It was a good day today but you wouldn't have guessed it from the weather which was completely overcast with no shadow. There was no horizon and no contrast until the last two pushes. This may not sound hard, but it can be exhausting, especially for your mind which is constantly looking for anything to focus on but despite scanning the horizon over and over again for hours, it only sees white.
It's also can be tiring in terms of your fine balance muscles working overtime. Every little bump in the snow tests the mind and muscles. Without any contrast or shadow it's impossible to tell which bumps are only a few centimeters in height and which are much taller. Or whether a slope is heading uphill, downhill or sideways. The only way to know is to feel it with your skis and your ski poles as you go. It requires a lot more from your balance muscles than when you can see exactly what's in front of you. Because of this it's easy to be more tense over the course of the day and it takes a conscious effort to relax your muscles.
Despite the less than ideal weather, the team traveled 8.5 nautical miles closer to the South Pole. The temperature was between -5°F and -10°F with south winds at 8 to 10 knots for most of the day. That's a headwind, which adds a challenge. Everyone did a great job managing their layers and protecting their hands. With the first full day of skiing complete they are all resting and savoring the warmth of their sleeping bags and the tents. Ahh!
Check back again tomorrow for an update from the team. If you have any questions about the expedition or for the team send them to us at annie@polarexplorers.com.
PS - the above photo is actually from Greenland. We did not receive a photo today from the team. But low visibility is low visibility no matter where you are. For all our team knew today they could have been transported to Greenland through a space / time hole, and they never would have known because they just couldn't see a darn thing!
Comments