Dispatches Jan 7 2002 —> Dec 21 2001

Dispatches Jan 7 2002 —> Dec 21 2001

	Jan 7. A Spork
	S85 19 W81 12 T9.00PM (Chile) Alt 1350m TT 9.00 h D 22,1 km TD 609,2 km/39 days DSP 523 km (1100) sleds w 149 kg -15C/0kts Sun PM Ac 7/8 With half the food and fuel used up, the sleds are now down to 70/80 and it's a tremendous relief. We need them just a little closer to our body weights 55/70 and they will dance. We have spent 100 days beneath an ozone less sky, but also in the world's freshest air, drinking the earth's purest water. To minimize weight, our utensils are all made of Titanium. Two 3 liter pots with lids doubling as food plates. And the usual fork and spoon have merged into - a Spork!

	Jan 6. 100 days
	S85 07 W81 04 T9.00PM (Chile) Alt 1350m TT 9.00 h D 19.0 km TD 587,1 km/38 days DSP 545 km (1100) sleds w 151,5 kg -12C/0kts St 8/8 W/O Today was our 100th day on Antarctica. 62 last time, 38 now. 100 days! When we were in Tibet, some 20 years ago, we watched people doing pilgrimage to Lhasa. Often very old couples, they would crawl or rather slide in a special way (pic) over the high passes and through the valleys. Their feet must never touch further then their hands. This journey could take days or years depending on how far they lived from the Capital. They carried all they needed with them, in bundles on their backs. They relied on donations of food along the way and sought insight in the hunger, the pain and the hardship. They traveled in this manner in all weather. Some would cheat and take the bus. Other brought money for food. Most said they would do the journey one day but never did. The closer to Lhasa you came, the more of those pilgrims you would see, now pretty worn and their clothes in rags. We couldn't believe how they did it or why. As for us, there was whiteout today and snowfall. On this our day 100, we have entered 85 degrees South.

	Jan 5. Knocking on Gondwanas door
	S84 57 W80 52 T9.00PM (Chile) Alt 1350m TT 9.00 h D 20.0 km TD 568.1 km/37 days DSP 564 km (1100) sleds w 154 kg -17C/12kts N Cs 7/8 halo, pm As 8/8 W/O We have now skied more distance than we have left and are over half way. The night was very windy but the morning calmed and provided this halo and a quick peek of the Thiels mountains before it all clouded up back again. We have a strange Northerly wind and whiteout. The Thiels have a valley named "Green Valley". Whoever came up with that name had great imagination. But with these mountains, parts of the TransAntarctic, we now enter Greater Antarctica.

	Jan 4. The Glory of Antarctica
	S84 46 W80 32 T10.00PM (Chile) Alt 1350m TT 9.00 h D 20.1 km TD 548.1 km/36 days DSP 584 km (1100) sleds w 156 kg AM -10C/0 kts Ac 8/8 PM -17/24 kts Cs Sun 3 halos sundogs Well, look at those pics. We started out in whiteout when suddenly a hole in the sky opened right above us. There's not one, not two, but THREE halos. Two flat on the sky and one horizontal cutting through the largest - this having the sun on its edge. Where the horizontal halo cut this ring, rainbow colored stars appeared. In the middle of the sky, the third halo, it too rainbow colored. Minutes later diamond dust filled the air and everything twinkled, shimmered and sparkled as we have never seen before. We yelled and cheered, threw our ski poles in the air and ran for the cameras. This day will stay with us forever.

	Jan 3. All weather day
	S84 36 W80 29 T10.00PM (Chile) Alt 1350m TT 9.00 h D 19,4 km TD 528,0 km/35 days DSP 604 km (1100) sleds w 158,5 kg -17C/30 kts PM W/O Gone A steady wind of 25 knots whipped our faces, at times lashing out in 40 knots gusts. The entire register of Antarcticas cloud charged over the sky, on all levels. There the paintbrushed Cirrus, some veil of Stratus, patches of Cumulus. Then silence and a dark, grey blanket came in from east and just sat on top of us. Probably our old foe Nimbus. Gone was the horizon, then the contrast and then snowfall. Despite the hazardous effect this has on our workload, we had to admire those Antarctic snowflakes. They are the most perfect, six edged stars.

	Jan 2. Whats up? Not much.
	S84 25 W80 25 T9.00PM (Chile) Alt 1250m TT 9.00 h D 21,7 km TD 508,6 km/34 days DSP 623 km (1100) sleds w 161 kg -18C/16kts Ci 3/8 A cold head wind all day and a rolling landscape. We navigate slightly to the West to avoid an area of disturbed ice later in this latitude. We have now traveled more than a month in freezing winds, constant cold and towing 100 kgs behind. Day after day, hour after hour. We don't know anymore what its like not to be cold and it feels like this will never end this is our life forever. The tech too is adapting to ice like it knew nothing else. Like the head-mounted display, imagine such a brittle piece of gadget it shock us each time it starts up but it does for the second season here. Do we think of the South Pole? Nope. The North Pole? Not on your life! We think of today only. How long for next break, what's for dinner, is that an uphill ahead, what are those clouds in the East? We daydream of food (Tina cooks entire feasts, today she even cooked finger-food on her in-laws boat); Tom takes Tina dingy sailing or figure skating. We think of the simple things, a favorite diner or cafe, joy rides in cars, friends and family visiting in cozy weekend houses. Lets face facts: not even Inuits or Eskimos do trips like this. It's rough and makes us realize how important basic human needs are to us.

	Jan 1. Anybody out there?
	S84 13 W80 13 T9.00PM (Chile) Alt 1250m TT 8,5h D 20,5 km TD 486,9 km/33 days DSP 645 km (1100) sleds w 163 kg -14C/0kts Ci 3/8 There is a movie based on a true story called The Dish. It's about a satellite operation in Australia that unexpectedly gets assigned by NASA to be in charge of communication between the Apollo moonlander and earth. The team takes on the mission but things start to go wrong. At one point the clerk has to hide in the basement, with a walkie talkie pretending to be Armstrong as a senator visits and communication is totally dead. These things happen. One NASA rocket blew due to the metric system being overlooked. Yesterday it was our turn. New Years Eve and all our tech came down on us. One gear after the other just failed, including software at the end. At 4 in the morning their time, we summoned our team and finally, finally we could transmit our New Years dispatch. Didn't get much sleep of course, but we had a mission and heck two pieces of salami and 30 minutes sleep in. Happy New Year!

	Dec 31. A New Year, A New Latitude
	S84.02 W80.10 TD 19.2 km T 10.00 pm TD 466,4 DSP 665 km (1100) -17C/6 kts Sun Ci 3/8 This is our second shift of a year on Antarctica. We were here year 2000, 2001 and now we greet 2002. Today, we also enter 84 degrees South. It has been tough times. Blizzards, pain, hardship. Anguish and doubt. But also a power of will, the harsh beauty of adventure and a strength of faith. The new latitude that now lay ahead holds an icefall, an active volcano and the TransAntarctica mountain range, dividing lesser and greater Antarctica. With the new year, we will now enter the old, true Antarctica - the core of Gondwana land - where the ice is at its deepest and history

	Dec 30. Polar dreams
	S83 52 W80 10 T9.00PM (Chile) Alt 1250m TT 9,0h D 21,0 km TD 447,2 km/31 days DSP 684 km (1100) sleds w 168 kg -12C/10kts Ac Cc 8/8 A thick blanket of Altocumulus greeted us in the morning, but then the Katabatic winds came rushing to our aid from the South Pole, weakening the clouds. We got enough contrast to navigate on sastrugis. The surface is now back to normal and we rush to put distance behind us before a possible new blizzard. This latitude is where Miles, our blind friend from last year, was pulled out of his expedition. It was sad, for Miles is a special person and in addition made the same speed of seeing air-supported expeditions. But Miles developed black spots on his fingers - beginning frostbite. That is unusual on this distance from the Pole. A possible reason could have been too-high ski poles. It is important for the blood circulation of the hands that ski poles are held below heart level. In addition, the handles are isolated from the cold by foam and tape.

	Dec 29. A better day
	S83 41 W80 06 T9.00PM (Chile) Alt 1200m TT 9,0h D 19,5 km TD 426,2 km/30 days DSP 705 km (1100) sleds w 170 kg -10C/12kts Sun Ac 3/8 At last the snow is settling and we can recover speed and strength. It's far from perfect but it's doable. There is however a new bank of clouds coming in from the NorthEast which is a bit unsettling. Coming from the ocean, they could carry more precipitation with them. Finished the book "Living a life that matters" written by a Rabbi. It was great to be able to listen to audio again and the book was wonderful.

	Dec 28. Cold and heat
	S83 30 W80 02 T9.00PM (Chile) Alt 1200m TT 9,0h D 17 km TD 406,7 km/29 days DSP 725 km (1100) sleds w 172,5 kg -18C/20kts Sun Ci 1/8 Surface snow is freezing over by around 5cm a day. We still pull through 10 cm crust but at least things are improving. Today was a cold day with 20-25 knots headwind. It was good to light up the burners at camp. We use MSR stoves and Coleman white gas. The fuel is liquid but transform into gas by heat. We thus preheat the burner by igniting some of the liquid fuel in the stove. The flame heats the nozzle and when we turn it on again releasing more fuel it comes out as a powerful gas flame. It's all pretty noisy and hazardous. Tents are known to have burned down in the procedure. We use aluminum shields to preserve heat and work fast using lids and various tricks to keep our fuel consumption down to 350-400 ml a day. We only cook once a day, filling hot water on thermos bottles for breakfast coffee and hot cereal.

	Dec 27. Voicefile from Antarctica
	After a hard day out on Antarctica there is still a lot to do. Cooking is one thing, Tom gives us a hint of what it's like. Click here to listen (audio not archived)

	Dec 27. All work
	S83 21 W80 02 T8.00PM (Chile) Alt 1200m TT 8,0h D 14,2 km TD 389,7 km/28 days DSP 742 km (1100) sleds w 175 kg -17C/8kts Sun Ci 1/8 Hard work and no pay. The surface is still very difficult. It feels like being strapped to a small car heading the opposite direction and being asked to move quickly. We think that no way can we do this for ten minutes much less 8 hours. But then somehow we tow and we drag ourselves forward only to discover at the end of he day two thirds of our usual distance completed. Well, sometimes life is not fair and effort doesn't pay. But we just continue to do our share of the deal and hope to move fate. Even our gear feels the heat. The straps on the ski poles are torn from the heavy leaning onto them and we check boots, bindings and skis continuously.

	Dec 26. Antarctic Monsoon
	S83 13 W80 02 T10.00PM (Chile) Alt 1200m TT 8,0h D 13,4 km TD 375,5 km/27 days DSP 756 km (1100) sleds w 177 kg -15C/10kts AM Ac 7/8 PM Sun The past weeks' snowfalls topped with yesterday's blizzard gave us a nasty surprise today. Snow, 15-20 cm on the ground, up to 40 cm in wide patches every 15 meters. This is just the reason why unsupported (no airdrops of food and fuel) expeditions schedule the trip for end October and not later although that period is warmer. For this is the Antarctica "monsoon" equivalent with simply too much snow fall for a heavy sled. We didn't ski, rather plowed our way, taking turns every 30 minutes to break trail, plowing a small tunnel for the one behind. The sleds felt like 150 kg, sitting with the entire bottom in the snow. We stood 8 hours and were pretty exhausted in he end. This is however an area that has snow accumulation traditionally and the snow should settle with the colder temperatures following the approaching high-pressure ridge.

	Dec 25. Yes we have a mission
	This picture was transmitted through a wireless local network today, using Bluetooth technology. Tina held a wearable computer with a flat panel display inside the tent. Tom used wearable computer no 2 and a head-mounted display with a finger mouse outside the tent. The picture was captured with a digital camera and transferred from Tom's computer to Tina's over Bluetooth no wires required. This is the first Bluetooth transmission in Antarctica. Transmission weather is cloudy, snow/winddrift, 30-40 knots and -15C.

	Dec 25. Merry Christmas
	This is our second Christmas in Antarctica. Last year there was diamond dust and a perfect halo. This year we have a perfect storm. Storm, because it blows 30 knots, snow drift buries the tent and clouds adds a gloomy touch to it all. Perfect, because it is on our rest day. We decorated the tent and reply mails and messages. Friends (and you know who you are) thanks for all your messages. We get every one of them. Please know that even if we cannot answer (time and power limits), your words are mostly encouraging to us and we will get back to you after this expedition. Anyway, here´s a little song we sang for you guys. Merry Christmas to you all (file not archived).

	Dec 24. Christmas Eve 83 Degrees South
	S83 06 W80 00 T9.00PM (Chile) Alt 1200m TT 8,5h D 17,5 km TD 362,1 km/25 days DSP 770 km (1100) sleds w 182 kg -10C/6kts W/O SF Today turkeys are stuffed in US, hams are glazed in Sweden and the Carp is pan-fried in the Czech republic. And another piece of beef jerky chewed in an ice cave for tent at Antarctica. Well, our treat will be tomorrow rest day and Christmas day. Whiteout and really deep snow today, up to a feet at places. But we dressed and headed out and stood our time. Only quitting is losing and we'll see this one out.

	Dec 23. Difficult navigation
	S82 57 W80 04 T9.00PM (Chile) Alt 1200m TT 8,5h D 17,0 km TD 344,6 km/24 days DSP 787 km (1100) sleds w 184,5 kg -15C/6kts W/O SF Whiteout again today and we floated in white blackout for another eight hours. It robbed us of a couple of kilometers of distance. Navigating on compass only is difficult. The compass needle jumps with the movement of skiing and it is almost impossible to walk a straight line. Heavy snowfall again, but this can't last forever. We cook and work our home office in camp right now the poor technology is taking a beating just like us. The display is wet, there is wool hair in every port but it just keeps going and going and so are we.

	Dec 22. A hard day
	S82 48 W80 02 T9.00PM (Chile) Alt 1200m TT 8,5h D 19.5 km TD 327.6 km/23days DSP 804 km, sleds w 187 kg -15C/16kts AM/Sc/8/8 sf PM/As/Cs 8/8 WO halo Another hard day. A bank of clouds rolled in just as we broke camp and we had whiteout, snowfall, cold wind and coarse, soft snow for travel surface. It was foggy and damp and the sleds made loud squeaking sounds as we slowly pushed them behind us. Our feet ache violently with every hard stomp on the heels. It's slow, painful and challenging. At days like this, we really must fight for it.

	Dec 21. Mars Antarctica
	S82 37 W80 01 T9.00PM (Chile) Alt 1200m TT 8,5h D 20,2 km TD 308,1 km/22days DSP 824 km, sled w 189 kg -13C/26kts AM/Ci/1/8 Sun Worked our way uphill in near gale force wind most of the day. By PM the wind had abated taking all clouds with it much to our joy. Listened to John Glenn's autobiography and NASA's Voyage to Mars during the day. Watched the sastrugi we passed, many resembling tracks of ancient birds. Our solar systems tallest mountain, Mount Olympus is on Mars. Not only is it three times higher than Everest, it is also the size of Arizona state. There are also polar areas, yes, a Mars Antarctica and a Mars Arctic. We wondered if the sastrugis are the same there, or much bigger. Or what the sun looks like there. Or if the snow shimmers in the same sparkles like here. And so this evening we found ourselves in a solitary polar camp, quietly discussing a journey to Space.