With two weeks until the Centenary of the British Scott Expedition, Bryony still has a total of approximately 350km left to ski to get to the pole. This means the team need to average 25 km per day or more (assuming they want to arrive there in the ‘day time’). At this point, the team has managed an average of 23.592km per day (includes half days, but not rest days). This puts the team in good stead to make it on time!
Now all the team need to overcome is the final straight to the pole across the baron Antarctic Plateau (though there are a few days incline remaining). Those with a keen eye will have noticed the maps on the website show the team deviating from a direct path to the pole. This has been due to the navigation towards resupplies, around crevasses, and through mountain passes. The effect of this is an increased distance of skiing – The original calculated distance of the expedition is 1109.24km; though assuming the team now navigate directly to the pole, they will have skied a total of 1201km!
One of the big issues faced by the team is visibility in white-out conditions. The team have had very favourable conditions, though this doesn’t mean easy skiing. In a matter of minutes it can become difficult to see a few metres in front of you; so the team has to take precisions to stick together and not get lost! One of the bets tips mentioned was skiing with the tips of one person’s skis almost touching the sled of the person in front. In normal conditions the team can be much further apart (as much as 100m).
Don’t forget to check out the team’s position on the updated maps at www.southpoleadventure.com/tracking
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