They’re Almost Halfway
Published on 20.05.2009 - TAE57-58 Fuchs Foundation
The four Fuchs Foundation teachers are progressing after a fashion with their dog teams on rotten snow. They're making progress nevertheless.
Not much information on the experiments that they are supposed to be making during this journey. A lot of details on the other hand on their various ways of organising themselves and of progressing over this icecap.
It should first of all be said that, generally, the weather is far too warm for the season. Which makes the snow less slippery and -we would imagine -the progress more than difficult. "It's like having to ski in porridge," one of them wrote on 12 May. The fact remains that they have tried several different arrangements in order to overcome this difficulty; initially, they decided to progress more during the evenings, then, they reckoned that they should set out only at around 13:00, and finally, they decided to progress only at night -or at least during a good part of the night.
At all events, one particular directive has been followed to the letter. This was the one that consisted of taking turns to be on the mushers' sledges while the group was advancing. The three women first, while the men were on skis, then the men, while the women were on skis. A matter of meteorological chance or not, but almost every time that the women took over on the ice from the men (and that the latter were therefore resting on the sledges), better progress was made ...
Currently, the expedition has almost reached the halfway point of the crossing, and as it seems that the temperatures are suddenly starting to fall, they will be able to think of returning to the initial rhythm, that of daytime progress and well-deserved rest under canvas at night...
