05 Jan Sled Is Ice Bound Overnight – Day 45 Of SPEC

We skied 10nm today in very sticky conditions.

When the snow is sticky due to the lower temperatures it makes skiing more difficult as it feel as though your skis are picking up all the snow on the bottom of them. It is a great feeling to know that we are now less than 100nm from the Geographic South Pole and also very exciting is that we are roughly 5 days from meeting the Last Degree Team. We will connect with them closer to the end of this week and then ski the remaining miles together to the Geographic South Pole. It will be odd to have additional people in the Team but so good to hear a few other voices, get news from home and hear some new jokes!!

Temp today was -30°C with the wind-chill factor. We are at 88.24S and the pulks are heavy after resupply but we now have enough supplies to get to all the way to the Pole. Health is good but we have all lost weight and are a little tired. Strange to think of where we are on the globe.

Thinking now about what I will do when I get home, what will I eat and how will I feel when I return to Chile. It has been 50 days now on the ice with just this small army of friends. And although everything is white  and flat it is amazing how many shade of white there actually are in the world. I have learned a lot about weather, clouds, good and bad weather signs and I think how little I contemplate weather at home. There is always a safe haven…under a tree, inside a building. But here we are vulnerable, at the mercy of Mother Nature and she rules supreme. Drop a glove, forget your sunglasses, don’t stay hydrated and she will be brutal. My senses are much more astute in this quiet, lonely wilderness. How can that be?

Already I have a love/hate relationship with Antarctica…but the utmost respect…

Barney