Dispatch #27 - South Pole via Kansas Glacier

South Pole via Kansas Glacier

Dispatches

Dec 27

#27:
250km from the Pole

Published at 06:08

Yesterdays tumult will make every other day seem like a picnic, and so it was that this morning?s wind and cloud cover seemed positively sublime. We cruised at 2.6km per hour through the sastrugi until lunch then slowed as the obstacles grew together with our fatigue.

The sastrugi is reminiscent of pressurised ice on the Arctic Ocean, requiring a constant tension on the sled traces to keep the momentum of the sled going. One particularly big sastrugi warranted a second look as a slunk around it - I could have walked down into its adjoining gully and hid from the team fully standing.

By the afternoon the wind dropped and the sun popped out, making for the first comfortable break in days. Here inside the tent with my back forwards the sunny side of the tent, I am dressed in a thermal top, bare-headed and warm. Outside the temperature hovers at -21c. My solar panel hangs inside, sending power to my satellite modem to which I will connect my iPhone shortly and send this email.

18km today with our elevation just under 2800m. We are still hoping for an abatement in the convoluted terrain as we ascend onto the dome.

Pics:
1. Panorama with Heath
2. Jade?s last stride of the day.

Eric

Name: Camp 22
Elevation: 2791 m
Latitude: 87° 45’ 51” South
Longitude: 137° 43’ 19” West

image2

image1

Comments

2017-12-29 22:03:17 Issy says: Keep on keeping on xx
2017-12-28 05:56:16 Issy says: Keep it up guys- hope the rest of the expedition is safe and speedy!