Larramendi and teamates are moving at least
Published on 18.12.2011 - Acciona Windpower Antarctica 90°S
After all the setbacks the spanish expedition has encountered these last week (sudden rush to fly fom Novo to the Plateau, the bad weather, the Inmarsat problems, the damage to one of their prototype kites), they could finally start their gliding towards the Pole.
On 15 December, after having been forced to wait for five days tentbounded on the plateau because of worst weather conditions, Larramendi and his companions managed to put the sails up and to make their first 100 km.
On 15 December Larramendi writes : "... Right now our main concern is to get away from the snowstorm. If it hits us, we’ll be in trouble. It’s not that we’re worried about the tent: it’s sure to hold up even if the winds are worse than forecast and we’ll set up a protective wall around it."
"Fortunately everything starts to work and we maintain an estable speed. Our main worry is the time we’ve lost the despair at being at a standstill and stuck in the tent. What if fog comes down and reduces visibility to one meter and we’re forced to make our way out of the tent tied to it on a rope to find our way around? It’s a possibility."
"The winds let up. We can’t keep the kite up high. It drops. We try to raise it again. We struggle but it’s hopeless. Without wind we’re not going anywhere. We need to get out of this rut, but there’s only one heading open to us. Even if we try to take advantage of the storm winds, it will take us off course and might take us away from our destination. ..."
