April 2013

At HQ we are waiting for latest status report from the ice. Temperature at 7am (BST) was -30C with 35 knot gusts and heavy drifting snow. While we wait for a progress report, here is a video “our man with the cam” Ian Prickett produced a couple of days ago when the terrible weather abated for a short while.

It’s been a day full of frustrations. Overnight the wind eased from a roaring 50+ knots to a more sensible and manageable 35kts and although it was far from pleasant, we were able to recover somewhat from the battering we have taken over the last few days. Things were brought back to order, doorways cleared and life brought back to a more comfortable level. By mid morning the wind had dropped…

The weather at overnight camp has deteriorated, rather than improved. The temperature is hovering around minus 30C, but the average wind speed has crept up to 45 knots with gusts of 56 knots; visibility is about 3m and there is heavy drifting snow, so there has been no chance for travel today unfortunately. It has, however, given the team the chance to catch up on other tasks and duties. On…

Strong winds and heavy drift this morning made any movement look unlikely but conditions improved sufficiently by late morning that Brian decided it was worth starting the Cats. It took three hrs to preheat, start and then warm the vehicles before they could start moving, but the gamble paid off. The team moved the storage container and a fuel scoot up to the depot before darkness called a halt…

The entire Coldest Journey team would like to say a huge thank you to the very generous anonymous donor who recently gave £2,000 to expedition charity, Seeing is Believing, Combined with match-funding from Standard Chartered and gift aid, this amounts to £4,500 for the charity – that’s enough to carry out more than 300 cataract operations on children and adults across the developing world.

Twice a day the team have to take weather observations for the science programme, the Met, the app and so on. WHATEVER the conditions, out they must go. In this video by Ian we see Brian taking tonight’s wind recording (35 knots, 44 knot gusts). The sound is pretty poor but that’s because they didn’t take the mics. Still, you get the idea. &nbs…

Now this is what you call a needle!! All in the name of science. In five hours’s time, Ian can have his first cuppa! Shame.

We now have 9,500+ likes on our Facebook page. This is a great following and we would like to thank everyone who follows us on Facebook, Twitter and this website for your on-going enthusiasm and support, which is invaluable. On days like today when the team is stuck in a ferocious blizzard it must be easy for them to see themselves as a tiny dot on a huge, barren and deadly landscape. For them to…

It is -30C, snowing heavily and the winds are gusting up to 48 knots. Visibility is about 5m and there is zero contrast. The Ice Team have no choice but to sit out this…

Last week we gave you the chance to ask the two drivers, Richmond and Spencer, questions about the Cats and driving in Antarctica. Now you can put your questions to Ice Team Leader, Brian Newham. Brian has spent over 20 seasons working in Antarctica and is one of the most experienced polar professionals around. If there’s anything you have wanted to know about The Coldest Journey, Brian is your…