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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…

After a few well-earned rest days, the Ice Team got back on the move yesterday and are tonight at a new camp 5.6km along their destination north. The Ice Team are heading for the Princess Elizabeth Research Station, and are hoping to arrive there by the end of the month. The intention will then be to fly out at the end of November, heading for Cape Town, South Africa, and then on to England. If…

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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…

The excellent and stable weather continues and it has to be said that we are thoroughly enjoying it. Today we moved all the remaining loads down into the valley without drama. It’s nice to be through this section as there is both significant, and large, crevassing as well as an awkward sleep slope which has a nasty camber. The fuel scoots were brought down with a braking Cat at the rear but…

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.

We had another local foot excursion yesterday to a small area of ice seracs to the west of camp. A four hour outing which got us amongst some impressive scenery. Grins all round. If you look very closely you can just see camp right of centre – a small dark spot out on the plateau. Gives a great idea of the scale of this place. More pics on Flickr (as always!)…