by Ian | May 31, 2014 | Antarctica 2018, Expeditions, Training, Trip Report
Norway is logistically perhaps one of the more challenging places to run a training expedition, which is without even mentioning the expense involved with such a task (as Europe’s third most expensive country to live in). However, this piece of Scandinavia straddling the Arctic Circle offers the best opportunity for the team to cultivate the necessary skills required for the South. After several months of planning, the team finally arrived in Jostedalen on May 25th followingan epic journey consisting of four ferries covering 600 miles and a total distance driven of 685 miles. One member of the group, Tom, flew in especially to meet the team having just returned from a tour of duty with the Royal Corps of Signals in Afghanistan and so it was good to see him back with the team after 4 months hiatus.
To acclimatise ourselves to the surroundings, Monday (the first day on the hills) was spent exploring an area near to the camp site called the Nigardsbreen Glacier. It is one of the most accessible glaciers within the Jostedalen valley but does require crampons and should not be attempted without relevant experience due to its never-ending procession towards Lake Nigardsbrevatnet, oh, and there are crevasses too!
The following two days (27/28), we hired a guide Sigbjorn from Norges Guidene; the objectives of these days was to learn as much from the guide as possible about cross-country skiing to continue our learning and development. We visited two different areas, Vonndalen & Sprongdalen where we learnt a range of skills from ski maintenance, downhill technique & route finding. An extremely patient man, Sigbjorn has lived here all his life and is never shy to comment on how our technique needs improving! He did say that throughout the second day, the team had vastly improved and was impressed that we spent much more time on top of the snow rather than falling into it. The weather could not have been better to spend time on the snow, clear sky giving excellent visibility, and good temperatures to soften the surface just enough.
Thursday (29th) was our first day skiing without the guide, 
so it was important to consolidate all the skills learnt over the past two days and use this time for some extra practice. We headed up into the same area as Tuesday to practice laying tracks and honing our downhill technique (a lot easier said than done on skis that are not as adept at taking on slopes as their Alpine counterparts). We got to the top of the valley, set up a slalom course with a couple of jumps and spent the morning working on the technique. Everyone had improved so much that thankfully the descent down the valley took 30 minutes rather than the two hours it took a few days previous. We were again blessed with the weather, giving excellent conditions to consolidate the skills learnt from Sigbjorn; the only downside was having to stop every hour and apply more sun cream.
So, this takes us to our adventures in the last 12 hours of the trip, when we headed up into the Sprongdalen valley. The plan was to continue our learning and practising the skills from earlier in the week, skills that have thus far proved to be extremely useful as our route up the valley was full of avalanche debris – we had to pick tracks carefully and move fast over the uneven terrain (thankfully and unbelievably no one fell over). Our lunch spot was by a secluded bothy with spectacular views of the valley on all sides, where we took the opportunity to work on our downhill technique a bit more. A valuable lesson was learnt by the changing weather conditions that had turned cold and windy, making the progress up the valley hard going. It is difficult, but imperative to manage our pace and clothing layers in order to reduce sweating and the cooling effect this has on the body. This can be a fatal mistake if not controlled and the importance of this as a vital skill that we must master for Antarctica is felt by the entire team.
Every member of the team has taken away some invaluable learning points this week: how skiing uses all of your body’s muscles and takes its toll. We have come to realise over a short time period that perfecting an efficient technique, as well as food, will be key to maintaining vital energy during our polar bid.
Keep an eye out for our next training update from the glaciers of Norway next week!
– Matt, HSX Antarctica Assistant Expedition Leader
by Ian | May 23, 2014 | Antarctica 2018, Expeditions, Training
A lot of food is needed in order to survive the harsh polar conditions of the Antarctic whilst dragging a 150kg pulk for over 80 days. Here, we’ve have listed three of the most important foods that we believe can make or break an expedition to the South Pole.
1 Butter – Full of fat and calories. On average there are about 717 calories per 100 grams of the stuff! Every major expedition since Scott’s ill-fated Terra Nova expedition in 1912 has used butter to get the right amount of calories per day in order to function against the extreme polar conditions. The team will be using butter in almost every meal to ensure we take on enough fat to reduce the threat of wasting away.
2 Nuts – They may be small in size, but nuts will make up to 2500 calories of our daily requirement of 8000 calories. The team will mainly eat nuts whilst skiing to reduce the time sitting down which must be kept to no more than 20 minutes at a time, or else the risk of hypothermia becomes extremely high. They are very easy to eat on the go. However, to avoid cracking a tooth, a good tip is to eat them with hot soup or water.
3 Chocolate calorie bomb – This is every girl’s nightmare however for us this could be a lifesaver. The ‘bomb’ itself is made of chocolate, golden syrup, toffee and caramel, which is then compressed into a 3x3x3 inch block, coming in at around 1000 calories – the equivalent of two Big Macs! This will be the team’s emergency ration, which will be used in the direst of situations to give an instant energy boost.
Food is what will get us to the South Pole and back safely and is a big part of keeping morale high; the only problem we will face is the dentist afterwards! To help us with the massive amount of food we need, Expedition Foods are kindly supporting the team and will help provide food at a discounted rate which is fit for use in Antarctica.
This list is only a small proportion of the food we will be taking to Antarctica but gives a snapshot of what we have to look forward to. Will it inspire you on your next expedition?
What would your polar expedition diet consist of?
by Ian | Apr 21, 2014 | Trip Report
This Easter 28 Scouts, Explorers, Network and Scout Active Support members return to Great Tower for an amazing weekend of adventure in the Lake District.
Arriving in the Lakes on Thursday the team members enjoyed 3 full days of high adventure splitting into different groups each day to experience different activities and areas of the Lake District.
Event director, Clare Symond’s said “The weekend was a great success with all members of the event challenging themselves in the mountains and enjoying the stunning scenery”
Daniel’s first time with HSX summited Hevelllyn, climbed HVS and completed a grade 2 scramble was heard to say it was
“His best Scout camp ever”
Good Friday saw three groups go out to Blencathra ascending via Sharp edge, Hevelllyn, leg 2 of the Bob Graham Round and some multi pitch climbing on Dow Crag!
Saturday saw the second day of breathtaking weather with climbing and walking in the Langdales.
Easter Sunday saw groups going climbing in the Borrowdale Valley, scrambling on Black Cove crags and the classic round walk of the Kentmere ring.
The weekend was supported by our cook team and logistics team who enjoyed the weather visiting castles, nature reserves and local tea shops!
Another successful weekend in the Lake District and we’re all looking forward to our next adventure.
by Ian | Feb 26, 2014 | Antarctica 2018, Expeditions, Training, Trip Report
HSX went to Scotland from Saturday 15th February to Saturday 22nd February for annual training. The main blog entry covers what happened on every day, whilst this blog covers what HSX Antarctica did apart from the main group, that being on days Tuesday to Friday. The 4 out of 7 members of HSX Antarctica in Scotland were Adrian, Joe, Liam and Matt.
We tentatively try Nordic skis on for the first time just outside our lodge, and make a slalom course to test ourselves
Tuesday 18th February 2014
HSX Antarctica rented some Nordic skis to use on Tuesday and Wednesday. As none of us had ever been cross country skiing before and half the team present had never skied before at all, we started gently on the flat snow outside our lodge with BMG Harold Edwards instructing us.
After we had mostly got the hang of going forwards and turning on flat ground we headed out in the van to a track near Loch Morlich. This was mostly a success, but the track wasn’t completely covered in snow and the team had to resort to de-skiing and walking on several occasions so as to not scratch the skis.
After lunch the team headed up into the mountains where we intended to ski to a loch we’d seen a few days before. Having steeper gradients, this proved more challenging and turning on the spot required new techniques. The length of the skis and the lack of binding at the back of the skis meant heading downhill on even a gentle slope led to several falls. Fortunately the Antarctic plateau doesn’t have steep hills.
Wednesday 19th February
We were a little more ambitious with our skis on Wednesday when we attempted some ski mountaineering, climbing from 550m to 750m at the top of Castle Hill in just over a kilometre, a gradient of 20% which proved particularly taxing as our skis had no skins to stop them sliding backwards. The snow conditions made things even more difficult as it was very icy, slippery and hard to dig the skis into.
Skiing up Castle Hill
The descent from Castle Hill was found tough by all there. It was very hard to stop on the slopes and numerous tumbles were taken by everyone. Even the views disappeared when a dense fog closed in. We eventually got down to a stream at the bottom and skied along the steep banks, which was physically tiring, then crossed and headed back towards the van carrying our skis.
Thursday 20th February
Thursday morning marked a change in the weather. Wind speed had picked up to around 65/75mph with rain across the lower valleys. The plan for us was to summit Ben Macdui via Lurchers Crag and back down into Coire an t-Sneachda for a night’s sleep in snow holes. Our day started well however as we headed up onto Coire an Lochain ridge we felt the full force of the wind. After much battling up the ridge through the deep powder snow we collectively made the call to change our plan and headed into the Chalamain gap and down to the Sugar Bowl car park. Once at the Sugar Bowl car park we made our way up to the Ski Centre and into Coire Sneachda where we found the other HSX party at our snow holes. Our arrival at the snow holes was at around 14:30 and being early and wanting to make the most of our day we headed up the Goat Track and onto the ridge. From there we contoured around to 1141 and headed back down the slopes into Sneachda for the night.
Friday 21st February
We awoke in the morning unaware of the weather outside our snow hole. As we started to prepare our kit and get breakfast it became apparent from all the snow drift that the winds were indeed as high or higher than the day before. With this in mind we layered up, put gloves on and made our way out of the night’s accommodation. As our heads popped out of the snow we were hit with the high winds carrying snow from the ridge down into the valleys below. Our plan for the day was simple, get down and back to the campsite. As we made our way down out of the corrie we were wearing our crampons to grip onto the hard ice and battling the winds that were set on knocking us down. At 10:30 we arrived at the Ski Centre and took a moment to reflect on the weather and our last views of the upper mountains before heading down onto the footpaths and back to our camp site.
by Ian | Feb 23, 2014 | News, Training, Trip Report
Click here for HSX Antarctica’s training in Scotland.
Sunday
Waking up to lovely weather (which doesn’t often happen in Scotland) we hurriedly packed our bags ready to hit the slopes. With two vans packed full with excited people, we departed from Badaguish and arrived at the lower car park of the ski centre. The aim for the day was to head into the Coires and practice winter skills, so we broke off into our two separate groups and everyone headed east towards Coire Laogh Mor. At the outset it became clear the the Cairngorms had LOADs of snow, with people often sinking ankle deep with each step. WE eventually decided to “post-hole” to make the trudge through the snow easier.
When we arrived at our base for the morning ice axes and shovels were pulled from bags and we dug an avalanche pit, in order to assess the risk of a possible avalanche. After ascertaining that the slope was suitably firm we took to practising self arrests, using an ice axe to break a fall. In order to become proficient in this vital skill we took in turns to fling ourselves down hill in different types of ways, including head first on our backs!
After a quick bit to eat the two groups rejoined and set off for a bit of a walk. Zig-zagging up the side of the Coire, we made good progress up hill with those at the front breaking trail.
From the top of the top of the Coire we headed south west on a gentle incline to the summit of Cairn Gorm. The weather station on the summit appeared as a huge mound of ice and snow, with staff desperately trying to de-ice it as the recording instruments had become frozen open! With fantastic views of the surrounding area, we headed down the ridge between Coire Laogh Mor and Coire Na Ciste back to the car park.
Monday
Today we once again split into our two separate groups, starting off at the top ski centre car park, with the aim to head into Coire an t-Sneachda. Unlike yesterday the winds had picked up overnight and during our walk in we were accompanied by large amounts of spin drift, which was literally getting everywhere!
Once at the base of Faicaill Ridge we continued to practice our winter skills, today learning about security on steep ground, practising snow bollards, t- axe belays, placing deadman anchors and using body belaying to support a climbing partner.
Following on from this, we headed further into the Coire, and proceeded to practice with crampons on the hillside. After a light snack the group headed out of the depths of the Coire toward the moraines below Fiacaill a Choire Chais, to inspect the snow for snow holing later on in the week. After locating some potential campsites we zig zagged up the sides of the Coire up the ridge to reach 1141. After the precarious climb up the ridge we headed back down to the ski centre in glorious sunshine.
Tuesday
Tuesday we headed up towards Glen Avon from the bottom carpark.
From the bottom car park we trekked up in some form of sunshine towards The Saddle skirting around the mighty Cairn Gorm. From The Saddle we were supposed to be able to see Loch Avon, but as heading up in the morning the cloud had rolled in and a white-out engulfed us – weather that could continue for the rest of the day, so we couldn’t actually see anything! This gave us a great chance to practice our micro-navigation skills with the group walking in a straight line, with the person at the back directing the group to ensure we stayed on our baring.
After a spot of lunch we walked, in the clouds, towards Bynack Beg before going down into the valley of Strath Nethy and out of the clouds. A nice scenic walked into Glenmore Lodge to be picked up awaited us after coming down Bynack Beg’s ridgeline.
Wednesday
We had planned a shorted walk for Wednesday after the 20km walked the day before… however this didn’t really materialise!
We headed from the top carpark in the beautiful Scottish sunshine, up the ridgeline one the west side of Coire an Lochian. After a brief break we decided we were walking far too fast for our planned route and would have been completed the route in a couple of hours. In order to turn into more a day we decided to extend our route to take in the second highest peak in the UK, Ben Macdui.
After deciding on the new plan the clouds rolled in again, giving us less visibility than the day before… typical! A longish walk in yet another Scottish whiteout were becoming all too familiar to us – were was the Alpine conditions from 2013! Not waiting to look on the negative side, we used the conditions to reinforce the navigation skills we’d learnt on Tuesday.
After eventually reaching the summit we headed back towards the familiarity of Sneachda, passing only a handful people brave enough to tough-out the conditions. After reaching the top of the Goat Track, we proceeded to handrail the cliff at the top of the Coire, keeping a good distance between use and the monstrous Cornice along the cliff tops.
After making it to 1141 we began the familiar decent back down to the car park to meet Russ.
Thursday
We left late Thursday morning and walked up to Coire Sneachda, through driving rain with 60mph gusts that almost took you off your feet, carrying everything we would need for the night of snowholing.
When we arrived we found some previously dug snow holes that we sheltered in, giving us a chance to regroup our thoughts after being utterly drenched from the walk up. We ate some lunch and mercifully the rain and wind let up, and we were even treated to a glimpse of the sun!
Given the relatively warm temperatures and rain of the morning the snow holes we had just sheltered in were not good enough to spend the night in, so we got to work digging out our own ones. In pairs we started to dig corridors into the snow, big enough to stand in (unless your a giant like Chris). Once we were suitably fair enough into the slope we began to dig the main chambers we would sleep in, eventually linking up with the next group over.
As the snow holes took a while to dig the night was drawing in when we eventually finished. Tired out from all the digging and shifting from the day we got in our snow holes and got down to the important business… cooking a much needed warm meal! Revived by dinner we set in for an early night.
Friday
Waking up early at 7:30 we went about getting cooking breakfast, getting a hot drink and packing away our damp kit, ready for the walk out. At 9am we were joined in our snow holes by Besty, Dan, Smudge and Chris, who closely resembled the abominable snowman, more then their normal selves, having battled through the 60mph head wind and blinding spindrift to make it in.
After they had a quick breathier and regain feeling in their wind burnt faces it was decided we would try and make the most out of the day, rather than just head straight back to cavitation. We decided that we would use our last day in the hills to demonstrate what we had learnt over the course of the week. We were each tasked with setting up one of the form of anchor, like practiced on Monday, before taking it in turns to do some more Ice Axe arrests. The weather was truly dreadful (or typical Scottish weather as we kept being reminded by the leaders) and we kept popping in and out of the snow holes to warm up.
By 11am it was decided that we’d had enough of the being whipped by spindrift, so we put on our crampons and made our way back to the bus. We zig zagged up the side of Fiacaill a Choire Chais, and with the wind behind us, came very close to being blown over on a number of occasions.
so it was important to consolidate all the skills learnt over the past two days and use this time for some extra practice. We headed up into the same area as Tuesday to practice laying tracks and honing our downhill technique (a lot easier said than done on skis that are not as adept at taking on slopes as their Alpine counterparts). We got to the top of the valley, set up a slalom course with a couple of jumps and spent the morning working on the technique. Everyone had improved so much that thankfully the descent down the valley took 30 minutes rather than the two hours it took a few days previous. We were again blessed with the weather, giving excellent conditions to consolidate the skills learnt from Sigbjorn; the only downside was having to stop every hour and apply more sun cream.
