Dixie and Sam : Cozy days in the tent

Published on 28.12.2011 - Antarctic Ice Expedition

What about these crazy winds ?

After the South Pole the belgian pair had to curve a bit their itineray towards east, because of an 'abnormal' direction of the winds (compared with the ones of mathematical models). Then they prefered to stay in the tent and to await better kiting conditions.

What about these mathematical models ?

According tho their last update,

Day 37 - 28 December 2011 / Current position: 88° 49' 27 S / 74° 17' 41 E / No progress yesterday : Distance Total: 1917,2 km
Day 36 - 27 December 2011 / Current position: 88° 49' 27 S 74° 17' 41 E / No progress yesterday/ Distance Total: 1917,2 km
Day 35 - 26 December 2011 / Current position: 88° 49' 27 S / 74° 17' 41 E / Daily Progress: 14 km / Distance Total: 1917,2 km

something is evidently going wrong with the unfolding of this adventure. It's not a big deal to discover what : Dixie has mapped out his all project on the directions of the winds, calculated since years and years by scientists and written down on documents and most complicated graphics which are called mathematical models.

These models (whatever their subject may be) take into account calculations made out of years of measuring on the fields. As far as the winds of antarctic are concerned, polar scientists from all over the world have made and gathered measurements (made on the field) since more than twenty years now : the results of all these observations are analysed and swallowed by the mathematical models. At the end, it gives a result of a so called average of the main directions of the winds in the zones studied. Of course the results are not 100% reliable ; just because the meteorology is far from being une science exacte.

Now, what next ?

So what happens now with the belgian pair ? The winds are not blowing in the directions given by these mathematical models and the pair is in trouble. Or they have to change the itinerary of their expedition (see on the map). Or they await 'normal' winds. For the present time, they have chosen the solution number two.

Sam Deltour's excerpts ( 28 December) : "... So there was nothing else to do than spent a cozy day in the tent. We fixed some things, read a book, listened to music and did some aerial-filming using our go-pro and the weather-kites. Really wondering what those images will look like. I hope it will catch some of this unique feeling of being out here all by ourselves and having absolutely nothing or nobody around us. It is a very special feeling and it's getting stronger the longer we're here. We talked a bit about this. More and more we're starting to get detached from our daily lives, from society, from everything at home. More and more you start looking at it from a distance. It truly is an amazing thing and though I miss parts of it, it is a privilege to experience something like this. ..."