The very active week in the Antarctic continues today with teams making slow, but steady, progress across the frozen continent. Everyone seems to be falling into a rhythm now and even the weather seems to have improved. But, as with all extreme environments, that can change quickly and no one seems to be getting too complacent with the current conditions.

As expected, Richard Parks relaunched his bid to set a new speed record for skiing from Hercules Inlet to the South Pole yesterday. He reports that he faced a strong headwind for most of the day, and of course he is skiing up hill at the moment. Still, Parks managed to cover 31.5 km (19 miles), which is a solid start for his speed attempt. He'll need to pick up the pace in the days ahead, but for now he seems content with his progress. Just 1118.5 km (696 miles) to go and the clock continues to tick.

Jumping over to the Beardmore Glacier, the Scott Expedition has been forced to abandon their skis for now and don crampons instead. They've hit a large expanse of blue ice, which is incredibly hard and smooth, leaving no traction for the skis. It has made pulling the sleds a lot easier, as they effortlessly glide across the ice at the moment. The team started at along the coast at 43 meters (141 ft) above sea level, but have now climbed up to 1014 meters (3326 ft) as they continue to make their way up to the Antarctic Plateau. They've now been out on the ice for 43 days and still have about 2092 km (1300 miles) to go on their round-trip journey to the South Pole and back to the coast.


Aussie Geoff Wilson was dismayed to discover the promised winds have not appeared as predicted. You may recall that he is kite skiing to the South Pole and had hoped to be making great progress on that journey, but unpredictable winds have stymied his attempts so far, leaving him no choice but to ski along like everyone else. The doldrums continued today with practically no wind to assist him, which is disheartening for Wilson, who may not reach his goal if the winds don't turn in his favor. Sadly, the forecast doesn't look great in that regard for the next few days either. Geoff also reports that he had a call on his sat phone from Faysal Hanneche, who was also attempting to kite to the Pole. It turns out Faysal has injured his knee in a fall during the high winds of a few days back and won't be able to continue his expedition. Details are scarce at the moment, but it seems he'll be evacuated from the ice as soon as possible.

The three teams racing in the 2013 South Pole Allied Challenge get a much needed break today. This is their first mandatory rest day in which all teams must take 24 hours off before resuming their race to the South Pole. This is day 5 of the expedition and they still have 10 or 11 days to go before they are done. They happen to be well ahead of all of the other skiers because they started their journey at the 87th degree, rather than along the coast. Still, they are making good time and progress has been steady, if exhausting, for the skiers so far.

South Pole cyclist Daniel Burton continues to struggle. Yesterday he was battered by katabatic winds that made it nearly impossible for him to make much progress. With that in mind, he set up camp early and tried to stay out of those winds as best he could. Later in the day, when they had died down, he resumed his ride, albeit at a painfully slow pace. Once he hits the plateau, things should improve somewhat, but until then it is an uphill battle.

Finally, 16-year old Lewis Clarke has been making steady progress on his attempt to become the youngest person to ever ski the full length to the Pole. He and his guide, Carl Alvey wont' be setting any speed records, but they are putting in the miles they need to complete the journey in a reasonable time. So far they've been covering 21 km (13 miles) per day as they struggle up to the plateau as well. They should pick up the pace nicely once they reach that point and again as they get closer to their destination. Good weather has been on their side so far though and we all know that won't last for long in Antarctica.

That's all from the frozen continent for today. I'll update again next week as the news merits it.

Now that the majority of the teams have hit the ice down in Antarctica, things are starting to get very busy indeed. Weather continues to be an issue of course, but most of explorers are now trying to find a groove and get into a rhythm that involves skiing (and in some cases biking!) on the frozen expanse of the coldest, highest and driest desert in the world.

One of the biggest stories of the day is Richard Parks restarting his attempt at the speed record for skiing from Hercules Inlet to the South Pole. You may recall that parks set out on that quest last week only to find that the high winds and copious amounts of soft powder were making it impossible for him to make good time. In just a few days he was already falling off the pace, so he elected to return to Hercules and wait for a better weather window to relaunch. That window is now open apparently, as he'll start his second attempt today. Parks arrived back at his starting point on Tuesday, then took a rest day yesterday, ahead of his restart this morning. He now has 23 days to try to reach the South Pole and the clock is ticking.

The other story that came out yesterday was the evacuation of Eric Phillips, who was a the polar guide for one of the teams taking part in the 2013 South Pole Allied Challenge. Phillips was apparently suffering from altitude sickness after the teams were flown to the 87th degree prior to the start of their race to the Pole. Apparently he had fluid in his lungs, so they made the wise choice to fly him back to camp for an assessment. If he responds well to treatment and shows signs of improvement, he may rejoin the team in a day or two.

Elsewhere, Daniel Burton celebrated his 50th birthday out on the ice yesterday. He is attempting to ride his bike to the South Pole and so far things aren't going particularly well. He spent 10.5 hours on the move but covered just 6.5 miles (10.4 km), well below what he had hoped for. He does say that the slope he has been climbing since leaving Hercules Inlet is starting to get less severe and the snow is getting harder, both of which bode well for his plans. Hopefully he'll be able to pick up speed soon, because at his current pace he's traveling about half the speed of the skiers. That means he'll have a very long trip to the Pole, if he can reach it at all. I give him high marks for determination however, as he has refused to put his bike on his sled and ski any distance, which is in contrast to another explorer who is attempting to bike to the South Pole as well.

Australian kite skier Geoff Wilson managed to catch the wind today and made good progress in the process. He says that by late afternoon he had knocked of about 40 km (24 miles) before the breezes dissipated once again. The forecasts call for better winds in the next few days, so he hopes to capitalize on them and cover more ground.

Chris and Marty Fagan seem to have developed a good rhythm and are already making great progress on their attempt to ski to the South Pole. The husband and wife team are already just 540 miles (870 km) from the Pole, which sounds like a lot but is actually a good number considering the number of days they've been skiing. They're knocking off a steady 11-12 miles (17-19 km) per day as they make solid progress toward their goal.

Finally, the Willis Resilience team has actually reached the South Pole, although not on foot. This expedition started with a driving tour of the Antarctic that allows them to conduct scientific research of the impact of climate change on the continent. They're also collecting ice core samples as they go, so that they can be examined by researchers back home after the expedition wraps up. After being out on the ice for about a week, the team has already driven 1790 km (1112 miles) as they cross Antarctica. In a few weeks however, Parker Liautaud and Doug Stoup will return to the Pole on skis as well.

That's all for today. More to come soon I'm sure.

It was another very trying day in the Antarctic as teams continue their push towards the South Pole. In addition to facing the typical challenges of dealing with the cold temperatures and the hollowing winds, they're finding that these expeditions are tough in other ways too. They've also discovered that if they don't keep their wits about them at all times, it can prove costly in other ways as well.

Aussie Geoff Wilson learned that lesson the hard way today. It was an incredibly tough day for Geoff, who is attempting to kite ski to the South Pole. While packing his tent this morning he broke a pole, which required him to repair it before he set out for the day. He was relieved to discover however that there were good winds for kiting, and soon he set off on his way. But those winds proved to be a bit too strong for the larger kite he was using. At one point they actually lifted him up six feet in the air before slamming him back down onto the frozen surface. At that point he decided it was best to change to a smaller kite that was easier to control, but upon examining his sleds, he found that one of is food bags had opened and he had lost a considerable amount of food. Enough to put the expedition in jeopardy.

Donning his skis, he retraced his footsteps for about 8 km (5 miles) collecting as much food as he could along the way. That slog was directly into a head wind however, and the cold temperatures started to bite into his skin. Fearing a case of frostbite, Geoff eventually turned back, and took inventory of his food situation. He has enough to go on, but there is now little room for error. It's South Pole or bust.

Elsewhere, Daniel Burton continues to struggle with high winds. He is attempting to ride his fat tire bike all the way to the South Pole but progress has been incredibly difficult and slow right now. Yesterday it was so challenging that he only managed to cover 3 nautical miles (5.5 km), which simply isn't enough ground to cover to make to the South Pole in a reasonable amount of time. If he can't find a way to pick up the pace soon, his entire expedition will be in jeopardy.


Parker Liautaud and Doug Stoup are now three days into their attempt to ski to the South Pole and have now achieved a major milestone. The duo managed to ski up the Leverett Glacier and have now reached the Antarctic Plateau. That means that they'll have relatively flat skiing all the way to the Pole, which is still some 240 nautical miles (450 km) away. But reaching this point is always a good achievement on any expedition to the 90ºS. It doesn't make things easy, but it certainly helps both physically and mentally.

Lewis Clarke has now completed his first full week out on the ice, which is also a milestone of sorts. He still has approximately 640 miles (1029 km) to go before reaching 90ºS, but so far things are going well. The 16-year old is attempting to become the youngest to make the full journey from Hercules Inlet to the South Pole, and while high winds are currently making for slow going, he is taking solid chunks of mileage off the total distance as he goes.

Finally, Chris and Marty Fagan are also dealing with the winds on their ski journey to the Pole. They describe todays gusts as being the kind that make you want to stay huddled in your sleeping bag, safe from its bite. But if they want to reach their goal, they have to keep moving, so each day they crawl out of their tent and proceed to ski for 8 to 10 hours. It isn't easy. It is always cold and conditions are tough. But this is what traveling through the Antarctic is all about, and none of the men and women who are there would have it any other way.

As two endurance athletes, Chris and Marty also recommend just such a journey for anyone looking to get into fine shape. They say pulling a heavy sled into heavy winds for 8 hours a day will certainly burn calories and give you a full body exercise program. In fact, these polar explorers are probably burning in excess of 8000 calories per day, which makes it difficult for them to keep up with all the food they need to eat just to keep going.

That's all for today. I'll post more updates as they are warranted in the next few days, including the possible arrival of one team to the South Pole before the end of the week.

This past summer, adventurers Seth Warren and Kirk Hollis embarked on a 500-mile, unsupported journey up the east coast of Africa. The duo traveled by stand-up paddleboards and kite surfed from Pemba, Mozambique to Zanzibar in Tanzania, hopping between more than 50 island along the way. Their six week journey is now the subject of an online film series brought to us by EpicTV.  You'll find the latest episode of that series below, which gives us a glimpse at an adventure that is long way from the big mountains or the polar regions that I often write about on this blog. What an amazing way to explore the wild coast of Africa.

The weekend wasn't particularly kind to the teams still waiting to get their Antarctic expeditions under way. Poor weather across the region is still causing major delays and it looks like it may be another few days before things start to improve. This has left a log jam in Punta Arenas, where a number of explorers are still waiting for their flights out to the frozen continent so that they can get underway at last. The weather also continues to delay some expeditions that are already in the Antarctic but have yet to get officially started as well.

At the moment, Chris and Marty Fagan, Lewis Clarke, Daniel Burton, Antony Jinman, and various others are all waiting for flights to Union Glacier. Flights were scheduled to resume over the weekend, but the weather continued to be an issue, so they've been pushed back into this week. It is now believed that the forecast will clear up in the next day or two and these teams can finally head out. But until they are actually on the flight, no one is particularly sure when they'll get to go.

They're not the only ones who are still waiting to get underway either. It seems Richard Parks is still looking for a weather window to launch his attempt on the speed record for skiing to the South Pole from hercules Inlet. He has been at Union Glacier for nearly two weeks now and has now been radio silent for a week. I have to assume we'll hear something from him once he actually begins the journey, but for now he seems to be content to sit and wait for a clear window. That could be awhile considering how fickle the weather is in Antarctica.

Also delayed by weather are the three teams taking part in the South Pole Allied Challenge (who also appear to have let their domain expire!). They flew to the Novo base at the end of last week and were scheduled to catch flights to the 87th degree over the weekend, but are now locked in place due to storms. Once they get the clearance to get underway, the three squads will then embark on a race of sorts, with each of them covering the last three degrees to the South Pole.


Geoff Wilson was able to put the major crevasse field that he had been navigating behind him, but the winds have been a bit cruel at times. He is kiting to the South Pole and has had to alternate between dragging his sled on skis at a painfully slow pace and catching brisk winds that allow him to fly across the ice. At times his progress has been unbearably slow and at others he has seen solid progress. All in all, he was happy to make some milestones this weekend and he seems to be getting much more comfortable with his kite now. That means, if the winds are in his favor, he could potentially make good time in the days ahead.

The Scott Expedition hit a milestone of their own yesterday. Ben and Tarka have now been out on the ice for a full month and to celebrate they had a chance of underwear and a bath of sorts. That came as some relief, as they have been battling strong headwinds for the past few days and while they continue to make solid progress, they've had to work hard for those miles. According to the statistics posted on their website, the boys still face more than 1500 miles (2414 km) on their journey to the South Pole and back, which has to be a bit unsettling considering the amount of time they have spent out on the ice already. But their mood seems good despite the challenges they've face thus far. Hopefully things continue to go well in the weeks ahead. They still have as much as two more months to go before the end.

That's all for a Monday update. I know you've been hearing me say that these other expeditions will get underway soon for several days now, but once again the weather is the final deciding factor. Hopefully this week will be more kind to the teams and we'll get more updates from the Antarctic soon.

Now that the storms in Antarctica have subsided – at least for now – the regularly scheduled flights to the continent are underway and more skiers are hitting the ice to start their journeys to the South Pole. With the big Ilyushin aircraft reaching both the Union Glacier and Novo bases within the past few days, the 2013 Antarctic expedition season is in full swing at last with multiple expeditions preparing to head south, including a high profile speed attempt that should start today.

Richard Parks, the Brit who hopes to set a new speed record for skiing to the South Pole, should now be ready to begin that epic endeavor. He'll begin at Hercules Inlet and hopes to cross the 1150 km (715 mile) distance in just 23 days. Parks left Union Glacier two days ago and after a day of prepping gear and getting ready to start, he should be underway today. There has been no update yet on his official start, but I would anticipate confirmation soon. Once we get that notice, he'll have just over three weeks to reach his goal, which means he'll have to average about 30 miles per day en route. That's a pace that seems nearly impossible to maintain in the unpredictable Antarctic. I certainly wish him luck in this attempt however and will be cheering him on.

Meanwhile, the Novo Station welcomed two new arrivals yesterday. According to ExWeb,  Geoff Wilson and Faysal Hanneche were delivered to the Antarctic today and are now putting the final touches on their preparation before they launch their expeditions as well. Wilson is attempting a solo ski journey to the South Pole to raise funds for nurses that specialize in breast cancer back in his home country of Australia, while Hanneche will be kiteskiing to the Pole on his own as well. The Aussie left Novo yesterday but only went a short distance away from the base before setting up camp. I imagine he'll have his first full day out on the ice today or tomorrow.

ExWeb is also reporting that all of the gear for the upcoming Walking With The Wounded South Pole Race was delivered to Novo yesterday as well. The event will consist of three teams of wounded vets on a ski race to the Pole. One team is from the U.K., another from the U.S. and a third from the Commonwealth States. The participants will have a kick-off party in London tomorrow before heading out for Antarctica, but their gear will be flown to their starting points soon and will be waiting for them to arrive. The three teams will ski just the last three degrees on their way to the bottom of the world.

Finally, the Scott Expedition continues to press forward although it hasn't exactly been an easy start to their journey. Ben and Tarka are closing in on three weeks out on the ice and their spirits have risen and dropped from day to day depending on conditions and distances covered. Yesterday the sun came out, which made them feel better but the struggles of pulling heavy sleds, day-in and day-out, have taken their toll. Still, those sleds get a little lighter each day and as they make supply caches for their return trip, they sometimes get substantially lighter. They have a long way to go yet but the boys seem to have found a rhythm which will serve them well in the days ahead.

As a side note, if you haven't been reading the Scott Expedition blog posts, I'd definitely recommend them. Most days they answer questions from those of us who are following along at home and their answers can be quite interesting and enlightening. Many of them are about the logistics of Antarctic travel with some great information being shared directly from two guys who are out on the ice. It is hard to find better insights than that.

More to come soon.

As we head into the weekend the Antarctic explorers preparing to launch their expeditions continue to play the waiting game. There is a contingent of them in Punta Arenas that are organizing their gear and getting ready to head out to the frozen continent, but for now all they can do is wait for ALE (Antarctic Logistics and Expeditions) to tell them when they can fly. Storms in Antarctica have prevented flights out to Union Glacier over the past few days, which means there is a backlog of supplies and personnel waiting to be transported to the base there. Once ALE is able to clear that backlog however, the teams can begin to fly at last.

Amongst the adventurers who are waiting to start are Chris and Marty Fagan, who have spent the last few days creating individual meals for their ski expedition to the South Pole. Similarly, Daniel Burton, who intends to ride his bike to the Pole, has been prepping his equipment as well. He indicated that gear weigh ins were scheduled to take place today and that after a meeting with ALE he should have a better of idea of when he might get to start. Presumably Lewis Clarke, the 16-year old Brit hoping to become the youngest to ski to the Pole, is completing his gear prep and attending the same meetings as he gets ready to make the 700 mile (1126 km) journey from Hercules Inlet to the South Pole too.

Richard Parks also continues to wait for the proper weather window, although that is expected to come today or tomorrow. He's been in Antarctica for more than a week now and has been staying at the Union Glacier Camp before heading out to Hercules for his start. He intends to challenge the speed record to the South Pole but is waiting for a few storms to pass before he begins. His original plan had him getting underway on November 18, but he seems unconcerned with a few days delay. Lets face it, there is a long season ahead and if Richard truly will have a shot at the speed record, which is roughly 24 days, he still has plenty of time before he needs to get going. With a little luck, he'll launch the expedition this weekend.


Aussie Geoff Wilson ran into some difficulty yesterday. Not only was he facing a 5 km (3.1 mile) climb, he also found himself in the middle of a nasty crevasse field. Fortunately he was able to navigate through without too many issues and has better luck today. Geoff is kiting to the South Pole and after a bit of a slow start with some nasty weather keeping him in his tent for four days, he seems to be finding a nice rhythm now.

The three teams who are taking part in the South Pole Allied Challenge departed for Antarctica today. They're flying from Cape Town to the Novo Base, where they'll spend another couple of days getting organized before flying out to their starting points. These three teams, one from the U.K., one from the U.S. and one made up of representatives of the Commonwealth, will then race to the Pole from three degrees out. Each team has an expedition leader but for the most part they are made up of soldiers who have been wounded in the line of duty. They should officially get going sometime next week.

Finally, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the Scott Expedition, which is quickly approaching the end of their first month out on the ice. Ben and Tarka continue to make solid progress despite nasty headwinds making for slow going. Yesterday they managed nearly 15 miles (24 km) as they continue their slog to the Pole. The boys still have quite a long way to go before their expedition is done, but they seem in good spirits and are well focused on their mission, which is to complete the route that Robert Falcon Scott had taken back in 1911-1912.

That's all for this week. We'll check in again on Monday to see if any progress has been made. More teams should be getting underway soon, provided the weather cooperates of course.

My reports on the 2013 Antarctic expedition season are starting to get very repetitive. It seems the more things change, the more they stay the same. I'm sure by now most of the teams in Punta Arenas thought that they'd be out on the ice and working their way south, but the weather continues to be uncooperative, so they continue to sit and wait. To make things worse, the schedule for supply planes to the Union Glacier camp is now way behind schedule as well, which means the adventurers will have to wait their turn. There are some indications that flights could resume in the next few days, although that has been the story for more than a week now. 

Still sitting in Punta are Chris and Marty Fagan, Lewis Clarke, Daniel Burton, Antony Jinman and several others. Each plans to make the journey to the South Pole, but the first step is to actually get to the Antarctic continent. Daniel has also started to express some concern about the effect the weather will have on his attempt to ride his bike to the Pole. In a recent blog post he indicated that while his fat tire bike does well on hard snow and ice, it doesn't work so well in powder. The bad weather is dumping all kind of powder on his intended route, which could slow him down or cause him to not be able to ride at all. Only time will tell if this will become a major factor. 

Also still waiting to get started is Richard Parks. He is the man who hopes to set a new speed record for skiing from Hercules Inlet to the South Pole, and he to has been watching for a weather window to open. It has been more than a week since we heard anything out of him, but earlier today he posted a brief update saying that he was packed and ready to fly from Union Glacier to his starting point, but bad weather has once again grounded the plane. He hopes to get out tomorrow instead. 

Three teams that are now in position to begin their expedition are the members of the South Pole Allied Challenge. Team U.K., Team USA and Team Commonwealth all flew out to their starting points at 87ºS yesterday and they should begin their treks to the South Pole today. This race of sorts is part of he Walking With The Wounded organization and several servicemen and women who were injured while on active duty are with each of the teams. Despite starting much closer to the Pole than most of the other teams, it will still take them two weeks or so to complete the journey. 

Aussie Geoff Wilson has been caught out in the bad weather again and as a result, he has spent the past two days stuck in his tent. Raging winds, extremely cold temperatures and whiteout conditions have conspired against him, leaving him stranded. Geoff is attempt to kite ski to the South Pole but has only had a couple of good days so far. Hopefully this period of bad weather will lift soon and he'll get the opportunity to make some good time. 

Finally, Ben Saunders and Tarka L'Herpiniere are now more than a month into their expedition and continue to knock off the mileage in workmen like fashion each day. The boys have found their stride it seems and are consistently covering 13-14 miles (20-22 km ) on a daily basis. That might not seem like much, but in the frozen Antarctic it is a full days work. As a result of those efforts, they have now covered approximately 300 miles (482 km) on their journey, which is a there and back again trip to the Pole and their starting point at Scott's Hut. While they still have a very long way to go, all is well and they are progressing as expected. 

With the Thanksgiving holiday upon us here in the U.S., it is likely that I won't be able to update again until next week. Hopefully by then the weather will have cleared and more teams will be on their way to the South Pole. Stay tuned. 

Yesterday's Antarctic update focused mainly on the new arrivals to the frozen continent and their early progress towards the South Pole. Today, I have news from some of the other expeditions that have been underway for awhile, and continue to face their own struggles with the challenges brought on with traveling in one of the most extreme environments on the planet.

Ben Saunders and Tarka L'Herpiniere, the two members of the Scott Expedition, reached a major milestone on their round trip journey from the Scott Hut to the South Pole and back. Now 40 days into their adventure, the two men have reached the Beardmore Glacier and are continuing to work their way up to the Antarctic Plateau. Weather conditions have been mostly acceptable over the past few days but surface conditions continue to be a challenge. The ice where they are currently traveling is more uneven than in other areas, which has presented some challenges to their progress. Still, they're clocking in at about 20 miles (32 km) per day, which is a solid pace. The finish line is still a long ways off however, with more than 1345 miles (2164 km) to go before they are done.

Australian kite skier Geoff Wilson is hoping the wind will return soon to actually assist him in his quest to reach the South Pole. He has had a few frustrating days going from too much wind to too little. A couple of days back conditions were so bad that Wilson nearly lost control of his kite. He had limited time to train with it before leaving his home country for the Antarctic, and as a result he is learning on the job. When high winds struck on Monday, he was violently tossed about and sent sprawling on the ice on more than one occasion. Fortunately, the kite, nor the man, was damaged badly and the expedition can continue. The problem now is that there has been very little wind and Geoff has been forced to move forward under his own power, dragging his sled behind him as he goes. This has greatly slowed his progress of course, but puts him on par with the other skiers heading to the South Pole.

The three teams competing in the 2013 South Pole Allied Challenge are now off and running. Team UK, Team USA and Team Commonwealth are all racing across the last three degrees to the South Pole after launching the friendly competition over the weekend. The teams consist of experienced polar guides to help lead the way, and some support vehicles to help lend a hand as needed. But the bulk of the explorers skiing to the Pole are servicemen who were wounded in the line of duty. The high profile event, which happens to include Prince Harry skiing for the UK team, is being conducted by the Walking with the Wounded program, an organization that helps those injured in the line of duty get back on the road to recovery. So far, the teams have faced strong winds and lots of sastrugi, which are hard ridges on the ice that make it difficult to ski. They'll be covering a total of about 335 km (208 miles) with an expected arrival at 90ºS around December 17 or 18.

Finally, there is no word yet on when Richard Parks will relaunch his attempt at the speed record for skiing to the South Pole via the Hercules Inlet route. As of yesterday, he was still en route back to his starting point, where he'll wait for more favorable weather conditions. Once he gets back underway, he hopes to go solo and unsupported to the South Pole in just 23 days. That will be a remarkable achievement if he can pull it off.

More news to come soon. Now that there are so many teams on the ice, I expect there will be something to report nearly everyday. The Antarctic season is in full swing now and the Vinson climbing season will soon follow. Good luck to everyone.