Last night the team flew from Union Glacier to the NGO basecamp near the South Pole. The flight time was approximately 5 hours in the chartered Bassler. The NGO basecamp lies around one kilometer from the South Pole and it was created specifically for the South Pole centennial season. This morning, after a hearty breakfast, six members of the team shuttled to the South Pole for their first visit to the very bottom of the world. The other ten team members were shuttled to 20 kilometers away, the starting point for the ski expedition.
The skiers reported beautiful weather, with temperatures near -30C and barely a breath of wind. Without wind or clouds the team felt the warmth of the sun, which helped to mitigate the -30 temperature. They skied roughly 12 kilometers, much of it with Bjarni out front setting the pace and navigating.
After putting in a good day of skiing the team set up camp and feasted on a high calorie dinner that should keep their inner furnace burning through the night. Tomorrow they will ski the remaining distance to the Pole and reunite with the other team members.
100 years ago today Amundsen wrote in his diary:
Make sure to listen to Bjarni's audio update and check back in tomorrow for another update from the team, as they begin the official South Pole anniversary celebrations!
The skiers reported beautiful weather, with temperatures near -30C and barely a breath of wind. Without wind or clouds the team felt the warmth of the sun, which helped to mitigate the -30 temperature. They skied roughly 12 kilometers, much of it with Bjarni out front setting the pace and navigating.
After putting in a good day of skiing the team set up camp and feasted on a high calorie dinner that should keep their inner furnace burning through the night. Tomorrow they will ski the remaining distance to the Pole and reunite with the other team members.
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| Arriving at the South Pole base last night. The time is nearly midnight! |
Magnificent weather. Almost still and partly clear. About –25°C. Same fine terrain and surface. According to the hypsometer it looks as though we are going very slightly downwards. Maybe it is just the weather conditions that make it seem so. Midday observations, which were taken under the most favourable weather conditions, still, clear, distinct sun and horizon, 89°6’. Observations and instruments again completely coincide. We have done our usual 17 n.m. and now lie at 89°15’ – three days march from our goal.
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