From the Ice

Here are some meteorological stats which Brian Newham has pulled together covering the 87-day period when the sun was down (9th May to 3rd August):   Average temperature            minus 41 C (-42 F) Minimum temperature         minus 55 C (-67 F) Maximum temperature        minus 23 C (-9 F)   Average wind speed             27 knots  (31 mph) Minimum…

Quick pic from Antarctica. A lovely day here. 10kts and -40c. It almost feels like spring! By Brian Newham…

We’re not quite sure when you are going to get to dip your toes but we are thinking of you. Great commitment and a lot of hard work already under the speedos for a very worthy cause. Good luck and go, go, go! [Tris and Hugh from Operations HQ will be swimming the English Channel at some point between now and September 4th as part of a four-man relay to raise money for Seeing is Believing. If you…

Q: Why didn’t you use a helicopter? (by Lorna Wright) A: The challenge was to try and cross the continent on the surface during the winter. Helicopters and various fixed-wing aircraft do operate in the Antarctic in the summer months but even then they are often at their limit in terms of the conditions. They all leave the continent at the end of the summer because in the winter its too cold and…

Q: What are the general factors that motivate you as a team to complete the journey? (by Abdalla Yassin) A: Unfortunately our plan to cross the continent in winter is not going to happen but we all came here with different personal motivating factors. As a team, and that includes the many people in the UK and elsewhere that have helped to make this expedition happen, it was always about…

Thank you to everyone who sent us their questions for the Ice Team last weekend. We now have the answers for you; but rather than give them all in one long burst, we’re going to roll them out five at a time for the next few days. So if you’re question doesn’t appear below, it will soon.   Q: What are the plans to get the Cat’s thawed out and re-started?  Any expected issues? (by…

It’s amazing the difference feeling the sun on your face can have!  A stunning day down here today. Here’s to many more! By Ian Prickett…

With the return of the sun the flags have been raised… Photo by Ian Prickett…

The sun is back today after several days of high winds and cloud cover. Unbelievably it is now above the horizon for 5 hours but the drifting snow which is obscuring the horizon means that we will only have seen it today for about 3 hrs. There is still no warmth from the sun as it’s at a very low angle but above us we can see a pale blue sky and it’s very pleasant to have sunlight streaming…

Since we saw the sun for the first time earlier this week the weather has kept it hidden from view until today. So, this picture taken yesterday was just our second view of the sun. Cloud and a lot of drifting snow meant that we didn’t see it until its was at its highest point in the sky and it was a very brief encounter. Back to the twilight and darkness within a few hours. By Brian…