Saturday, 24 February : Expedition is back home
It was snowday when Alain Hubert came back home. He has to wait several days to see back the ... green color. The time to develop the pictures, we will keep you inform in about one week and we will present you a picture gallery and the latest news of the expedition.
Thursday, 8 February : "In a year, almost to the day, the departure of the Great Arctic Crossing", explains Alain.
Once arrived at Neumayer, Hubert sent us a brief word. A kind of initial assessment of the expedition, and at the same time a leap into the future…
"We got to Neumayer OK. 60 hours in a tent waiting for the bad weather to pass… We had the return of the fine weather just in time for our arrival on the ice shelf: icebergs, penguins and so on… So nice… It was also the first time that we saw the sun set for a few hours. The colours are different, and it is all very beautiful. The weather was overcast again the next day and it was in a total whiteout that we crossed the last great area of crevasses that was between Neumayer and us.
Apart from that, the crossing of the ice shelf was without any crevasses. The welcome that the Germans afforded us was truly exceptional. We arrived at the time of the "Taking Over" evening: a party to celebrate moving from one team to another, an incredible buffet, well watered until the early hours of the morning.
We set up our tent at the end of a line of containers that house the teams of the summer season… Funny, it's a bit like a toy lorry when compared with our big lorries at home. But it kept the tent in place, luckily, because the storm has returned and the winds are expected to exceed 140 kph tomorrow. We are at the junction of two perturbations. They don't get to see much fine weather here.
In a word, we are taking advantage of it to discover the base and its scientific and logistical installations. This ice station is currently at a depth of 10 metres. Built in 1992, they hope to be able to keep it for another 10 years by raising the entry towers every other year. On the other hand, they have to raise the weather observatories, air chemistry, antenna and wind turbine every year … It's a model of technology.
As for the Polarstern, it is staying in the free water until the storm blows over (editor's note: see map graphic opposite), it will be arriving on Sunday and we shall be leaving immediately to get to Punta on the 22nd. We are actually invited and therefore the guests of the Germans here, which is a great honour for us little Belgians.
So this is the end of my Antarctic tour for another year. By the seaside and on the sea, but it is in the North of course that the next great expedition will commence in almost exactly a year from now!
This The Wall expedition was more varied and difficult to conduct that I would ever have imagined. Like even in an expedition that I had thought would be easier, there are always many unforeseen events. The month of December was more stressful in view of the very packed programme because of the fact that a part of the team had to leave at the beginning of January, whereas from the outset we were running late because of the late arrival of the plane. Then there was this question of safety raised by the mediocre quality of the rock of the assault on the North Stoop. The time therefore was going to be very short for climbing and reaching the summit on time for the departure of the others. So what should we do as regards the pictures that had to be shot, etc. So many questions to which we tried to find an answer, and through which I tried to assume my responsibilities as leader by taking a number of decisions on my own and by letting the group decide other orientations in order to keep everybody happy in the respective tasks that they had to accomplish. A challenge through which we didn't navigate too badly, I think. 
The summit of Holtanna was the first to be reached. And, even though the South Stoop is totally different in the type of ascent required, and that as a result we were going to be unable to use the portaledge camp and to climb as had been envisaged, we shared the work, preferring in the end the pictures of the first part of the stoop, which was not easy because of the rotation of the sun that that did not in any way correspond with our global hours. But the flexibility of Daniel and Ralph was able to chime with the patience of our photography and film crew. I would like to take this opportunity of thanking them.
The very day after New Year's Day, after having been able to contemplate the unfathomable grandeur of this continent from the summit in fine weather, we found ourselves orphaned from three members of the expedition who had to embark upon the second part of this adventure. The Educational Project started much later than envisaged and found itself to be out of kilter with the school timetable. Alain was going to have his work cut out and he applied himself with great assiduity, sacrificing almost every excursion from the base camp. We hope that we have been able to shed new light on this continent for the children and for everybody that has been following us. Katelijne, for her part, was devoted to trying to transmit information to HQ about this gang of savages that we are a little, no matter what one says, editing the pictures, and putting up with the occasional remark from the boss at the same time. In a word, a difficult job carried out little by little as the days went by.
Ronald in a sense never ceased to work on the weather stations with an astonishing meticulousness, guaranteeing, we hope, the outcome that will be reserved for this initial experiment.
The pebbles and the places for finding lichen (a part of the work for NASA) were the prerogative of Ronald, indefatigable, despite the endless comings and goings of the photographer in the quest for good light, etc. He brought a certain dynamism to the expedition. With André Georges, we discovered, at the beginning of January, the surrounding mountains. A kind of pilgrimage, a hundred years behind like at the time of the first ascents in Europe. A real moment of relaxation for me. After which, we went out on the ice shelf, a few bore holes to be dug, too short unfortunately, the end of the expedition was nigh, logistical problems that obliged some of our group to get to Blue One earlier…
Time passes too quickly at moments like this, but the imprimatur of this continent will forever leave its mark in our heads, it was, we believe, a unique experience. So now we are separated, some waiting to leave for Cape Town from Blue One, while René and I are about to embark on this extraordinary Polarstern, ready for a new adventure.
A huge thank you to all of you who have helped us to bring this adventure to its successful conclusion and to share it with the greatest possible number of people".
Alain Hubert
Monday 5 February : Hubert and René blocked by the storm, Kathelijne, Ronald and the others waiting at Blue One.
No doubt for one of the last times, the satellite phone between the expedition and HQ has been put to work. It was Alain Hubert who had just woken up and who was calling from his tent. In fact, Hubert and René had left Sanae five days previously, despite a storm warning and therefore unfavourable conditions for making progress. Yesterday, Sunday, the two men were blocked some 37 km away from the German station, Neumayer, where the research vessel Polarstern is currently berthed. "We have been stuck in our tent since yesterday", Alain explained, "with visibility of barely three metres… But we still have time to get to Neumayer, and the Polarstern is only leaving the ice station on or about 08 /09 February and the people there are waiting for us…"
Although the progress of the two men - for this latest journey on the 6th Continent - may have been held up by the weather conditions (on Thursday, for example, they were only able to cover 19 km in 9 hours of walking) it was also as a result of some stupid absentmindedness. When the DC3 from Blue One dropped René and Alain off at Sanae, they in fact forgot to unload their skis: the emotion in meeting up again with old chums and the hurry of the DC3 pilot to set off again as soon as possible, no doubt.
In short, Robert and Hubert found themselves without skis. So they had to borrow some from Sanae, skis that were clearly not equipped for withstanding long distances. On this subject, Hubert observed: "It's odd all the same," he told us yesterday, "the people here have no knowledge of the terrain that lies between them and the Neumayer station! So we set off into the unknown, but despite the skis that fell apart fairly soon, which meant that we had to go on on foot, the journey was all right…" Furthermore, Alain's sledge was very heavy…
Once at Neumayer, the duo will board the Polarstern, which, because some scientists still have some research work to do in the Weddell Sea, should take nearly a fortnight to get to Punta.
As for the rest of the team (Kathelijne, André Georges, Alain Bidart, Fabrizio and Ronald), they are waiting from the arrival of the Illyushin 76. Some bad news reached us a few days ago: the South African satellite, Sunsat, which, until now, has been acting as a relay for the retransmission of the information contained in the software programmes of the weather stations installed by Ronald Ross, has broken down and, from the last we heard, is definitively out of service. We do not yet know whether this incident is jeopardising all the work that the American has accomplished.
Saturday 3 February : André Georges tells about one of his ascents. Impressive...
"The tabernacle of Ulvetanna is a single block of exceptional rock crowned with a white hat. A most aesthetic dièdre, the route. All climbers that pass by the foot of it want to go there. I'm going solo to bring my Antarctic tour to an end. From below, it looks easier than it really is. A 500-metre high inverted rock face, it will take me five days to get to the end, with some very difficult moments. The left part of the dièdre is inverted, and at each rappel you have to hang to find the next relay. Solo, one has to make some good moves with the ropes to avoid being left suspended like a sack. Not a single metre of easy climbing, each centimetre is won by force in cracks that are often wide. A set of large "friends" and "big brothers" are a great help. Two days of snow that doesn't settle, it's too steep, and moments of cold to improve the menu..."
"It's very hard but mule-head sticks at it. Standing on a stirrup on a small "friend" for a few moments, looking at what's ahead. Suddenly, I'm flying, one of the "friends" has given way, the piton beneath it as well, and I find myself hanging ten meters further down. A small 5-mm cord is my belay, tied in a prusik knot to the main rope that yields as I go along. The impact made 20 metres of the rope hot and the two nylons welded themselves together!! A few aches and pains, nothing to worry about, I go up again, put back the same piton, put the same friend very precisely back where it had been and go ahead with the passage."
"After more than a month and a half of climbing, and now familiar with this rock, I'm in good shape. Exiting chimneys, with athletic jamming as dessert. A breather on an ice screw in the gully of the exit in fantastic surroundings. I'm pleased to have been able to take this course which is exceptional both in terms of beauty and difficulty, where the solitary ant was nibbling away with massive concentration for five whole days. Birds defy gravity. The spider in its web is not worried about the thin air all around it. But what on earth is man doing there? "
André Georges
Wednesday 31 January : The children have asked some questions (pertinent as is always the case) and the climbers have answered...
While waiting for the men to return, here are some of the questions asked by the children whose classes are enrolled in the Educational Project.
Q : Why did the last four metres of the ascent take so long?
R : Because during the ascent, each climber had a task to accomplish, sometimes at different heights on the wall. This took time so that in the end they could all get together and finish the summit together.
Q : What is a portaledge? What is it for?
R : It's a sort of tent than can be attached to the rock face. Composed of a closed canvas bed, it is fixed to the rock by a single suspension point. Mountaineers can sleep in them and shelter from storms. They can be single or double.
Q : What are your protection accessories? Which part of the body do they protect?
R : Climbers have only one real protection accessory, which is a helmet for the head.
Q : We have not understood certain words, like kata, spit and skidoo. Could you please explain them?
R : The kata is a Nepalese or Tibetan scarf, blessed by the Buddhist monks from a monastery. This scarf is thought to ensure "God speed" for the traveller to whom it is given. It should then be left at a place where the wind blows so that the blessing can be dispersed for the benefit of all. This is why Alain left one at the Holtanna summit. A spit is a large screw and an attachment for a rope. On the rock face, every 50 metres or in dangerous places, mountaineers use them to provide powerful insurance that they will not come off. They make a hole in the rock with a hand-powered drill, then insert the spit, which they then block with the bolt. It is very strong, and as they climb they can fix a rope to the attachment point that will hold it perfectly. The skidoo is a motorbike on skis, and is used for travelling over snow. It is very practical, and allows heavy loads to be quickly transported, sometimes over long distances. When it is exceptionally cold, ignition can at times be a bit slow to catch in the morning. There are two skidoos at Blue One. I would also like to explain what a cairn is. This is made up of stones that have been piled on top of each other to make a small monument to show that one has gone this way, whether at the top of a mountain or on a barely trodden path.
Q : What work did NASA entrust to you?
R : NASA entrusted us with the mission of looking for new species of lichen, but above all of installing electronic thermometers for year-long measurement of the temperature of the rock on which it grows This information is of interest to NASA because, during the hottest period of the year on the planet Mars, the climatic condition at times resemble those of the Antarctic winter. So scientists are trying to understand, with the help of lichen, how life could have existed on Mars. The radio and satellite communication technology of the automatic weather stations that we have installed will also perhaps be used one day in a meteorological programme on Mars.
Q : Why do you dig wells? What are you looking for? How deep are they?
R : We have dug wells that are between 1.5 and 2 metres deep to conduct some glaciological studies. Snow accumulates over the years, so we find layers in the wells that are sometimes more than ten years old and study them to learn how they have evolved, what their temperature is, and their density. We carried out this work during the expedition so that scientists could know the characteristics of the snow solely from satellite pictures.
Q : Why were you photographing grains of snow?
R : In the context of the glaciological research, we took photographs to know the size and shape of the grains of snow at various depths of the well, which is a way of transmitting the information to the scientists in the laboratories at a later date.
Q : How do you know that there could be meteorites at the place you spotted from the summit? Did you see a crater? Or a pebble?
R : The regions where we have the best chance of finding meteorites are the fields of blue ice, for in these areas the ice comes up from the bottom of the polar icecap and brings with it all the meteorites that have fallen into the snow over tens of thousands of years It was an interesting area of blue ice that the climbers saw from the summit, unfortunately too far away for quick access on skis.
Q : If you find a meteorite, could you please send us a photograph?
R : Yes, with pleasure, but unfortunately we didn't find one.
Q : What do you do doing your spare time?
R : We sleep, we read, we write, we get together to for a laugh and a joke, and we eat lovely meals.
Q : How do you have the courage to sleep in sleeping bags at altitude? Are you never frightened of sleeping on the rock face?
R : It's like with life, initially you have no experience, it's not reassuring, you are frightened of falling, then you get used to the emptiness, your realise that the assembly where you are sleeping is sound, and you become reassured that everything will be OK.
Q : What do you do to prevent yourself from falling in your sleep?
R : Climbers sleep in their sleeping bags, attached in their harnesses by rope to the rock. So they can't fall.
Q : How was the aeroplane able to land on the ice?
R : The Illyushin pilots are very skilful, and for them landing on ice is much the same as landing on a tarmac or concrete runway.
Q : How to you put the pitons in the rock when you are climbing?
R : Mountaineers can always find a crack, and in it they pick the place where it joins up again and force the piton in with a hammer. A rope can then be attached to it by means of a snap link.
Q : Do you miss your families?
R : Yes, of course, we are impatient to see our families again, and we all hope that the homecoming will live up to our expectations.
Q : Do you communicate with your children?
R : For my part, I don't have any (Ed. Note: It is Alain Bidart who is answering), but the members of the team that do communicate regularly with them by e-mail.
Q : How many time a week do you change your clothes?
R : We don't in fact wash our clothes, so we have several changes that we put on again regularly without their really being clean. In the Antarctic, the weather is cold and often dry, so we sweat less than in other parts of the world and consequently we soil our clothes less. Nevertheless, the first thing we'll be doing when we get to South Africa is having a good shower!
Q : Have you climbed other summits? If so, which ones?
R : After Holtanna, André and Alain "did" all the mountains around us, about ten, nearly all of which had never been climbed before.
Q : Did you do all this for fame or pleasure? 
R : Above all, we did all this for love of the Antarctic and its extraordinary environment.
Q : Did you encounter any strange animals?
R : No, but we did encounter some fabulous snow petrels and some impressive skuas.
Q : Did anybody fall during the ascent?
R : Fortunately not.
Q : Have you gone on any other expeditions before this one for physical training?
R : Mountaineers are in fact guides and go on expeditions everywhere in the world throughout the year, so they have all the physical training they need.
Q : Was the South Face of Holtanna as vertical as the North?
R : Yes, the South Face was more vertical than the North Face, at times even overhanging.
Friday 26 January : Some leave, others climb on...
Last Wednesday, Alain, Ronald and René left the base camp at about noon to head for Blue One by sail. They should reach the station this evening or tomorrow. From there, as has already been written, they will be going first to Sanae and then on to the German base Neumayer in order to board the Polarstern
. It is envisaged that there will be regular radio contact between this group and the others, then with HQ.
Meanwhile, the others who have stayed at the base camp cannot resist climbing, as the environment is so ideal for such activity. Just before setting off, on Tuesday, Hubert and Georges "did" a final summit, Kintanna, one of the most impressive summits after Holtanna and Ulvetanna.
Indeed, speaking of this last summit, Ulvetanna, the veritable private preserve of the Norwegian climbers and not yet climbed by the climbers of The Wall expedition, André and Fabrizio decided at the last moment to make an assault on it as well. So yesterday, Thursday, everybody accompanied the two climbers as far as the foot of this giant, skiing in deep snow. This delighted Kathelijne, who at last had the chance of extracting herself from the preoccupations of communicating with the outside world and of treating herself to a little outing plumb in the middle of this magnificent scenery. In principle, André and Fabrizio should be taking care of the giant today.
As for the return of the people who have stayed on at the base camp (Kathelijne Van Heukelom, André Georges, Fabrizio Zangrili and Alain Bidart, seen here in the photograph), here is the information as sent by Kathelijne today, Friday, (this message of course being primarily intended for their families).
31 January: Closing (striking) the base camp and setting out with skis and sledges for Blue One. The Illyushin 76 which should be coming to pick them up is scheduled for 09 February, whereas the Cape Town - Brussels flight for its part has been booked for the 13th of the same month.
Despite the ample margins allowed by this programme, it is clear that, given the moods of the Antarctic weather, especially at the end of the summer season, the dates mentioned above may change from one moment to the next. We will try our hardest, however, to keep the families abreast of any future developments.
On Monday, we will provide our visitors with an initial assessment of the Educational Project, which, according to Laurent Dubois, who is co-ordinating all the schools in Switzerland, has enjoyed a right royal success.
