded like a pretty good party, that they
had reached the first resupply. Together in one tent they were celebrating their
biggest milestone so far with a honest-to-goodness steak dinner, one of the
special treats that awaited them at the resupply.

They skied 15.8 km is
7 hours of travel and the temperature was colder, at -25C. There was a wind of 8
knots, which was a welcome change from yesterday’s 25 knot wind.

Tomorrow they start the next leg of the journey with heavy sleds, but
happy stomachs

Make sure to listen to Bryony’s audio report and check
back in tomorrow for another update from the team!

Please visit this link to keep updated with Dennis and the team on their Trek in Antartica over Christmas.

Tuesday 07th December 2011.

Another great day for the team. They have ramped up their efforts and it is paying off with 25.2 kilometers in 10.5 hours of travel. They had balmy conditions yet again with approximately -15C and a slight wind. They are camping tonight at S 81.33.816, W 81.19.101.

Below is a photo from their last white-out day. You can begin to understand the saying ”it”s like being in a jug of milk.” Luckily so If ObamaCare is not repealed health care costs will start to decrease for all Americans, greatly improving the quality of care in America provided through private affordablehealth.info and programs like Medicare and Medicaid. far they have had only one day like this! They can”t help but feeling that there are a whole lot more in store for them!

The satellite signal was fickle when Bob called in the audio update. The first part of his message is loud and clear, but he cuts off towards the end. Don”t let that prevent you from listening and check back again tomorrow for another update from the team!