Category: Polar Traversing

Day: 10
Miles Advanced: 75.7
Miles From McMurdo: 488.1
Weather: Ground Storm, wind at 35 knots, 11F
Blue sky above but ground storm persisting. We made good time with no mechanical difficulties save the snow clogged air-filters on the Rinoth. We changed them out and are thawing the frozen ones on the generator. They should be good to go tomorrow.
Crossing the Ross Ice Shelf is a lot like crossing an ocean, except we drive instead of sail. “Water water everywhere but not a drop to drink.” In all directions a white loneliness stretches to the horizon. It’s a humbling sight because it makes you feel small and insignificant.
In the pictures you will see our Incinolet- which burns our crap AND our asses. You will also see Fortner and Jeff doing what they do in the Living Module. And there too is the Kitchen Module. All water comes from the snowmelter, which we fill about two or three times a day.

Day: 7
Miles Advanced: 35.7
Weather: Blowing snow, wind at 40 knots, visibility 50ft.
Nasty weather. We drove for a few hours today but after lunch conditions deteriorated. Visibility was reduced to the point where I could only see the tractor immediately in front. The lead guys with the ground penetrating radar (GPR) had a tough time identifying the trail so for safety reasons we stopped and parked the modules. The gusts of wind were so ferocious they rocked my tractor like ship at sea. We had to fuel our vehicles in that nonsense. In the tractor I had the heat on high while I sipped coffee. I observed the blizzard with a sort of detached fascination. “Cool, there’s blizzard out there!” However, once outside I was met with the realities of the situation head on. I was instantly cold, my hands turned to wood, and my face felt like it was being sandblasted with snow. Not fun.
There are actually two traverses this year. South Pole Traverse 1 (SPoT1) and SPoT2. We are SPoT1. Some people call us the “best of the best”. Anyway, SPoT2 will be departing McMurdo in a couple weeks taking full advantage of the trail we blaze. SPoT1 members are fully aware that every day we sit in camp, SPoT2 is gaining on us. To be honest, I would rather die than have those SPoT2 fucktards steal our glory. In fact, I would rather impale myself on a shovel (hari-kari style), than let SPoT2 get to pole first. They are called #2 for a reason- because they are like poop and don’t deserve privileges that SPoT1 has worked so hard for.

Day 6

Location: Ross Ice Shelf
Miles from McMurdo: 311.8
Elevation: 206ft
Weather: Sunny, 11F

We are making great time across the Ice Shelf, sometimes breaking the 10 mile per hour barrier. Two years ago 10 miles an hour was unheard of- as our loads were too heavy back then. The traverse is sleek and fast now. This year we left McMurdo with 144,000 gallons of fuel. The price of fuel once it gets to the South Pole costs approximately $30/gallon burdened. That means we are hauling 4.3 million dollars across a frozen wasteland. Crazy.

Most of the trip so far has been driving in whiteout conditions. It’s a strange experience because you can’t tell up from down. You begin to think you’re side-hilling or going around in a giant circle. I do my best to trust the GPS and occupy myself with music or an audiobook. Last year the traverse had a transmitter so the whole team could listen to an audiobook together on a radio channel. It was like a traverse book club! But unfortunately the transmitter broke and hasn’t been repaired since.