Support the Mission Expedition RSS Feed
Day 63 January 15, 2009
Today's report is dedicated to The Berkeley Group and particularly Victoria Mitchell.
Ice Team
Henry Adams reports on enjoying the first still evening since the team have been on the Plateau. He reflects on the thought that they are so close to finishing, and also on the fact that their daily distances have come down but that this is partly due to the fact that they are thinner than when they set off! He thanks his colleagues at Birketts for all their support.
I asked them to send some photos through today as we have not seen their faces for a while. Here they are!! What do you think?
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
SITREP - Ice Team
1. Sitrep No 63 as at 0940 hrs GMT 15 Jan 09
2. Distance Covered Today : 13.6 nm
3. Total Distance Covered : 775.9 nm
4. Hours travelled: 6.5
5. Daily Average to Date: 12.32 nm
6. Distance to Pole: 24 nm
7. Altitude: 9410 ft ASL
8. Total Raised on Justgiving: £10,006
9. Total raised in last 24 hours: £176
97 Mile Team
Dave Cornell has left today's sitrep and report from the 97 Mile Team. The conditions were much more demanding today with wind gusting to 30 knots with windchill below -50c. Dave describes in his report how the team are navigating their way to the Pole. Be aware that Dave's report cuts out at the end.
SITREP - 97 Mile team
1. Sitrep No 6 as at 2300 hrs GMT 14 Jan 09
2. Distance Covered Today : 8.7 nm
3. Total Distance Covered : 42.7 nm
4. Hours travelled: 6.25
5. Daily Average to Date: 8.54 nm
6. Distance to Pole: 54.3 nm
7. Altitude: 9836 ft ASL
Teams Travelling Separately
Quite a number of you have emailed me to ask why the teams are travelling separately. The original plan was that the teams would travel the first 24 hours together after meeting at the 97 miles RV. But the delay in getting the 97 team to the RV meant that the Ice Team were ready to move on, and given the length of time they had been on the ice, they were keen to head on. The other reason was that we always expected the 97 team to move more slowly, given that they were flying straight into the high altitude of the Polar Plateau.
Support The Shackleton Foundation
With just a few days to go until the expedition ends, please consider a donation to the Foundation at our Justgiving site. We really wanted to surprise the team with a really significant sum raised in this last part of the expedition, so please help if you can.Thank you.
January 15th, 1909
Started in a strong blizzard at 7:30 A.M. with a temperature of minus 23°F, and march steadily till noon, doing 9 1/2 miles; then marched from 1:30 P.M. till 6 P.M., making a total distance for the day of 20 miles, statute. It has been thick, with a pale sun only shining through, but we are still able to follow our old sledge tracks, though at times they are very faint. Unfortunately, when we halted at 3:30 P.M. for a spell, we found that the sledge meter had disappeared, and discovered that it had broken off short at the brass fitting. This is a serious loss to us, for all our Barrier distances between depots are calculated on it, and although we have another depoted at the foot of the glacier we do not know the slip. We must now judge distance till we get a sight of land.
Day 63 Report
Day 63: Overview
- Distance covered:
- 13.6 nm
- Wind:
- 5 mph
- Conditions:
- Overcast. Difficult light.Windchill -33
- Temperature:
- -25°C
The Heart of the Antarctic
This is the story of the “Farthest South” expedition, told by its leader. After enduring biting winds, short rations and crevasse-ridden glaciers for over a year, Shackleton’s party faced a desperate forced march to return to their ship, The Nimrod, or face being marooned on the ice.
Taken from Sir Ernest Shackleton’s own compelling chronicle of his first Antarctic expedition, written on his return in 1909.
Please note that buying through our UK Amazon affiliate account you are directly helping to sponsor the Expedition.
