by Ian | Jul 8, 2014 | Antarctica 2018, Expeditions, Training, Trip Report
Being able to rescue your team members from a crevasse is an essential skill that the team hope never to use in anger in the Antarctic. However, in the pursuit of learning such an important concept, the team ventured to the French Alps in July 2013 for two weeks of fresh alpine air. Not only was this the first taste of European Glaciers for many of the team, an attempt on the summit of Mont Blanc (4810m/15,780feet) was also expected, representing, for those not well versed in Himalayan trekking like Joe and Ollie, the tallest mountain they had ever attempted.
The team left the New Forest early on the morning of July 2nd,in order to catch a ferry across the channel and drive 800 miles to the picturesque town of Chamonix; the gateway to the Mont Blanc massif which contains over 100 mountains over 3000 metres. It is also home to some of Europe’s biggest glaciers including the Mer de Glace and the Bosson’s Glacier, which formed the central location for the team to practise their rescues skills. Crevasses are formed as a result of the movement and stress generated by the glacier as it winds its way down the valley. Ranging in any size, some are gaps less than a metre, easily navigable by foot, whilst others can be many metres metres wide and stretch the length of a football field.
The danger with crevasses comes when they have been covered over by snow left from the winter, becoming impossible to see to the untrained eye. Knowing how to get out is one thing, but avoiding them is arguably more skilful and so the team hired the expertise of a French Mountain Guide to give some instruction. He showed the team how to walk “roped together” on glaciated terrain to provide safety when in a group and gave us a useful rope setup we could use for hoisting someone out of crevasses using karabiners, ice screws and Tiblocs. 
Once all the necessary skills were practised, the next objective was the summit of Mont Blanc. The team chose this to give them a physical challenge that would put teamwork to the test, plus the gratification that comes with saying you have summited the highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe! Although Mt Blanc is not extremely high, it was important for the team to acclimatize properly, as the risk of developing Acute Mountain sickness (AMS) is extremely high if not adapted to the altitude (symptoms range from dehydration, dizziness, headaches, and nausea). Slowly gaining altitude, whilst walking high during the day and sleeping lower at night allowed the team to acclimatise in the best way possible in a fairly short amount of time.
Setting up camp in the Vallée Blanche, both a mixture of nerves and excitement were felt by everyone. The team slept until 12am and after some food was eaten and harnesses and ropes were clumsily donned in the dark, lights far off in the distance showing the other climbers that were beginning the same task, the team set off on a slow plod up the snow slope of Mont Blanc du Tacul. Progress was slow, often walking 30 paces and stopping for a moment to catch breath back; it was going to be a long night.
On the slopes of Mont Maudit (the team were on the three monts route having to ascend the slopes of Mont Blanc du Tacul, Mont Maudit and finally Mont Blanc) a 50-metre, 80o technical snow climb required the team’s full attention in the dark; a slip here would have caused a 400-metre fall to the gullies below. The team made quick work of the climb and were soon left with the final 300-metre slog up to the summit dome. This seemed to take forever and was filled with false summits to make it even more mentally challenging for the team; a suspected side effect of the altitude and the desire to be on the summit. At 8:32am the team had summited Mt Blanc. Overwhelming joy, happiness and exhaustion lead to man hugs, selfies and watering eyes (the cold!?) at the top of Europe’s highest mountain. The team had done it.
Have you been to the Alps?
Share your stories with the team on our Facebook page or tweet us @hsxantarctica using #HSX2018.
by Ian | Jun 24, 2014 | Antarctica 2018, Belize 2011/12, Expeditions
How much do you know about Antarctica? The team has been busy doing their research about the continent they are going to spend 80 days on in 2018; here is our top 10:
10) The lowest temperature ever recorded on Earth was -89.2oC (128.6oF), recorded at Vostok Research Station on 21st July 1983
9) The highest recorded temperature at the Amundsen-Scout South Pole Research station was -12.3oC (9.9oF) in 2011
8) Only 2% of Antarctica’s surface is not covered in ice; called an ‘Antarctic Oasis’ these are generally found on the warmest part of Antarctica, the Antarctic Peninsular, mountain tops and some coastal areas
7) The South Pole has a desert climate, almost never receiving precipitation and air humidity is near zero
6) Antarctica is the coldest, windiest and driest place on Earth
5) Antarctica is one and a half times the size of the United States with an area of 14 million km2
4) The West Antarctic Peninsular is the fastest warming place on Earth, experiencing increases in mean temperature in the order of 1oC per decade since the 1950’s
3) Antarctica is losing 159 billion tonnes of ice per year
2) Until about 50 million years ago, Antarctica had a temperate climate and evergreen forests, having been part of the supercontinent ‘Gondwana’. Captain Scott and the Terra Nova expedition were the first to provide evidence of this after the discovery of ‘Glossiopteris’ fossils; an ancient tree fern found on all of the Southern Continents
1) The Antarctic Ice Sheet contains 27 million km3 of ice; 61% of the fresh water available on Earth
by Ian | Jun 13, 2014 | Antarctica 2018, Expeditions, Training, Trip Report
Monday, the start of the second week in Norway and we headed an hour and a half away from camp. Our aim was a nearby valley, going as high as possible to reach a flat plateau in which we were able to use the skis over relatively flat terrain. After a few hours, we found some slopes to practice and improve our downhill skills; although not so important for Antarctica, it certainly is useful in training for here in Europe. As any cross-country skier will tell you, the snow plough is pretty tough in cross-country skis, but improvement was made every day and we are now taking this all in our stride. Towards the end of the day, we came across a piste track, made the going easier, but we were only to find that we had actually inadvertently stumbled onto the training ground of the Norwegian cross-country ski team! These guys are the best when it comes to cross-country skiing, having won countless Gold Medals at the recent Winter Olympics in Sochi. Who knew we were going to share tracks with the likes of Ole Einer Bjoerndalen (the most medalled sportsman in Winter Olympics history!) before the trip was out? 
After the excitement of the Olympians the day before, our thoughts turned to the next two days in which we planned to embark on an overnight, self-supported expedition. Our aim was to cover a long distance in order to really get to grips with living, whilst skiing. The possibility of summiting Lodaskapa, the highest peak in the Jostedalen National Park was in our minds, but unfortunately, due to worse weather rolling in than forecast, the team were forced to drop down and find camp elsewhere. Descending the ridge we had spent hours getting onto was a little disappointing. However, we set up camp in a rocky lull to shelter from the elements, had a nice warm meal and got some well-deserved rest.
At this time of year, the light never completely disappears on this part of Norway and this night in particular really affected the team. The sun didn’t set until midnight and was only dark until 3am, which certainly made for an interesting, if not intermittent night’s sleep. This is one of those psychological factors we’ll have to get used to before being able to attempt the pole; the body does not function for long without any sleep and the team will need to be in tip-top condition in order to survive. We descended the same route we came up, but the difference was easy to see. With a full expedition pack, the weight had changed our speed, stopping distance and turning. This gave us all a bit of a hard time as we had not practised descending with a heavy weight on so were all sufficiently bruised and battered by the end. It was clear that we had learnt the hard way why pulks are used when skiing in Antarctica.
Thursday, and our last day in Jostedalen National park before the mammoth trip home. The bright sunshine that greeted us in the first week was now gone, replaced with grey skies in the South East. The forecast said rain (helping to remind us that Britain was only just over the horizon) but we set off back to the first valley that our guide had taken us to. We felt confident that we knew the area well and that the snow conditions hadn’t changed much, however the reality couldn’t have been more different. Much of the snow had melted in our 10 day absence, leaving large areas of heather and rock exposed, meaning the long runs we were able to make weren’t possible anymore. To add to this, the overcast skies soon turned to rain and the snow conditions worsened. It seemed like our stay in Norway had come to an end; we called for an early pick-up and got to camp to begin preparations for home, cheered up by the fact that the trip had been a success and that we would see Norway again before too long.
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?
