Archive for category: Inspiring Explorers™ Updates – 2018

Who’s in the Rearview?

May 12, 2018 -
Setting up campAntarctic Heritage Trust

From Bengt: Another sunny day! We are truly lucky with the weather. Surface is gettin’ better and better and our routines is also getting there. We did 9 legs today, that gave us 19km. There is something behind us that moves, we think it is a dog-team, that is also crossing. Guess we find out today. All good here, cheers!


Update: Still beautiful weather. Routines while on the move are really good now. We’re like a train that steady moves towards DYE2. The terrain is flattening out, with some tiny hills here and there. We’re using the sun as the main indication for navigating.
Behind us we now and then can see another team, we think it’s two dog-teams. In the second last leg a goose flew past us. We built our camp for a stormy night since we know there is weather coming in tonight.

Bearing with Us

May 10, 2018 -

From Bridget: Today we started our journey from dog camp. A camp with no dogs or in fact any camp at all. A perfect white flat spot amongst 500 kms of flat white spots. We skied for two hours in a straight line before Bengt let us take over the navigation. A poor mistake; each of us had our own style of trying to stick to a bearing. Curving back and forth to a non descriptive point on the horizon. It was a day like no other where we skied for eight hours dragging a sled. Perfect weather though and some great conversations.

Bridget KrugerAntarctic Heritage Trust

Nansen’s Expedition Reaches Land

May 10, 2018 -

“I have no doubt there was a pretty general consensus of opinion among us that we had had pleasanter work in the course of our lives, but these opinions we kept each to himself.”

Having finally made it to land, Nansen and his team had to haul their sledge-loads up a steep and uneven gradient, which made dragging the sledges hard work. After three or so miles they set up their camp for the night (pictured below), and Nansen described the “pleasure almost divine” of having multiple cups of hot tea with condensed milk as they settled in to their sleeping bags after their first spell of sledge-hauling (we’re pretty sure the team will relate to this!).

Nansen's expedition reaches landPublic domain

However, as the group were about to go to sleep they discovered that they had left their only piece of Gruyere cheese at the point where they had stopped for dinner. While they couldn’t stand the thought of leaving it behind, none of them were particularly keen on going back to retrieve it after the day they’d had, until as Nansen noted, Dietrichson volunteered, declaring ‘there was nothing he would like so much’, as it would give him a chance to take a walk before bed!

Dog Camp

May 9, 2018 -

From Bengt: It is a good feeling to have reached one of our goals. Today we came into Dog Camp. A place that looks like anywhere else here on ice, difference is that we have walked towards this point through the whole icefall. Our next goal is the old radar station DYE2 that is far into the ice.

We did 15.5km on 8 legs of 50 minutes yesterday. Cold and sunny weather.

The team - Bridget, Hollie, Brando, KeithAntarctic Heritage Trust

Over the Bumps (for now)

May 9, 2018 -

Hollie WoodhouseAntarctic Heritage Trust
From Bengt: Beautiful and cold day! We are done with the bumps, now its more or less flat, but still going up. Sledges felt heavy in the beginning of the day, at the same time we had wind straight in our face. During the day it got warmer and warmer, with good sliding. Last leg before camp it was back to high friction and cold. We did 8 x 50min of walking, and are now one day away from Dog Camp 🙂

 

 

Mysterious Vehicles

May 8, 2018 -

Skis up!Antarctic Heritage Trust

The team put their feet (skis) up and take a break.

From Nigel: Another day ascending the icefall. Good weather. Powder snow on blue ice and heavy pulkas made for challenging spots at times. Late in the day the terrain mellowed a bit. Nine hours on the skis with breaks. Bodies will take some time to adjust to the new routine. Weirdest thing – late at night we saw three large modified vehicles crossing the icefall! Who ordered UberEats?!

 

First Update from the Ice!

May 6, 2018 -

First update from the iceAntarctic Heritage Trust
From Hollie: I’m walking across Greenland. Pretty sure it’ll be mostly flat. Wrong. So wrong. Day 2 will be known as a constant burn to the thighs, but in a landscape of breathtaking beauty. Starting off at 9.20am (a little later than expected) with snow falling lightly, the first hour whizzed by. Taking our first scheduled rest we downed our high sugar and fat snacks before heading off. With Bengt leading the charge, we snaked our way up and around the icey-blue frozen mounds. It became a challenge to see if we could stay ahead of our pulka as we slid down the banks, then an even bigger challenge to see if we could drag it up the other side. The girls of the team were very thankful for the boys’ help on more than one occasion. As the sun poked through, the hills only seemed to get steeper, but after a big day on the skis we set up camp for the night just after 4.30pm.

Base camp – Ousland Polar Exploration

Base camp – Ousland Polar Exploration

Greenland Bound!

May 3, 2018 -

The team made it to Copenhagen. They are now on their way to Kangerlussuaq where they will meet Bridget and Bengt and make the final preparations before setting out!

CopenhagenAntarctic Heritage Trust

Point of No Reason…

May 3, 2018 -

Before Nansen and his men could even get up on to the ice cap to begin the first crossing of Greenland, they had to reach the shore on the east coast. The sealing ship Jason had transported the expedition team from Iceland and once they were 20kms offshore they launched small boats to reach the coast, the ‘point of no return’, as Nansen called it.

Nansen reaches the Greenland coastPublic domain
 
The condition of the sea meant they were unable to land and eventually drifted some 380kms south of where planned starting point …for the crossing! They fought their way north through the coastal ice floes, and covered 200kms in 12 days, when they reached Umivik Bay. Still far south of their intended starting point Nansen realised that they simply had to get underway with the crossing, before the season progressed any further. After four days preparing in Umivik Bay, they stored the boats and some excess supplies in their ‘last resting place’ and began a treacherous ascent on to the ice cap.
 
 
Public domain

There They Go…

May 2, 2018 -

We saw Nigel and Hollie off at Christchurch Airport this morning. They’re now on their way to Greenland to meet the rest of the Inspiring Explorers team. The countdown is on!

Nigel and Hollie about to head offAntarctic Heritage Trust
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Antarctic Heritage Trust

Antarctic Heritage Trust
7 Ron Guthrey Road, Christchurch 8053, New Zealand
Private Bag 4745, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand

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© Copyright 2024, Antarctic Heritage Trust
Registered Charity: CC24071
Terms and Conditions – Privacy Policy