Status Update

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…

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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…

Mary Mouse has been keeping a low profile these recent months on the ice, but now the sun is up she’s out and about making herself busy around camp. Watch this video by Ian Prickett of Mary’s best friend Richmond Dykes showing us what the little mouse has been up to (and find out what a manmade underground Antarctic snow cave really looks like!).

by Brian Newham. Today, for the first time in many months, we felt some warmth from the sun. Standing in the caboose doorway, sheltered from the relentless wind, there was a very definite warmth on the face. An extremely pleasant feeling. It’s amazing to think that less than a month ago the sun rose for the first time and yet now we already have 8hrs 41mins of sun-up. The transition is rapid and…

An online auction has gone live offering some extraordinary lots ranging from equipment used on The Coldest Journey right through to Sir Ranulph Fiennes’s Rolex watch and a lunch for four hosted by Sir Ranulph and Joanna Lumley at La Petite Maison. There are also plenty of other lots without an immediate connection to the expedition, but are sure to be extremely appealing to people across t…

by Brian Newham. Regular followers may remember the blog many months ago about our food. We started our journey with enough food for a year. It is organised in bags and each bag contains what we need for a day. There are a few exceptions to that as there are some items which cannot freeze and they are stored in the caboose whilst the bags are stored outside in aluminium Zarges boxes. Each box…