20.3kms today, -20degC and a strong wind blowing.
We started the last day of 2022 speaking to Qantas Pilot Captain Alex Passerini on board New Years Eve Antarctica Scenic Flight. It’s such a privilege to chat to all the passengers and crew onboard and share a little glimpse of our journey and our experiences on the ice.
We’ve been to some pretty dark places these last few weeks with the relentless sustrugi pushing our mental resilience to the limit. We have a couple of strategies to help us through the toughest times.
There used to be two words written on the wall as you walk out of the changing rooms at Twickenham, the home of English rugby, in big capital letters it said ‘Earn It’. I have never forgotten those words when I played. I repeat that short statement to myself every morning when I step into my ski bindings, it helps me mentally prepare for the day ahead and reinforces the fact that I have to get out there and work for every metre.
Secondly, again from my rugby days, the words of Scottish rugby legend Jim Telfer have stuck with me, he said ‘do the extra so your mate doesn’t have to, go the extra yard’. When we’re battling through a tough day I’ll try and go a few extra metres at the end of a session or scale one more sastrugi ridge to take the pressure off Rich on his next lead breaking trail.
There is an Icelandic word ‘Fullsterkur’ that means ‘full strength’ or ‘full strong’. We adopted it in Iceland when we when climbed over the Vatnajokull and paddled the mighty Skjalfandafljot river to the sea. We say it to each other when we need to find those last shreds of strength to get us through the day. It reminds us of great times and along with a smile and a handshake at the end of everyday it brings us together as a team.
So, we may not be able to lift even the smallest of the ancient Icelandic strongman stones but out here, in our world, we are fullsterkur.
Suunto Stats
Skiing Time 9h 20mins
Distance 20.35kms
Gareth
Average HR 103
Max HR 139
Calories burned 5940*
Richard
Average HR 105
Max HR 159
Calories burned 6100*
*now temperatures are colder as we get towards the South Pole we’ll be burning additional calories just to keep ourselves warm!
Thank you 2022…we may be battling sastrugi and enduring tough conditions but we made it to Antarctica this season and we are living our dream, hoping to inspire everyone around the world to dream big and give challenges a go. There has been a few key people that have made this journey possible, from the entire Antarctica2023 Andrews and Stephenson Expedition team we thank you and wish you a very special 2023.
We would like to thank our generous sponsors and community partners that have contributed to making this journey possible
