Youngmi Kim is pushing on with her solo unsupported crossing despite sleepless nights, nausea, and equipment problems. At least, the issues with her ski skin have abated.
Meanwhile, Frederick Fennessy is on day five of his Berkner Island to South Pole trek. Skiers on the Hercules Inlet and Messner Start routes will leave any day now, and an Irish runner broke the Antarctic marathon record by 15 minutes.
Crossings
So far, Ashkay Nanavati has covered 145km of his 2,736km solo unsupported crossing. He had a rough day on November 19, battling through whiteout conditions. The new snow made the day his hardest yet.
Nanavati took a shorter, easier day on the 20th to recover, although the fresh snow remained taxing. He’s thinking strategically: With most of Antarctica still in front of him, he’s proceeding cautiously and listening to his body.
“A journey like this is not just grinding it out and brute forcing it every day,” he noted. “Of course, there is that too, but it is kind of like a game of chess with a lot of strategy involved.”
Photo: Screenshot
South Korean Youngmi Kim’s solo unsupported crossing is in its 14th day. She’s currently completed 230km out of 1,700km. In our last update, we noted that Youngmi Kim seemed to be struggling with the climbing skin (used for traction while hauling a sled) on her left ski. On day three, she was still battling its non-stickiness and trying to warm it up in her armpit, although skin glue isn’t really affected by temperature.
However, this was the last time she mentioned the difficulty, so it appears that she’s found a solution.
Youngmi Kim has also struggled with whiteouts during the day, and the noise of the wind has kept her up at night. On day eight, she vomited before breakfast but only lost the water she drank that morning, not the previous night’s dinner. Finally, she had trouble getting her solar charger to function properly. But it seems she’s overcome that, too. Her status updates, when not detailing equipment problems, lean toward the poetic.
The latest reads, “The sun has risen. The shadow has returned. The shadow becomes the compass of the sundial. The time that passes by stepping on my shadow makes me feel at ease.”
Photo: Screenshot
Hercules Inlet to the South Pole
Since our last update, two more skiers have joined the roster on the 1,130km Hercules Inlet to South Pole route.
Satish Gogineni of India will go solo and unsupported. He is currently en route to Union Glacier.
Rasmus Kragh of Denmark should also start his Poleward journey shortly. The athlete and personal coach arrived in Antarctica on November 19, according to his GPS tracker.
The two women attempting solo unsupported treks from Hercules Inlet (Catherine Buford and Karen Kyllesø) have arrived in Antarctica. In an Instagram post today, Buford noted that she’s flying to Hercules Inlet that afternoon to begin her expedition.
Arne-Kristian Teigland, who will also be on the route, is still in the prepping phase.
Messner Start to South Pole
Ali Riza Bilal is at Union Glacier Camp and should fly out to the Messner Start either today or tomorrow. John Huntington should also be underway soon. The Messner route to the South Pole is about 911km.
Berkner Island to South Pole
Frederick Fennessy’s solo unsupported Berkner-to-South-Pole expedition is in its fifth day. As recorded in his most recent update, the skier has completed 75km of his 1,400km route, traveling mostly uphill and through occasional patches of deep snow.
“Been lucky with the weather. Slight breeze, -15 [degrees Celsius] hitting my left side most days. And visibility’s been pretty okay as well. No whiteout. Definitely a flat light, just enough to make out the horizon in the distance. It’s been a lot warmer than I anticipated…but I’m sure the cooler temperatures will come in the next few weeks or so,” he said.
Fennessy expects the terrain to flatten out soon.
Photo: Screenshot
Constellation Inlet to Mount Vinson
James McAlloon and Robert Smith’s skiing/mountaineering expedition from Constellation Inlet to the summit of Mount Vision is still in preparation.
In a message to ExplorersWeb, McAlloon (an Australian) shared that he’s excited to be part of only the second team to undertake such a project. He also expressed a little national pride that the other team that did it (in 2007) was also led by an Australian (Duncan Chessell).
McAlloon and Smith will ski 300km to the base of Mount Vinson in 20 days, then spend up to 10 days on the mountain itself.
Irish runner breaks Antarctic marathon record
William Maunsell ran 42km in 2:38:42 last week, notching the fastest-ever marathon time on the continent. He broke the existing record held by his coach, Sean Tobin, by nearly 15 minutes.
Maunsell set the record as part of the Great World Race — seven marathons on seven continents in seven days. Fifty-four competitors from 15 countries participated this year.
“It was a bit tough at the start for about 2K, but there’s a big back section that’s slightly downhill. The wind was behind you, and you can really make time on that part,” the runner told Reuters.
