Married couple, Chris and Marty Fagan, arrived at the South Pole
Posted: Jan 19, 2014 01:29 pm EST
(By Correne Coetzer) Chris and Marty reported that they have arrived at the South Pole on Day 48, January 18th. They left from the Ronne-Filchner Ice Shelf (Messner route) on December 2nd and skied the 890 km route unassisted and unsupported. The couple reported to have arrived 90ºS at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Standard Time.
“Oh my gosh, today was another tough day thrown at us,” reported Chris. “It was the coldest day that we’ve ever had here. It was -50 below with the wind chill, Fahrenheit. So that was very, very stressful to deal with the cold.”
Marty’s hands were really cold most of the day as they traveled, she said. They did not take their regular breaks to eat because it was just too cold. “We were afraid to get so cold. We ended up just barely eating anything and, you know, basically you’re almost at the Pole and then you have to turn left, ski away from it and then go around [designated science areas]. So we kind of had a tour, a circular tour of the Pole before we could actually pull in here. But, we even threw on our big down jackets as we did the final leg to get in, just to get warm.”
The couple enjoyed the luxury of the ANI camp at the South Pole; a heated dining tent with tables and chairs and five-star food cooked by an ANI chef.
Chris added that they are happy to be done and emotions are coming out of their bodies.
Marty and Chris Fagan, married outdoor team for the past 15 years. ExWeb South Pole interview
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2013 South Pole teams
Unassisted, unsupported:
Vesa Luomala, FI, Hercules Inlet, solo
Antony Jinman, UK, Hercules Inlet, solo, completed
Marty and Chris Fagan, USA, Ronne-Filchner Ice Shelf start
Juan Menendez Granados, ES, Hercules Inlet, solo cycle, completed
Assisted, Unsupported
Ben Saunders and Tarka L’Herpiniere, UK, UK/FR, Cape Evans return journey
Daniel Burton, USA, Hercules Inlet, cycle
Carl Alvey (ANI guide) and Lewis Clarke, UK, Hercules Inlet
Devon McDiarmid (CA, ANI guide), Joshua Hodgkinson (AU), and Wen Yuan (China), Ronne-Filchner Ice Shelf [Update Jan. 02:50 EDT correction: Arabella Slinger, is not part of Devon’s team as previously stated. ANI reported to ExWeb that she suffered an injury prior and is not in the team guided by Devon.] completed
Other
ANSMET meteorite hunters 2013-14
Dronning Maud Land Project Facebook and Blog page
Aleksander Gamme, Espen Fadnes, Kjersti Eide, Jonas Langseth, Andy Kirkpatrick and Ingeborg Jakobsen.
Australian Mawson Centenary Expedition Spirit of Mawson website
AAE 2013-2014 Interpret Science website [Rescued]
Gateway port Cape Town, South Africa:
To ALCI /TAC base camp Novolazarevskaya / Novo
70° 46’37”S, 011° 49’26”E
Gateway port Punta Arenas, Chile, South America:
To ALE/ANI base camp, Union Glacier
79° 45'S, 083° 14'W
Hercules Inlet is located at 80°S near Union Glacier, 1130 km from the Geographic South Pole.
The bottom of the Leverett Glacier, at the Ross Ice Shelf, is located at about 85ºS, a distance of 550 km from the Geographic South Pole.
The Ronne-Filchner Ice Shelf (Messner) start is 890 km in a straight line from the Pole.
1 nautical mile (nm) = 1.852 km
1 nm = 1.151 miles
1 knot = 1.852 km/h
1 degree of Latitude is 110 km / 60 nm / 70 miles
Sastrugi are hard snow bumps and can be as high as 10 feet
A nunatak is a top of a mountain visible above the snow surface.
South Pole of Inaccessibility 2011-12 position:
S82°06.696, E055°01.951
Geographic South Pole: 90 degrees South
A "solo" ski requires an unassisted status (therefore no supplies carried by pilots or car drivers, or anything received from any person).
Previous/Related:
Juan Menendez Granados and his bicycle reached the South Pole
Antony Jinman and his drones at the South Pole
South Pole arrivals and False Record Claims
Gamme and team to climb, jump and ski in Dronning Maud Land
Antony Jinman with two drones to the South Pole, ExWeb interview
Carl Alvey to guide 16-year-old Lewis Clarke to the South Pole: ExWeb interview
China’s growing presence in Antarctica
ExWeb interview with Lewis Clarke (16): to ski 1130 km Hercules Inlet route
ExWeb interview with Vesa Luomala, "there is no room for underestimating a place like Antarctica"
ExWeb South Pole 2013 interview with Geoff Wilson, "my mind I feel will be the greatest maze of all"
Marty and Chris Fagan, married outdoor team for the past 15 years. ExWeb South Pole interview
ExWeb interview with Juan Menendez Granados: the greatest challenge
ExWeb South Pole 2013 interview with Geoff Wilson, "my mind I feel will be the greatest maze of all"
ExWeb South Pole kick-off interview: Daniel Burton, return cycle journey
ExWeb interview with Eric Philips, three decades of polar experience
Breaking news: Christian Eide bags the South Pole solo speed ski world record
AdventureStats and Rules of Adventure
Adventure Network International (ANI) / ALE
Antarctic Logistics Centre International (ALCI) / TAC
#polar #southpole2013 #southpole2013-14 #antarctica #ChrisFagan #MartyFagan #fagancouple
courtesy Marty Fagan and Chris Fagan, SOURCE
courtesy Christopher Michel , SOURCE
courtesy ExplorersWeb, SOURCE