Solo Fin, Vesa Luomala, arrived at the South Pole
Posted: Jan 22, 2014 09:45 pm EST
(By Correne Coetzer) On December 1st, Vesa started off from Hercules Inlet and completed the 1130 km on January 22nd at 15h02 Chilean time, he reports. He completed the route solo, unassisted and unsupported.
He and Daniel Briton had a tour of the South Pole Station and were to be picked up soon after that by the ALE plane as the weather was deteriorating, which would delay a return to Union Glacier.
On his last day Vesa covered 18.1 km in 5h 20 minutes. He reported an air temeprature of -27ºC and wind of 0-4 m/s
ExWeb interview with Vesa Luomala, "there is no room for underestimating a place like Antarctica"
Last men standing are Ben and Tarka on the Ross Ice Shelf on their return to Cape Evans.
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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, completed
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, completed
Carl Alvey (ANI guide) and Lewis Clarke, UK, Hercules Inlet, 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:
Daniel Burton and his bicycle at the South Pole
Lewis Clarke (16) became youngest person to ski from the coast to the South Pole
Married couple, Chris and Marty Fagan, arrived at the South Pole
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 #vesaluomala
courtesy Vesa Luomala, SOURCE
courtesy Vesa Luomala, SOURCE
courtesy Vesa Luomala, SOURCE
courtesy ExplorersWeb, SOURCE