Tom Hunt’s attempt to break Vincent Colliard’s blistering Hercules Inlet to South Pole speed record has come up short. Hunt needed to finish today, on December 22, to best Colliard’s time of 22 days, 6 hours, and 8 minutes.
Hunt had kept a record pace for most of his expedition, but could not match Colliard’s closing kick. On day 18, he managed 48km, a big day by any standard, but short of what he required. This kilometer deficit then compounds, piling on the pressure for a big distance the following day. At that point, Hunt still held out hope, keeping his fingers crossed for “less sastrugi, because that’s what is really slowing me down.”
Going for broke
On the evening of day 19, he decided to “go for broke,” making one last run at the record. He planned to sleep little for the next three days and eat into his remaining food, including the supplies for future days.
At the time of our Antarctic update last Friday, Hunt needed to average over 60km per day to break the record. But by this point, his body was a “bit of a mess,” and he was calorie-counting, with his food supplies perilously close to running out. Yesterday, he managed only around 30km.
“I didn’t get any sleep, my body is drained,” he said in an audio update. The sastrugi had flattened out, but the snow was powder — “Pick your poison.”
Hunt is still short of 89°. In his latest update, he details his discussions with Antarctica Logistics & Expeditions regarding a resupply. Clearly torn on the decision, and acknowledging that it might bankrupt him, he concluded it was too risky to continue without more food.
He is now heading to a supply drop that he expects to reach tomorrow before taking on the last degree. He has roughly 130km remaining to the South Pole.
