Day 51: The Summers are Short and Wait for No One

Dec 31, 2006

Spindrift pileup against the tent during the night. Without much solar heating during the night, the tent was as cold as an ice box. But we slept warm and cozy in our expedition clothes with the addition of insulated pants - and under our two-layer alpine quilt.

Jenny packing her sled. The lidded bowls contain our lunch of dry granola to which we will add water. Also on the ground are small bags of high-energy cookie bars for snacking at our standing breaks.

A weather system moved in, and for two nights the sky was cloudy and sun was absent. The solar charger still worked - at a reduced rate, but mainly the natural solar heating, though the walls, did not. Especially combined with the wind. So we spent a couple of cold nights. Last night we even wore our insulated pants. Correction: It was cold in the tent, but we were warm.

Nevertheless, on sunny nights, we normally hang our face masks, gloves, and so forth, from clothes lines on the ceiling to dry. And while Jenny is melting water on the stove and cooking dinner, I write the updates.

Last night we were busy drying things by holding them up to the stove while we were melting water. So my updates were a little short.

This morning was the kind of morning you would rather stay in bed. The temperature was minus 20, the sky totally cloudy, the wind was blowing 15 out of the north, and the air was full of spindrift. And there we were warm and cozy in our insulated pants, in addition to our expedition clothes, and under our Greenland quilt.

But the Antarctic summers are short and they wait for no one. So we began our making-ready routine at our usual hour of 6 am. By 7:00 the sun was shining weakly through what looked like dissipating clouds. We set off at 8:00, and by 11:00 we were skiing in a beautiful day, despite the 10 mph northwest wind.

The sastrugi was not so much of a problem today. It was everywhere, but much smaller. And the snow was not so deep, maybe half an inch because the wind during the last two days had turned it into ice.

Our sleds are getting lighter as we use up our supplies, so they are not quite so hard to pull. But we seemed to be climbing, so the day was not so easy, as with them all.

Nevertheless, we enjoyed the day, and we admired the interesting and varied patterns on the surface, made by the wind. The surface was like an art gallery, everywhere you look.

A thought occurred to me that so much beauty down here and the vast majority of it will go unseen because there is so much, and the ice cap is so immense. This is the way the universe works also; so much beauty that we will never see. But still the mind boggles.

At this evening's camp, the temperature is much the same as last night, but the sun is shining and the wind is still, so the air does not feel cold. Inside the tent we have all of our things hanging up to dry, and we couldn't be more comfortable.

Hanging to dry on the tent's ceiling: boot liners, socks, and hats.

On this New Year's Eve, Jenny and I wish everybody a happy and rewarding new year. And we hope you are planning your own NFT, however you imagine and would like that to be. Just keep it fun!

Remaining miles to the South Pole: 89.1.

Evening camp: S 88° 41.247' W 84° 50.400'

Today's mileage: 13.1 in 10.5 hrs

Temperature: -20C

Day 52: Showers and Laundry Perhaps? No Chance

Jan 1, 2007

Today was gorgeous. Blue sky, fairly smooth terrain, and no wind. What more could a couple of polar explorers ask for? Showers and laundry perhaps?

No chance, until we reach civilization, which for me, if all goes well, will be in 25 more days. This is part one of this trip to Antarctica: skiing to the South Pole. That done, Jenny is planning to return home. Look for Ray-Way Products to re-open soon thereafter. I have a couple of more projects in mind. For one, I am slated to join four others on an attempt to climb Antarctica's highest mountain, Mt. Vinson. More on this later.

With the lack of wind and the sun shining brightly, the morning was quite warm. We skied without our ski jackets, and I did not wear my face mask. Never mind the frost build-up on our long underwear (it looks like snow); we were quite comfortable.

With an absence of wind, the surface of the snow looks burnished. And everywhere you look you find interesting designs and patterns.

At 1:00 pm we were ready for our sit-down bowl of granola when the wind started to blow lightly from the southwest. Five minutes later we were sitting on Jenny's sled in full expedition wear, including ski jacket with the fur hoods up, and our insulated jackets, reserved for the coldest of times. It was a quick lunch.

All day we seemed to be climbing. We are now over 9,000 feet. That means we have reached the Polar Plateau, and have climbed about 9,000 feet from PH Base.

Just a thought, but people living in New England might not realize that the South Pole is over three thousand feet higher than the summit of Mount Washington. Another interesting fact: the ice sheet over the South Pole is about 9,000 feet thick! Buried under the ice, the land under the South Pole is near sea level. It makes one wonder what Global Warming could do, if left unchecked. That is a lot of water to add to the oceans.

All afternoon the clouds grew thicker. Then just before quitting time the light went flat. Selecting a campsite in flat light is a guessing game. You don't really know if the ground is flat or sloped one way or the other; or how rough it is. You can't tell anything about it. Today's site turned out to be deep, soft snow.

We pitched the tent, set it aside, then packed the area firm, stomping it with our boots. At least shoveling the snow onto the snow skirt was easy. Normally I have to chop frozen snow and cover the skirt in blocks.

With the present weather system, the temperature has climbed to minus 11 degrees C. So the tent is not too cold inside, despite the lack of solar heating.

The ski poles are almost to the hilt in the soft snow.

Tonight I discovered that I must have bumped my compass declination out of adjustment four or five ago. It has been reading eight degrees to the east ever since. So we're currently 4.5 miles off course. Fortunately I discovered this now. It would be most embarrassing to miss the pole and continue across the continent.

Countdown to the pole: 77 miles.

Evening camp: S 88° 51.684' W 84° 20.329'

Today's mileage: 12.1

Altitude: 9090 ft., Temperature: -11C

Day 53: Gaining the Polar Plateau

Jan 2, 2007

We crossed 89 degrees late afternoon. That makes nine down, and only one left to go. So we are eating our celebratory cake tonight - and nursing our wounds. I have a few superficial cold injuries on my fingers, from today, and Jenny has the same on her toes, from early on in the trip. This is not frostbite, but close.

Today's weather was much different than yesterday's. We woke up to a clear sky, not a cloud anywhere. The sun was doing its best, but fighting a losing battle against the southeast 10 to 15 knot wind. The temperature was minus 25 degrees C all day.

The skiing started out well and Jenny took the lead early on. Twenty minutes later she stopped and said she was out of breath and could hardly pull her sled. She asked me take some weight from her sled, which I gladly did, and then I took the lead.

No doubt people have become hypothermic in Antarctica, but more likely they just quick freeze. The surface of the body begins to freeze long before the core temperature drops. You have only a matter of minutes until your hands stop working.

I suggested we set up the tent, quick. But she wanted to get moving, figuring that she would warm up through exercise. I helped put on her insulated jacket, put her overmitts back on, and she took off post haste with me right beside her. In five minutes she was warm enough to stop again and put on her insulated pants.

Originally she could not catch her breath and the sled felt very heavy, so she psyched herself out figuring she was having a bad day. And it all went downhill from there. In actuality we were climbing a steep hill. She didn't realize this, and that is why her sled felt heavy, and that is why she couldn't catch her breath. Antarctica plays with your mind; it has tricked me many times.

With Jenny feeling warm again, she wanted to ski behind me, which she did for the rest of the day. I was quite happy with that.

An hour later the cold started affecting me, so I stopped and put on my insulated jacket for the first time ever (while skiing) on this trip. I skied with the jacket for half an hour until I was warm again, and no longer needed it.

My overmitts are getting worn and thin, so my hands were cold at times today.

All day we climbed this hill, and still there is no end in sight. It is the same hill we climbed all day yesterday. It feels like a hill because we have to ski slowly, or else we are out of breath. And it looks like a hill, at least when you look straight ahead. But when you look to either side it looks level; same with looking back. Perhaps it is very gradually sloped and the sensation of steepness is caused by the altitude.

Jenny skiing in her insulated pants and jacket.

More of the sun's visual effects. Either that or the Earth is zooming towards the Sun, but we don't feel any warmth yet.

All day we skied on hard crust. But when we stopped to make camp, and took our skis off, our boots sunk in 3 to 4 inches and we realized it was the same situation as last night. The snow is deep, but it has a hard, wind-blown crust.

The bright sun persisted all day, so we were glad to crawl into the tent for its solar warmth. Now we have boot liners hanging from the ceiling to dry, as well as overmitts, face masks, neck gaiters, scarves, and gloves. The wind has stopped and the night is quiet and very pleasant.

It's drying time again. For the first time on the trip, we're drying both pair of book liners, because both of us could use a little more warmth in the feet.

Countdown: 65 miles

Evening camp: S 89° 02.255' W 84° 58.096'

Today's mileage: 12.2

Temperature: -25C

Note: Congratulations to our good friends Kevin Biggar and Jamie Fitzgerald who arrived at the Pole today, on day 52 of their expedition. Jenny and I were not informed of this until after we reached the pole ourselves, on day 57 of our expedition. Escape to the Pole

Day 54 Antarctica: Good Weather, Fairly Flat Terrain

Jan 3, 2007

Today was a gorgeous, sunny, no-wind, no-sastrugi day. The catch? There seems to be a catch each day in Antarctica. But not today.

With such good weather the skiing was a joy, on fairly flat terrain. The surface is wind-packed, frozen snow, and because of the wind, the spindrift acts to polish the surface to some degree.

Looking toward the sun, the light reflects from the snow, giving it a glassy look for miles all around.

Very brief rest stop in good weather.

Jenny is not to be outdone.

All morning we skied without ski jackets. About noon we took a break, and for the first time on this trip I laid down - on Jenny's sled.

It was really comfortable for a few minutes until an east wind sprung up. We started to chill immediately. End of lunch break, put the ski jackets on, put the hoods up, and get moving, quick. The afternoon was cold.

Late in the day we came to a big hill festooned with 18-inch high sastrugi. We spent the rest of the day climbing it.

Looking back. Usually our horizon is only a few hundred yards distant, but in this view it is twice that. This is because we have climbed a hill.

My Breathicle (breath icicle) has extended down the front of the jacket.

I'm not reporting our elevation on a regular basis because we don't know exactly what it is. Our GPS has an altimeter built in, but the GPS altitude function only gives a very general idea; and the electronic altimeter only reads the barometric pressure, and of course this fluctuates wildly every day. Somewhere around 9,000 to 9200 feet.

Countdown: 53 miles.

Evening camp: S 89° 12.536' W 85° 02.046'

Today's mileage: 11.9 n 10.5 hrs.

Temperature: -23C

Day 55 Antarctica: Climbing the Same Hill for Three Days

Jan 4, 2007

Another beautiful day, with only light sastrugi, light winds out of the NE, bright sun and no clouds - except for a dark band hunkering on the north horizon. We are glad we are not back there. ANI guide Denise and two others at 87 deg, 27 min had whiteo ut followed by a wind-chill of minus 41.

Jenny stops to put her ski jacket back on.

We skied without our ski jackets for the first hour and a half while we dissipated the excess body heat from the night in the tent. Once we cooled off, we needed our ski jackets very dearly.

On the same subject, at one o'clock PM we stopped to have a sit-down cup of granola. The sun was shining brightly, and we were comfortable - for about four minutes. Then the chill started creeping in, and within 30 seconds we were in an emergency situation. Once the hands become stiff, it is very difficult to put on an insulated jacket and overmitts.

We didn't even get to eat our granola; we had to set off post haste to generate warmth. Once we started skiing we were comfortable again within a few minutes. The same situation happened yesterday. We were distracted by lunch and didn't notice the loss of body heat until too late. Hopefully we learned our lesson this time.

All day today, yesterday, and the day before, we were climbing the same hill. This afternoon, even the horizon to the left and right appeared sloped. All this time we cannot see very far ahead. We keep expecting to reach the top of this rise, but the top never comes.

I carry the tent in my sled as a long sausage, with only one segment of each pole disconnected at each end. This makes it easier to pitch, by far. But the joint above the stove is always frozen in the morning (and again in the evening) making it difficult to re-connect (or disconnect), and takes a lot of rubbing with a glove or mitt to melt the ice. Note for next time: come up with a method of preventing the steam from the stove from reaching this joint, because the steam condenses on the pole in this area, and freezes the pole segments together.

Presently we are laying comfortably under the Greenland quilt here in the tent, with camp chores done: water melted, dinner eaten, batteries charging, boots and face masks drying. Jenny sleeps in her two thermal shirts and three thermal pants, and recently in these colder temperatures, she wears her insulated jacket. I sleep in that plus my ski jacket and bibs, using my insulated jacket for a pillow.

This Greenland quilt, now called the Ray-Way Quilt, is what we sell in kit form, with two layers of Alpine insulation. This quilt is working perfectly for us, and we would not wish for more insulation. The reason is because the sun shines all night and heats the tent with the greenhouse effect. Outside the temperature is minus 23 C, but inside the tent it is well above freezing. On nights with no sun, we also wear insulated pants.

Countdown: 41 miles to the Pole.

Evening camp: S 89° 22.490' W 85° 46.213'

Today's mileage: 11.5 in 10.5 hrs

Altitude: 9150 ft., Temperature: -23C

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