Antarctica 2011-12 Legacy Crossing

American Sebastian Copeland together with Canadian Eric McNair-Landry are attempting to open a new route to cross the Antarctic. They will leave from Novolazarevskaia and try to reach Hercules Inlet passing through the Pole of Inaccessibility and the Sourth Pole, a 4.000 km trek.

Follow-up

Below are all the news we published about the Antarctica 2011-12 Legacy Crossing expedition

• Copeland & McNair : finally, they made it on time to Hercules Inlet…

  Published on 25.01.2012

  Great success for pair Copeland - McNair : they finally arrived on time at Hercules Inlet after being tentbounded for 72 hours three days ago. Thanks to the the winds that have been favorable these last days. Thanks also to the awesome courage and abiding determination of both explorers during the entire voyage.

• Copeland & McNair : Hopeful Again…

  Published on 24.01.2012

  The pair Copeland/McNair has finally touched good winds (or vice versa) and could cover 367 kilometers the last two days. The are now at 230 kil from Hercules Inlet. If they find good winds today or tomorrow, this distance is doable in one day...

• A Motley and Bearded Community at the SP

  Published on 13.01.2012

  Unlike Mark George (who has decided not to go on with the return trip), pair Copeland/McNair has decided to venture into the return trek SP > HI. In the meantime, both men have met the other expeditioners who had just arrived at the SP  -Lou, Henry, Mark, Hannah and the others : quite a motley crew...

• Copeland/McNair : Finally at the Pole

  Published on 11.01.2012

  Despite all the serious setbacks and injuries they had on the way (Copeland lost his two sleeping bags the other day...) and particularly since the POI, pair Sebastian Copeland / Eric McNair made it finally to the South Pole.

• Copeland has lost two sleeping bags !

  Published on 09.01.2012

  Pair Copeland / McNair is enduring setback after setback -this time the loss of two sleeping bags during kiting! They nevertheless manage to keep covering excellent mileage, day after day...  228.5 kil on 6 January, for instance.

• McNair/Copeland : 490 kil + 150 kil = 640 kil still to cover

  Published on 05.01.2012

  After having reached the POI, pair McNair/Copeland is heading towards SP. But things are not easy. First Copeland's toes are still in bad shape. Second, they have make a detour of 150 kil to avoid a forbidden area called The Clean Air Sector.

• Copeland/McNair : Ten liters of white fuel gone (in the sledge) !

  Published on 01.01.2012

  On 29 December, because of one sastrugi too many hit by Copeland's sledge, one of the fuel container cracked a small hole from so hard object beneath it that half of his sledge contents was straight away contaminated. What a setback !

• Copeland and McNair reached the POI

  Published on 28.12.2011

  On 27 December, pair Sebastian Copeland/Eric McNair has reached the Pole of Inaccessibility. Great day for the explorers : until today no team had succeeded in reaching the POI unsupported.

• Copeland/McNair : Changing Strategy

  Published on 24.12.2011

  Each time we receive an update from Copeland, we wonder what subjet he is going to talk about. Well once more, reading his last update we haven't been disappointed...

• By - 20°C, Copeland is… roasting !

  Published on 20.12.2011

  December 18 was a nasty day. But around 5 pm, the furry was calming down. Kites up in the air for Sebastian and Eric. And before you could say Jack Robinson, pair had done 53.63 km in less than three hours. Who said that Copeland's toes were injured ?

• “Some of the sportiest rides of the voyage…”

  Published on 19.12.2011

  The fact that since a couple of days Copeland and McNair have interchanged their boots was a good idea : Copeland's toes seems now stable -no spreading of the bite.

• Tense times for Copeland

  Published on 16.12.2011

  Sebastian Copeland has serious problems with some of his toes. The time has not come yet to throw on the towel. But, as he says, he takes the situation quite seriously.

• Morning silence and afternoon nastiest ice conditions

  Published on 13.12.2011

  Once more, Sebastian Copeland takes us into the decent (and fascinating) intimacy of his doings, from morning until night. This time he tells us more about the atmosphere in the tent when the pair wakes up. And describes an awful afternoon on the worst ice on earth...

• Another record for pair Copeland/McNair ?

  Published on 10.12.2011

  After their Greenland record of last year (595 km in 24 hours kiting), pair Copeland/McNair might well beat another one this year, the slowness record ...

• Surprising inner travel with Copeland

  Published on 06.12.2011

  Like Copeland writes, their projected daily average distance (75 km par day) "is lagging like a ship taking water". Here come all the makings of jeopardizing their plan to reach POI (Pole of Inaccessibility). And also a different travel...

• Reconsidering reaching the Pole of Inaccessibility ?

  Published on 03.12.2011

  After 29 days on the ice, Sebastian Copeland and teammate Eric McNair are analysing the situation : has reaching the POI become but an after thought ?

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