Disabled explorers at the South Pole
Published on 21.11.2008 - General Info
It was Spanish explorer Ramon Larramendi who had the idea of bringing a number of disabled people to discover the wonders of the South Pole. The nicest thing about his project is that he didn't beat the media drum in putting it together.
On 17th November, on their return from Greenland, Larramendi's company website Tierras Polares posted an item about the training regime undergone by the three disabled adventurers. This was their final training exercise before the POLO SUR SIN LIMITES expedition flies off for Punta and on to Patriot Hills at the end of December. When he was at Madrid airport, Ramon stated that he was astonished by the way the three men had performed in Greenland and that he had absolutely no doubt that the expedition would be a success.
So, who are the three men, and what are their handicaps? First, there's Eric Villalon, who is visually impaired, then there's Xavier Vlbuena, who had a leg amputated at the thigh, and finally there's Jesus Noriega, who was born with no hands.
The aim of the team, which will be led by Ignacio Ficialdegui and Ramon Larramendi as their guides, is to be dropped off by Ken Borek's Twin Otter and the ALE logistics team at 88 degrees south; they then plan to walk or ski approximately 125 km (the final two degrees represent two times 111 km) before reaching the South Pole in January 2009. They can certainly look forward to a warm welcome from the Americans when they reach Amundsen Scott base.
The team's final training in Greenland featured a trek of over 100 km on the icecap on the western side of the islands and in the area around Kangerlussuaq. As part of this exercise, they covered an average of 20 km a day on their skis. At the end of their stay, visually disabled Eric Villalon commented on the experience by saying that teamwork is essential in this type of adventure. "Where one or another person is strong," he added, "it makes up for the weaknesses of the others and vice versa." Explorapoles will of course be tracking this excellent project with great interest. Good luck to one and all.
