December 18, 2009
Day 32: Our thin line
On this journey, we take whatever Antarctica gives us. Most days, we try not to complain and be respectful. After all, we're not exactly sure who's in charge of the weather, so we ski along, bite our tongues and silently hope for hard snow and good visibility.
Today's whiteout, while not terrible, definitely had us pointing fingers trying to figure out who had jinxed us. More realistically, we had several days of nice conditions and it was simply, 'time'.
Still, the calm air put us in a good mood, and even though we couldn't see anything but white, we opted for the high road and then mixed in a bit of humor. 'White sand beach,' imagined Dongsheng.
Then fully grasping the arbitrary nature of polar travel, he added ironically, 'from nowhere to nowhere.'
Because of the softer snow, our sleds and skis leave a long ribbon of tracks. If nothing else, the trail allows to see how straight we are skiing.
'Suprisingly, we've seen relatively little of Antarctica,' commented Bill a few days ago. 'We rarely veer from our course.'
It is true that our small transect of this immense continent covers little physical space. Yet those thin lines mark every adventure we've had. There's the day with amazing snow crystals in the air or the day we first saw the Thiels and the day we veered around some big crevasses. Moreover, if we look at where we've been, where we are then project than line into future, we can begin to imagine the pole. Past that?
We see home, friends and loved ones and way up ahead still to distant to see clearly, we can just make out the biginnings of new tracks on some different, unexpected adventure.
Image: One of the few marks we leave on the landscape, our ski and sled tracks.
Remember, it's cool to be cold. Save the Poles. Save the planet.
For more information, please visit www.ericlarsenexplore.com
For information about guided Antarctic expeditions, please visit http://www.antarctic-logistics.com/
For media inquiries, please contact [email protected]
For technical inquires, please contact webexpeditions.net
Today's whiteout, while not terrible, definitely had us pointing fingers trying to figure out who had jinxed us. More realistically, we had several days of nice conditions and it was simply, 'time'.
Still, the calm air put us in a good mood, and even though we couldn't see anything but white, we opted for the high road and then mixed in a bit of humor. 'White sand beach,' imagined Dongsheng.
Then fully grasping the arbitrary nature of polar travel, he added ironically, 'from nowhere to nowhere.'
Because of the softer snow, our sleds and skis leave a long ribbon of tracks. If nothing else, the trail allows to see how straight we are skiing.
'Suprisingly, we've seen relatively little of Antarctica,' commented Bill a few days ago. 'We rarely veer from our course.'
It is true that our small transect of this immense continent covers little physical space. Yet those thin lines mark every adventure we've had. There's the day with amazing snow crystals in the air or the day we first saw the Thiels and the day we veered around some big crevasses. Moreover, if we look at where we've been, where we are then project than line into future, we can begin to imagine the pole. Past that?
We see home, friends and loved ones and way up ahead still to distant to see clearly, we can just make out the biginnings of new tracks on some different, unexpected adventure.
Image: One of the few marks we leave on the landscape, our ski and sled tracks.
Remember, it's cool to be cold. Save the Poles. Save the planet.
For more information, please visit www.ericlarsenexplore.com
For information about guided Antarctic expeditions, please visit http://www.antarctic-logistics.com/
For media inquiries, please contact [email protected]
For technical inquires, please contact webexpeditions.net