They’ve made it!
Published on 04.01.2010 - To the South Pole and beyond…
Cécilie Skog and Ryan Waters reached the South Pole on New Year's Eve. What a way to celebrate the end of the old decade and the start of the new!
Their report was simple: "We are delighted to announce," they stated in their blog on 1st January, "that we reached the South Pole yesterday, New Year's Eve, at 12 noon Chile time. It has been 49 days since we were dropped off at Berkner Island and by our calculations we have skied 1173 kilometres. ..."
But the big surprise was what followed this announcement. In the same dispatch, the pair announced that they were now turning northwards and that on the same day (i.e. 1st January), they were setting out again and heading for the Ross Ice Shelf to try and reach the foot of the Axel Heiberg glacier.
Which meant that Skog and Ryan only stayed briefly at the station Amundsen Scott base. This gave them just enough time to marvel at the facilities available at this gigantic American base (basketball court, shops, post office, music rooms), which during the southern summer months is home to over 250 people, researchers and technicians combined.
