It has been a dramatic week in Antarctica. Colin O’Brady survived a crevasse fall, the lone crossing attempt ended with an evacuation, and Vincent Colliard is striving to keep pace with Christian Eide’s blistering Hercules Inlet to South Pole pace.
Crossings
ALE’s doctors suspect Cox has kidney stones. “[Cox had] started to experience some discomfort. As the pain worsened and other symptoms began to show, Sam sought medical advice. Despite Sam wanting to push on, the medical team intervened because of the risk to his physical well-being and the potential implications to his long-term health if left untreated,” Cox’s home team wrote on social media.
“It’s too early to say about another attempt,” Cox said. “However, the first 600km felt good, and there was plenty more in the tank.”
Sam Cox’s crossing is over. Photo: Sam Cox
Hercules Inlet to the South Pole
James Baxter is enjoying himself. “I cannot believe this weather,” he wrote just before Christmas, as he arrived at the Thiels Corner fuel cache. “It is yet again a beautiful cold, crisp clear day with little wind. I have nothing to compare it to so don’t know if I am being fortunate or whether this is the norm.”
Baxter noted the “multitude of tracks” from both skiers and vehicles heading from Thiels Corner toward the Pole. Though not equivalent to the South Pole Overland Traverse (SPOT) road linking the Pole to McMurdo Station, it’s interesting to consider whether this route could constitute a level of support too. At the very least, no navigation is necessary.
After the run of great weather, Dec. 25 was a whiteout, but Baxter still made 21km before setting up his tent. He is now 485km from the Pole.
A little over a day ahead of Baxter, Georgina Gilbert and Rebecca Openshaw-Rowe are doing well. They’ve been averaging over 25km per day, though the Christmas whiteout resulted in a truncated 20km day. The Brits have completed 813km. At their current pace, they should reach the Pole in a little over two weeks.
After a fuel leak, Pierre Hedan needed to hurry to the Pole to avoid losing his unsupported status. His pace hasn’t increased noticeably, but there’s no word of a resupply yet. He has 258km remaining.
Hedan celebrated Christmas with some letters from family and friends. Photo: Pierre Hedan
Speed record hopefuls
Well, it was a dramatic start for Colin O’Brady! Just 6km into his Hercules Inlet to the South Pole speed record attempt, O’Brady fell into a crevasse.
In an emotional Instagram post, O’Brady recounted how he broke through a snow bridge into a meter-wide hole. The traces on his sled kept him from falling in too deeply — luckily, the sled didn’t follow him in — and he managed to clamber out. A team from ALE arrived to retrieve his lost ski from 25 to 30m down in the crevasse and drive him back to his start point.
He has now set off again, resetting his timer to reach the Pole. He is not sharing his tracker but reports that he covered 48km on his second day, matching Christian Eide’s pace in the early going.
Vincent Colliard, who is sharing his tracker, has started behind Eide’s pace. He is covering over 40km per day, but regularly falling short of the 47km needed to match Eide. “I’m trying to keep up with the incredible pace of my friend…some days it takes me 11 or 11 and a half hours,” he said.
Photo: Vincent Colliard
“It has been very, very tough, incredibly hard battle these past two and half days because I was in a very thick whiteout,” he said in a recent audio update. “One day I fell four times and my sled capsized seven times.”
There’s still no word about the woman aiming to best Caroline Cote’s female speed record from last season, but unconfirmed reports identify the skier as Preet Chandi.
Berkner Island to the South Pole
Fat-biking to the Pole
Photo: Omar Di Felice
The Christmas period may have spurred some food cravings: “After 37 days, eating the same rations, my head decided to undermine my food balance by increasing the sense of hunger and unleashing unrealizable desires that I struggled to control,” he said in a recent update.
Guided trips
Photo: The Pole Expeditions
