Position: 82.5918S,082.8983W
Distance to Pole: 824km
I got up today full of enthusiasm after our great day yesterday. Alarm went off at 5.50am and I got up like a spark, got the stoves going, water boiled and I was ready to go. I pulled down the zip, careful not to shower myself with frosted condensation, I could see the sun was out and I knew we would have a great day. By 7.30am we were ready to go when we heard a roar from Jonathon’s tent. It was Shaun ‘I gotta go to the toilet, no.2 emergency,’ Clare looked at me, I looked at Jonathon (who was sheltering temporarily from the wind in our tent) and we all looked across at Shaun. We were freezing, but knowing that it was better to go now than during the march we accepted the delay.
It is the little things like this, that cause the most frustration, not the larger issues. But all our times will come when our actions will cause a last minute chilling delay to others, so we are not annoyed.
Despite the grand weather, the marching was tough, sharp sastrugi and still some soft snow drifts around, temperature was a balmy -12c and as I hauled I could feel the sweat making its way to my outer layers and freezing. I couldn’t believe it, I was literally sweating in the freezer. I am OK whilst I am moving but when I stop I can feel my core body temperature drop – a very strange experience.
Everyone is in fine fettle, it makes such a difference to feel the sun on your back, after all the miserable weather we have had.
