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.

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!

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!

← Ain’t No Mountain High Enough…
Giant Sastrugi, low light… →
Another Day…
Posted on December 29, 2011 by UK Support Team

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!
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!

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.

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!

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!