Descending from the polar plateau, Matthieu Tordeur and Heidi Sevestre have had difficult kiting conditions, particularly after passing Thiels Corner. They described getting “trapped in wide depressions that made progress difficult. The wind was sometimes swirling, disappearing completely before returning in sudden gusts. We had to constantly maneuver, wait, and persevere, always with the fear of being stuck for several days.”
However, their tracker shows that they’ve managed the winds well. They’ve knocked off most of the 700km that remained in our last update and are now a mere 85km from the sea ice and their end point. With fair winds, they could finish today.
Matthieu Tordeur and Heidi Sevestre are about to finish their mammoth kite-skiing journey. Photo: Under Antarctica Expedition
Antarctic crossing
Colin O’Brady had sped up over the last few weeks, but has slowed again around 87°. This area is full of sastrugi — frozen waves of hard snow formed by the wind. They can be particularly treacherous in whiteouts, when skiers can’t see them in the flat light. In such light, you can fall over a cliff without even realizing it’s there, so tripping repeatedly over shin-high sastrugi is easy to do.
O’Brady described day 68, on January 20, as the hardest he had experienced in weeks. “Managed only 9 miles [14.5km]. My lowest mileage in a very long time. Spent the day yanking, dragging, pulling with my arms…doing anything I can to make progress,” he wrote.
With around 280km remaining to the Pole, and with O’Brady remaining tight-lipped about how much food and fuel he has, it will be interesting to see if he plans to continue from there on toward Berkner Island.
Sastrugi in clear weather around 87°. Photo: Colin O’Brady
Hercules Inlet to the South Pole
Monet Izabeth rushed through the 150km she had left to the South Pole without incident, finishing her expedition in 57 days. Her social media team says she is “the first American woman to [reach the South Pole] by ski, solo, and unsupported from Hercules Inlet.”
Andrea Dorantes was a little further ahead and finished on January 18 after 55 days. She became “the first Latin American person” to complete the route, according to her social media.
Other expeditions
Like Tordeur and Sevestre, Norwegian duo Kathinka and Emma Gyllenhammar are heading toward Hercules Inlet/Union Glacier camp. They have also struggled with the wind after leaving the South Pole.
Their last update was a week ago, when they reported a grim forecast for the week ahead: “light winds, whiteout, and snowfall are what’s waiting for us.” It’s unclear how much progress they’ve made since.
