A group of Venezuelan mountaineers - virtually all of whom have been friends since their childhood - is preparing to take on a classic trek from Hercules Inlet -> South Pole, over a distance of approximately 1100 km. Without outside assistance.

The men are Martin Echevarria, Carlos Castillo, Marco Cayuso, Marcus Tobia and Carlos Calderas.

Each of the men will haul a sledge weighing 150 kg. This expedition came up while most of them were in the process of climbing the 7 summits when their final peak, Carstensz (4 884m, Irian Jaya), was closed to tourists by the Indonesian authorities (see further details about this closure at the EverestNews.com site). It was at this point that the Venezuelans decided to turn their adventurers' eyes to the polar regions.