I can now officially announce that I am the 4th member to join the Irish Beyond Endurance expedition to the South Pole and Beyond. I leave for the Pole on the 1st November...of this year!
A bit crazy really as I haven't had much time to recover from Greenland and the preparations for the SP are a logistical challenge. As an example all the clothing and equipment that I used on the Greenland icecap is not appropriate for the Antarctic so I have to purchase a complete new wardrobe! Additionally I need to source specialist items such as Kevlar sledges, sleeping bags rated to -40 degrees Celsius and 12 pairs of gloves!
Walking (skiing) to the South Pole will involve travelling a distance of over 1100km with each member of our team man-hauling a sledge weighing in excess of 150 kg. This expedition should take us about 55 days. The terrain will be difficult, the weather will be unpredictable and as harsh as this planet can deliver. Antarctica is a beautiful continent but one where nature rules and shows little mercy. Few have ever completed this journey and if successful we will rack up a few Irish firsts - first Irish Team to walk to the South Pole. and the first Irish Female to reach the South Pole.
My year seems to have developed its own theme - endurance, I have already racked up two, thirty day plus expeditions and this will be the hardest yet. Coincidentally this expedition is called 'Beyond Endurance' and chiefly celebrates Ernest Shackleton's expedition of 1914 to 1916 to the Antarctic. Pushing the limits of human ‘endurance’ is what is so tempting. To cross Antarctica is a dream and an adventure, physically and psychologically it is right on the brink - harder than anything I have done before.
I am extremely honored to have been invited onto this historical expedition and I am very excited to be part of the team.
More information on Beyond Endurance is available at http://www.beyondendurance.ie/
A bit crazy really as I haven't had much time to recover from Greenland and the preparations for the SP are a logistical challenge. As an example all the clothing and equipment that I used on the Greenland icecap is not appropriate for the Antarctic so I have to purchase a complete new wardrobe! Additionally I need to source specialist items such as Kevlar sledges, sleeping bags rated to -40 degrees Celsius and 12 pairs of gloves!
Walking (skiing) to the South Pole will involve travelling a distance of over 1100km with each member of our team man-hauling a sledge weighing in excess of 150 kg. This expedition should take us about 55 days. The terrain will be difficult, the weather will be unpredictable and as harsh as this planet can deliver. Antarctica is a beautiful continent but one where nature rules and shows little mercy. Few have ever completed this journey and if successful we will rack up a few Irish firsts - first Irish Team to walk to the South Pole. and the first Irish Female to reach the South Pole.
My year seems to have developed its own theme - endurance, I have already racked up two, thirty day plus expeditions and this will be the hardest yet. Coincidentally this expedition is called 'Beyond Endurance' and chiefly celebrates Ernest Shackleton's expedition of 1914 to 1916 to the Antarctic. Pushing the limits of human ‘endurance’ is what is so tempting. To cross Antarctica is a dream and an adventure, physically and psychologically it is right on the brink - harder than anything I have done before.
I am extremely honored to have been invited onto this historical expedition and I am very excited to be part of the team.
More information on Beyond Endurance is available at http://www.beyondendurance.ie/
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