Excellent Progress
Published on 07.12.2007 - ANI South Pole Quest 2007/08
Apart from the odd minor knocks that are part and parcel of this type of sport, all five members of the ANI South Pole Quest are fighting fit and are covering the ground with the reassuring regularity of a metronome!
Since we left them last week, Adrian Hayes and his companions have really got stuck into their task.
By 5th December, they had already covered a total of 265 nautical miles (530 km) and had crossed latitudes 82, 83 and 84. In fact, they have decided to increase their daily rate gradually from about 13 nautical miles two weeks ago, to 16 nautical miles over the past few days. All this means they have nearly reached the Thiel Mountains, the range of mountains that traditionally marks the halfway point between Hercules Inlet and the South Pole. This is also the point where stashes of rations and equipment are generally dropped off so that the weary polar travellers can take on fresh supplies.
But all this fine progress does not mean that the four men and one woman on the expedition, Switzerland's Evelyne Binsack, are not suffering for their pains. For about a week now, Adrian Hayes has been meaning to answer the numerous questions being asked at the website and has listed the full details of the knock and bumps suffered by his team. Generally speaking, tendonitis is the main type of complaint on this type of trek, occurring in the muscles of the arms, back or legs. But they have all the potions they need with them and every evening they conduct a 'surgery' and help one another with their various treatments.
One interesting detail cropped up on Monday 3rd December on the expedition website in response to all those people who have been asking whether having a beautiful young woman along on the expedition posed any problems for the men in terms of their libido. Here's what Adrian Hayes had to say, with typical British humour: "Sorry to disappoint anyone looking for these type of stories," he wrote, "but the answer is a certain no! And there are three simple and clear reasons why: one, apart from one person in the group, we all have solid family and love-life ties; two, none of us is gay; three, after three weeks of not washing, we must stink to the Falklands and back, so imagine the fug we generate in a tent just two square metres in size...!"
