Week 7 – Crossing Antarctica, A 1000 miles alone – 68% complete
Team Army is proud to be sponsoring Lou on this record breaking quest. This is the seventh week of the expedition in his own words:
Dec 14th – Day 42 in Antarctica. Lou has a hard day after the high of reaching the Pole. A cold injury on his lips makes eating and drinking difficult. Over the next and final leg he will cover 300 nautical miles. For the home run he’s set out a 20-day plan of 15 nautical miles a day. On his first day he covers 15.6 nautical miles… >>READ MORE>>
Dec 15th – Day 43 in Antarctica. Lou skis into a day of good weather – sun is ringed by the halo of another parhelion and wisps of cloud shaped like a crucifix. He makes his best-distance yet, covering 16.1 nautical miles as he heads North, around the underside of the planet, towards the Transantarctic Mountains… >>READ MORE>>
Dec 16th – Day 44 in Antarctica. A great day for Lou with no cloud, the wind behind him and brilliant visibility. He tears through 18.3 nautical miles (record mileage) with Pink Floyd blaring in his ears… >>READ MORE>>
Dec 17th – Day 45 in Antarctica. Lou wakes from a deep sleep and gets going a little behind schedule. After an hour he encounters a group of tents and vehicles and finds himself in a campsite in the company of Arctic trucks and Taiwanese skiers. In spite of a few distractions he crosses 89 degrees South for the second time and covers a good 9 miles into 88… >>READ MORE>>
Dec 18th – Day 46 in Antarctica. A drop in weather conditions leads to changing visibility. Lou makes 17.4 nautical miles in under 12 hours of skiing. He is constantly gaining altitude, but has now reached 9,613 feet and is still climbing. In another week he’ll be descending towards the Transantarctic mountains. Lou also discovers the cause of his cold injury…
Dec 19th – Day 47 in Antarctica. A hard day for Lou (conditions wise), after hearing the wind building outside the tent all night. He thinks twice about pushing on, but decides to go for it. He steps out into complete whiteout – 50mph winds – and starts to move off with the wind slightly behind him. The temperature is low. By 8 o’clock he stops after 13 punishing hours. He’s made 20 nautical miles, which is a new personal best…
Dec 20th – Day 48 in Antarctica. Lou wakes again to howling 40-50mph winds and head-height spin drifts. He ploughs on through low temperatures and wind chill dropping into the -30s – Lou feels it with his lack of body fat, but still achieves 23.4 nautical miles! A new personal best and the furthest he’s skied in a day in all of his 3,000 miles of polar travel…
Expedition Facts
Capt Lou Rudd MBE is attempting to become the first person in history to complete a solo crossing of Antarctica, unsupported and unassisted. He will travel for 70 days over a distance of 1,500km, from Messner to the Ross Ice Shelf via the South Pole.
When: 1 Nov 18 to late Jan 19
Total Distance: 1,500km
Duration: 75 days
Hauling 140kg of food and equipment
No Resupplies/wind/ vehicle assistance/ outside help
Avg Temp: -30c
Calories: 6,000 per day
https://shackletonlondon.com/pages/expedition
PRE-EXPEDITION LOGS – https://shackletonlondon.com/blogs/pre-expedition