antarctic

"We nearly spent Christmas in Antarctica, as another large storm system was on its way, and there were thousands of tonnes of new snow to clear off the
blue ice. A weather window of a few hours appeared, and we needed a strong
south wind to help the three snow blowers on the airstrip, but not too much for

“Finally the winds have died down
and I was able to fly into Patriot Hills Base camp three days ago after a week
delay. We have been lucky with the weather here – it is sunny with only light
winds although the temperature shifts between minus 12 and minus 17. We have
since flown via ski plane to an unnamed glacier which is just east of the
Driscoll Glacier.

I'm on two hour alert through
today, ready to take off any time. We're reminded of the need to be careful in
Antarctica, as passengers and crew have been airlifted to Punta Arenas from the MS Explorer which sank
two days ago after being holed by ice. Winds at Patriot Hills have dropped, and
we are now waiting for overcast skies to improve visibility requirements.

Still waiting for winds to
subside more, but we may get out tonight - could be on standby all night with a
"sked" every 2 hours in case a brief lull comes along. I've been
jogging to avoid getting out of shape, mindful of the packs of marauding wild
dogs. Today, I went to Seno Otway, where there is a penguin colony. It was a

“I thought we were going to get
out today, but the wind at Patriot Hills rose again last night, and its back at
32-42 knots again (blizzard levels). The art of forecasting katabatic winds is
still in its infancy, so we are somewhat in the lap of the gods. These
conditions can last days or weeks.

“Its now six days until I leave the UK on the first of five
aircraft en route toAntarctica. My main worry
now is expedition bags getting mislaid at airports. Simon Garrod has flown south to the Polar regions.  Everything is ready. We’ve researched
aerial photos for possible routes and peaks to climb. I fly via Miami and Santiago to Punta Arenas, near Cape