Dispatch #8 - South Pole via Kansas Glacier

South Pole via Kansas Glacier

Dispatches

Dec 11

#8:
Mountains

Published at 05:52

A damn windy and noisy night that dumped a load of snow on our camp. Thankfully it eased off in the early morning and left a thick mist that all but swallowed the mountains and glacier.

The lack of visibility was a concern given we were still at the perimeter of a crevasse field so we travelled roped for the first hour, skiing over three relatively narrow slots whose bridges were further strengthened by the wind.

By lunch the mist began to lift and the magnificent satellite peak of Kirby Cone began to materialise. It?s backing mountains, joined by a series of jagged ridges, are no less spectacular. These are scenes that may never have been viewed by humans before.

A final steep climb under a warming sun got us into camp at 6.20pm, another 17.2km behind us.

It?s distinctly colder up here above 1300m and we will more than double that elevation before reaching the pole over 500km away.

Eric

Pics of us roped up, skiing on the Kansas and camped betwixt the mountains.

Name: Camp 6
Elevation: 1342 m
Latitude: 85° 47’ 18” South
Longitude: 135° 29’ 26” West