Scot100 South Pole Expedition
Craig Mathieson et Fiona Taylor

Happy Birthday Layla - from Patriot Hills
Before I say anything regarding the expedition I would just like to wish my daughter, LAYLA a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY. I'll be home soon so we can have another party - including more cake.

After a few hours sleep on the 31 December I was woken by Denise shaking my tent, tell me to get dressed as we've all been invited to the South Pole base's New Year party - they run on New Zealand time, some 16 hours ahead of the Chilean time zone we were using.
What followed was very surreal indeed, they had a live band, party food, everyone was dressed in their best party clothes - then there was us, unwashed for 2 months and wearing our expedition clothes. Despite this we all had a great time at this very special and unique event.
After a lovely breakfast of cheesy pasta, we found out that our plane was on it's way to take us back to Patriot Hills. And sure enough about 6 hours later our twin otter arrived.
I found it very strange and a little sad to be flying over the route we had been hauling our sledges over for the last 2 months. Even from several thousand feet up it the surface looked difficult.
As we approached the Theil mountains and our refueling depot we noticed that we could just make it back in time to Patriot Hills for the Chilean New Year. We were cutting it close however at 10 mins before midnight we landed to the extremely warm welcome of all the A.L.E staff who were waiting for us, champagne in hand! - another very special New Year. Today i'm taking it easy, sorting out my kit and doing some repairs. Later on i'll need to go for a long ski so that my leg muscles don't start to cease up. I hope to be back in Scotland within the next week or so, if I can get some flights sorted out once I arrive back in Chile . Speak to you all soon. Craig

30 Dec, 04 - 21:01    Chilling out at the Pole
I can't think of a better place on the planet to be stranded, however that's the situation I'm in tonight. The weather just isn't suitable for the twin otter aircraft to come and get us - not that I'm in any hurry now. I've spent the day eating, catching up on emails and doing just over 3 hours of stretches to keep my leg muscles from ceasing up due to the fact that I'm not skiing anymore.

I've been really overwhelmed by the amount of media attention I've received since arriving at the Pole but far better is the congratulations messages from ordinary people who have been following the expedition from the start - thankyou to everyone. When I arrived at the Pole I was lucky enough to have received some mail and in one package was the most beautiful flag I've ever seen. It was designed by the pupils of Gylemuir Primary School in Edinburgh and printed on silk. Therefore, tonight's picture is that flag - I'm really looking forward to visiting that school again on my return. Hopefully the weather will clear enough tomorrow to get us back to the base at Patriot Hills, after all, it would be nice to go to their infamous Hogmany party!. Speak to you all later. Craig

29 Dec, 04 - 22:07  /   I've done it... / GPS-pos: S89°59' | E028°04' | Alt: 2812 M
At precisely 7pm (GMT) on the 28th of December I completed the Scot100 South Pole Expedition by arriving at the South Pole after a journey of 730miles over the frozen wastes of Antarctica.
I can't begin to put into words the enormous sense of achievement I felt as I finally touched the actual South Pole itself, all these years of dreaming now a fantastic reality. It was quite an emotional moment for me, years of wanting this moment as well as a very intensive 18 months of preparation all coming to a head. After setting up my tent, only about 50 yards from the Pole (I can look out my tent door and see the Pole), I called my wife and simply said "I've done it" - I have been thinking about that call for weeks now, the thought certainly kept me going through the tougher times. Later in the day we were taken for a tour of the science station. Climbing up the steps into a heated lounge was very surreal indeed. We then got a very interesting talk about all the science projects currently going on at the South Pole. Sitting there listening to this was great, however I did have other things on my mind, like food and sleep, plus being in a heated room I was starting to thaw out and the natural bouquet of 2 months living on the ice was starting to get very noticeable!
After paying a visit to the base souvenir shop I was more than glad to be outside again in the, now comfortable, freezing cold. We ate an incredible amount of food when we returned to the tent. Afterwards we all went out, back to the Pole to take photographs, not only of each other but of the fantastic ice sculptures which are next to the Pole. On returning to the tent I feel the need for another 5 person portion of cheesy pasta before I finally return to my own tent and pass out in my sleeping bag after one of the proudest days of my life. I will be sending more dispatches when I arrive back at Patriot Hills, I hope I haven't bored you all too much over the last few weeks with my sustrugi stories! I did it. Craig
Note: I would like to say a very special thankyou to my guide, Denise Martin (1st Canadian woman to ski all the way to both Poles). Throughout the entire expedition she has been totally professional in her approach but more than that she is someone who I could trust 100% of the time in her judgments and suggestions, I'll never be able to thank her enough.

Next Hannah, well what can I say, she is just great. Over the last 56 days in Antarctica , Hannah has always had a smile on her face and a positive perspective on everything, I'm extremely proud to be her friend. Stuart from Texas (the 1st American to have skied to both Poles and climbed Everest), I'm sure could keep on going for another couple of months as his energy knew no bounds, a great guy who has many more adventures planned. Next Linda, now the 1st Australian woman to have skied all the way to the South Pole. I liked Linda from the off as I could see that she had the right mind set and determination for an expedition like this. Someone who I thought of every day is my team mate Fiona who unfortunately got bad frostbite early in the expedition and had to leave. Every day I would read the message she wrote on my sledge about making my dream come true, well it worked. Finally, I would like to dedicate the entire expedition to my wife Michele and children, Layla, Jake and wee Ruari, quite simply I couldn't have done it without their support and belief in me.

28 Dec, 04 - 02:08  / I'm running out of South... GPS-pos: S89°48' | W089°05' | Alt: 2728 M
Writing this dispatch in my tiny tent tonight I'm only 11.5nm from the South Pole.
The last couple of days we've really done some great mileage so that our final day can be a bit shorter than normal.
As you may have read from Hannah's latest dispatch, I've had a slight irritation in my right knee. All is well, instead of sleeping last night I spent the night stretching all my leg muscles and tendons - today I skied 17nm, so I'm not that worried about it, anyway, if it came to it I would have crawled the final few days to get to the Pole.
It feels very strange tonight, all these weeks of hauling my sledge hundreds of miles across this frozen wasteland now coming to an end. In a funny sort of way I think I'll miss the daily routine of surviving on the ice, it's certainly going to be strange entering the 'real' world again.
Anyway, my next dispatch will be very special. The Scot100 South Pole Expedition will be the 1st dedicated Scottish expedition to the South Pole and tonight I feel extremely proud to have been part of it all, not forgetting my team partner, Fiona who has been with me in spirit every step of the way.
Speak to you all very soon. / Craig

24 Dec, 04 - 16:13 / Only 60 miles to go now... / GPS-pos: S89°00' | W085°35' | Alt: 2765 M
89 degrees at last, it feels great to be here, only 60nm to the South Pole.
After weeks now without a proper rest we have decided to not travel today (Christmas Eve). By doing this it will give us the opportunity to arrive at the Pole fresh enough to really appreciate what we've achieved - I want to savor every second at the Pole, to remember everything for the rest of my life and to enjoy my achievement.
Nothing is guaranteed however, we've still got a good 4 days hauling left and the weather could turn, but we now all feel confident that we're going to make it. We've come through everything Antarctica could have possibly thrown at us to reach this point, so nothing is going to stop us now. We will have our Christmas one day early as it will be back to hauling as usual on the 25th - apparently someone even has a Christmas cake with them. I hope you all have a great Christmas and I'll speak to you soon. / Craig

Note: Joke for everyone; what do you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire - Frostbite!. Well, it made me laugh, thanks to Sam and Toby Fulton for sending me that.

22 Dec, 04 - 01:06  / 90 miles to go / GPS-pos: S88°00' | W085°58' | Alt: 2357 M
Tonight we're camped only 90nm from the Pole. The last 2 days we've covered 30nm and hopefully, if the weather and our luck holds, we'll try our best to get to the Pole for the 27th of December. I'm at the stage now of just wanting to reach my goal of getting to the Pole, it's been the best part of 2 months now that I've been on the ice and I'm really starting to get tired now, not just the normal tiredness that comes with lots of physical exercise but a very deep tiredness that only comes when you do something this extreme for so long.
I must say however, every day out here still feels like a great privilege for me and the closer I get to the Pole, the more proud I feel to be here and doing something very special.
Tonight's photograph is especially for my father in law, Chris Clark, who promised to give 50 pounds to the Scot100 charities if I show everyone a shot of me drinking from my pee bottle (for the people who don't know I lost one of my water bottles a few weeks ago, so logically I used the only other bottle I have). It might appear to be pretty disgusting to the average person, but out here it's a life saver, I have to drink 2 litres of water during the day or I'll be in serious trouble with dehydration. Anyway, I sterilized it very well and there is no unpleasant after tastes!. Speak to you all later. Craig
Note: unable to update the website map tonight, however my position is S88.30.061 W085.47.645

22 Dec, 04 - 01:06 : 90 miles to go / GPS-pos: S88°00' | W085°58' | Alt: 2357 M
Tonight we're camped only 90nm from the Pole. The last 2 days we've covered 30nm and hopefully, if the weather and our luck holds, we'll try our best to get to the Pole for the 27th of December.
I'm at the stage now of just wanting to reach my goal of getting to the Pole, it's been the best part of 2 months now that I've been on the ice and I'm really starting to get tired now, not just the normal tiredness that comes with lots of physical exercise but a very deep tiredness that only comes when you do something this extreme for so long.
I must say however, every day out here still feels like a great privilege for me and the closer I get to the Pole, the more proud I feel to be here and doing something very special.
Tonight's photograph is especially for my father in law, Chris Clark, who promised to give 50 pounds to the Scot100 charities if I show everyone a shot of me drinking from my pee bottle (for the people who don't know I lost one of my water bottles a few weeks ago, so logically I used the only other bottle I have). It might appear to be pretty disgusting to the average person, but out here it's a life saver, I have to drink 2 litres of water during the day or I'll be in serious trouble with dehydration. Anyway, I sterilized it very well and there is no unpleasant after tastes!.
Speak to you all later. Craig

20 Dec, 04 - 01:13    Now at 88 degrees / GPS-pos: S87°34' | W086°07' | Alt: 2138 M
After another windy and very cold day we've now reached 88 degrees, only 120 miles now to the Pole. Tonight my tent is pitched on top of over 8450ft of ice, less than 1000ft to the Polar Plateau - then no more climbing. We received another food resupply this morning, our last until we reach the Pole, so we ate very well tonight. We're still hauling through some pretty rough surfaces, the sastrugi has been as high as 8ft in some areas, very beautiful to look at but a tad tiring to haul a sledge over. Now that we've only got 2 degrees to go we're all now talking about how it now feels that we're going to make it - and it feels great. Speak to you all soon. Craig

18 Dec, 04 - 01:54    A day for Jordan / GPS-pos: S87°20' | W086°11' | Alt: 2009 M
Today is a very special day, not because we're now over the 3/4 way mark, but because it's my little nephew's birthday - HAPPY BIRTHDAY JORDAN . Jordan has been through a lot, having major heart surgery almost every year since he was born.
His mother (my sister), June, who has a heart of gold, will be making sure that today is special.
I haven't really much else to say tonight except that I am feeling fine and hope to be at the South Pole in 10 days time. Speak to you all soon. / Craig

17 Dec, 04 - 00:29 : 87 degrees passed and still march on / GPS-pos: S86°35' | W086°46'
The reason I haven't sent a dispatch for the last 3 days is because we've had a bit of a rough time weather wise.
Tuesday and Wednesday were especially bad for me as there was no contrast due to an icy cloud bank, my eye sight isn't the greatest at the best of times, but in these conditions I can't see anything.
Today we did have sunshine however it was accompanied by a 45km wind that blew in our faces all day.
Tonight I've discovered that due to one of my mittens not being on properly during one march I have a bit of frostbite on my forearm, this only took a few minutes to happen due to these conditions. Over the few days we will be steadily gaining altitude as we approach the Polar Plateau. That's all for now, I really need to get some sleep.
Speak to all later. Craig

13 Dec, 04 - 22:17 :  Summertime / GPS-pos: S86°10' | W086°51' | Alt: 1774 M
The summer finally arrived to Antarctica today, -16c, sunshine, no wind - it was great, I just hope it lasts for more than one day.
Our mileage was cut short today as Hannah developed a muscle strain, so it was decided the best cure would be to rest it today so we can continue at full speed again tomorrow.
The sastrugi also calmed down a bit today, so the scenery now is just like a huge frozen desert, no landmarks, just ice as far as I can see. If all goes well, we will have completed 2/3 of the mileage to the Pole by tomorrow evening, leaving only 200nm to go. Everything else is okay, I'm still feeling fit and strong, perhaps a little thinner than when I started, however all my focus now is on getting to the Pole before the New Year. Speak to you all soon. Craig

12 Dec, 04 - 02:02 : 86 degrees crossed / GPS-pos: S85°39' | W086°46'
Another significant day's travelling which took us over 86 degrees, only 231nm to the Pole. Today was by far the warmest we've had, the temperature was -16c so I was very comfortable hauling just wearing my longjohns and a light pertex windsuit.
The snow was very different today, it was more like hauling through fine sand than snow, so every pull on the sledge felt a lot heavier - still managed 15.5nm by the end of the day. If the weather and our luck hold, we intend to march at least 15nm every day no matter how long it takes us. By doing this we would be able to reach the Pole before the end of the year - but as you can appreciate, nothing is guaranteed down here so I'll just keep going the best I can. Speak to you all later. Craig

10 Dec, 04 - 01:05  There may be trouble ahead / GPS-pos: S85°11' | W087°51'
It's now been 2 days since we left our resupply camp at the Theil mountains, since then we've covered 29nm.
Today started out as a good traveling day, sunshine, not much wind and a good snow surface. As the day progressed however clouds started to appear to our east and before we knew it all contrast was lost, making us ski blind for the last 2 marches.
Of all the weather conditions I've faced so far, having zero visibility is by far the worst, even worse than the bone freezing temperatures we've had.
Writing this in my tent, I can hear the wind getting stronger outside plus it's started to snow. Tomorrow we have to work our way around crevasses that are directly in front of us, but if the weather gets really bad the safest option is to sit it out and wait for it to clear a little - we'll know in a few hours.
As Owen is no longer with us I am now in a small tent by myself, it's colder than if I was sharing but I much prefer it as I now have somewhere that's my own space - I've named the tent Scotia, my very own piece of Scotland every night.
Speak to you all later. Craig

GPS-pos: S85°11' | W088°01' | Alt: 0 M Over half way now
We've made it to our food resupply at the Theil Mountains that means we're now over half way to the Pole.
Over the last 3 days we've skied over 50nm to get here, exhausting work but well worth the effort.
Last night to celebrate we feasted on cake and curry - I still had another 3 bars of chocolate when I got into my sleeping bag later.
Best of all I had some mail waiting for me, letters and cards from home - a real boost.
Today is a rest day of just repacking food, conducting repairs and even perhaps having a proper wash!.
After all the trouble Owen has had with his ankles, he decided to leave the expedition and was flown out late last night, hopefully he will be back with his family soon.
For the rest of us, we're now fully focused on getting to the Pole. First thing tomorrow morning we're off again, navigating around the mountains towards our next goal of 86 degrees. In the meantime I'm going to relax, eat and sleep as much as possible. Speak to you all later. Craig

4 Dec, 04 - 00:04   84 degrees passed / GPS-pos: S83°57' | W083°55' | Alt: 1452 M
If all goes well we'll be at our food supply in 4 days time - fantastic, I've been thinking about food quite a lot recently!.
The last couple of days have been very windy and cold, however the surface has been pretty great for skiing - we've covered a lot of ground in the last 48 hours.
For weeks now I've been talking about sastrugi and how difficult it can be to haul my sledge over, so today I've attached a picture of some small sastrugi that I came up against a couple of days ago.
As we get closer to the Theil mountains (and our food), we're starting to see more nunataks (tops of hills poking through the ice), this makes navigation very easy as long as the weather is clear. Speak to you all soon. Craig

1 Dec, 04 - 23:17 / Good Mileage
GPS-pos: S83°44' | W083°42' | Alt: 0 M
Well, we've had 2 very different days since my last dispatch.
Yesterday (29th), we had excellent weather, little wind, good snow contrast and sastrugi only in odd patches. All these things combined resulted in 15.3nm covered, seasons best for any expedition.
Today however we were in a white-out for the entire day. A white-out is when fog comes in making it extremely difficult to travel as you can't tell what is up and what is down - it was like skiing in a bottle of milk!. To make the day more interesting, we also hit some huge sastrugi fields and skied uphill for most of the day. Checking my GPS tonight we have managed to cover 12.1nm, which in these conditions isn't that bad I think.
It's impossible to tell what the weather will do tomorrow, sitting in my tent I can't even see my sledge which I know is safely tied down only a few feet away. Speak to you all later. Craig

28 Nov, 04 - 19:32 / Unexpected Stop
GPS-pos: S83°04' | W083°10' | Alt: 0 M
After only 1 march today, Denise, our guide, called a halt and instructed us to put our tents up. The reason being is that Owen's ankles are just giving him too much pain, even letting someone else pull his sledge wasn't really making any difference - we'll see if a rest makes any difference.
From tomorrow we intend to increase our hours of marching so that we can get up to nearer 15nm a day. This will be tough, however it means we can now get back on track with our original schedule.
If we manage to get up 15nm a day, weather and terrain allowing, it could mean that we may be able to cover a degree of latitude every 4 days - which would be great.
We're just about at the 'third of the way' point now, which feels good, over 200nmiles skied.

Today's picture is me with Stuart and Linda. Stuart has climbed all 7 continental summits (highest mountains in each continent) and skied to North Pole - plus he's a good laugh. Linda is a lovely woman, extremely strong and focused and in a few weeks time, will be the 1st Australian woman to ski all the way to the Pole. Speak to you all later. Craig

26 Nov, 04 - 22:12 / 83 degrees passed
GPS-pos: S82°37' | W082°49' | Alt: 1215 M
I knew it was going to be a good day's marching as soon I got out the tent this morning. During the night the wind had died so it actually felt quite mild in the sunshine, -15c mild.
After an excellent breakfast of porridge with butter and cheese mixed in - my new favorite food we set out for the day's march.
When the sun is out Antarctica is beautiful. It still feels a great privilege for me to be here, skiing through ice millions of years old I am truly humbled by the magnificent purity of the scenery.
Today was special in that we passed through 83 degrees. We're trying our hardest to do at least 12nm per day, which would mean passing 1 degree (60nm) every 5 days - all dependent on the weather of course.
Writing this whilst laying in my sleeping bag, I am for once actually feeling warm, due to the sun still shining on the tent, I hope we continue to get more days like today. Speak to you all later. Craig

25 Nov, 04 - 00:03 / Going Strong
GPS-pos: S82°24' | W082°37' | Alt: 1077 M
A busy couple of days have just gone by. Yesterday (23rd), we got an extra food resupply delivered by twin otter aircraft.
The good staff at Patriot Hills also included freshly baked cakes and a litre carton of wine - it didn't last long.
Our next food resupply is 158 nautical miles away at the Thiel mountains- hopefully there may be more goodies waiting for us there.
Today started overcast and cold but after a couple of hours the sun did make an appearance. The surface was much better today resulting in 13nm skied, our most yet.
This evening I'm trying my hardest to dry some of my clothing that got wet with the effort of hauling, so I don't have go through the discomfort of putting on frozen clothes in the morning. It's really difficult to get the balance of clothing correct, too little and you suffer from the intense cold, too much and you start to sweat, resulting in the situation I'm in tonight.
Hopefully this surface will continue so we can keep this good pace up. Speak to you later. / Craig Note: My feet are much better today

23 Nov, 04 - 12:32 / Mind Travel
GPS-pos: S82°24' | W082°36' | Alt: 1196 M
After a very tough day for me yesterday(I couldn't keep my focus on hauling), today was much better.
It makes all the difference if you can let your mind travel as you're hauling the sledge. I've planned family holidays, work, odd jobs around the house, anything to keep my mind occupied from the pain of hauling.
I say pain because a few days ago I developed some impressive looking blisters on my feet, and now one of them has managed to get infected - not a problem as we have a very comprehensive first-aid kit.
The sastrugi (big waves of ice), was particularly nasty today, some of the patches were about 5ft high, making the going difficult. The wind has also picked up this evening, dropping the temperature accordingly.

I'm really focused on our resupply at the Theil Mountains , hopefully we'll get there within the next couple of weeks - we may even stop for a rest day if possible!. Until then it's a case of staying positive and keep putting one foot in front of the other - tens of thousands of times!
Today's photo is of me at the end of the day, looking forward to a mug of hot tea and some dinner - life seems so much better at the end of the day! Speak to you all later. Craig

21 Nov, 04 - 00:12 / 82 Degrees passed / GPS-pos: S82°03' | W082°22' | Alt: 947 M
Well, that's another degree skied, 8 more to go.
The going was good today, except for a climb through some big sastrugi, however we still managed over 12 miles.
It was approximately -30c today, with little wind, I found this pretty ideal for hauling the sledge as it stops me from sweating too much - one of the biggest dangers out here is sweating, which means you get wet and in turn very cold.
The next big goal is to reach 82.5 degrees, the quarter way mark - and more importantly, this is the point I've scheduled to change my socks!.
I would like to say a special thank-you to the pupils and staff (particularly Anne Wex), for planning to raise funds for the Scot100 charities - keep me updated with events please.
Today is dedicated to my baby son, Ruari, who has just learned to count to 3 - well done, the thought of that kept me going strong for a few hours today. Speak to you all soon. Craig
Note - I've heard from Fiona, she's doing well and even has one of her bandages off. Even though she physically is not here, she is still 50% of the Scot100 Expedition team and is with me every step of the way to the Pole.

19 Nov, 04 - 00:18 / Speeding up / GPS-pos: S81°38' | W082°07' | Alt: 938 M
We've have 3 good days hauling now, over half a degree covered.
To crown everything the wind has died tonight, making it almost pleasant!.
The daily marches are very tough, we usually do 6x1.25hrs intervals, with about 10mins for a break after each march - just enough time for a drink of water and a handful of salami and chocolate.
We're eating about 5000cals a day, there is never any leftovers!. We have a variety of meals, however since I haven't washed my eating bowl for days now, everything is starting to taste the same - porridge with a hint of cheesy pasta is really quite nice!.
I think my skiing legs are finally getting to grips with all this hauling, I only feel very tired tonight instead of totally exhausted.
I'll try and speak to you all soon. Craig

16 Nov, 04 - 00:39 / 1st degree complete - only 9 more to go! / GPS-pos: S81°08' | W081°25' | Alt: 930 M
Well, we're past the 1st degree, a tenth of the journey complete.
And at last, the surface is improving. After a couple of hours hauling through sastrugi, the surface flattened out a bit. My pulk is still very heavy, however over the next few weeks it will get easier to pull, as I use up more food and fuel.
We also had a rare glimpse of sunshine today, making navigation some what easier - lets hope it stays for a while.
I'm finding the marches (1.15hrs each time) difficult in the mornings for some reason and a little easier as the day goes on - maybe my body knows it's getting near food time and therefore tries harder.
Since Fiona left I've been trying to refocus, difficult when we had such a good routine - I made up a new solo routine which seems to be working.


14 Nov, 04 - 22:55 / Tough Going / GPS-pos: S80°58' | W081°44' | Alt: 990 M
I'm sitting in my tent today exhausted by today's hauling. The surface is still very bad, big sastrugi and no contrast, making travel extremely tough. Yesterday had quite a lot of excitement, another expedition to the South Pole called in to say that their guide, Devon , had cut his hand and may need surgery. Devon had 2 clients, Stewart and Linda.
We were picked up by the snowcat and taken to Devon 's camp. He will be okay however he couldn't carry on. Therefore Stewart and Linda have now joined with us. Tomorrow we go through the 81st parallel, 1/10 of the journey complete. Sorry for not attaching more photographs, but there is not much point as we've been in a whiteout for days now.
Speak to you all later. Craig

12 Nov, 04 - 21:36 / Never a dull moment!
Well, a lot has happened since my last dispatch.
Firstly, we haven't moved from our last position due to total whiteout conditions and temperatures down to -50c in the chilling wind. To travel in these conditions would be extremely dangerous, not only making navigation difficult but significantly increasing the ever present danger of frostbite.
We also have had a tent blown away, ripped from its anchors by the wind, I tried my hardest to run after it but the wind was just too strong - after a few minutes I just fell to my knees with exhaustion, watching the tent disappear into the white. As soon as the weather breaks (which could still be a few days), we will get a replacement tent by resupply. Until then we are all in one tent, which is cosy during the day but the tent becomes very icy as we sleep - waking up in a frozen sleeping bag every morning is a tad uncomfortable!.
I would like to thank everyone who has sent me words of encouragement, they really help me get through the day - and especially to my wife, Michele,for all the work she's doing back home, far harder than what I'm doing here!.
I've decided to dedicate today to my son Jake, who had a bad day yesterday - never mind son, things will get better soon, just keep having happy thoughts.
Until later, Craig

10 Nov, 04 - 22:57 / Constantly climbing / GPS-pos: S80°32' | W081°22' | Alt: 1111 M
8 hours marching today, gaining over 700 ft of elevation. Again, we were constantly battling against heavy sastrugi, back breaking work. The weather has improved today, it even managed a couple of hours sunshine , bringing the temperature up to about a tropical -20c. I hope the surface improves soon, it would be nice to ski on some flat snow. Tonight I can see the Pirrit mountains from the tent, a spectacular site.
Speak to all soon. Craig

9 Nov, 04 - 22:26 /Farewell to Fiona
Well, I'm on my way again. It was very difficult saying goodbye to Fiona this morning, she's the bravest person I have ever known, it's going to be very difficult without her. The ice today was difficult, heavy sastrugi made the going tough. Hopefully one more day of navigating through the mountains before I start heading due south.
Everything else is okay, a tad cold, but fine - until later, Craig.

Did you know?
This expedition started out at Hercules Inlet and backtraced to Patriot Hills to practice their skiing skills before The Big Pull to the Pole. The first section thus went with only a few days of supplies in their sleds. At PH however, the sleds were loaded with food and gas to last until the first drop by the Thiels Mountains , and that's why the going is harder now.
Hannah's and Owen's expedition team mates, Scottish accountants Craig Mathieson and Fiona Taylor of the Scot100 adventure hoped to reach the pole at Hogmanay, with the centenary celebrations of the first Scottish National Antarctic Expedition by explorer William Spiers Bruce. Fiona had to abort the expedition after a few days due to frostbite, but Craig continues the quest. The expedition is fully funded by the team's employers, Ernst & Young. Starting point Hercules Inlet. Expedition led by Denise Martin.

8 Nov 2004 / Loss of the Fox / GPS-pos: S80°19' | W081°05' | Alt: 985 M
It has been a few days since the last dispatch and a lot has happened. With the exception of the first day, the weather from Hercules Inlet to Patriot Hills was absolutely brutal. The temperatures have been around -25c but the wind dropped the temperature further;we recorded wind chill of -53c. Still,despite this we battled on and made it back to PH base around 6pm on day 4 after a 7 hour march (we have to pass through on route). It was tough pulling in this weather and we debated setting up camp after 4 hours but the sight of PH in the distance spurred us on. We all agreed that it had been the right decision to carry on.

The team at PH base camp said that this had been some of the harshest weather that they had experienced in 15 years at the start of the season.
Sadly, I suffered the consequences of this. Fortunately, the wonderful Doc Martin was on hand. The doc diagnosed that I had 'chronic hypothermia' and even 4 hours after being diagnosed, being changed out of my clothes and into warm things and stuck in a warm room I was still cold and my temperature was low.
Two days later,I am fully recovered, however, I am left with a reminder in the form of frost bite. I have frost bite on both thumbs and two fingers, I have frost nip on at least three others but they should be ok. I currently have limited use of my hands as the digits are heavily bandaged but there is every chance that if I look after the dressings over the next 4 weeks or so I will not lose any 'tissue' (that's fingers and thumbs to you and me). The doc has said that if I were to continue he has no doubt that I would lose tissue. Also, I am unable to function fully with the bandages and would have to rely on assistance from the others which could also put them in danger and it would clearly be selfish to even consider this.
The others will continue their journey tomorrow (9th) and I will head back to the UK when the weatheris good enough for the Illusion to land.

As you can imagine, I am devastated, particularly when I have personally had such tremendous support from friends,family and colleagues over the last 18 months in additon to the support that Craig and I have had as a team. But, Craig and I are still a team and I shall be providing continous support by telephone and email and even though I won't make it to the Pole, my sledge will; Craig will haul it instead of his own. I would like to thank the ALE team for looking after me and keeping my spirits up and Craig (aka Wolf man) and the others, Bear, Coyote and Wolverine for the best experience and their support and wish them all the very best for the onward journey.
Fiona (aka Foxy)

4 Nov, 04 - 22:44 / First steps / GPS-pos: N80°08' | E080°30' | Alt: 820 M
And we're off. Yesterday we were dropped off by the twin otter around 3pm ,the plane flew off and we were left in the vast white desert at the foot of an upward climb ready to take our very first steps on this epic trek. We were lucky there was little wind and the sun was out. At the end of 4 hours we set up camp; we had covered a respectable 6 miles and we celebrated with a hearty meal of soup and pasta. Today was another story,it was overcast and very cold and there was a good wind. It was made all the more difficult travelling with frosted goggles and glasses, one of us has the bruises to show for it. Still we have covered another 7.5 miles. Just for the record it is -18c in the tent as I write this. Off to put some more gloves on - till next time..
Fiona and Craig

3 Nov, 04 - 15:00 / START - Position Update / GPS-pos: N79°55' | E080°04' | Alt: 160 M
Start from Hercules Inlet