“Moving South” – by Brian Newham
The Ice Train is on the move for the very first time. This morning we made final preparations and stowed the last of our equipment before setting out on our journey to lay a fuel depot further south. The strategy behind the fuel depot is twofold. Firstly, we need to reduce the weights that we are towing so we need to position fuel between our starting point at the coast and the Pole – we w…
“Ice Train” – by Richmond Dykes
I have put it to the group as what to call the configuration of all the pieces of equipment once hooked together ready to pull out on our fuel laying journey. Their answer: Ice Train. This actually takes its name from the Land Trains that roll across the Australian Outback; we are not much different from them other than them having blue skies, red dirt, plenty of heat and kangaroos where we w…
Hours of Daylight
As you will see from the chart, it is changing quite rapidly at this time of year and it won’t be long before we start getting proper darkness at night. As we move further south whilst we are laying the depot the nights will obviously get longer.
Camp 2 – by Rob Lambert
Since we arrived at the ice edge a couple of weeks ago, our work here has concentrated on getting all of our kit out from the various ship’s holds and hidey holes and onto the ice. As equipment was craned ashore it was whisked away by our myriad of helpers, scurrying busily like so many oompah loompahs (though considerably more attractive), and deposited at one of three main work sites. Firstly,…
“The Work Continues” – by Ian Prickett
The ship has finally sailed and left the six of us with nowhere to run (ski/drive/follow) other than South. I have been waiting for this moment for ages now and it seemed as if it was never going to happen for a while. Thinking back to September in the lashing UK rain, being flooded out stuck in the corner of the Finning car park, Brian and myself were certainly very doubtful that we would hav…
“We are alone now” – by Brian Newham
There are certain moments in life that are so hard to describe that it is almost futile to try. What happened here just a couple of hours ago was one of those moments. Last night’s party was a great oc…casion but this morning the stark reality of what was about to happen overwhelmed everything else. Farewells were extremely hard as friends that had helped so much to get us this far offered…
The Tip of the Iceberg
This stunning shot is just one of many spectacular images by Geoff Long and Jill Bowring available to see on Flickr. Click here to be redirected to the Flickr page.
Mary Mouse Joins Her Friend on the Ice
After days stranded on the expedition ship, Mary Mouse has at last rejoined her friends on the ice. Tonight she will be sleeping in the living caboose with the rest of the team and will be staying with them for the for rest of the expedition. Richmond Dykes has taken it upon himself to keep an eye on Mary for the trip, and she will be travelling with him in the cab of his Caterpillar if she not…
What a Snotter
Latest update from Crown Bay – by Anton Bowring I’m an optimist. If I see a half glass of beer, I’ll drink it. Today turned out to be half a day. In my book it was a good one. Others were frustrated that we didn’t achieve more. There was still a swell but cautiously we nosed into the shelf at 07.30 and started work. Large lumps of ice fell into the sea around us but the loading platform stayed…
Testing the Fuel Scoots
The first blog from Richmond Dykes…ever. Yesterday was the first day since unloading the ship of the fuel drums and pumping them into the flubbers that have had time to do anything with the fuel scoots. The day started off by checking over and warming up the Cats before work commenced; Ran, Ian, Spencer and myself then proceeded to unpack all the ropes that were supplied and laid them out on…
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