April 8, 2010
Day 36. A Close Call
We are a tiny cork floating on an ocean of ice subject to the mercy (or wrath) of the wind. When it blows from the east or east southeast, we drift north and a bit west. When it blows from the north west, we drift south. We are beginning to feel like we are caught in the middle of some epic battle that has been waging for centuries.
Yesterday was by far the windiest day of the expedition. Luckily, it was a southern wind and we drifted 3.1 miles while we slept. During dinner, Darcy called out our mileage every 15 minutes - we were moving THAT fast.
In yesterday's whiteout, I was also nervous about choosing a tent site. We had been traveling on an older lead for over two hours, and while it was safe enough for travel, it was also a weak point in colliding ice pans. Finally, a step up a two foot ice ledge, deeper snow and some large chunks of older ice completely drifted over and I marked out a spot for the tent. In the morning, I would see the results of my decision.
'I could feel the reverberations from the cracks in my Ridge Rest sleeping pad and here the squealing and whining of ice pressuring - did you guys not here it? Asked AJ. We didn't. We were sound asleep.
Turns out that only 20 meters away the ice had cracked, folded and heaved. A huge block five feet thick was sloping into the air. The clear path that I had skied in on was now a fractured mess. All around us new pressure ridges were formed, but we were safe. I guess I picked the right campsite. A very close call.
After breakfast, we dug out and stared in amazement - not only at all the new ice formations, but the fact that it was totally sunny and we could see.
'Even though it became overcast in the afternoon, it was very nice to have the sun out - everything felt pleasant,' Darcy commented. 'It was equally nice making camp in only a slight wind and not have spindrift fill everything.'
For the rest of the day, we paid the price for our rapid resting progress. We snaked our way through small sections connecting corners and spanning gaps with skis. There were definitely more leads today, but they seemed to be different - erraticly shaped (versus the long gaps spanning toward the horizons) and we also found a decent path through them all. We did one relay across some floating ice chunks held somewhat stable by the two opposite pans and a few other somewhat sketchy manuevers but overall an uneventful day - the best kind out here.
Image: Our fractured ski tracks that were in a straight line when we went to sleep.
The Save the Poles expedition is sponsored by Bing with major support from the University of Plymouth, Terramar, Seventh Generation, Goal0, Atlas, Sierra Designs and Optic Nerve.
Remember, it's cool to be cold. Save the Poles. Save the planet.
For more information, please visit www.ericlarsenexplore.com
For information about guided Antarctic expeditions, please visit http://www.antarctic-logistics.com/
For media inquiries, please contact lora@screamagency.com
For technical inquires, please contact webexpeditions.net
Yesterday was by far the windiest day of the expedition. Luckily, it was a southern wind and we drifted 3.1 miles while we slept. During dinner, Darcy called out our mileage every 15 minutes - we were moving THAT fast.
In yesterday's whiteout, I was also nervous about choosing a tent site. We had been traveling on an older lead for over two hours, and while it was safe enough for travel, it was also a weak point in colliding ice pans. Finally, a step up a two foot ice ledge, deeper snow and some large chunks of older ice completely drifted over and I marked out a spot for the tent. In the morning, I would see the results of my decision.
'I could feel the reverberations from the cracks in my Ridge Rest sleeping pad and here the squealing and whining of ice pressuring - did you guys not here it? Asked AJ. We didn't. We were sound asleep.
Turns out that only 20 meters away the ice had cracked, folded and heaved. A huge block five feet thick was sloping into the air. The clear path that I had skied in on was now a fractured mess. All around us new pressure ridges were formed, but we were safe. I guess I picked the right campsite. A very close call.
After breakfast, we dug out and stared in amazement - not only at all the new ice formations, but the fact that it was totally sunny and we could see.
'Even though it became overcast in the afternoon, it was very nice to have the sun out - everything felt pleasant,' Darcy commented. 'It was equally nice making camp in only a slight wind and not have spindrift fill everything.'
For the rest of the day, we paid the price for our rapid resting progress. We snaked our way through small sections connecting corners and spanning gaps with skis. There were definitely more leads today, but they seemed to be different - erraticly shaped (versus the long gaps spanning toward the horizons) and we also found a decent path through them all. We did one relay across some floating ice chunks held somewhat stable by the two opposite pans and a few other somewhat sketchy manuevers but overall an uneventful day - the best kind out here.
Image: Our fractured ski tracks that were in a straight line when we went to sleep.
The Save the Poles expedition is sponsored by Bing with major support from the University of Plymouth, Terramar, Seventh Generation, Goal0, Atlas, Sierra Designs and Optic Nerve.
Remember, it's cool to be cold. Save the Poles. Save the planet.
For more information, please visit www.ericlarsenexplore.com
For information about guided Antarctic expeditions, please visit http://www.antarctic-logistics.com/
For media inquiries, please contact lora@screamagency.com
For technical inquires, please contact webexpeditions.net