DISPATCHE 10 : from 17 to 23 January

See also the Follow up of the other Antarctic Expeditions

Tuesday 23 January : Mission accomplished...

It is now three days that the people who went off to work on the polar plateau (Alain Hubert, André Georges, René Robert and Fabrizio Zangrilli) have been back at the base camp, Kathelijne tells us.

The mission lasted 4 days from 16 to 20 January. They went about 25km in a southerly direction on skis, with the weather being not too bad but colder than at the base camp - they had to deal with temperatures of -30° to - 35°C. Throughout this excursion into unknown territory, they encountered numerous crevasses, impressive crevasses that could reach depths of more than 50 metres, and "the base camp would have fitted into them three times over", explained Kathelijne from what the group had told her. (We should be receiving photographs of these gigantic crevasses in the next few days).

They of course carried out their scientific tasks by boring wells (two) for collecting ice samples and perfecting the photographic method invented by Hubert during his Antarctic crossing of 1997-98. According to each of them, this was an excursion with a high quotient of learning experience.

Once back in the base camp (last Saturday), they still had to install a weather station on the summit of one of the surrounding nunataks: Ronald, André and Alain took care of this work. The climb was not too difficult and, after digging a few holes at the top of the peak (nameless) so that the apparatus would hold up for a year (because somebody would be coming next year to take this station away), the station was installed, to the intense delight of Ronald (see photograph opposite). Normally, it had been envisaged that Ronald and Alain would spend a night up there to check that everything was in working order. But on the way back, they realised that the tent had been forgotten and that André, who had left earlier than the others to return to the base camp, had inadvertently packed in his bag the rations needed for the small stopover at the peak. So no night at the summit. We will be returning in greater detail tomorrow or Thursday to the role of this weather station.

Now that the expedition is coming to an end, Kathelijne tells us that in the relatively near future, tomorrow, Thursday or Friday at the latest, Alain Hubert, René Robert and Ronald Ross will be definitively leaving the base camp for Blue One in an attempt to reach in time the South African station, Sanae, from which they will still have to get to the German base, Neumayer. From there, they will be embarking on the famous German ice-breaker Polarstern, which, after a few days, will be taking them to Punta Arenas.

In the meanwhile, Kathelijne, Fabrizio, André and Alain Bidart will be closing the base camp towards the end of January for the journey back to Blue One, to wait for the Illyushin that is to take them back to Cape Town.

Friday 19 January : The feminine point of view...

As a large part of the gang (A. Hubert, F. Zangrilli, A. Bidart, R. Robert and A. Georges) has gone off on the polar plateau until Sunday or Monday, without any direct communication gear, on a mission during which they are not only going to take some ice samples but also finalise the method of photographing ice crystals that Hubert had invented during his crossing with Dansercoer, we asked Kathelijne Van Heukelom, who has stayed behind in the base camp with Ronald Ross, to give us her general impression about the unfolding of this expedition, especially from a woman's point of view. Here are the few lines that she sent us yesterday, Thursday 18 January

"My point of view of this "The Wall" expedition has different dimensions. All with their own specific stories and experiences.
Firstly, there is the story of climbing Holtanna. A difficult, exhausting climb with numerous difficulties. I don't know the mountaineering world very well, I'm not part of it, but it has always attracted me. So it was a great experience for me to be able to witness the climbers' skill, passion and motivation. The best moment was when they reached the summit - I felt its intensity even as far away as the base camp.
The second dimension is the one of living in an extreme and isolated environment. The Antarctic, with its landscapes and climate, is so different from our normal world. This same nature, more particularly the infinite landscapes or the chain of mountains - of Fenristunga - leaves its mark on people. It changes them, internally and externally. After isolation in such extreme conditions, the camp at Blue One is now almost civilisation for us.
Finally, in an expedition there is the human aspect and life in a small community. I am the only woman in this expedition, in the middle of nine men. All I can say is that in an environment such as this, the differences between men and women disappear. Everybody has their own work in this expedition: the climbers, the people taking care of the scientific part, and the people responsible for communication. The communal activities - preparing meals, making water and so on - are attended to by everybody in turn. Furthermore, each person feels an occasional need to be isolated from the group a little - it's the same for men as for women. We are all here with a common interest; the life of adventure and above all the love of a white continent called Antarctica."

Ann Bancroft & Liv Arnesen have arrived at South Pole yesterday (coming from Blue1) read more Duth pair, Marc Cornelissen and Wilco Van Rooien have succeed their return trip (PH - South Pole - PH) read more

Wednesday 17 January : Closer to Fenristunga cirque

Thanks to Kathelijne and Ronald's work on the photos, we are able to better visualize the Fenristunga cirque looking at the two documents below.

 

 

 

One needs though to download Flash plug-in ; having done that, simply rollover the altitudes to get more information about the various climbs achieved by Hubert, Georges and Zangrilli.

About the expedition itself : today Wednesday, Alain, Fabrizio, André and René have gone away for a five days trip to the polar plateau ; they should come back Sunday or Monday, but with these guys and this kind of weather, one never knows. Kathelijne is going to stay at the base camp with Ronald Ross who is going to send us soon a short story about the lichen collecting.