As we did not have sufficient time to keep a close eye on Laurence de la Ferrière (because our Belgian friends Dansercoer et Hubert were taking up too much of our time) and because her site managed by Go Sport was fulfilling this role terribly well, we will just publish a summary of her extraordinary adventure.
4th - 23rd November : her departure is delayed
Departure: Those of you who have followed Laurence at the Go Sport site will certainly remember that she had a foretaste of the rotten weather that has afflicted Antarctica this season - at least on the western part of the continent. Arriving at Patriot on 4th November, she was only able to reach the South Pole on 23rd November, some 19 days later, at 11.52 pm, as the news release stated (why the 52?).
24th November - 4th December : first steps, first problems
Despite her intensive training at altitude before setting out, this delay - in Punta first, then at Patriot - had the effect of un-acclimatising the mountaineer to the atmosphere at altitude (the South Pole is located at an altitude of 2800 metres). What's more, she was cold and the damp was penetrating her clothes. To make progress, she marched without skis (sticky, clinging snow) and had to tamp down the snow so that her sledge (140 kilos) could pass over it… So between 23rd November and le 1st December, she only covered 40 km…
5th December - 16th December : switch on the turbo
Laurence was by now completely re-acclimatised to the altitude, in fact she had to climb up to Dome C. The snow was also better, she got her sails out and there was wind. It was less cold and so the Frenchwoman made faster progress. One good story: during the weekend of 12th December, one of her sails flew away, but she was lucky to find it a few kilometres along. Healthwise, she had chilblains on her feet that were hurting. By 16th December, she had covered 614 km.
22nd December : Laurence writes
"Dear Friends, I am delighted to be able to tell you that the distance I have covered since 16th December is 410 km. The conditions are better and I am adapting to them better and better, too. No two days are alike. Every morning I find the weather is different, so I take stock, focus my mind and....... For example, on Friday 17th December, I stayed in my tent all day because it was too stormy to go out. I didn't take any risks and contented myself with rereading my maps, assessing the trip so far and analysing my progress. I also carried out a few repairs on my equipment and reread your messages of encouragement that are sent to me once a week by my radio operator. On Saturday, thanks to the extremely good weather, I was able to cover 101 km, Sunday 75 km... Monday 20th December another 101 km, Tuesday 21st the wind conditions were quite difficult, so I was only able to cover 47 km, then 82 km today. See you soon and thanks for your encouragement".
24th December : a poem for Laurence
One of her admirers, a certain JP Cottret from Houdain Lez Bavay, wrote her a pretty Christmas poem: She had dreamt of a white Christmas, And the one she had was whiter than white.
Elle rêvait d'un Noël blanc,
Elle l'a, plus blanc que blanc.
Elle rêvait d'un bon vent,
Elle a un vent portant.
Que ce vent continue à te faire voler,
Que ce Noël, soit parmis les plus raconté.
Qu'il te soit bénéfique,
Avec un temps magnifique.
Bon vent et bon Noël
30th December : her first world-first
The French mountaineer reached Dome C at the Concordia base, which is a Franco-Italian scientific base located at an altitude of 3225 metres. It was 7.30 am French time. By taking this route between the South Pole and Dome C, Laurence became the first woman in the world - and therefore the first human being - to cross this part of the Antarctic continent, where no-one had ever set foot before. She averaged 44 km a day, and in 38 days covered 1666 km. When examined by the base doctor, she was pronounced to be in great shape. She still weighed 56 kilos, her starting weight. On 2nd January, she began the second part of her adventure. With a much lighter sledge (80 kilos).
7th January : Fuel in the sledge
On the evening of 7th January, Laurence was preparing to sit down to eat when her tent was filled with smoke. The strong smell of fuel was making her feel dizzy. Straight away, Laurence asked her standby operator at Dumont d'Urville, Kjell Ove Storvik, what she should do. Get out of the tent immediately to avoid the gas vapours, she heard herself being ordered by the doctor at the base. Pretty obvious, no? Explanation: having taken rough treatment from the sastrugis for a number of days, one of the containers of fuel had become open during the day without Laurence realising. It was a serious moment; she still had hundred of kilometres to cover (768 to be exact), and now she only had half a litre of fuel left, or just two days' supply for melting snow and preparing meals. So the Dumont d'Urville base decided to take out more containers of fuel to her by Twin Otter while already getting the red carpet ready by marking out the final 64 kilometres of her trek with flags, because the area is pitted with dangerous crevasses.
8th - 20th January : a short Belgian aside
All this reminded us strongly of our own Antarctic crossing, when our two countrymen fought tooth and nail - two years ago already - against wind and weather to reach McMurdo in time. The fact that Laurence de la Ferrière had to be helped by the French Institute for Polar Research and Technology (IFRTP) made us think of the welcome reserved for Hubert's and Dansercoer's project by the people running Belgian scientific policy at the time, who laid down the sacrosanct principles or recommendations of the Antarctic Treaty to justify their refusal to recognise the scientific part of the expedition. It also made us wonder whether the fact of coming to the aid of a female explorer would be a point of reproach levelled at the French representative at the next consultative meetings of the member countries of the Antarctic Treaty? Or did Belgian scientific policy simply not give a damn? End of aside. The weather became worse for Laurence, who was often forced to stay in her tent. On 20th January, she was 240 km from Dumont d'Urville.
Since 21st January : the birthplace of the blizzard
Press release published by Go Sport : "Laurence de la Ferrière has been in an area of the Antarctic since 18th January that has a reputation for being extremely difficult. Close to the coastline, storms can suddenly blow up out of nowhere with katabatic winds reaching over 200 km/h.
The Polar Institute (IFRTP), which has been monitoring the safety of Laurence de la Ferrière since her arrival at the Concordia base on 30th December, has planned close protective monitoring by land for this difficult area because, on account of the sudden storms that spring up, it would not be possible to intervene by air should the need arise.
Yet, as the current progress of the trip to Dome C, on its final return trip of the season, would no longer make this protection possible. This was a convoy of tractors and tracked trailers taking logistical material required for the Concordia Franco-Italian base at Dome C as well as equipment for the scientific programmes currently underway.
Under these circumstances, the Polar Institute decided to take Laurence aboard its convoy on 19th January at 3.30 pm, when she was 275 km from the Dumont d'Urville base. Once the unloading of the equipment has been completed at the Dome C site and the long descent to Dumont d'Urville is underway, Laurence will be dropped off at their meeting point so that she can cover the final kilometres alone before she arrives at Dumont d'Urville at the beginning of February."
