5th January day 55
A heaven in hell…..What a beautiful day..
Camp; Joss Lynam and Jim Leonard.
Saturday,5th January, Day 55, 70km to go, 1,076 km of manhauling done.
S 89.3737, W 082.1581
We are getting so excited; 3 days, yes just 3 days to go to the pole.
Antarctic is being kind to us for a change and the weather is holding good. Lets hope that it stays that way for the next few days. It would really be nice to finish our journey holding in mind the beauty of this place. We really don’t mind the cold once it doesn’t go above -30 degrees and its still air temperature. It’s the wind and the white out conditions that drive us crazy.
A heaven in hell.
It’s hard to describe what this place is like in words as I write from my tent, exhausted from the labour of my efforts just to get another day closer to the south pole. it is like no where else on this planet.You feel like you have come to a place that looks like heaven (white, pure, majestic and you feel you might even meet a few angles!) and then just to shock you into reality the real Antarctic shows its face. Your are battling sub-zero temperatures, storm force winds, white outs and then you wonder why. Why are I here, when you could be at home in front of a fire and watch a documentary about the place you are fighting to survive in. Then you get a day like today, beautiful, heaven like, no angles and you have survived the traumas of 55 days in a place very few people will ever see or visit. For a small period in the history of our planet you will have experienced personally what its like to be in Antarctic and try and make a dream a reality. I can’t wait to get home to put my new lecture series together and bring to life our experiences. I know its the way I relive these amazing experiences, about how we honour our Irish Polar explorers. Shackleton, the boss and those un-sung heroes Crean, Keohane, Forde and the McCarthy brothers
I’m so excited as I go to sleep tonight, we have experienced the land of ice in all her moods and now she’s been kind to us. I have shocked myself, that what my critics have said would be impossible, is about to become a reality. Our beyond endurance team are within days of achieving our goals.
Tomorrow brings us another day closer to the pole. But we can’t take anything for granted, we are not there yet. Closing another day here in the freezer. Good night.
Camp; Joss Lynam and Jim Leonard – Two people I hold in high esteem.
Joss Lynam, has been at the forefront of Irish mountaineering since it begun. He is the father of Irish mountaineering, he has encouraged many to follow there dreams. He has followed his own dreams with conviction and passion.
Jim Leonard, A friend, an adviser and once again one of those that has been involved in Irish mountaineering since the start. Thanks Jim for your help and advice on many issues over the years..
I’m now in my fifties and I hope as I get older, I aspire to have there drive and enthusiasm for adventure. Life begins, when your ready to live it. So live it. Life is not a rehearsal. It’s a performance. Age has no bounds. We just dream different dreams.
To the future, no matter what age we are.
