Henry Worsley waiting in Punta Arenas
(Correne Coetzer) Last week the ANI start-up crew flew from the southern tip of South America to Union Glacier on Antarctica to prepare the blue-ice runway for the first Ilyushin-76 flight of the season and to set up base camp for the adventurers. Landing at Union Glacier was delayed because of high winds, but when they eventually got there, the wind assisted the snow blowers to clear the runway.
In Punta Arenas, Henry Worsley is still playing the waiting game. He has an 80-day, 1100-mile solo, unassisted, unsupported ski traverse ahead and wants to get to his start point at Gould Bay, Berkner Island, as soon as possible.
Today the Ilyushin will be loaded, and weather permitting and everything else good-to-go, the Big Bird will fly tomorrow, November 3rd.
At the southern tip of Africa, The Antarctic Company (TAC) is also getting ready to fly their Ilyushin-76 to their base camp near Novolazarevskaya, with climbers and skiers to Dronning Maud Land (DML) and the Last Degree South Pole, starting this month. Among them is Eric Philips, who is taking his usual Chinese group and thereafter he will be solo kite-skiing in DML. Austrian mountain guide, Christof Höbenreich is also on his way to Cape Town with a group of skiers/climbers, heading for DML.
#skisouthpole #southpole2015 #antarctica
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