Day 34 – Frozen Ocean
Day 34
Lat S86deg 43.560’
Long W82deg 09.650’
Altitude 1917m
Daily
distance 12.13nm
Really enjoyed today.
Mileage hasn’t really changed
but the surface has and that’s why I enjoyed it.
Sun was out all day and by
the time I stopped there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. This was very deceiving as
the 10-15 knot headwind was bitterly cold. It died out when it came to pitch the
tent so this wasn’t the normal freezing hand situation I’ve been having of late.
It did make one of my earlier breaks awkward though as the moisture from my cold
avenger had frozen to my buff which then froze to my beard. It took a while to
warm it sufficiently to free it but the ice has had its desired effect and given
me a sore chin. Will see how that materialises in the coming days. I also had
trouble with my goggles fogging up and freezing today. I’ve got two pairs so I
ended up alternating between the two and putting the fogged ones inside my
jacket to melt the ice and then I could wipe it away and swap over and so
on.
The start of the day had the duning and sastrugi gradually growing before
disappearing again. Same happened yesterday so it appears I’ve gotten away with
it again. At least until tomorrow as the duning is back again now and with the
constantly undulating surface it gives the impression of being a frozen ocean.
The dunes run across the way so it’s up and over each time. Slow going but the
surface has improved thank goodness. The soft snow seems to be disappearing. Not
sure if it’s because it didn’t snow here or if the wind has stripped it but
whichever, it’s a whole lot better despite the duning. I even found a decent
hard surface for a pitch tonight. First time since Thiel that I haven’t had to
pitch in soft snow.
I’m heading west still as there’s a huge crevasse field
coming up. By going west to my next waypoint in 47 nautical miles I’ll steer
clear but must still be vigilant. The crevassing continues from around now all
the way to just beyond 88 degrees south so in excess of 60 nautical miles.
Another milestone today too. I’m now two thirds of the way with just under
200 nautical miles to go. At least two weeks depending on how the monster
sastrugi go when they eventually come.
Tanel, my Estonian road trip buddy
arrived at the pole today. That’s great to hear as he’s a busy boy going off to
climb Mount Vinson next. Even with doing a shorter route that’s a great average
he must’ve been doing so hope he’s got something left in the tank to climb with!
He may well be back at Union Glacier by the time I get there too so will be
great to catch up.
#heartinternet #diabetesuk #curraNZ #expeditionfoods #primalpantry
#antarcticlogisticsandexpeditions #solo #southpole #antarctica
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