“Hauling the sledges through quicksand…”
Published on 14.04.2009 - General Info
Tortel and Hedrich are making good progress, although not everything is plain sailing, with terrible ice and snow conditions.
Contacts with the expedition are not very frequent at the moment, because the sun is still very low at this stage of the season, which in turn means that the solar panels are not recharging the batteries very quickly. Hence contacts with the satellite are few and far between as the batteries have to be treated carefully.
But despite that, Arnaud Tortel, who is Charles Hedrich's guide, has been able to send us back some information. It seems that the terrain is extremely difficult to ski across, with the snow too thick and sticky. Also, since their departure from the Pole on 6th April, the two men have done practically no skiing at all. Which means they are walking. They did try to get out their traction kites on 8th April, but it was simply too cold. And that's another problem: the cold is getting them down. Tortel touched for a moment on what he wrote a few years ago in his book Lovers of the Pole. "Each level of temperature counts and there is as much difference between 0° and minus 5° as there is between minus 45° and minus 50°! Anything from 0° to minus 20° is comfortable, minus 20° to minus 35° is acceptable, minus 35° to minus 40° is just about bearable, but anything lower and we enter a zone of constant struggle. Once you get below minus 40º, it's impossible to stay sitting down without jiggling about. ... Even with the very best clothing to protect you, the cold manages to find a way in mercilessly. And if you stop moving, you may as well give up! So you have to keep active all the time, even little movements. And remember, the coldest temperature recorded in France was at Mouthe (Doubs), on 17th January 1985, when the mercury fell to minus 41°..."
Tortel also told us that there would now only be two dispatches a week at most for the next month or so, until the sun climbs higher above the horizon and is able to provide enough power to the solar panels.
