September 2013

It is in stark contrast that, while the expedition team busy themselves with their scientific studies in the remotest part of the world, Ranulph Fiennes, Joanna Lumley and I spent a few days last week in Dhaka,   Bangladesh. Dhaka is one of the world’s most densely populated cities. Whereas Brian, Ian, Richmond, Rob and Spencer have an area the size of Britain between them and their nearest…

Antarctica today is a cold, inhospitable desert; however, in the more distant past, the climate was much warmer. Abundant finds of fossil leaves and wood point to the existence of extensive forestation in earlier geological periods, even to within a few degrees of latitude of the South Pole itself. Dinosaurs, and later, marsupial mammals once roamed across its surface. Leaves and stems belonging…

  The Beast is Purring – by Spencer Smirl After almost 100 days of hibernating beneath a mountain of snow at temperatures as low as -55C, it is difficult to anticipate a trouble-free start-up of any machine, regardless of how much time, money and effort has been devoted to preparing the equipment for operating in such an extreme environment. On Saturday we began the epic dig.

Current position: S72 51′ 13.5″     E023 33′ 50.2″ Altitude: 2,752m Distance travelled today: zero Temperature: -44C Wind: 34 knots Today’s action: First Cat started after further snow clearance and 5hr preheat. Hoping to move this Cat tonight and it will be left running overnight. Second Cat snow clearance started.   Met observations + GPS trial continues. Final day of four-day food intak…

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thecoldestjourney/ &nbs…

Richmond clearing the engine compartment By Ian Prickett. We woke this morning to moderate winds of around 20 knots (23mph) with low blowing snow dusting the camp. Brian came back in from his morning MET observations to say the weather had cleared sufficiently and the temperature was up in the mid -30Cs, so we were all set for the start of the ‘Big Dig’. Brian, Rob and Spencer digging t…

The entire Coldest Journey team are extremely pleased to announce that our Seeing is Believing fundraising has now passed $1 million. Just a few weeks ago, Ranulph Fiennes, Joanna Lumley and Anton Bowring visited Bangladesh to witness some of the work that Seeing is Believing is doing. Whilst they were there the Ice Team were very fortunate to have had a phone conversation with them. The messag…

As the spring equinox, on 21st September, approaches and the end of winter is in sight, the five ice team members are continuing their scientific studies and liaison with schools while waiting for the opportunity to return north to the Antarctic coast and the completion of the expedition Although temperatures have been creeping up into the mid -30Cs, relentless winds with gusts of over 50 knots…

1.  What was your favourite subject at school? My favourite subject at school was always Physical Education.  I will be the first to admit that I wasn’t the most academic of pupils during my school years and I much preferred running around a field or using my hands to build something.  When it came to sitting down and learning algebra I was the first one to make an excuse to try and get out…

One of the first recorded canine visitors to the Antarctic was a dog called Sydney, named after the port where he was found by Lt. Charles Wilkes of the United States Exploring Expedition in 1839. It used to be common practice to bring dogs on expeditions to Antarctica but now they are banned from the continent. This ban was put in place because of concern that dogs might introduce diseases suc…