Latest News
04.12.09
The Cache
The sun has taken his hat off today and replaced it with a large coat of clouds. Helen (UK) has today's PodCast:
Helen (UK)'s PodCast:
Link to Podcast
Helen's PodCast in writing:
"Hello this is Helen from the UK. Actually ringing from Antarctica at the moment. We've had another great day out crossing the snowy wastes of Antarctica. Some ups and down and the cloud cover has come over considerably tonight. In fact almost total cloud cover now which had been a real shock considering we've had so many days of blue sky and sunshine now. We're about 1 day away now from our navigation point and that's the point at which we start to turn and go due south towards the cache* that has been placed for us at a place called Field Corner.
The cache has been place by a company called ALE: Antarctica Logistics and Expeditions. They have been people who've been providing support right from the start with our expedition, planning and preparation, they deal with all of the logistics of actually flying us into Antarctica. We came in on an Illyushin-76 plane from Chile and then were flown on from the main base at Patriot Hills by Twin Otter and they set up this summer camp at Patriot Hills each year.
It's actually managed by a good friend of mine Steve Jones and they're just a real expert team of professionals. even able to lend a hand when our tents and almost all of its contents blew away the first few days after we'd arrived actually at Patriot itself. The camp is set up each year from mid-November to the end of January. It not only provides support for unguided expeditions such as ourselves but it also links in with guided trips through a company called ANI which they took over from in 2003. They also run a base camp at Mount Vinson.
without the logistial support and help there is no way that we could get into these interior parts of Antarctrica. The only other people you find in these parts are the government bases of which some are staffed all year round. But those are there purely for scientific research purposes not for supporting expeditions.
So a big mega thanks for your continued support ALE and all of your staff, especially those that we phone into each day with our communication checks so that they know we're all doing OK or if we have any other medical, updates or emergencies then they can be on hand to deal with them.
But we're looking forward to receiving our cache anyway, reaching there. That'll probably be about another 5 days yet but very exciting times ahead."
*What's this "cache" all about? Well, the team have arranged what is known in Polar expedition circles as a "resupply". That means they have one opportunity on the trip to have pick up and drop off equipment. They can pick up a fresh batch of rations, more fuel and any replacement kit they need. They can also then get rid of any waste that they've had to carry so far. Remember, they are not leaving any rubbish behind so it all adds up quickly. After that, they will be on their own again until the Pole. - Tim (UK Support)
Photo by Robert Hollingworth