Day Fourteen: 154 miles travelled, 545 miles remaining
Knowing Antarctica, the conditions won’t be this kind for long, but it was beautiful today. With Bluebird skies above me it was time to make hay while the sun shines and, in another added bonus, it also feels like the deep snow is lessening slightly. Hopefully, this means I’m nearing the end of it. Fingers crossed.
Annoyingly, I couldn’t capitalise on the good weather fully. There was a delay in receiving my updated waypoints for today’s route, meaning I could only ski a half day. I decided not to ski late into the evening to make up for this morning’s lost time. I could risk putting my whole schedule at risk and I’m entering heavily crevassed area again tomorrow onwards. It was frustrating, but I kept focusing on the positive – extra rest is always valuable…especially when you’ve been feeling a bit under the weather!
Today’s conditions weren’t quite as perfect as they sound. Even with blue skies it remains bitterly cold and that can hurt. Yesterday, I accidentally exposed both thumbs when I sliced my gloves open on something sharp (I think, my compass mount). It was incredibly painful as I felt them start to freeze up in minutes, but the most painful part was heating them up again – it was agonising waiting for the blood to get back into circulation!
This afternoon’s conditions created a real sense of belonging. The Antarctic is so peaceful anyway, but when there’s no wind, it’s even more so. The landscape looks like an angry Sea, only someone flipped a switch and it instantly froze. I know this will sound impossible, but I actually got too warm today! Even though it was still -10/-15C, the combination of blazing sunshine, no wind, a million layers of clothing and a sled to pull made it very warm going.
So, despite the shorter day, there was enough reason to be a little tired. It’s been a beautiful day in a beautiful place and with a Mac’n’Cheese dinner to look forward to, it’s a beautiful ending.
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