Day 50 on the ice!
A huge milestone and only 16 days to go!
Another tough day of sastrugi, soft snow and uphill. The cloud descended and the light flattened for our final session of the day slowing our progress significantly. In the flat light it is very difficult to pick out any features at all so we had to take it slow so we didn’t break a ski or any other gear. Looking forward to a better day tomorrow.
Suunto Stats
Skiing Time 9h 30mins
Distance 20kms
Gareth
Average HR 110
Max HR 167
Calories burned 6870
Richard
Average HR 108
Max HR 172
Calories burned 6750
*now temperatures are colder as we get towards the South Pole we’ll be burning additional calories just to keep ourselves warm!
In 2013 Gareth and Richard skied 600km to reach the 1996 Magnetic North Pole. Battling polar storms with temperatures down to minus 60 deg centigrade and dodging hunting polar bears, they skied for over three weeks across the frozen Arctic Ocean. This remarkable location marks the point of confluence of the Earth’s magnetic field out on the pack ice of the Arctic Ocean. This was their first polar expedition and also the beginning of the amazing team that is now Antarctica2023.
Our current Antarctic adventure took ten years to plan with rigorous training schedules, securing sponsorship and funding, juggling young families, careers, completing arduous medical degrees, becoming consultants in our fields of Emergency Medicine and Anaesthetics and then having to be on the frontline of the pandemic.
Going on such an expedition is not easy, being away for such a long time, we have made huge sacrifices, have had a lot of expedition commitments and met a lot of naysayers, but being on the ice and having the privilege of being in such a majestic location, knowing that every step is unique and will get us closer to our goal is totally worth it.
Seek adventure this 2023, surround yourselves by positive people, remain true to yourselves and give it a go!
