From the Ice

After a day of dozing snow away from the cabooses and hand-digging snow from under the Science Caboose,  both cabooses are now almost ready to move. At long, long last and all being well with the weather, the Ice Team will be ready to starting moving the fuel scoots north tomorrow!

Current position: S72 51′ 13.5″     E023 33′ 50.2″ Altitude: 2752m Temperature: -43C Wind speed: 26 knots Today’s actions:  Second Cat dug out, again, and engine compartments cleared, pre-heated and started. Currently warming and will be moved tonight. Both Cats will be left running round the clock with two-hourly checks throughout night. Manual snow clearance under Science Caboose, plus…

All work and no play. Watch this video from Antarctica showing the team trying to get the Cats dug out and started.

Further snow clearance around camp and fuel scoots using the Cat that is being kept running around the clock. High winds and heavy drifting snow has so far prevented further work to get the second Cat started.

  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…

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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…

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…