Poor Conditions for Meagan McGrath
Published on 23.12.2009 - Antarctic Odyssey
We don't have much news of the Canadian military career adventuress, Megan McGrath. She seems to be having battery problems. Below, some extracts from the latest press release.
Extracts from the press release published on 17 December by her sponsor, "Science North" ("Science North" is Northern Ontario's most popular tourist attraction):
SUDBURY, Ontario (18 December 2009) : The Canadian adventurous Meagan McGrath has covered approximately 244 kilometres since her departure from Patriot Hills, in the Antarctic, on 07 December. ... She is intending to reach the geographical South Pole on 14 January 2010, where a plane will come to collect her.
At the beginning of the expedition, McGrath got used to the routine and the physical effort of pulling a sledge filled with equipment and provisions. This week, she has been skiing for an average 10 hours per day and has covered 20 to 26 kilometres.
McGrath also spent a part of last week and the beginning of this one having to cope with massive falls of powdery snow. Because of the lack of sunlight, she has been unable to use all the power of her Iridium satellite telephone. She has had to keep her batteries in energy-saving mode, which has reduced the frequency of her calls. She has however called every day to Antarctic Logistics and Expeditions (ALE), the agency in the Antarctic, in order to give them a daily report on her situation. The ALE team has recently advised McGrath to deploy her solar panels in order to recharge her electronic equipment's batteries, even when there's no sun.
