One Week In (Log #8)
L O U ' S D I A R Y
Day 7 in Antarctica. Lou and Colin restart their separate solo journeys as near whiteout conditions descend on the glacier. Lou makes 14 nautical miles with the biography of Winston Churchill playing in his ears...
Nov 9 2018 -
Good evening everyone…
Reporting in now from day 7 of the expedition. Hard to believe I’ve been out here for a week now, slogging my way across the ice shelf, but yeah, been absolutely amazing and been really hard work as well.
So this morning I woke to similar conditions, really poor visibility not quite complete whiteout, can just about make out the line on the horizon, but still again really difficult to read the surface which makes the going difficult. It’s almost pointless looking down, you can’t see the ground at all – it’s all these undulations. So very much just staring at my compass for the whole of the day and glancing back up at the horizon to see if there’s any sign of glacier in the light.
There was no sign of Colin this morning. So I think he obviously had a much earlier start and has gone. I think it’s actually a good thing for both of us – we want to do be doing our own separate solo journeys. So I think that’s sort of quite good. Now I can just focus on my expedition, my journey and kind of do it my way. That’s what I came here for. For me what it’s all about is successfully completing and reaching the other side. Which will be absolutely amazing. In the headphones today I listened to an audiobook – a biography of Churchill. I’ve actually got two or three audiobooks on him which I’ll be listening to throughout the journey. One of those was written by Boris Johnson as well so I’ll be listening to that.
So yeah – so sort of steady day and I finished slightly earlier because there were a few things I needed to do this evening, like dry out my boot liners and other stuff. Still managed 14 nautical miles, which I’m really pleased with at this stage of the expedition. Climbing again as well – I’ve had a look and now just under 2500 feet – so yeah a fair bit of climbing in the last week. Heading towards the pole which is at about 1300.
I’ve had a few questions about kit and weight saving. One of the ways I’ve managed to save a bit of weight is I’ve basically got one set of underwear and thermals which I’m wearing throughout the entire journey, for the whole duration. I’m sure I smell pretty bad already, but I don’t think it’ll get much worse. I think I can manage with just the one set it should be absolutely fine.
I just want to give a shout out to Alastair who I believe has been dragging a tire around every day, matching me on the expedition for the last week. I’m sure getting a few good old stares so well done Alastair. And to finish off a thank you to General Manson from the British Army. Again he’s been a key backer for this expedition and the one crazy enough to actually sign off the list. So you to thank for me getting all the support throughout this expedition and helping make it happen.
Looking forward to getting out there tomorrow.
Onwards…
