November 27, 2011
S74°39.420′ E012°34.774′
Elevation 11174 Feet
The doldrums have as much to do with fun navigating the oceans as they do the ice. In fact, kite skiing an ice cap has a lot in common with ocean sailing. The infinite expanse of ice a frozen sea. Each feature on its surface like frozen waves, each hill a rolling swell. The feeling of isolation and complete freedom is also the same. Outside the clutter of communication, it is a place of introspection and examination. Where time stretches, and thoughts find the space to be heard. I like to think that, if not a better person, one comes back a more actualized one for the time you get to spend with your thoughts. Who gets to do that in the real world? On the ocean or the ice you can reflect. And reflection is one sure way to eventually find inner peace. But just the same, the doldrums can reap havoc to that peace and challenge your inner Buddha! On the ocean, it’s the slow roll of the hull, the flapping of the sails and the rhythmic clanking that gives even a stowaway rat the urge to hit the bottle and stretch a hammock. Out here the doldrums are not dead calm days: those are rest days. The doldrums are when the wind is there enough to get you out for fear of missing a day and badly needed miles, but so marginal that to endlessly watch the kite dive and slowly rise to gain a few meager feet could actually get you sea sick!
This is the dirty little secret of kiting expeditions: for each hour of glorious glide, flying over the ice like battle wagging Valkyryes, there are ten hours of fastidious, labor intensive haggling with the elements, at the losing end of a sore deal. But sitting rarely gets you where you want to go, and so for the last two hours of today’s travel, we negotiated each hard earned kilometers until the wind just petered out around 15:30. We started with a bang and ended with a whimper: the glory points were worth the price of admission, nonetheless, with strong wind for the first ninety minute section of our day which netted us 26 kilometers and the 48.38 kilometers daily total was sweat and back pain tears. It seems the pattern has been just that: good mornings and early shut off. This will force us out of bed: the early bird gets to fly!
Day 24–The Routine
November 29, 2011 8:04 am
November 28, 2011
S75°03.035′ E013°10.911
Elevation 11231 feet
Antarctica is the largest ice mass in the world. But it wasn’t always the case, of course. During the last mini ice age, about 15,000 years ago, the Arctic ice cap expanded across all of Canada and as far south into the US as Pennsylvania. In fact, much of North America looked just like the terrain that we are experiencing here: vast, frozen and lifeless. As we advance farther into the heart of Antarctica, I can’t help but imagine–with a chill–what it would be like if the New York coastline was a mile or so below my skis. It may seem far fetched, but it isn’t, really. This is likely to happen again, though admittedly, I won’t be around when it does; which is just as well.
That thing about the early bird gets to fly from yesterday’s post has not turned out to be that, exactly. I woke up at six, then seven, then eight to the same lifeless excitement outside: the tent did not so much as flutter. Not a whiff of wind. It looked as though the day was a bust, but around 11:00 the low decibel sound of wind manifested timidly. There was just enough to get the big guns out, and the angle was acceptable: it meant beating upwind some, and with the powerful pull of the Yakuza’s, this translate to a real leg workout, but not necessarily much speed. Still, we were moving. The squeeze on my rib cage was less than ideal, but I have been popping Ibu 800′s like they were tic tacs–which brings up the concern of running out–and the pain comes and goes. I am frugal with the anti inflammatory at night to conserve on reserves. This means that any movement I make in the night typically wakes me up, and I am forced to sleep on my back. The strain is a downer, but I am getting used to it, and thankfully, apart from that, it is manageable.
The elephant in the room of this trip is, of course, the temperature. By the time we called the day, by 17:30, with winds so light the squeeze and effort were not worth the mileage, the temperature was around 35C below. The moment the effort stops, that cold has a bite that stays with you long after you’re in the tent and wrapped deep in the sleeping bag. Yesterday, I also noticed a crack in my sledge in one of the rails. It is of concern for the rest of the trip; not now while we are high on the plateau as the surface is smoother, but when we start encountering bad sastrugi again, this could have serious consequences. It surely happened on the demolition derby day, and I have been taking stowaway snow since. Argh! Another headache. We still managed 47.32 kilometers today and have broken 500 kilometers since Novo–504 to be exact!
Day 25–Wondrous Shapes
November 29, 2011 11:11 pm
November 29, 2011
S75°03.035′ E013°10.911
Elevation 11231 feet
Today did not turn out to be the day of glorious travel we have been waiting for. It was, by default, a day of rest. The morning was dead still and by noon, when a weak flutter manifested off the tent’s fabric, it turned out to be a Southeasterly–squarely where we are headed (our bearing at this point is 151°). Besides, by mid afternoon, as has been customary, the wind died altogether. A weak consolation prize: the sun was blasting the tent, and outside, the lack of wind made for a pleasant day which I optimized by going out on a walk. With camera, of course. I have been mesmerized by the shapes the low angle sun defines on the ice–raw, abstract and organic. This has become somewhat of an obsession these last weeks, and for today, a good way to constructively use time. Hidden in these random forms, shaped by the wind, are faces, animals or art deco lines and patterns. The ice delivers infinite variety, and chilly though it got, I put in two hours of good work. Besides, with four feet of ceiling space, a day in the tent essentially means lying down. Anytime the sun is out, the wind absent and temperatures hover around 20C below is a good opportunity to stretch the legs. This of course, will not get us closer to the 1167 kilometers that separates us from the POI, our first stop which I had hoped to reach by December 15th. It now means an daily average of around 72 kilometers, not daunting per se, but given the weak winds and poor direction–and our daily kiting average thus far: 42 kilometers!–a growing concern. This pretty much eclipses my hopes to make time on this leg for the uncertain stretch between POI and South Pole, a crossing that has, to this day, never been done. A big focus of the mission centers on that 800 kilometers section, opening it for the first time. Theoretically, the slow downhill grade that leads to the South Pole should generate tail winds, even if weak. Unfortunately, that is the same logic that should manifest northeasterly katabatics here and, well, we all know where that theory has gotten us. I had factored twenty five days for that section, one that remains a mystery. Any chartered flight within that region is so cost prohibitive that they are not even an option. In a few days, I will have to consider foregoing the POI and focus on the South Pole for just a transcontinental crossing. Our pick up off the ice is no later than January 26th. Seems a long way out, but not for the distances we need to cover. So we pray for good winds, starting tomorrow…
Day 26–Accounting
November 30, 2011 7:26 pm
November 30, 2011
S75°40.878 E015°03.356
Elevation 11212 Feet
Somebody’s wind prayers were answered today; but in a way commensurate with our age of lowered expectation and economic moderation! In other words, the wind did show but without much fanfare. Still, it was a northeasterly, which meant tailwinds and a more pleasant way to travel. The terrain has roughened up again, though nothing like what we experienced on that miserable day ten days ago. Besides, the sun was out, and while I am ever conscious to navigate around the steeper bumps in a constant effort to prevent further cracking of my sled, we did manage a reasonable 88 kilometers for the day. The wind progressively weakened until 17:00 when it shut off completely. This, by now, has proven to be the pattern–exactly why, I am not sure. Obviously it has to do with a thermal gradient, though I did not think these applied on the ice. We flew the 14 meter Yakuza’s all day. Thank God for those, as I have a feeling they will be our bread and butter until South Pole. It is amazing the pull they generate even in 8 to 10 knots of wind.
I am computing mileage and days every night, and based on a daily average of 45 kilometers per day, we should be able to make both poles. The winds are likely to be weakening however, especially between the POI and South Pole, a section which remains a large variable. For now, the target is to make 72 kilometers daily average until December 15, the date on which I would like to reach POI, 1080 kilometers from here. We will then have 26 days to reach South Pole, 800 kilometers further, with a daily average of 30 kilometers per day. This figures some pulling days when the wind is absent–and likely the toughest sections of the expedition, given the altitude, soft snow and temperature…
But for now, we focus on tomorrow.
PS Regarding today’s photo, obviously we are sustainable on the expedition, save the small amount of white fuel we burn (0.3 liter per day). But the flights to and from Los Angeles andd Montreal, including the charted flights to the ice, were made carbon neutral by our friends at Climate Partner. Thank you for that support!
Day 27–Work
December 1, 2011 10:57 pm
December 1st, 2011
S75°56.553 E016°12.944
Elevation 11277 feet
I’ll admit that there are moments during days like today when I can’t help but think that there are more productive ways to spend your time. The measure of one’s achievement, of course, is not defined by the glory days–anyone can shine on those. It is measured by the result, and the work it took to get you there. And today was the work; like punching the clock, and getting it done without much gratification. Winds at this altitude are expected to be light. That is the way the katabatic winds work: the low angle of the sun pushes cold air down; given its greater mass, cold air gains velocity as it rolls downhill, pulled by the same gravitational laws that hit Newton in the head with an apple. And given our altitude, there is not much more to go up, therefore not a lot of speed for winds to gather. But considering how light the wind was today, I wonder whether we will need a miracle to get to the POI on time–at the very least more prayers!
We set off in marginal conditions but managed to cover twenty four kilometers during our first two hour period. Over our second, however–what’s new?–the wind progessively dropped, and we managed barely eighteen. That is an average speed of nine kilometers per hour–an average! In reality, the last hour probably netted about five kilometers, down to a crawl. It is like watching paint dry, but with some added discomfort: a lot of stress on the knees; the back gets squeezed all ways by the harness–does wonders for sore ribs; and perhaps the worse is the tedium tha reaps havoc with the mind. Unfortunately my iPod, which showed full batteries upon setting off, died the moment the kite lifed off the ground. This was my first iPod day–which would have gone some ways in creating a diversion. I was left with all manners of psychological self-motivation which today, I will concede, amounted to little more than some cursing at the wrong end of spiritual contemplation! A consolation: heading with the wind means the cold is less noticeable: at minus 30C, even a light breeze cuts into the flesh like a razor blade. As well, the sun was out which made for a warmer travel day. In all we managed 43.1 in four hours before the wind simply shut off. We have covered 590 kilometers since we set off from Novo, twenty seven days ago. Still a long way to go. I did ponder on two pieces of gear that make my life out here noticeably more pleasant: my Northwinds over mitts made by my friend and Eric’s mother–simply the best damn over mitts I’ve ever worn, thank you Matty! And my goggles made for us by REVO, polarized and with remarkable definition; the best lenses on the market. Even better, they don’t fog up. Out here, equipment can sometimes put a smile on your face. And today it did.
