Friday January 17th : Mission accomplished !

FROM THEIR WEBSITE / January 17, 2003 - Tired but exhilarated by their accomplishment, the Novolog Ultimate Walk to Cure Diabetes team of Will Cross, Jerry Petersen, Mike Cross and Bret Goodpaster reached the South Pole at 6:15 P.M. UTC.
Congratulations on a job very well done!

Tuesday January 7th

As the site of this expedition is not kept up to date every 24 hours, we only know that the rendezvous between the pairing of Will Cross - Jerry Paterson and the other pairing of Bret Goodpaster - Mike Cross (Will's father) must have happened around now somewhere in the Thiels Mountains at the appointed place where a food and fuel drop was made. Goodpaster and Cross were dropped on the zone a few days ago but 43 miles away from the rendezvous location; in their first message, they had decided to head gently for the South Pole (after having attempted to go in the same direction as their companions, i.e. northward and uphill, which was too tough for them) and hoping that Will and Jerry team up with them soon.

Although Jerry has lost nearly 15 kilos since the start of the adventure, everything is OK for the two diabetic teams of "Cure Walk".

Tuesday December 10th

Will Cross and Jerry Peterson have now been underway for 15 days since leaving Patriot. They are each hauling a sledge weighing approximately 75 kilos. At the start of their trek, they were encountering deep, soft snow; now, like all of the expeditions taking this route, they are having to negotiate extensive areas of sastrugi.

The two men are gradually getting into the swing of their adventure. In the mornings, they now only require three hours before they are ready to strike camp - compared with 4 hours last week. In the evening, they can now set up camp in 20 minutes instead of 45 and, finally, they only take a break every hour and a half, rather than every hour, as was the case during the first week of their journey. They did, however, have to take a day's rest on 26th November.
The two diabetics are not going particularly fast: approximately 15 km a day. At that rate, they will not reach the South Pole before the end of January.

Thirsday November 28th

It seems that only two men out of the five have arrived at Patriot Hills. Thery started their trek on November 17. Dr. Bret Goodpaster and Michael Cross will join them with the first resupply.

From their website :

Update From Antarctica
Three days and thirty miles into the 730 mile trek, Will and Jerry are delighted to be on the ice after two years of planning and preparation. As to the extreme cold weather and the difficulty of pulling the sleds with 150 pounds of food and gear, Will reports, "It is very difficult. It is what I expected. This is exactly what we trained for. But Antarctica is a bit different than the North Pole or Greenland. Antarctica has a mind of its own. It is fickle, unpredictable and vast. We spent the first two days walking without the skis. The ice and snow were hard with lots of chunks of sharp rocks. We didn't want to risk ruining our skis, so we pulled without them." The team has adjusted to 24 hours of daylight. Said Will, "Adjusting to the daylight took about two nights. By the third night we were so exhausted that it didn't matter whether it was light or dark. We sleep well."
As to the challenges of diabetes on Antarctica, Will's Novolog insulin can only be delivered in the tent while he is inside his sleeping bag. He is used to this though because of his training at the North Pole and Greenland. "I'm paying attention to my feet and hands, always moving them and checking them. Also, I'm staying hydrated and having the right gear is very important."
Will describes the terrain of the first three days as, "crossing oceans of ice with mountains on the rear horizon and nothing in front of us;like sailing at sea. There are lots of patterns in the snow created by the temperature and sun." Will and Jerry have gotton off the a great start; stay tuned for further developments.