Antarctica 2013: Teams Closing In On The South Pole

The end is in sight for most of the teams skiing to the South Pole, as several of them close in on the finish line at last. The next few days should be busy ones at 90ºS, as a spate of skiers arrive there after weeks out on the ice. For most, it'll be a welcome relief as they complete a journey that has been both mentally and physically exhausting. The season is beginning to wind down quite quickly now, but there is still plenty of work to be done before it is over.

One of the more distressing stories coming out of Antarctica is that of Juan Menendez Granados. I haven't written much about Juan's expedition this season, but he has been skiing and cycling to the South Pole, alternating between modes of transportation depending on the conditions. ExWeb is reporting that because the expedition is taking longer than he had originally expected, Juan is now running low on food. He has plenty of fuel to keep melting snow for water, but his rations are running out quickly and he is still several days from the Pole at best. ALE could drop him a resupply, but he was hoping to make the journey unsupported. We'll have to wait to see if he can still finish in that fashion. When you're working hard 12 hours a day and burning more than 8000 calories in the process, there is never enough food for a journey of this type. But in this case, it sounds like Juan will be extremely hungry when he gets to the Pole.

Elsewhere, Antony Jinman is closing in on his finish and now expects to reach 90ºS sometime tomorrow night. Yesterday he traveled in a complete whiteout for the entire day, but still managed to knock off 16 nautical miles (29.6 km). That leaves him with about 30 nautical miles (55.5 km) to go to the Pole. The plan is to push it extra hard today, and cover as much distance as he can, so that he can wrap things up relatively easily tomorrow. Hopefully the weather will cooperate, making his final push to the end an easier one.


Lewis Clarke is in the homestretch and should be on pace to reach the Pole this weekend. He, and his guide Carl Alvey, have reached the Polar Plateau and are now skiing on a relatively flat surface that has fewer sastrugi and other obstructions, which should make for easier skiing. As of yesterday, they still had 65 miles (104 km ) to go before they finish, but at their current pace that should put them in on Saturday as expected. When he is done, Lewis will become the youngest person ever to ski the full distance to the Pole at just 16 years old.

Chris and Marty Fagan are also nearing the end. They're traveling at a slightly slower pace at this point, but have only 46.6 miles (75 km) to cover before they reach the South Pole. That should also put them in on Saturday, provided everything goes as expected.

South Pole cyclist Daniel Burton only rode for a couple of hours yesterday due to heavy snow falling. That made for tough going on soft new snow and with limited visibility. He had hoped to make it to the South Pole this weekend as well, although since he is still sitting at 88ºS42"W, he has some miles to cover before he is done. The weather is expected to improve today, so hopefully he can make up some ground and reach the Pole this weekend after all. Any more delays will probably push that arrival into early next week.

Finally, no Antarctic report would be complete with out an update from the Scott Expedition. Ben and Tarka reached one of their supply depots on Monday, which allowed them to restock their food and fuel for the next stage of their journey. The next few days promise to be incredibly tough ones for an expedition that has seen its fair share after 82 days on the ice. The boys are descending the Beardmore Glacier and aren't able to use their skis at the moment. Instead they have donned crampons and are slowly and carefully making their way back down to the Ross Ice Shelf. Once there, they feel like the pace will pick up considerably as they make their push toward the coast, but it'll take them four days to complete the descent, which will make things more difficult in the meantime. In order to negotiate the tricky blue ice of the glacier, they've connected their two sleds to one another, and they are taking turns splitting the duties of one of them in the front pulling the sleds, while the other is in the back, helping to steer. This will be their approach for the next few days, until they can don their skis again and get back to their normal mode of transportation.

That's all for today. Watch for more updates later in the week as the teams begin to arrive at the South Pole.

Plane Crash Claims 18 Lives In Nepal

A plane crash in Nepal on Monday claimed the lives of the 18 people on board. The flight crashed into the side of a hill after taking off from the town of Pokhara. Most of the passengers were Nepali, although there was one Dane aboard the flight as well.

Air traffic controllers lost contact with the plane just minutes after takeoff. It was en route to Kathmandu with 15 passengers and three crew members. The Twin Otter aircraft, a staple in the mountainous landscapes of Nepal, went down on a hill known as Masinelek. The official cause of the crash is bad weather.

This is the third crash in as many years in Nepal, bringing into question the safety of flying there. According to the BBC article linked to above, since 1949, there have been more than 70 aircraft crashes in Nepal, with over 700 people dying in those crashes. For the size of the country, that is a pretty astounding number, but when you factor in the High Himalaya, and the unpredictable weather, it becomes a bit more understandable.

Despite the remote and difficult terrain that this plane went down in, the bodies have already been recovered and returned to Kathmandu. My condolences go out to the friends and family of those who died in this accident.

Video: (To)Day Dream - REI Reminds Us to Spend Some Time Outdoors

This video seems highly appropriate as we head into the weekend. It is a a short, but sweet, reminder to get outside and enjoy nature. It comes our way courtesy of REI – who obviously has a vested interest in getting us outdoors – but it is a great message nonetheless. Yes, we're all busy and have very complicated lives. But some time outdoors can help us sort through all of that. So, as the video says find an empty spot on your calendar and find an empty spot on the map. It is as simple as that.

(To)day Dream from REI on Vimeo.

Video: Cinedrones are Awesome!

Recently I've mentioned a few times how I think the use of drones in adventure filmmaking is going to change the craft forever. The video below is dedicated to that vary thing, showing us how these little flying camera platforms can deliver amazing results. This is really fun and interesting stuff to be sure.

CINEDRONES ARE AWESOME from ANTIMEDIA on Vimeo.

Winter Climbs 2014: Base Camp Departure On Nanga Parbat

The teams attempting the first winter ascent of Nanga Parbat have been in "hurry up, and wait" mode for most of their stay on the mountain so far. That isn't unexpected on a climb in Pakistan in the middle of the coldest, most dangerous season of all. The weather has offered few opportunities for climbing too high on the mountain so far, but the climbers knew it would be like that before they ever arrived. So, they have been taking advantage of those opportunities as they come and have been patiently waiting for things to improve while they acclimatize as best they can. Over the weekend, conditions on the mountain improved slightly, giving them a chance to move higher and scout the route more properly.

The big news coming out of Pakistan is that the Polish Justice For All team has lost a man. According to ExWeb, Marek Klonowski has left the squad and returned home after his partner gave birth to their child. Being on Nanga wasn't as important as being with his expanding family, so he took leave of his friends and returned to Poland. That leaves Tomek Mackiewicz, Jacek Teler and Paweł Dunaj as the climbing team, with Michał Dzikowski and Michał Obrycki as their support crew.

Meanwhile, the North Face team of Simone Moro, David Göttler and Emilio Pevitali report that weather has indeed improved, but they remain in Base Camp at the moment to let the winds clear the snow from the higher portions of the mountain. This will reduce avalanche risk significantly and make it much safer for them as the move up to Camp 1, and possibly Camp 2, over the next few days. They'll work hard to shuttle gear up the route and establish their high camps, while also acclimatizing to the altitude at the same time.

Meanwhile, Daniele Nardi will soon set off for Pakistan as well as he attempts a solo summit of Nanga Parbat. He is due in country next week and should make his way to the mountain quite quickly. We've already seen Ralf Dujmovits abandon a similar attempt this winter due to unsafe conditions. It'll be interesting to see if Daniele will have better luck on his own expedition.

That's it for today. Hopefully we'll have more word on team movement in the next few days.

Video: A Higher Crawling

We share a steady stream of interesting and informative videos here at The Adventure Blog, so every once in awhile it's nice to get one that is just plain fun. Like the clip below, which is a parody of mountaineering videos, although this time it stars a couple of 6 month old climbing phenoms who are rivals at first, but eventually bond over their love of the high spaces of our planets. And diapers. I hope it puts a smile on your face. Enjoy.

A Higher Crawling from eric becker on Vimeo.

Video: Paragliding Through the Italian Dolomites

We've seen some amazing videos from the Dolomites in Northern Italy, but we've never seen those famous mountains from this perspective before. This video was shot on a 50 km (31 mile) flight in a paraglider that soared high above the iconic jagged peaks that are a trademark of the region. This four-and-a-half-minute clip will give us a look at these mountains that most of us will never see, and it is well worth the trip. Enjoy!

Amazing day in the Dolomites from Robi on Vimeo.