Børge Ousland

Summers here ain’t nuthin’ like they are back home.
Britt preparing dinner. A “chef’s hat” for Antarctic conditions has a very different design.

Report from Børge: It’s the 15th of January and our position is now S89˚12’, W96˚35’. It’s been an average day, at least with regard to temperature – the thermometer shows a stable –30˚C. But it has been clear, with excelling ski conditions, in other words no whiteout, and happily a day without any surprises.

Nils Thomas’ ski that showed signs of cracking is still holding up; it hasn’t gotten any worse. And we hope it will last all the way to 90 degrees latitude – better known as the South Pole. That’s our goal.

This has been one of the first days where we have actually been able to relax a bit down here, and let our thoughts roam free. The Antarctic is magnificent when the weather is like this! The heavens seem huge, and one feels rather humble in this vast expanse of ice. It seems strange to think that there is 3 km of solid ice below us, with aeons of our planet’s history stored right below our feet.

Today we have skied 22 km in 8,5 hours. That is as expected and we are satisfied. Everyone in our group is in fine shape and in good spirits, and we send our greetings to everyone who is following our expedition from a nice, warm living room.

Report from Svante: It was almost perfect weather when we started our day – no wind and an almost comfortable temperature, relatively speaking. Our goal is to reach S88˚44’ in the course of tomorrow. Snow conditions there are supposed to be ideal for landing a Twin Otter. We plan on flying closer to the Pole so as to reach our final destination in time.

Everyone is feeling in far better shape, and within a day or two we expect to be back to normal. Up to now, three members of our group have suffered adverse effects of the high altitude – and the combination of skiing seven hours a day, and not eating, is hardly conducive to good health. Fortunately, biscuits, water and Norwegian crisp bread (knekkebrø) seem to have done the trick, speeding recovery.

We have progressed another 14 km today and are now camped at S88˚41’. It’s been a good day.

The weather clears up – Adrian, Helen and Andrew find good reason to smile.

Report from Børge: It has been a long day, but we had our hearts set on a special goal: the 89th degree latitude. We have skied 26 km today – Nils Thomas is in fine shape again, so we haven’t had any problems covering that distance.

Nevertheless it has been a challenge. A whiteout has kept is from being able to appreciate any of our magnificent Antarctic surroundings. In fact, we have had to fall back on use the wind as our sole means of navigation. That has been a bit wearing for me, since I’ve been out front the whole time, fully focusing on staying the course – and we’ve managed to keep it straight as a line.

Temperatures have been about –25˚C. We’ve had a bit of drama, too. Nick broke one of his skis. Inspection revealed typical signs of material fatigue, right behind the binding. Strangely enough that’s exactly where I broke my ski on last winter’s expedition, and it was the exact same make and model. Clearly there is critical weakness there.

Now we have to be careful – because we have no extra skis, other than the reserve that Nick is using now. We’ll just have to cross our fingers that other skis stay whole, although we have noticed early signs of breakage on one of Nils Thomas’ skis as well. Nevertheless we believe that they will last until we reach our destination.

Today it is Otto’s turn to send greetings – and he sends his love to Natalie and the children, as well as everyone in his family.

The position of our camp is S89˚00’50”, V96˚49’10”. Everyone here is doing great.

A broken ski – and not a sports shop in sight. A shared shout of joy at reaching S89˚.

Report from Svante: First, thanks for the good news from Patriot Hills.

Today has been a day of complete whiteout. What this means is that it’s impossible to see anything – the ground and sky are indistinguishable. Contrasts are non-existent, so you can’t tell before you hit a snowdrift, or whether you’re about to go up or down.

That is why – in order to point us South – I attached a thin strip of parachute silk to one of my ski poles. That way I could use the wind to keep my sense of direction. It worked really well, and our group did 13 km. Straight south.

We have entered an area where the terrain seems better, at least in terms of finding a new landing site for the aeroplane we’re expecting. According to the message from Patriot Hills, the prospects are good for being picked up within three or four days, and being flown closer to the South Pole.

Our feet have been itching to be on the move. So instead of waiting by the landing strip we had prepared, we have chosen to press on. Helen is in great form now and she’s back in her contagious good mood. Adrian is in good shape, too; he’s eating and feels well enough to ski again. This is looking very good. That’s all for today.