Update From The Ice
Dear All, Below is the official line on the latest from Antarctica. This is what is being sent to the media around the world right now. We will be keeping our Facebook page, Twitter feed and website up to date with all of these latest announcements, as well as additional blogs, images and footage, making this the place to visit for all the latest for expedition news and Ran’s journey home.
Thank You for Your Support
Thank you to all of our well-wishers on this difficult day, your continued support means a tremendous amount to the entire team both in Antarctica and in the UK. Sir Ranulph’s departure from the ice will be the first of no doubt many trials the Ice Team will have to surmount in coming months if they are to succeed in this epic challenge. They are a strong and experienced group, and those of us…
“Terra Firma”
By Anton Bowring, Cape Town. Yesterday the expedition support team stepped ashore properly for the first time since we left Cape Town on 7th January. Although we got off the ship in Antarctica, the ice on which we stood was afloat. Even though we were surrounded by a landscape of undulating whiteness, we were no more on terra firma than the ship itself. Inevitably we are all feeling unsettled.
“Human Urge”
A rare blog from expedition co-leader, Sir Ranulph Fiennes: “Sometimes I am asked what attracts me to Antarctica, this expedition being the third time (hopefully) that I will have crossed it. The Norwegians have a word ‘polarhullar’ meaning ‘polar hunger’, suggesting the Poles and travel to or near them is addictive. For me, I call it normal human urge. The first time I crossed the Antarctic was…
“Hope”
By Anton Bowring, on board SA Agulhas. It’s ten pm and it’s hot. The air temperature is way up in the mid 20s. We have slowed to seven knots and we are about to alter course. Cape Point lighthouse is just seven miles ahead. Looking at the chart, I can tell you that it flashes blink, blink, pause, blink every thirty seconds. The light itself stands eighty-seven meters above sea level and in good…
We’re On Our Way – At Last!
Spencer Smirl’s latest blog. The first successful day of travel finally happened. Well, not completely successful, but just about. Yesterday was Thursday the 7th of February. It was our 18th day on the Antarctic continent. Long days spent unloading and assembling our massive amount of kit. The sun never stopped shining and the temperature didn’t spend much time below zero. The struggles of coping…
“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…
“Turbulence”
By Anton Bowring, on-board the SA Agulhas. The lavatory in my cabin exploded this evening. At the time I was minding my own business and, having minded it, I pulled the lever – not hard, mind you. Well, I was terrified, the thing erupted with a belching noise, half gurgle and half woosh! Great clumps of water leapt into the air and crashed on the floor increasing in size until I was pressed to…
Mountains Of The Mind
When in surroundings such as many of us involved with this expedition have experienced over the last few weeks, it’s easy to let one’s mind wander with abstract thoughts, promoted by the immensity of this landscape. Here’s some thoughts and visions that prompted me to producing a piece writing. Hopefully penned in the same vein as one of my favourite books about the North – Arctic Dreams by Barry…
“One journey ends and another starts”
By Geoff Long, on board SA Agulhas. We’ve been steaming steadily north at 11 knots for over a day now, the pack was kind to us and we’ve left behind the gentle rolling carpet of sea ice, escaping its grasp easily, reaching open water after only 30 miles. Now sailing through calm grey seas, the magical world of colourful ice, crevasses and penguins whilst still relatively near, seems so far away.
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