ANI Messner Route South Pole Expedition

Going Home!

2008-01-24T12:22:00.001-08:00

George at South Pole

2008-01-24T12:21:00.002-08:00

George and Sled

2008-01-24T12:21:00.001-08:00

Camp On Route

2008-01-24T12:20:00.001-08:00

George - Done

2008-01-24T12:19:00.001-08:00

Merete

2008-01-24T12:18:00.002-08:00

Eric

2008-01-24T12:18:00.001-08:00

Bernice

2008-01-24T12:17:00.000-08:00

Alison

2008-01-24T12:16:00.001-08:00

Oh! Canada - Ceremonial Marker

2008-01-24T12:15:00.001-08:00

The Team

2008-01-24T12:14:00.001-08:00

The Team

2008-01-24T12:13:00.001-08:00

January 15

2008-01-17T22:05:00.000-08:00

Final Blog-for now

En route from LA to Vancouver. It has been a whirlwind three days.

This is the final blog from Team CANDU-DID (for now)

We did it. After 38 days on the ice we reached the Geographical South Pole.
These last days have been a blur as it is often difficult to extricate from these expedition situations…

I would like to first THANK YOU ALL for the support….it was real nice to hear and that you liked to hear about this adventure….

When we reached the South Pole on Jan 12 at 12:30 PM PST
We were informed we would have to camp as pick up was not going to happen soon...

When we arrived at the Pole we were greeted by a rep from the Base who showed us around. We first went to the exact…. marker of the South Pole and the goal was complete. We had a tour of the new Amundsen-Scott South Pole Base building, and the rules which are you can use the bathrooms, (no showers) and help yourself to drinks and cookies in the cafeteria-no food…it was pleasure to sit in the warmth as the temp was around -40 C with the wind chill.We set up camp and waited, we camped about 50 meters from the South Pole. The day before was the official opening of the base so we just missed it. Rumour has it that this building, which took ten years to build is the most expensive building ever built per square foot…

The next day, Jan 13th we hung out…we took our photos around the Pole in cold conditions. We were informed our flight was en route…then a delay because the weather was a clouded at the Pole…so we sat and looked at the updates..things were at there grimmest when a sliver of blue appeared.
It turned out our Twin Otter with the 2 Canadian crew had stopped to pick up a frost victim from a Last Degree group and waited on the ground for an hour and half And just as they were going back they were told clear and flew in to pick us up..the frost victim, a gentleman from Dublin Ireland had a chance to see and be at the Pole before he was returned for medical care…turns out that was delayed as we stopped to refuel in the Thiel Mountains and the Pilot told us were were camping there as the weather at Patriot Hills was deteriorated…so no landing. So we took out our sleds and it was business as usual. Even helped the Pilots set up their tents as this wasn’t regular for them.
And it was nice and warm here-only -15 with beautiful mountains for scenery.

Next morning we were cleared and flew into Patriot Hills. Nice big lunch was waiting, with champagne and all. The food was good, so good we were worried we would overeat and then…yuck

but it was real great.
And a few hours later we had our dinner. And we were informed the Jet, an Ilyushin was due that night so no camping…yay! We hung out in the dining tent and sure enough the flight arrived 11:30 PM Jan 14th and we left Antarctica at 2 AM on January 15th. Got into Punta Arenas at 6:30 AM. Got to the Hotel and cleaned up—an hour shaving… and then was able to get on a flight this PM, so here I am after flying all night to LA bound for Vancouver. Home this afternoon…and dreams of the ice still follow..but could it be the lack of sleep over the last three days…?????

Cheers,
George

January 14

2008-01-14T20:36:00.000-08:00

I am at Patriot Hills now after waiting and waiting for a plane to pick us up from the station at the South Pole. We sat and waited then went to bed in our tents and waited. We are unable to receive any support from the station other than coffee and cookies. Our plane got rerouted on its way to a medical emergency. So we ended up leaving the station later today and are now at Patriot Hills awaiting a plane to take us to Chile later tonight. The weather has been rough but the waiting rougher. But as it turns out we will be leaving this Continent late tonight. That is a bit to get used to. I've had a look in the mirror and oh what a sight, salt and pepper beard and weather beaten face. Also had a chance to weigh myself and went down considerably. I feel good and strong, stronger than I thought that I would be, especially at the end, really strong.

I and the team thank all of you for all your support and look forward to seeing you soon.
George from Patriot Hills Antarctica.

January 12 - South Pole Arrival

2008-01-12T16:28:00.000-08:00

TEAM CANDU ARRIVED SOUTH POLE 90 DEG SOUTH
12:30 PM PAC STAN TIME JAN 12 2008!

George from the South Pole

January 9

2008-01-10T20:20:00.000-08:00

Day 35 - Cold day, just as we were used to some mild and nice weather Antarctica bites back at us. -55 wind chill. Wind in our face all day. It was tough that's why we have the ruff. When wind is blowing in your face its imperative that you have a fur ruff to help shield your face. Eric says I look like Chewbacka from Star Wars. Only 3 nights 2 days if all goes well. Tonight is men's night in the tent. It is probably the last one. We've enjoyed the boys nights in the tent. 67 k to go!
S 89.33.34

George from Antarctica.

January 8

2008-01-10T20:18:00.000-08:00

Day 34 - What can I say, there's snow everywhere. Nice calm morning, great conditions for the plateau. Bernice had a binding blow out so we had to delay for a while. We did 26k. Location is S 89.09.77.

92 k to the Pole. I'm glad I'm wearing bib pants, things are feeling kind of loose.

George from Antarctica.

January 7

2008-01-08T11:33:00.000-08:00

Day 33
Brilliant day again at -10 no wind. In the afternoon I skied with no hat or gloves but after only 1 hr I put extra sun screen. This blog is for my parents Walter and Wanda. Today is their 58th Wedding Anniversary. They married in Edmonton on Jan 7 1950. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY MOM AND DAD. They raised 5 children in Edmonton. They came to Edmonton with nothing and gave us everything. Mom was deported from Poland to Siberia and Dad fought in the war with Italy. Mom schooled in Karachi India. They met in Edmonton and as Dad says "Mom made the best potato pancakes so I married her". Love you both - George.

Locations S 88.55.818 w 079 elevation 2729.

George from Antarctica

January 6

2008-01-08T11:31:00.000-08:00

Day 32 - a gorgeous day. One the best of the trip. -20 with no wind. Had a great day skiing now only 5 days to go. Feeling fit and strong. Team is doing okay. Lots of us have dry coughs from the dry cold air. Bernice is having some problems breathing but managing to keep up. George from Antarctica

January 3

2008-01-03T20:48:00.000-08:00

We are at 88 degrees South. 120 nautical miles from the South Pole. It was cold and
clear -40 with a wind chill. We had a short day with sleeping in till 9. We
completed 16k. We re now camped  at 2587 elevation.

Team profile today is Merete Spilling Gjertsen.
Born in small town of Norway. Merete studied medicine in Switzerland. She practised
as a family doctor in a small town in Norway. She met her husband Tom while skiing in
Switzerland. Merete was born with skis on her feet. She has trekked in Nepal, Skied
Baffin Island and Greenland. Of  all the team Merete enjoys being here the most.
She says there hasn't been a bad day so far. She is following in the footsteps of
one of her heroes, Norwegian Roald Nordunsem. He was the first person to reach the
South Pole. Our "Queen of Norway" is a regular ski machine. Nothing stops her, and
she is awesome medical relief if needed.

George from Antarctica


January 5 

Day 31 - Beautiful clear day-15 light wind. A fresh snow shone like a million diamonds
everywhere.It was a really good day on the snow. Tonight I am relaxing in the solo tent.
As the journey continues and nears the end, there are lots of chances to think  about
many things. I will be glad to be home and with family next week. The luxury of a
flushed toilet is beyond me. As you travel your mind is cleared. You sort things out
and try to make them whole! As my favorite author N.K. did to unburden himself until
all was left was a sack of bones. I'm not quite there yet. I still have a little spare.
The idea of unburdening yourself is to let it all out. This trip away from all distractions
helps me think and clean out the thoughts. We all have so much incoming content in our lives.
It is important to reverse that and get out what we feel. And as this journey comes to a
close in the epitath of N.K. "I need nothing, I fear nothing,I am free".

George from Antartica



January 4 

Day 30 - Tough day we did almost 25k in variable conditions. We climbed 70 m.
All of our face masks look like works of art. Fantastic Forms as they say. We
all go on for our own reasons. We still have plenty of time to think. Tough as it is.
Nothing is as tough as losing a child . And for some of us a brother. I want to dedicate
this blog to my brother  Leslie who passed  away 27 yrs ago this coming July, and to
Corn Phillips who passed away 10 yrs ago and his brother Ralph who passed last yr.
This blog and the march tomorrow is dedicated to them.

George from Antarctica.

January 2

2008-01-03T20:46:00.000-08:00

The usual. It was a cold morn with -25 and wind chill -35. Went well with good
surface. We are days away. I had a problem with fogged up glasses all day, so I
went  without for 2 hrs. We just did over 25km. Tomorrow we get to rest till 11am.
Going well, but it doesn't get easier.

George from Antarctica

January 1

2008-01-03T20:45:00.000-08:00

New Years Day. We left camp at 6 am. A ton of sastrugi and white outs. We were up and
down, hard on the back. We ran into some small crevaces. We did 26 km in terrible
conditions. It was warm no wind. Happy  New Year to everyone.

December 31

2008-01-02T11:32:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year

Cloudy day, started out warm. I am in my solo tent writing my blog, we
did 26.4km we had a get together, at Norwegian time (8pm our time).
6am wake up tomorrow. Happy New Year. George.

December 30

2008-01-02T11:22:00.000-08:00

Day 25 Sunday Brunch

We left camp on a clear cold day -19 with a wind in our face. Less than
an hour out and Eric turns and sees a black spot moving towards us. We
glance back and keep skiing. Half hour later up pulls a tractor, train
pulling a piston bully tractor pulling a tractor, two sleds of gear and a
caboose with a radar array behind. It happened to be a joint ANI
(Adventure Network International) Chilean Government Expedition. Only
the second tractor train to go this route. Measuring snow, ice movement
and scanning for shallow crevasses. Aboard is Mike McDowell owner ANI.
There are two US, one Canadian, one New Zealander, One Brit, three
Chilean scientists. Their expedition is to the South Pole and then with
Pole of inaccessibility. The furthest point from 2000 one way, 4000 km
round trip. We posed for pictures and then got invited in for omelets
and fresh bread. I ate seven pieces of fresh bread one hour after we
had breakfast at camp. We posed for more photos, they then gave us wine,
cashes, more bread. Mike McDowell gave me a couple of cigars (given to
him by the son of Fidel Castro). It was all over quickly and soon back
on the trail. We did 21.5km today. George

December 29

2008-01-02T11:04:00.000-08:00

Day 24 we had a great day. We climbed 200 m elevation. We did 27.7 km. We are at 700 meters from 87 degrees south.

Today's team profile is Bernice Notenboom. Bernice is Dutch and when she reaches the South Pole she will be the first Dutch woman to ski all the way. Berncie worked for Microsoft and left to start her own company Multitrek. Bernice has traveled extensively and works on various projects. As a journalist she is writing a log about this trip for a Dutch newspaper as well as weekly articles for magazines. She is also writing an article about the expedition for National Geographic. She carries on addressing the topic of global warming on Arctic alert.com. Bernice currently lives in Fernie, BC. She loves it here in Antarctica. Location South 86.59 West 081.15

George Team CANDU out.

December 28

2008-01-02T10:49:00.000-08:00

It was cloudy and warm, fresh down in the morning - froze my hands. We have clouds, winds, sun, and snow throughout the day.

We climbed through the sastrugi and ice section. We camped at almost 2000 meters elevation. We are a bit tired, we've had no resting in 24 days of skiing. Starting to feel a bit repetitive strain. If you do something all day for 8 hours, something had to give. We will tough it out, about 13 days to go. Some of us are hoping for a blizzard and I don't mean the Dairy Queen kind. We did 29.4 km today. We have 363 km to go. Location South 86.44 West 081.15.

December 27

2007-12-30T11:50:00.000-08:00

22nd day on skis, no days off. Today we skied 8.5 hours. Less than 400 km to go. That's great when you have completed over 500 km. We had great conditions today. We did 29 kms The mind, you have a lot of time to think. Whether skiing ahead or staring at the skier ahead of you. Scary place my mind after 21 days to think. Can be rewarding and just plain dull. When you start to think of actually reaching the pole you have to stop yourself except you have a glove and a ski pole in hand. You have to remember it is 14-15 days of 8 hour skiing away. I think of home but you can't dwell on it, it doesn't materialize. Either does much else. I just stare at the details of the sled in front of me.

That's all for now,
George, Antarctica.

December 26

2007-12-30T11:45:00.000-08:00

Just another day on the ice, oh ya Boxing Day. A beautiful clear day with a slight breeze, we were off at 8 am and covered 27 km. Talk about food, I think about it more now. The first few days I wasn't even hungry. 4 days ago we upped our dinner portions. Now I am beginning to feel hungry. Like I need to eat more. Thinking about a big juicy steak more often. Often after an hour of skiing I find my energy is drained. I will now consume butter and biscuits along with soup and salami, chocolate, cheese, fruits and nuts for lunch. Dinner is a double meal now, freeze dried for 2. In the tent it is warm and I'm in the solo tent with shirt off, we are at South 86.13 and West 0.8142.

December 22

2007-12-27T07:59:00.000-08:00

Left Camp 16. This is our seventeenth day on skis, so far we have been lucky no blizzards, so we have been able to travel every day.We hope to make it to the pole by Jan 10th. Today is beautiful cold with slight wind, great to travel in. The Phiel Mountains are on the right. We did 25.7 km today. Getting use to the food but getting hungrier day by day.

Merry Christmas to all friends & bloggers.
I want to thank everyone for their support.

George from team CANDU

December 21

2007-12-27T07:45:00.000-08:00

I left Camp 15. It is still sunny out but cold with breeze from the south.
I have been skiing in one layer until now. Now skiing in parka & expedition gloves (-12) minus twelve with the wind. The team is doing well.

Between Merete & my skin set combo has been working well. The team will try to trim their skin, grip is not a problem, glide is key.

Tomorrow Dec 22nd our baring is direct to the South Pole. It should take us 3 weeks from now. We are almost halfway done according to schedule. In 3 days we celebrate Christmas, our thoughts are of home.

I want to dedicate this blog to Uncle Boleck who passed away early this year and my father in law Robert Lashley who passed Novemeber 11th, and to my friend Digby Millwright who passed this summer with whom I shared some good times in the Antarctica.

December 19

2007-12-20T09:20:00.000-08:00

Left at usual time. Today it was 2 weeks on skis. Last night clear and sunny. I was glad Merete had the sunny side. When I had the sunny side a couple of nights ago I toasted like a pig. We skied for a couple of hours then had to rope off because we ran into crevaces. We are on the tail of the Foundation Icestream. It took awhile to rope up.

After lunch we had whiteout conditions. As we climbed to the top we ran into fissures. Since it was late we decided to stop and set up camp. Eric thought it was safer. It is best to go through with good visibility.

Overall we have accomplished 300km. Camp 14 elevation is 1273 location south 84.45 west 077.54.

Featured team member is Alison Levine. Alison's background is in Corporate Finance. She has a strong background in climbing but not in skiing. She has climbed 6 out the 7 summits highest in the world. She was the captain of a woman's team up Mt.Everest. The team had to turn around at 170ft from the top due to a bad storm. She has been to the North Pole on a ski expedition. She has her own company called Daredevil Strategies. She is one of the top motivational speakers in the U.S. She speaks to many fortune 500 companies. She is tough as nails, and it took her 2 full days to admit that this expedition was the toughest of all she has done thus far. She is highly motivated and a pleasure to have as a team mate.

December 18

2007-12-20T09:18:00.000-08:00

Camp 12 is done. It was a tough day. We climbed one of the shoulders of Foundation Stream. Only a 130m but it was hard work. All told we made 22km. We are getting closer I can taste it. Bright sunny day, cold but sunny. Getting ready for the Polar Plateau with the wind in your face.

December 17

2007-12-17T22:08:00.000-08:00

Left Camp 11 at 8:20 am. It was clear but sastrugi were filled in with soft snow. We were hopping from ridge to ridge to avoid the soft spots. We led in 30 min turns as it was very tiring. We did 23.7 kms today and are now at Camp 12. We are 1/3 done. Bright sun is out. The team is doing well. Batteries are always running low, so I will update when I can. Medical update: Several people with various facial exposure due to constant reflection from the snow and sun. I have dried and blistered lips, Eric has swollen eyes, Bernice has swollen lips and skin. All in good spirits from team CANDU. Camp 12 location South 84.26 west 076.01.

December 16

2007-12-17T22:05:00.000-08:00

We were on the trail by 8:15. A clear day to navigate by. Today we had another thing to add to the mix, really soft snow. Your skis start to sink into it. Even though we did almost 23km in the toughest skiing so far. It was a great relief to set up camp, sink into the tent with a hot drink and just rest. Location south 84.16 west 074.47. We are now at camp 11 having skied 11 days straight. We refer to ourselves as team Candu. An acronym for Canadian, Australian, Norwegian, Dutch, US. We will be the first C, A, D and US team to ski this route to the Pole. Hopefully conditions will improve because it was slow going today.

December 15

2007-12-15T19:09:00.000-08:00

Left Camp 9 at 8:30am. Today was soft snow with white out conditions navigating. It was a rum picnic with Eric on the compass (ice talk). We ended up over 25 kms best day so far! Starting to get a view of the mountains (Pensacola Mtns)

Starting to get into routine. Here it is, Wake up at 6 am start stoves, melt ice, snow, fill water bottles, make hot drinks, porridge or oats. Have drinks before you (2 1/2 litres) to hydrate, and then ski for 2 hrs. Snack and drink break, ski 1hr, drink, ski 1hr, lunch. Afternoon is ski 2hrs, snack, drink, ski 1hr, drink, ski 1hr then done. Soon as we get to camp we set up tents and then light stoves, melt snow for drinks and dinner. This takes us till 7:30-8pm. It was a hard day but a good day.

December 14

2007-12-15T19:07:00.000-08:00

Today we skied all day in white out conditions. When you have a compass on a day like today, imagine yourself in a white room, spin around and then look down at your compass needle, that's all you see but the tips of your skies. You go yonder into the light. We had another good day just over 23km. Location is south 83.56.56 latitude west 072.06.70 longitude. From team Candu George

December 13

2007-12-15T18:57:00.000-08:00

We packed camp in the blowing wind and snow. We made Camp 8 on Dec 13 at 5:10 pm with our best day so far at 23.2 kms. In the tent writing - I went outside in fleece top and pants, no wind with a warm sun, absolutely beautiful!

Camp 8 at 48 degrees, 48 mins south latitude and 070 degrees west 58 mins longitude. We are heading slightly west to avoid heavy crevases at the head of Foundation Icestream. Our line is west until we bypass the crevace zone, then we bear directly for the south pole. Everyone is in good spirits.

I want to dedicate this blog to my wife Shirley and my children Lesia, Allie, Bella, and Nick. Thanks for all the support.

Todays featured team member is Team Leader Eric Philips. Eric skied to the South Pole in 1998-99 season with John Muir and Peter Hilliary. He pioneered a new route up the Shakelton Glacier from Mucmurdo Sound. Eric's polar travel and other polar experiences would fill many blogs, his company's called Icetrek. Website is icetrek.com. Leadership is a skill honed by experience but buffered by personality. The ability to lead a team successfully takes many qualities. Eric is a great leader with a good sense of humour. Not domineering but firm and resourceful. You couldn't ask for a better team leader. We are having trouble taking him seriously though, with his red bandana and his stereo ear pieces that look like earings. He looks like a pirate.

December 12

2007-12-12T16:38:00.000-08:00

Left camp 6 at 8:30 am. Snow drifted in all night, now the sastrugi areas are full of snow. Skied through soft snow today. Reached camp 7 location at 86 degrees 36 mins south latitude 69 degrees 48 west longitude.

We completed 21.3 km in soft conditions. Mild conditions light breeze all day. Skied in base layer all day.

Today's blog is about the team. The team is a group of very accomplished and determined people. Over the next 4 blogs I will write about team members individually. This is about Team Candu. The strength of our group is a team effort. I want to say that our whole group Bernice, Eric, Allison, Merete, and I have a solid purpose. To reach the south pole on skis. I believe we can do it and stay strong as a unit, unlike some expeditions that have personal problems brought on by stress with resolving issues. My goal is that we arrive at the pole as one, and I believe that we can do it.

Our day seven on the ice. Hopefully every other day will go as well.

George

December 11

2007-12-11T16:19:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Dec 10 we did 20 km in tough sastrugi. It was hard going but clear weather, we are at camp. Last night we pitched tents while it was blowing and snowing. Wind blew from the east and blew all night. Today we were on the road by 8:30 am. Temperature was -4 to -5 with east wind, it was quite warm. I skied without a hat for awhile. Most of the day was a white out conditions, tough navigation for much of time. It's like skiing in the clouds. When the sun is completely hidden the horizon in all definition disappears. You can just follow your compass line and plot on. Snow drifted in from sastrugi gully's but spots were like you ran into something without seeing it. It is an eerie sensation when you seem to be floating only held up by your skis. A good day, 21.1km today. Eric, Bernice and I took turns leading with the compass. The team is plodding on. The team is great and very motivated.

George

December 6th - 8th

2007-12-11T16:12:00.000-08:00

December 6th
We skied 20 kilometres today, during this time we gained over 140 metres in elevation.

December 7th
We were on the big flat white trail by 8:45 am Chilean time.

December 8th
Our plan from now on is to wake up everyday at 6:30 am. We will then cook breakfast, make enough water for the day and pack up our camps. It should take about 2 hours for all of this and then we're to be skiing by 8:30 am. Once we're skiing we go for about 1 and a half hours between each and every break.

My view is that of an endless vista of nothing but white with a blue horizon usually. This morning however we were skiing in whiteout conditions til the afternoon. It was almost impossible to differentiate the snow ridges called strugies and the path. You don't know you've hit one until you've gone over it. It cleared up in the afternoon and we ended up skiing 21 kilometres, and we gained 150 metres in elevation. There are millions of variations to the strugies to ski over and are quite amazing. We had started out at 8:30 this morning and were right on schedule.

The whole team is doing well, just a little tired. We're stopping to rest and rehydrate now.

December 4

2007-12-04T09:49:00.000-08:00

Dec 4 10:20 AM

Just got the call. Be ready in Antarctic gear in one hour, checked out and waiting, we leave for Antarctica now….I was preparing that long update for something to do…yesterday..so here is how it sounded.

Still ready in Puntas Arenas, like dressed for the ball and no coach for me..….. This is hopefully the last update from a computer, the rest of the updates will be by Iridiium phone unless of course we are stuck here for a week…...there have been several long delays for Antarctic trips this year…

About the local people, Chileans who live in Punta Arenas..hats off to them.They are a nice folk who live in a city on the edge……this is the furthest south of any continental city in the world..

Perched on the Straits of Magellan the city has a busy harbour, there is a tourist component and the cattle industry is always omnipresent in Patagonia. Not hard to tell that beef rules and it is very good. The people who live here are as rule very friendly and polite..they speak a soft spoken Spanish-Chilean with a unspoken meaning…… we live in a ruff climate, we manage very well here but it is nice to be nice since the climate isn’t always that way. A nice group to be around, you never feel unwelcome.

Talking about beef, perhaps some of our fast food people should note this…..went into a popular local burger joint today, looked at the menu and the options beside hamburger were pork or beef slices cut thin and grilled for on the bun….when I asked for papas fritas( French fries)….I was denied, the waitress said they are not good for cholesterol….I asked for next time and she said never…not good for the belly she indicated. I thought who cares I won’t see a burger for six weeks…...but the thing is think about it, when is the last time you went to a burger joint in North America and they warned you off French fries as too fattening and too high cholesterol…wonder what’s in our burgers?? Talk about dietary concerns from your vendor… they were sincere or else my spanglish is very poor , note that a properly done burger down here is a brilliant piece of work and they are good…….well in North America we have to think twice about having a burger and it is not only the guilt, health and obesity warnings about burgers and all…perhaps all fast food servers in North America need to take a fat safe course as in tell your customers what to avoid…...tips based on what is better for me? A novel approach to the things that ale us!

There are a lot of taxi’s here, at times I think as many as regular vehicles, since the price is quite reasonable it might be cheaper (certainly based on our costs) to use cabs in a small city than to park and pay for a car year around. I believe the main occupation in the City of Punta Arenas is the ever present block watch…the meter man and girl. They seem to be everywhere with handheld printer ready…maybe that is why cabs are preferable than trying to park under the Punta meter watchers…

There are more of them than pigeons…

Look for an update from the ice in Antarctica……..

December 3

2007-12-03T07:49:00.000-08:00

Well it was hectic until today, yesterday we packed our gear had it
weighed and it went to the plane. We were told to wait...be ready at 6
this morning, I dutifully was up at 5:30, had what I thought was my last
shower for a while and then waited.....and waited. Fell asleep and at 9:40
a call, the winds are down at Patriot Hills but the cloud cover is too low
and they can,t find the ice runway without a clear visual. So I am off to
a stove lighting session, I guess we might as well do something as we
wait.
It{s cold and windy here, so I am hiding in an Internet cafe and having a
double espresso while I wait for stove school....
It{s time to get moving, I feel like the ice is building up a welcoming
committee while we wait here in Patriot Hills getting fat...
I will stay in touch and let you know....

George

December 1, Punta Arenas Chile

2007-12-01T18:30:00.000-08:00

Our whole team has arrived in Chile. We are in Punta Arenas, on the
Strait of Magellan across from Tierra del Fuego..Land of fire...
We got to know what we are eating very well...put together on ice meals
yesterday and today a total of 675.....!!!!
We will spend tomorrow preparing our gear and the schedule is for us to
fly into Antarctica on Monday...there could be a delay but will keep the
blog updated.

It appears there will a number of firsts including the first North
Americans to do this route the Messner Route...2 of us would be the
first!!
Well we have to get there...
Time to get on the snow and see how we will pull those sleds!!!!

The Day is Nearing

2007-11-27T12:32:00.000-08:00

Well the day is nearing. I leave for Puntas Arenas Chile on Wed November 28.We will meet in Punta for 3-4 days.

We will be packing food and preparing our gear for the start date.

On December 3rd we are scheduled to fly to Patriot Hills Base Camp in Antarctica, in the Ellsworth Mountains.

About 1-2 days later Dec 4-5 the plan is to be airlifted by Twin-Otter to our start at the continental edge at the Filchner Ice shelf.

From there we begin the 40 day or so ski haul trip.....

Bon voyage..

Expedition Key Dates

2007-11-22T12:08:00.000-08:00

December 3, 2007
Leave Puntas Arenas Chile for Patriot Hills Base Camp, Ellsworth Mountains, Antarctica

December 5 +- 1 day, Leave Patriot Hills for 1.5 hour flight in Twin Otter to Edge of the Ronne ice Shelf…team will be dropped off and bye bye…

Initially the team will follow the edge of the giant Foundation Ice Stream, a large 'glacier' fed by the colossal Antarctic ice sheet. (An ice stream is a flow of ice within an ice cap whereas a glacier is a flow of ice within a mountain system). Of course crevasses are natural features of any flowing ice and will keep the team on their toes.

Climbing between the spectacular Thiel and Pensacola Mountains, the team will gain access to the austere Antarctic plateau, over 2000m above sea level. Here the air is cold and brittle and the surface like a great white ocean…

See our progress…

Expedition Key Dates

2007-11-22T12:07:00.000-08:00

December 3, 2007
Leave Puntas Arenas Chile for Patriot Hills Base Camp, Ellsworth Mountains, Antarctica

December 5 +- 1 day, Leave Patriot Hills for 1.5 hour flight in Twin Otter to Edge of the Ronne ice Shelf…team will be dropped off and bye bye…

See our progress…