From the Ice

In slowly deteriorating conditions we travelled the final few km to the Princess Elisabeth Research Station. I think we were all immersed in our own thoughts, reflecting on the fact that this is the end of our travels. Arriving at the station was a strange experience. It’s clearly manmade and it marks our return to a world of human endeavour but it’s deserted. Nobody spends the winter her…

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by Brian Newham Just to the west of last night’s camp was an enticing ridgeline with fairly easy access so there was a morning raid which gave spectacular views of glaciers, peaks and nunataks. It was well worth the effort. Then it was back to business and we were soon on the move. Our target for the day was a shallow col 8km to the north to which we had done a reconnaissance yesterday wit…

After an early start we have moved all of our loads safely through the area known as “The Valley of the Three Holes” – although it is now known as “The Valley of the FOUR Holes”. The loads were all winched through and it’s nice to have this terrain behind us. We are now camped 3km north amongst some great scenery and at the entrance to a small valley to the west of us. Our plan tomorrow is to do…

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What was your favourite subject at school? Without a doubt it was physical education. All I wanted to do was participate and I’ve never been that interested in being a sports spectator. As a youngster I was highly competitive, but I have moved away from that and it’s now more about testing myself and enjoying whatever it is I’m doing. Besides sport, I was keen on the practical subjects lik…

Well, what can I say, we’ve had a rare day off after a busy time winching our way across the numerous crevasses.  So, you might ask what do you do in your time off in Antarctica? Well, Mary and I have fallen off the pancake wagon in a big way, so we mixed up a mega batch of pancakes for dinner tonight . I have raided the food boxes for copious packets of pancake mix and hoofed them into two…

Don’t miss the final instalment of the Joanna Lumley Interviews, right here on Facebook tomorrow night at 7pm… Next up in the chair is Ice Team Leader, Brian Newham. I have read his answers. It’s going to be a good…

On their way south, this treacherous stretch of ice caused serious problems to the Ice Team and was the beginning of the end. In this video by Ian Prickett we see them returning over the same spot in near perfect conditions.

Current position: S72 13′ 30.5″, E023 25′ 00.2″ Altitude: 2070m Today’s action: Met obs. Snow sampling. Eight fuel scoots in two loads of four were taken down the descent into the valley which splits the mountains. The lower part of this route requires a braking Cat at the rear of each load. No problem with the route and it is good to get the tracks laid whilst the weather is so good.