An Update from HQ

There are 27 comments

Posted by whatsinaname on June 10, 2013 @ 4:11 pm

Oh oh oh, lessons learned 100 years ago, use proper equipment, don’t undertake the journey unless you thoroughly understand the challenges you will have to overcome. Let’s take a punt, within a week the update will say, journey cancelled, most equipment abandoned , crew has returned to the coast….

Posted by Newfie on June 10, 2013 @ 7:48 pm
Isn’t the point of expeditionary endeavour to face up to and try and overcome the challenges the unknown has to offer ( ie the seemingly extensive crevasse fields), as well as those identified and understood beforehand? I find it hard to accept the suggestion that the guys on the ice will willingly abandon any equipment in Antarctica. The Antarctic, unlike Everest is currently in near pristine condition and I have no doubt it is the expedition’s intention to leave it like that.
From what I have read on the blog, those on the ice are facing appalling surface conditions and doing their level best to overcome them in almost permanent darkness and unimaginable cold.They deserve our support and admiration, not carping from a comfortable living room as we shelter from the rigours of our awful British summer.
If these brave men decide to abandon the expedition’s goal of crossing the Antarctic in winter it will be for good reasons and we should respect their decision which will not have been taken lightly. It should also be remembered that there are other strands to the endeavour eg the charity, Seeing is Believing, scientific and medical research, and education.

Posted by Ice Solo on June 12, 2013 @ 4:32 pm
Very disappointing news, if this is what it sounds
like. You have GPR to help with crevassing, and as much time as you need.
Presumably if fuel is an issue you could be resupplied later on. To turn around
now is the mark of a team that simply doesn’t have the commitment required for a
big boy’s expedition. If this was a charity jaunt up Kili with inexperienced
clients I would understand a conservative approach. But it’s a groundbreaking
expedition, the ‘Last Great Polar Challenge’, and it’s taken 5 years and
millions of pounds of planning! You have to be prepared to push the boundaries
for an expedition like that. It’s a great pity if the iceteam’s ambition and
commitment don’t match that of all the people who helped to put this expedition together.
I hope I’m wrong and you find the resolve to continue.

Posted by anvilman on June 10, 2013 @ 4:58 pm

where is Amundsen when you need him?

Posted by Kcool on June 11, 2013 @ 11:12 am
Quite. At least he had some cojones. Newfie above is right at least in one sense: the point of expeditionary endeavour is indeed to face up to the challenge, not to turn around because ‘it’s too hard’. Especially when those difficulties – i.e. crevasses – were eminently predictable! What on earth are you doing there if you’re not prepared to at least attempt to find a way through? A gutless shambles. Wrong equipment to a certain extent, yes, but more importantly, the wrong men for the job.

Posted by Boris on June 13, 2013 @ 6:04 pm
Amundsen kept the actual destination in secret – he told everybody that he was going North.
After Amundsen’s first attempt to get to the South Pole failed, he returned to shore to wait for better weather before trying again.
“Besides their durability as pack animals, dogs could be fed to other dogs and could provide fresh meat for the men in the polar party. […] Of the 52 dogs that had started in October, 11 had survived.”
Amundsen was a great explorer, but I hope the Ice team does things differently.

Posted by star on June 10, 2013 @ 7:26 pm

It sounds like, another option being considered, is to abandon the distance goal, concentrate on science, with perhaps short moves. Followed by extraction in the spring.

Posted by Suzannah Frobisher on June 10, 2013 @ 9:14 pm

So we can now infer that no-one is ill thank goodness, they have food & fuel, and the Cats & ground radar are working. Two things I don’t understand. There is no evidence that the crevasse field “may extend for up to 100kms to the south”? The area is uncharted and the team have only Google Earth, so the crevasses may reduce or end in 1km. Also is it more hazardous to skirt round or cross crevasses when travelling south towards the Pole than when travelling back north to the coast? Dealing with crevasses must be exhausting and tedious to say the least but the team have the equipment and the experience now, so what is missing?

Posted by BF on June 11, 2013 @ 6:48 am

@Suzannah Frobisher, you ask what’s missing? Time is missing.
They started 80 days ago, they made 150 km. 100 day left, 3600 km to go. And the way back to the coast will be more difficult now, because of the polar night an even colder weather than they had. You cannot leave the equipment behind and come back in a few months to pick it up, It will be covered by tons snow and ice, and inoperable. An normally, you cannot fly in these conditions. Either they go back the way they came right now, or they will stay where they are for the polar winter. And after that … good question. In the end, all the rubbish will be left behind, including tons of fuel. Poor planning, poor performance, waste of money, ecological desaster.

Posted by Year 5 St. Mary's on June 11, 2013 @ 10:45 am

Here in Year 5 at St. Mary’s Primary School, Newton Aycliffe we have been following your expedition from the early planning stages and we know that you are committed to the expedition, however we want you to be safe. If it is not possible to continue with your journey but you are able to stay in a safe place (if there is one) then continue with your scientific experiements. Even if you stay in one place for months until it is safe to leave, a blog on living through an Antarctic winter would be ground breaking in itself. Would that break a World Record?
We have enjoyed our Antartcic topic and we will continue to follow your progress until all of you and Mary Mouse return to the Uk.
Stay warm and safe.

Posted by theothersevernbore on June 11, 2013 @ 4:57 pm

If this was Hollywood we’d probably get a couple of videos now of the guys knocking up a go-anywhere unbeatable Cat, struggling through the blizzards, leaping over crevasses, struggling on with gritted teeth, frozen beards and rugged film-star good looks while sharing some manly words of encouragement, and successfully completing the journey.

But it’s not make-believe and the important thing is the safety of the guys down there in the cold. They’ve already faced and overcome a lot of difficulties. It was always going to be impossible to predict every eventuality. I’m disappointed so many people are ready to pour scorn on the whole expedition at a time when some encouragement would be more helpful.

Stay safe, figure out what you’re going to do, and let us know. A lot of people are still interested and rooting for you. You deserve our admiration.

Posted by Jo on June 11, 2013 @ 8:11 pm

I have followed the team since the expedition was announced and I have the utmost respect and confidence in their abilities and the decisions they make. They are there, we’re not so it is not our place to speculate or debate their actions. We should all get behind them and support the team throughout. Lets have a lot more positive thinking and appreciation for the position they are in, no-one can predict what will happen in any endeavour. Remember, if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all. As for the team, as always, stay safe, take care and our thoughts are with you.

Posted by June on June 12, 2013 @ 12:34 pm

Curious. Look at Distance Covered on ex-satellite page and you’ll find they covered 163km in a day. What good news that would be. Harsh reality can be tough. They’re going to need their British grit to see through the winter. What plans to alleviate their dreadful situation? Brave lads deserve an effective contingency plan in place. Don’t they?

Posted by David on June 12, 2013 @ 6:03 pm

Reading some of these comments, I’m not sure how many of you have ever experienced true cold: Unless you know what it’s like to work, concentrate and think clearly in conditions that are so hostile that simply breathing the air will burn your lungs, you have no right to judge the efforts of these men. Whatever the outcome is, they are stranded on that continent in darkness for the duration of the winter. No Supplies can be brought in, they are on their own, and they knew that was the case going in. They have my utmost respect whatever the outcome. This expedition is as close to a manned Mars mission as it gets.

Posted by Boris on June 12, 2013 @ 6:50 pm

Sometimes mother Nature trumps all cards. I’ve tried -50C at 1000m altitude, didn’t care for it one bit. You become a barely-functioning automaton, the simplest tasks take forever. Trying to use and repair complex machinery in these conditions? Forget it!
The ice team has my utmost respect for coming this far, and for doing it safely. Don’t let overexhaustion cloud your judgement.

Posted by Mark on June 12, 2013 @ 6:58 pm

I am sure the trip has been very hard,and I do hope everybody is safe and in good health, but what a waste of time , and money, and if you want to do experiments in the cold, do them in a freezer in a warehouse.

Posted by Boris on June 13, 2013 @ 5:42 pm
The ice team is learning how to safely move cargo and people under the conditions where it has never been *attempted*. Let it sink in: Nobody – ever – tried this. They are *writing the book* on it. If that kind of knowledge isn’t worth the time and money, what is?
Oh, and check out the rest of the site – they spent a lot of time in the freezer and in a bunch of other tough places. Apparently, there are still a thing or two to be learned by actual *doing*.

Posted by annieee on June 12, 2013 @ 7:01 pm

CHINS up…Its almost Mid-summer up north…thats kool for us…cos it means winter is coming!!
(actually it s only just finished here!! with snow still falling at 1000m in Late May!!)
For you guys its even better…winter is over…you will have more daylight…HANG IN….
agssagigpoq!!

Posted by Patrick on June 12, 2013 @ 9:49 pm

I think “ice solo” is completely wrong. It is not matter of chickening out, if they if do not continue trying to cross the entie Antarctic continent, but of remaining within sane limits if that is their eventual decision.

Posted by Kendall on June 13, 2013 @ 1:20 am

Aren’t you now travelling in a completely uncharted area? Trust the knowledge, instinct and advice that has brought you safely this far. Ignore the armchair quarterback comments that might sting, you’ve prepared for years with those who know the area the best. Do what you need to do to survive and share your knowledge and experience with others.

Posted by Conroy Fourie on June 13, 2013 @ 5:05 pm

“Never criticize a man until you’ve walked a mile in his moccasins.” (American Indian Proverb). We are not “in situ” – let the TCJ Team run their project and make the calls. Let us celebrate the journey wherever it goes and however it eventually ends. The Coldest Journey is a magnificent endeavour. We should trust and support the team through good days and bad days.
I suppose a culture of instant gratification may want us to see the TCJ Team achieve the roughly 35km progress per active day initial target. We want them to “win” in these terms like we want our cricket teams and rugby teams to win. There’s a winner and a loser. I don’t think real life works that way.
A seasoned and celebrated Team and Change Facilitator, William Bridges, noted this about success: “It is salutary to note that the word ‘success’ originally had nothing to do with ‘good’ results…It simply meant whatever follows after something.” Elsewhere Bridges noted: “To do one’s best and then to let outcomes be what they will be is both to acknowledge realistically how often outcomes are beyond our control and to guard against the neurotic attempts at controlling how things turn out – efforts that lead to everything from defensiveness to dishonesty.” I could not have expressed these thoughts about our meaning of “success” and possibly what it could be better than Bridges.
Let’s salute the TCJ Team and encourage them all the way – whatever all the way is as they judge it to be. They are the Team that is actually directly involved in the expedition.

Posted by Fred Cook on June 13, 2013 @ 6:34 pm

For a £27,000,000 expedition, it has been a difficult struggle so far. I very much hope something positive follows shortly.

Posted by TrueAdventurer on June 13, 2013 @ 8:57 pm

I found this qoute on another blog discussing the TCJ. “Just because something has never been done, does not necessarliy give it reason to be done. Nobody has crossed North America on there knees, does that fact, give it reason enough to be done, the Last Great North American Challenge”. Crossing the Antarctic continent in the polar winter; does this progress the human race? Sure we can discuss the research and charity work; but lets remember what the intial reason for this expedition was; it was for Rannulph Fiennes to cross on skies. The whole point was for man to face the most adverse conditions while travelling under his own power. The Charity and Research goals was simply leverage to secure the finacial support of the sponsors; a sort of icing on the cake if you will. Lets face it, the expedition is now more or less a very expensive research project. So enough with all the negative comments, let the researchers lick the wounds of their egos in peace. After all the fan fair, and media attention it would be hard for any of us to return back to England empty handed. Lets support them in whatever decisions they make, wish them good luck and god speed.

Posted by Andy Lawrence on June 14, 2013 @ 6:45 am

This is not the place to have a public argument but some fair rubbish has been posted here by way of criticism. Four years of careful research and preparation placed this team in the best possible place to achieve their aims, that is in relation to both planning and equipment. The fact is that the ice conditions the team are experiencing could not have been predicted without actually crossing the ground that the team are on and in any case ice conditions in the Antarctic change over time. It’s taken them a great deal of time to get to this point through very poor ice conditions. There is no current option to return to the coast without repeating what they have done so far through ice conditions which will have changed and which are buried under layers of fresh snow.

Posted by BF on June 15, 2013 @ 11:08 am

Annex III to the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty – Waste Disposal and Waste Management:

http://www.ats.aq/documents/recatt/Att010_e.pdf

It would be interesting to learn which plans have been part of the application, and have been approved by the Polar Regions Unit of the UK Foreign Office in their permit, to remove equipment, waste and harmful substances as specified in Annex III in case of failure of the expedition. Maybe someone could upload Application and Permit for the interested public. Thank you.

Posted by Fred on June 16, 2013 @ 7:08 am

It is nonsense that this is the first time someone would cross the Antarctic.. It was done way back in 1958 by Vivian Fuchs and his team using ancient equipment. If they could do it, and survived the crevasses, why can’t this team do it with ultra modern, specially designed equipment and clothing? It is far safer to cross crevasse areas in the cold of winter, than in the relative “warmth” of summer, because the ice bridges are considerably stronger in winter. I understand the difficulty of overwintering, since I overwintered twice, but they even have heaters in the “hotel” they drag behind the Cats, with their own beds to sleep in, and a fitted kitchen! That is sheer “luxury” compared to other crossings. They even have GPS for navigation. I must admit that I am very disappointed at the poor effort, after all that money and time was spent.

Posted by Nic Parton on June 16, 2013 @ 2:57 pm
It was done in ’58, and in ’86 was done by Messner on foot. But those were summer expeditions, which, as you know, is a little different from what’s going on here. This team’s many tonnes of high-tech gear, necessary or not, may actually be what’s hampering their progress so much. Seems to me, from my armchair, that if you’re constantly having to do relay work, you’ve got too much gear. In all fairness, I’ll bet you had heaters when you overwintered, too.