DISPLAY MAP

THE LONGEST MARCH
Norwegian Rune Gjeldnes

2 February 2006 / Day 92 - 12 kilometres (4801 km)
A fantastic, but hard day! Rune had to take several turns to bring all the equipment up on the ridge, but the reward was great. Finally, Rune saw the ocean that was the proof that he is getting close to his goal. The scenery from the mountain ridge was fantastic, with the ocean on one side and Mt. Melbourne (2732) on the other side. The path on the ridge of the Northern Foothills was a little more dangerous than anticipated, with slippery surface and steep sides. The sled slipped several times; hanging in the sled ropes 90 degrees to one of the sides. Rune had to work very hard to advance and prevent the sled from pulling him off the ridge. But despite of the difficult terrain, Rune covered 11 kilometres, and Rune has with that covered a total of 4801 kilometres! The Terra Nova base is now only a capricious glacier away.

1 February 2006 / Day 91 - 12 kilometres (4789 km)
... glacier in Browning Pass today, and made camp at the end of the air field attached to the Terra Nova base. He has covered 12 kilometres, and has only 16 kilometres left! Rune still has a small ridge to pass before he reaches Terra Nova, and the plan is to climb the ridge tomorrow and mace camp there. The top of the ridge is on an altitude of 410 metres. Rune will have to climb the ridge several times in order to get all the equipment up. The next day Rune will try to find a safe path over the Northern Foothills and down to the Terra Nova Base.

31 January 2006 / Day 90 - 25 kilometres (4777 km)
Almost there! Rune covered 25 kilometres today, and is getting very close to the goal. The distance is only 14 kilometres in direct line, but that is trough a mountain, Mt. Abbott . The last challenge is to find a route across the mountain to the Terra Nova base. The plan is to move up the glacier in Browning pass, and cross over the ridge at its lowest. The altitude is still 410 metres at this point, but it is probably the best place to cross. The estimated walking distance is 40 kilometres. This morning Rune hoped to reach the cape with the very special name, Cape Sastrugi . A name that describes a major part of the expedition. The lack of wind left Rune with only one alternative, pull the sled old fashion way. The sleds runners are destroyed, so the friction is at maximum, making the day very hard. But Rune reached his day goal, and made camp at Cape Sastrug.

30 January 2006 / Day 89 - 10 kilometres (4752 km)
The glacier is conquered! The day started as yesterday ended, with terrible conditions. Slippery, steep terrain covered in crevasses. After struggling with the glacier for a few hours Rune found a snow bridge leading trough the glacier. Rune named the snow bridge <<>road from hell <>>. He is extremely happy that he is trough the worst glacier he has ever seen, and is now very optimistic. The Terra Nova base is only 40 kilometres ahead (straight line), and Rune can se Mt. Abbott , where the base is located. The last challenge is to get to the base on the other side of the Abbott Mountain.

29 January 2006 / Day 88 - 8 kilometres (4742 km)  
The worst day! Yesterdays picture is the last picture we can publish until he reaches Terra Nova. Today has been the worst day on the 88 days long expedition. A terrible, dangerous area covered with crevasses. The worst part of the glacier and rune is balancing on thin edges all the time. Rune lost his compact camera today, which he uses to take the photos he communicates home. It fell into a big crevasse as Rune tried to document the horrible ice conditions. A big loss for Rune, but luckily he has four other cameras with him.

28 January / Day 87 - 16 kilometres (4734 km)
Big crevasses! Rune is getting low on battery, and today's message only contained the position. According to his Argos beacon Rune covered another 16 kilometres today, and he is about to enter the most difficult part of the glacier.

27 January 2006 / Day 86 - 23 kilometres (4718 km)
Nice scenery, but difficult terrain! Rune covered another 23 kilometres today, and is more than halfway down the Priestley Glacier. The altitude is 830 metres. Rune has another 20 kilometres until he reaches the worst part of the glacier. An area covered with crevasses and moraine. The terrain is still very difficult. Hoping for an easier day tomorrow, but Rune is afraid that will not be the case.

25 January 2006 / Day 84 - 20 kilometres (4675 km)
A natural Maze! Another day and another challenge. Yesterday the problem was snow covered crevasses. Today the lack of snow was the biggest problem. The snow gave Rune enough friction to guide the sled between the crevasses, but today he has been walking on slippery blue ice. In between the blue ice, the glacier is covered with rocks, holes, heights, recessions, crevasses and small hills. It is like walking in a maze. Rune had to turn back and try a different path 4 times. But in spite of the extremely difficult terrain, Rune managed to cover a distance of 20 kilometres. Rune is hoping for a better, and a little less challenging, day tomorrow.

24 January 2006 / Day 83 - 16 kilometres (4655 km)
The most terrifying day! Rune has literally been walking on the edge today. The area is nothing but snow covered crevasses. He had to cross a snow river in the middle of the Priestley Glacier to get away from all the crevasses. He only covered 16 kilometres, but it was a nerve-wrecking 16 kilometres. He had hoped to cover a longer distance, but decided to make camp in a nice area east of Climan Peak . The terrain ahead looks better, but it is very difficult to se the snow covered crevasses. Even if the area ahead is extremely dangerous, Rune is looking forward to the challenge. And every day, Rune is getting a little bit closer to the goal, and that is off course very motivating. But he has to be careful and stay sharp!

23 January 2006 / Day 82 - changing day schedule  
New day / night schedule! Even if the sun is still shining 24 hours in Antarctica , the afternoon is getting very cold. The season is changing towards winter, and coldest time of day is approximately the time Rune usually makes camp. In the last couple of days the temperature has been a freezing -30 to 35 C. During the night, the temperature is 7 to 8 C warmer. To take advantage of the warmer nights, Rune has decided to change his schedule and sleep during the day and ski during the night. Changing the day rhythm has not been easy, and Rune has spent a day and a half in the tent to get used to the new daily schedule. He will start skiing tonight around 20.00 CET, if the sight improves.

22 January 2006 / Day 81 - 28 kilometres (4639 km)
Crevasses and more crevasses! Rune has just started the descend of the Priestley Glacier. There are crevasses are all around him, but most of them are covered under the snow. The good thing with the snow is that most of the crevasses are crossable. The bad thing is that it that it is hard to know which ones that are not! But there is no turning back, and Rune is getting closer to Terra Nova. He covered a distance of 28 kilometres today, 160 kilometres to go!

21 January 2006 / Day 80 - 204 kilometres (4611)  
A fantastic day! From trouble to happiness! Rune kited for 204 kilometres today, and finally saw the Trans Antarctic Mountains . This is what he has been working for the last four years. This is a dream coming trough for Rune and he told me on the phone earlier today, that he cried a few tears as he kited towards the mountains. A long and hard expedition is coming to en end. Rune has covered 4600 kilometres and has only 200 kilometres left to Terra Nova. The last leg is the worst and most dangerous, but the goal is in sight. Today is a day of happiness and celebration!

20 January 2006 / Day 79 - Trouble
One ski left! Rune is in trouble! Yesterday he lost one of the skies during kiting. Rune has brought two pair of skies, one pair for kiting and one pair for walking. When he is kiting the walking skies is strapped on the sled. During kiting on all the sastrugi, one of the skies has fallen off the sledge.
The walking skies are extremely important in the descent of the glacier. Glaciers are full of crevasses, often hidden under thin snow bridges. Using the skies is vital to prevent falling trough the snow bridges. Rune has a backup route down to the coast, but that involves climbing over a mountain, and that will be much harder and much more time consuming. Rune will make the route decision after he reaches the top of the glacier.

19 January 2006 / Day 78 - Bad weather  
Whiteout, but improving! Rune spent the day in the tent today, as the weather is still not suitable for kiting. Rune has used the day to study the detail maps of the Priestly Glacier, which is now only 220 kilometres away. During the day, the weather has improved, and we just saw on the Argos transmitter that he has started the last leg towards the top of the glacier. Depending on the wind speed and direction, Rune will reach the Priestley glacier in one or two days.

18 January 2006 / Day 77 - Resting  
Trouble with the right knee! Rune woke up today with severe pain in the right knee, and decided to stay in the tent for a while and let the knee heal. During this time the weather changed to the worse and it started to snow. The wind also changed direction and the result was whiteout. The air is also moister and the changing weather is a good indication that Rune is getting closer to the coast. Not only closer to the goal, but also closer to the glaciers and its capricious crevasses.

17 January 2006 / Day 76 - 211 kilometres (4407)
New personal record - again! Rune got the first proof that he is getting close to the coast. Today he felt he could the smell of the ocean, and that boosted his motivation. He pushed on, hoping to get a glimpse of the Trans Antarctic Mountains , and kited 211 kilometres during the day. That is a fantastic achievement in a terrain that Rune describes as the worst sastrugi he has ever seen. Kiting in 25 to 30 km/h in this sastrugi is very hard on the knees, and Rune stopped after 211 kilometres as he felt a stinging pain in his right knee. He wanted to push on, but decided to call it a day to prevent any injuries. The supplies are starting to run out, and Rune drank his last cup of coffee yesterday. Hi still has enough food and fuel, but running out of coffee is nothing less than a small disaster for Rune.

16 January 2006 / Day 75 - 100 kilometres(4196)  
Light breeze! A weather front came in late last night and the weather changed in Runes favour. With good sight and a light breeze Rune was able to Kite for 100 kilometres. But Rune is hoping for a little more wind today, as he had to kick start the kite yesterday by running. There was no wind at ground level, but in an altitude of 40-50 meters above ground, the wind was good for kiting. Rune still has trouble with his feet, and has to warm them up during the day, and at night in the tent. The process of warming up the feet is very painful, but necessary. But Rune is optimistic and hopes to reach the Trans Antarctic Mountains within 3-4 days.

15 January 2006 / Day 74 - 78 kilometres (4096)  
Changing weather! Runes day started perfect with good, steady wind and beautiful weather. He broke camp and kited towards Terra Nova, but during the day, the weather changed. A thick fog emerged and the sun disappeared. Rune kept going for a while, but as the wind direction changed, he called it a day. It is extremely cold, and since Rune suffers from a previous frost-bite, he tries to avoid getting to cold on his feet. In despite of the changing weather, Rune covered 78 kilometres today. Rune is getting closer to the coats and the Trans Antarctic Mountains , and hopes that he will soon get them in sight.

14 January 2006 / Day 73 - 92 kilometres (4018)  
4000 kilometres! After several days of whiteout, Rune is again moving North. He made 92 kilometres today, and has in total covered more than 4000 kilometres. He is getting closer to his goal, but still he is 6-700 kilometres (equals the distance from Fritjof Nansen's first crossing of Greenland ) from his goal Terra Nova Bay.

10 January 2006 / Day 69 - Resting
A good days rest! Rune has during the past ten days kited more than 1400 kilometres. He has broken his own personal distance record three times. He has broken the world solo and unsupported distance record and taken the world record for longest unsupported ski-trek in history. He is way ahead of schedule and is getting close to his goal to become the first and only to ski across the North Pole and South Pole unsupported. Today he decided that he deserved a good days rest and stayed in the tent to recharge his human batteries.

10 January 2006 / Day 68 - 104 kilometres
New world record ! Today at 08.36 CET Rune kited past the position 77.27S, 135.50E and took back the world record. Rune is now the world record holder for the longest unsupported ski-trek in history! In total Rune kited 104 kilometres today, and made an early stop to celebrate, after only four hours of kiting.

8 January 2006 / Day 67 - 182 kilometres
New personal record - again! Rune covered 182 kilometres today, breaking his personal record for the second day in row. He has now covered 3776 kilometres in total, and is only 24 kilometres from the world record! Rune will most likely be the new world record holder after tomorrow. Stay tuned!

7 January 2006 / Day 66 - 180 kilometres
New personal record! It does not seem that the frost-bite can stop the determined polar explorer Rune. Today he broke his own personal day distance record and also the expedition daily distance record by covering 180 kilometres in one day! During the last week Rune has covered a distance of 1025 kilometres. A daily distance of more than 146 kilometres, in average!

6 January 2006 / Day 65 - 140 kilometres
Frost-bite! Rune has for some time had trouble with keeping his feet warm, and yesterday the frost-bite was a fact. The frost-bite is on his toes on both feet. As for now the frost-bite is only in the skin or on the surface of the toes. Rune has to be very careful on the rest of the expedition, to prevent further damage. Terminating the expedition is no option, Rune continues!
The distance today: 140 kilometres. He has now covered more than 3400 kilometres in total, and is only 400 kilometres from taking the world record!

5 January 2006 / Day 64 - 152 kilometres
Second longest daily distance! The winds are perfect, but the 70-80 cm sastrugi with relatively short wavelength makes kiting difficult, and far from ideal. Anyway Rune covered a distance of 152 kilometres today, the second longest distance on the expedition. During the last week Rune has covered more than 130 kilometres a day on average. This is quite extraordinary after being out more than 60 days. Rune is, of course, very happy with the progress, and is way ahead of schedule.

4 January / Day 63 - 137 kilometres
New personal record! Rune broke another record today, but this time it was his own. Rune crossed Greenland lengthways in 1996 together with Torry Larsen. The total distance on this expedition was 2940 kilometres. Rune kited for 137 kilometres today, and passed 3000 kilometres setting a new personal record. The terrain is extremely difficult with short wavelength sastrugi. This makes kiting very challenging and dangerous. A moment of inattention can make you loose balance and fall. In the afternoon the wind increased and Rune kited with a speed of 20-25 km/h. A fall at this speed could result in a prematurely end of the expedition.

3 January / Day 62 - 146 kilometres
Longest solo ski expedition! At 10.39 GMT Rune broke Børge Ousland's solo ski record from 1997, as he at the time had covered 2845 kilometres. Rune kept on for several hours more, and made a total distance of 140 kilometres today. But Rune is aiming for more. The next record is 821 kilometres further North, at 3800 kilometres. The longest ski expedition in distance is held by the Norwegian explorers Sønneland and Bae. If Rune is able to keep his current daily distances the world record is only 5 to 6 days ahead.

2 January 2006 / Day 61 - 138 kilometres
6 km short! Rune had another super day, and made another 138 kilometres. But the day was not without trouble. First the sled was knocked over in the sastrugi, and then a few hours later the kite handle rope was torn off. Rune felt that he could continue for another 50 kilometres, but when the kite handle rope was cut for the second time, he called it a day. The irony is that Rune made camp only 6 kilometres short of Børge Ousland's longest solo ski trek record. Ousland skied 2845 kilometres across Antarctica alone and unsupported in 1996 - 97. At the time, the longest ski expedition in distance covered. The current record is held by Eirik Sønneland and Rolf Bae, who skied 3800 kilometres across Antarctica in 2000 - 2001. One of Runes goals is to break this record during his expedition!

1 January 2006 / Day 60 - 132 kilometres
Back on the 85th! The wind was perfect today, and Rune covered a distance of 132 kilometres. With this great distance Rune has reached the 85ºS again, but on the opposite side of the pole. He is now out of the constant changing wind zone, and expect more stable winds along the 120ºE direction. Rune planes to continue in this direction until the 80ºS, before turning more East towards the Terra Nova Bay . The reason is that Rune tries to avoid the Trans Antarctic Mountains , where the winds are less stable and the glaciers increases the risk of crevasses.

31 Dec / Day 59 / 2569 km covered so far
Rune is still very motivated and hunting for the world record. His progression is quite irregular these last days. Covering 139 km on December 27th, 44 km the next day, 6 km on December 29 and again a good distance, 98 km, on December 31st. Winds are very unpredictable in this region of Antarctica. He has still another 1000 km to go...

26 Dec / Day 54 / White out and no wind
In four days, since December 23rd, Rune has convered only 49 km. This is due to white out and the lack of winds. He is now at 80 km from the pole and still ahead of schedule.

22 Dec 2005 / Day 50 / 26 kilometres (2 233 km)
Changing winds A loud noise woke Rune up this morning, and remembering that he had made camp in the caterpillars' snow track to the South Pole, he got out of the tent in a hurry. Luckily, there were no caterpillars in sight, and he turned around and saw a Hercules transport plane go in for landing at the pole. The plain came inn with an altitude of maximum 50 meters above his camp and you can imagine the noise the four engines propel transport made. The result was an early morning start for Rune, but due to changing winds the distance covered was "only" 26 kilometres.

21 Dec 2005 / Day 49 / Resting  
Resting at the South Pole Rune stayed in the tent today, spending the day recovering and charging his human batteries. His view from the camp is fantastic, with the Amundsen Scott base in the horizon. The only sign of civilization for almost 50 days. Rune is eager to continue his journey north, and is hoping for more wind tomorrow. Rumours say that a convoy of tracked vehicles is heading for the South Pole from McMurdo and Rune is a bit worried because his camp is in the middle of the snow track into the South Pole.

20 Dec 2005 / Day 48 / 84 kilometres (2 207 km)
Rune reached the Geographical South Pole today the 20th of December 2005 at 12.46 GMT. Rune has covered 2200 kilometres alone and without re supplies during his 45 days in Antarctica . This is his first expedition to the South Pole, and this great deed makes Rune one of the very few that has reached both geographical poles un-supported. The South Pole is nevertheless only a waypoint for Rune. Even though most people would be satisfied with such a great achievement, Rune is known to always reach higher. Rune will continue for another 2400 kilometres to achieve the status of being the first and only to accomplish a complete unsupported crossing of both poles. In addition Rune will retake the world record for The Longest March.

19 Dec 2005 / Day 47 / 103 kilometres (2 123 km)
One day left? Rune covered 103 kilometres today, and is getting closer and closer to the waypoint called the South Pole. After today's effort Rune has only 77 kilometres left to the pole, and he is hoping to reach the pole tomorrow. Rune is filming the expedition, and tries to film a little every day, and certainly tries to capture every special event during the journey. The film will be produced by KEO film, the same company that produced "The Great Race" this spring, recreating the historic race between Amundsen and Scott 1911/1912.

18 Dec 2005 / Day 46 / 139 kilometres
A great day! Rune had a fantastic day today! He started the day with perfect wind and a lot of sastrugi. During the day, the height of the sastrugi decreased and Rune could increase his speed. Rune covered 139 kilometres, his second best distance during a day on the expedition. He has now covered more than 2000 kilometres and has only 180 kilometres left to the pole.

17 Dec 2005 / Day 45 / 95 kilometres
Wind at least After two days of waiting, the wind speed finally increased and Rune could once again unpack his kite. The terrain was terrible with two meters tall sastrugi almost all day, but Rune managed to cover 95 kilometres during a long tough day. The problem with this sastrugi is the long wavelength. Rune has to keep an extra eye on his ski tips to prevent them from digging into the sastrugi and break. In addition to the ski tips, Rune has to watch the kite and the sledge constantly during the day. Finally wind, but a hard days work

16 Dec 2005 / Day 44 / Still no wind
Still no wind Still no wind for Rune, but the weather forecast looks very positive. If the forecast is correct, Rune will have 6-8 meters per second wind tomorrow in perfect direction.
Yesterday, Rune decided to change his underwear. He has used the same pair of underwear for 43 days, and after this time the underwear has to be disposed as dangerous goods. So Rune dressed up in his protective clothes and placed the underwear together with the used lithium batteries and other dangerous stuff.

15 Dec 2005 / Day 43 / No winds
Still no winds Rune never broke camp today. The wind started as a light breeze directly from south, and kept changing during the day, but never in a direction good for kiting. Rune spent the time daydreaming about his new farm, which he and his girlfriend are going to buy, when Rune returns from Antarctica . Today's photo shows a sketch of the new farm house.

13 Dec 2005 / Day 41 / dist : 120 km
Another great day The wind speed increased during the night, and when Rune woke up he had a steady 5-6 m/s wind in good direction. He packed his home into the sledge, and got the kite into the sky. Then the wind disappeared and the kite slowly descended to the ground. Rune, eager to cover some kilometres after a few days without movement, was about to start to pull the sledge manually, as the winds again started to increase. Luckily the wind maintained its speed during the day, and Rune was able to cover a distance of 120 kilometres.

12 Dec 2005 / Day 40 / Rest day
Another day in the tent for Rune. The steady high pressure over the inaccessible pole usually creates a very stable wind along Runes path, but not today. The wind was steady 1-2 meters per second from the south, making kiting south impossible. Instead Rune spent the day creating his own Antarctic version of < Runzilla >. A solo expedition is a solo expedition, and you do not have any more fun, than what you create yourself! Hoping for a windy day tomorrow!

12 Dec 2005 / Day 39 / dist : 85km!
Rune covered a good distance of 85 kilometres today. The terrain has been very difficult, with a lot of sastrugi and fluctuating winds. This makes kiting very hard, and Rune has to constantly watch his kite and sledge. In addition to the sastrugi, the winds kept changing in both speed and direction, and Rune had to change kite several times. This is time consuming and frustrating, as changing the kite takes about 25 to 30 minutes of good sailing time. But Rune is very happy with 85 kilometres and is still ahead of schedule.

8 Dec 2005 / Day 36 / dist : 20 kilometres
Almost no wind! Today's distance of 20 kilometres feels short compared with the distances covered lately, but 20 kilometres is 20 kilometres closer to the goal, and Rune is very satisfied with his progress so far. Today's picture shows the Argos transmitter, which is Runes loyal companion on the expedition. The Argos beacon sends us an update via satellite approximately every hour telling us where Rune is, and his status. It has a manual switch, which Rune can use to send pre coded messages. The message we normally receive, and the one we like best is the message indicating < Everything OK, on move >. In addition we receive additional information, such as the temperature and altitude.

7 Dec 2005 / Day 35 / dist : 130 km
A fantastic day! This time of the year, the sun is always shining in Antarctica , and Rune had a fantastic day. Not to cold and perfect wind for kiting. Distance today: 130 kilometres. Rune kept thinking of all his friends and family in Norway , who are busy preparing everything for Christmas. Especially the Christmas food came in focus as Rune ate his chocolate and nuts lunch for the 35th day in row!

6 Dec 2005 / Day 34 / dist : 83 km
A beautiful day! Rune woke up to a beautiful day, with sunshine and a light breeze. He mounted his largest kite with 90 metres line and set of south. He kited in an altitude of 2.485 meters, and covered a distance of 83 kilometres. Rune is very happy with today's effort, and he managed to keep the focus on positive thoughts and memories. This is very important, since the loneliness and monotone landscape can get depressing. But getting depressed is not part of Runes nature and he always manages to focus on the positive, and create positive day dreams. That's probably one of the most important qualifications for being a successful polar explorer.
Yesterday, He took a day off. He is way ahead of schedule. He thought he was going to reach SP on Dec 24th : if conditions stay that way, he should be there in about ten days, no more...

4 Dec 2005 / Day 32 / dist : 73 km
A great day! Rune covered a distance of 73 kilometres today. The weather was beautiful, warm (only -22ºC) and the wind blew a light breeze in perfect direction for kiting.

29 Nov 2005 / Day 27 / dist : 162 km
New distance record! Rune had another great day today. In fact, the best day so far. He covered an amazing 162 kilometres in just 8 hours of kiting. The only reason why he stopped was that the wind calmed. He modified his boots yesterdays, and added isolation both inside and outside the boots. In addition he wore his down pants and an extra pair of woollen socks. The result was warm feet and a great distance covered!

28 Nov 2005 / Day 26 / Dist : 71 km
Cold feet! Imagine that you wake up in the morning, and the temperature is -30ºC. You start the day by crawling out of your +37.5ºC sleeping bag. That is temperature difference of 67.5ºC! The next thing you do is to try to put your 37.5ºC feet into your -30ºC frozen boots. Then you make coffee! The next 30 minutes your body tries to warm your clothes up to normal body temperature. That is Runes morning routine every day for a hundred days. During the day Rune dances over the ice. All the time he has to move his toes inside the boots. If not, the frostbite is a fact. Today it was so cold that Rune had to stop every hour to warm up his feet to prevent a fatal frostbite. Fatal, not to his life perhaps, but to the continuing of the expedition.

25 Nov 2005 / Day 23 / Dist : 100 km
Another great day! Rune celebrated the Norwegian Royal Family's 100 years anniversary by kiting exactly 100 kilometres today. He kept checking his GPS, and as he had covered 100 kilometres, and sat a new daily distance record, he stopped in honour of the Royal Family.

23 Nov 2005 / Day 21 / Dist : 23 km
Waiting for fair wind. Rune is, according to all, wind maps of Antarctica supposed to be in the centre of a weather zone with stable, fair wind. But yesterday the wind was only a light breeze, which is not enough to pull both Rune and the sled. Thus Rune has to ski while using the kite. A little more wind, and the daily distance is ten times today's distance. Rune has reached an altitude of 3170 meters, and covered a distance of 23 kilometres today. He is still ahead of schedule, but it is a long expedition, and a god day of kiting would really help on the distance.

22 Nov 2005 / Day 20 / Dist : 13 km
Sled problems again! The runner on the sled keeps falling of, so Rune decided that today, he would fix it for the last time in this expedition. He drilled holes right trough the runner and trough the underlying aluminium runner support and the sled. He then bolted everything together with several long carriage bolts.
Rune has reached an altitude of 3100 meters and made a distance of 13 kilometres today. A good distance, since he spent a larger part of the day fixing the sled.

21 Nov 2005 / Day 19 / Dist 35 km
It is very cold in Antarctica .
Rune is making good progress, 35 more kilometres today, but it is freezing cold. During the day, as Rune is kiting, he is not able to move his feet very much. He is extremely cold on his feet, and is constantly worried about frostbites. He tries to move his toes all the time to fight the cold, but still he is forced to stop now and then to warm up his feet. Tonight he has tried to put more isolation into his ski boots, hoping that will make it a little better. Rune is doing research on his expedition, and is taking blood samples twice a week. The research project is in cooperation with Norwegian Navy, US Navy and University of Tromsø .

20 Nov 2005 / Day 18 / Dist : 37 km
Another good day in Antarctica . The weather is nice, the scenery is beautiful, and Rune is ahead of schedule. He is hoping to pass the 73S tomorrow, and that has been the goal for the last two weeks. After 73S he leaves the coast weather zone behind him, and enters inland of Antarctica . This means a new weather zone, with more stable winds, and Rune is hoping to increase the daily distances.

18 Nov 2005 / Day 16 / Dist : 11 km
The wind calmed to a light breeze this morning and Rune was able to repair the sledge. He sat off, but after about two hours the runner loosened again. He repaired it again, and this time bolted it to the frame of the sledge. This repair lasted during the day, and it seems to hold for now. Hopefully it will hold for the rest of the expedition, but Rune has to check constantly. If he looses the runner during sailing it is probably lost for ever. Rune has now climbed to 2400 meters, and he skied 11 kilometres today. He has now skied passed the last mountain and ahead of him is the plateau. Hopefully the wind will give him a good distance tomorrow.

17 Nov 2005 / Day 15 / Dist : 12 km
Rune is in trouble. He was kiting in strong wind and making a good progress as the sledge tipped over, and one of the runners on the sledge was torn off. The wind is still strong and Rune is not able to repair the sledge today, because of the wind. In spite of the accident with the sledge Rune covered 12 kilometres today and has reached a height of 2300 meters. The good news is that he has left glaciers and crevasses behind him. The plateau is ahead and Rune will most probably be able to use the kites and cover longer distances every day.

16 Nov 2005 / Day 14 / Dist : 20 km
The day started just as tough as yesterday ended, but during the day the wind speed increased and Rune was able to use the kites for a couple of hours. Unluckily the wind kept increasing, and after a while he had to make camp, because the wind exceeded 15M/s. In total Rune made 20 kilometres today, and have reached a height of 2000 meters. Rune checked the maps tonight, and he hopes to pass the last mountains tomorrow. Then he will be on the plateau, and has hopefully left most of the dangerous crevasses behind him.
Today's picture shows what the dentist forgot in Runes mouth after removing the wisdom teeth. It is some kind anti bacterial padding that should have been removed weeks ago.

15 Nov 2005 / Day 13
Communication is restored The Iridium problem is sorted out, and Rune is able to send images again. Today's image shows just how close Rune was to disaster on Saturday. The sledge is in the opening of the crevasse, and Rune has just managed to anchor the sledge. Under the small opening in the snow bridge, there is huge spacious cave. The cavity is least 50 meters deep and several meters wide. Everything in the photo is part of the snow bridge, and Rune is standing right on top of it, unloading the sledge to get it up from the crevasse.

15 Nov 2005 / Day 13 / Dist : 9 km
A couple of days with precipitation have left a snowy cover on the Somoveken glacier. The snow increases the friction between the sledge and the surface, and makes the sledge feel even heavier. In absence of wind, Rune had a sweat dripping day. In total he covered 9 Kilometres in 8 hours. Rune is posing on today's picture, showing the equipment for transmitting images. He is holding a Motorola Iridium phone in his right hand and a HP PDA in his left. To send an image he stores it to the PDA, connects to the Internet with the phone, and transmits the image using the 'Contact 3.0' software from ThePoles.com.

14 Nov 2005 / Day 12 / Dist : 4 km
Rune woke up this morning to a complete whiteout. He decided that it was too hazardous to ski between the crevasses in blind, so he settled for a day of resting. During the day the weather improved, and Rune got restless in the tent and strapped on his gear. A few hours of work paid off and he made 4 kilometres on his resting day.
We still have trouble getting an internet connection to send over daily pictures. This is a problem in the Iridium system, and is currently affecting more than 10 expeditions using this system. Hopefully the Iridium guys sort the problem out in the next few days.

13 Nov 2005 / Day 11 / Dist : 20 km
Yesterday's nightmare was fortunately, mostly, over today. The terrain was difficult, but not as dangerous as yesterday. Big crevasses are easier to spot than small crevasses, and Rune was able to pass beside most of them. A few crevasses were so big, that he was not able to pass them, so he had to ski straight over them on thin snow bridges. Thrilling, but dangerous! The wind speed changed from zero to 12-15 m/s today, and Rune could make use of the kites a lot. In total he covered a distance of 20 kilometres. We have a problem with transmitting pictures, but hopes that we are able to fix this in a day or two.

12 Nov 2005 / Day 10 / Dist : 11 km
The expedition almost ended with disaster early this morning, as Runes sledge slid down into a crevasse. The weight of the sledge almost pulled Rune with it, but he managed to anchor himself with his skis in the last second. Rune was pretty shaky as he struggled to get his sledge back up. He decided to be extra cautious in the hours to come, and care less of the distance covered. At the end of the day, he anyway found that he had covered 11 kilometres, and that he had passed the most dangerous area.

11 Nov 2005 / Day 9 / Dist : 10 km
Rune covered a distance of 10 kilometres today. The first 4 hours was really tough, as the sledge dug down in the snow, and the slope was pebbly. Rune was afraid that the pebbles could damage the sledge, but at tonight's sledge inspections the sledge was luckily unharmed. The last 4 hours were better as he entered an area with sastrugi. This makes pulling the sledge easier, since there is less friction. The area ahead is very steep, and covered with dangerous crevasses. Unfortunately the only route south is directly trough this area, so tomorrow will be a thrilling day.

10 Nov 2005 / Day 8 / Dist : 27 km
A Flying start in Antarctica today. This morning the wind was blowing Runes way, and he could use the kite for the first time. He literally got a flying start as the kite lifted him of the ground. The sledge held him back, and he hit the ground hard, loosing his skies. After this rough start the wind was relatively stable between 3-6 m/s, helping Rune to cover the longest distance so far on the expedition, 27 kilometres in total.

9 Nov 2005 / Day 7 / Dist : 9 km
Rune had a fine day in Antarctica today. The sun kept shining and the temperature was comfortable - 5 Celsius. The scenery is fabulous, with beautiful mountain peeks in the horizon. Rune is in a good mood and sounded quite happy on the phone tonight. He celebrated his first week in Antarctica with a cigarette and a cup of coffee in the tent. A good day!

8 Nov 2005 / Day 6 / Dist : 9 km
A warm day in Antarctica! The sun was shining all day today and with only -3 Celsius and no wind, Rune had a warm and beautiful day. The sledge is still heavy and the terrain is steep, but Rune keeps the sprit up, and moving steadily south. He made 9 kilometres today in 7 hours. Not as much as Rune had expected before he started, but he hopes that the wind will blow his way tomorrow. Rune could increase the work hours to make up for the short distances, but he has decided to take it easy in the beginning to avoid any strain injury.

7 Nov 2005 / Day 5 / Dist : 5 km
Another hard day for Rune, but much better than yesterday. Total distance of 9 kilometers was covered in about 7 hours today. The sledge is very heavy, weighting more than 180 KG. The terrain is still very steep, and constant headwind prevents him of using the sails. The area he is in at the moment is the Norwegian region, and he has made camp between the very Norwegian names 'Linge toppen' and 'Per, Pål and Askeladden heights". This makes everything feel almost like home, Rune reports from his tent.

6 Nov 2005 / Day 4 / Dist : 5 km
The weather was much better today, and Rune could finally start The Longest March. The area is much steeper than it looks on the photo, and headwind preventing him of using the kites. Rune had to drop down on all four several times just to advance a few inches. In spite of the heavy sledge and poor wind direction, Rune managed to cover a distance of 5 km, and is very pleased that he at last could start the expedition.