Despite some setbacks, quite a good start!.

Published on 12.12.2010 - The South Pole and Back (solo)

Alone on the polar plateau.

Chris Foot is on his way for the most challenging adventure he has never known : the South Pole and back. Despite some communication problems, he has made quite a good first fortnight.

The first climb on the plateau for Chris was exhausting because it had snowed on the way and he has been glued to his skis from the very first day of his trek. Plus his sled was extremely heavy. When he finally arrived on the polar plateau, his speed increased ; on December 4th, he has done 26 km and the next day 22 km!

Of course, as Chris is attempting the return trek, he has to leave every week or so some food and fuel in a cache behind so that he can get his things back when he returns from the Pole. Which means that his sled which was quite heavy when he left hercules is starting to weight less and less as Chris moves towards the South Pole.

On December 10th, Chris finally was able to send his dispatches himself from the tent. So far, batteries problems had prevent him to do so. Here are some excerpts of his diary : "Today was a perfect setting for any expedition, blues skies, flat surface with a little bit of snow. The kind of backdrop you see in a glossy magazine with a couple sporting his and hers one pieces! Flew along making the most of it and broke into the 15nm bracket so the weight is getting lighter and tomorrow pm I will drop a cache off losing another 10kg, so I'm getting there, slowly with tomorrow being another great count down marker. Encountered some rougher terrain close of play today so the next few days may be interesting under foot. I have learnt from the high arctic that things can change rapidly whether its weather, terrain, morale or physical state and you take the good breaks when they come, or just hang in there and wait for the bell when the bad ones hit you face on. I'm feeling in good shape abeit leaner with one less chin. I am betting on my 6000+ a day calorie intake now, sustaining me with a slower depletion in weight loss. Have spoke to a few mates over the last few days, some of them were even sober! Always good to hear from them and catch up on the local news. I will continue as always and keep you all updated... "