Thiels Corner (Log #17)
L O U ' S D I A R Y
Day 18 in Antarctica. After a few difficulties in communication we're back with Lou. It's another day of tough whiteout conditions. Zero visibility. No line on the horizon. Powdery snow underfoot. Determined to make it to Thiels Corner, Lou heaves his sinking pulk through the thick snow and chips through all 8 nautical miles before finally catching sight of a snow clearing vehicle, signalling his arrival at Thiels...
Nov 20 2018 -
Good evening everyone…
Reporting in now from day 18 of the expedition. Apologies for yesterday, apparently there were some issues with the blog but I had a great day yesterday with a full ten hours and pretty good conditions and 12 and a half nautical miles.
Today, day 18, was a complete contrast. I woke up this morning, and when I first came out of the tent: complete white-out. Zero visibility, really poor vis – I didn’t even have a line on the horizon. I knew I was going to be in for a difficult day. As soon as I set off, it started snowing as well, and it pretty much snowed all day. It was a fine powdery snow that you get down here in Antarctica, but it really hampered progress. The pulk was sinking up to its belly with the weight. It made it feel super-heavy. It felt worse than at the beginning of the expedition to be honest! I knew I’d be in for a long, slow slog inside a ping-pong ball today.
But I had a target. I wanted to reach Thiels Corner, which was eight nautical miles away, so I decided to chip away at it and keep going to reach Thiels. I’ve mentioned it before, there’s a runway there, a couple of buildings, a snow clearing vehicle, a few other bits and pieces and some fuel drums.
I didn’t actually see it until I was less than a mile away, it was that whiteout, thick and gloomy. It was great, towards the end of the day, to see these black specks appear in front of me. By the end of the day I’d reached Thiels, and I managed to push on beyond Thiels as well about a mile or so, which is where I’m now camped. Which is great. I know I’ve reached 85 degrees South, and I’m about 6 miles into 85 now as well. My bearing changes now, so I’m running in a more direct line towards the South Pole, about 294 miles away, but at least I am now aiming at the Pole each day.
What I’ll do is the competition I did last night that didn’t work out as the blog didn’t come through for some reason. I’ll leave you a bit more time. I’ll run the competition I mentioned the other day in tomorrow night’s blog.
That’s all from me, from just beyond Thiels Corner. I shall bid you all goodnight.
Onwards...