Live life. Test your limits.
Well, what an ordeal! They got the plane fixed. We will be leaving in about six hours – the Ilyushin is on route. Dale has pills to see him through to TO!
This has been an epic and amazing adventure. Continue reading “Day 21: Epilogue – Union Glacier”
We are battening down the hatches for a significant storm, with winds expected 40 to 50 knots. The day was spent preparing and ensuring that tents are secure and nothing is loose.
It was hard to imagine this morning that a storm would be moving in, as it was a spectacular day – about – 2 and sunny with not a cloud in the sky. The staff have been amazing keeping us informed of all the updates. At present, there is no further news on the Ilyushin. Continue reading “Day 19: Union Glacier – The hits just keep comin’…”
The Russian specialist engineer is not due to Punta until Saturday… Apparently he has to be really small so he can fit in the engine – I kid you not –to repair the part… So even if the situation is perfect and he repairs the plane Saturday, they test it, and if the weather holds the soonest we can get in will be Sunday – but in truth, no one is expecting it to go that smoothly. Continue reading “Day 18: Union Glacier – More bad news”
Thank you to all of the readers who have submitted questions for Dr. Ross and the Test Your Limits team. If you have a question you would like her to answer, please comment below, or send your question to alyshia.vanveen@uhn.ca
How long do you guys get to sleep?
We’re usually in the tent for about 12 hours, but, sleep is broken up because of wind, cold and a need to pee at night. The sun is very bright – it’s 24 hours of sunlight – so on average, most of us get about 5 hours of sleep. But rest is almost as important as sleep, and we do get a lot of hours of rest. Continue reading “Q&A With Dr. Ross”
Well, OMG… Here we are again, stuck, as the Ilyushin isn’t flying. Apparently they switched an engine out and still there were problems.
Given how long we’ve been away, I had Dale count his pills. I then spoke to the ALE team to let them know how many days of anti-rejection drugs we have left and what was the Plan B if Ilyushin wasn’t going to fly…. in time… Continue reading “Day 17: Union Glacier – Bad luck reasserts itself”
We got into the DC3 and made our way from South Pole Station back to Union Glacier. The last 15 minutes of the flight were very exciting and made me glad for seat belts.
Union Glacier is having an unexpected wind storm with winds at 40 knots per hour and gusting higher. The clouds are stunning because of the high winds. These are called lenticular clouds. Continue reading “Day 16: Union Glacier Take 2”
The team poses with the marker
We were incredibly lucky to get a tour of the station. What an amazing place. There are approximately 150 people who spend the summer there and it drops down to 50 “winter overs” who stay for the long, cold, dark winter.
The South Pole station is part of the National Science Foundation. They have multiple projects ongoing that are largely geared to understanding global warming and what space – living, existing – would be like. We did a two-hour tour by Shannon who does HR. It was amazing.
Because of the potential challenges of a long winter, there are multiple rooms geared to stress relief including a gym, living room, a game room, a craft room, and a hydroponic room where they grow veggies for the winter. Continue reading “Day 15: South Pole Station”
We made it!
At 4:30 p.m. EST, the TYL team achieved the South Pole!
The Day
We woke up the best day yet; blue sky, not one cloud to be seen. We set off early. As we walked, we could see the South Pole start to emerge on the horizon. We had to go east and east and east while the station went by on our right.
It was like having a fine plate of Soma chocolate and not being allowed to reach out and take some. We desperately wanted to go in a straight line to get to the actual South Pole, but weren’t allowed. The reason is that we would have crossed into a Neutrino field…. Really (?!?!) Continue reading “Day 14: Courage and Challenge”
Location: south 89.52, west 78
Windy, windy night with snow squalls and chaotic weather outside the tent, such that a number of the sleds were actually buried in the snow when we got up this morning. However, as has become the case with the weather magnet Diego, we woke to a sunny but cold day. As we skied, it continued to be sunny through the day. I am feeling much and pulled my own weight today.
The first part of the skiing today was over terrain that was all higgledy-piggledy with drifts and little ups and little downs, which made the walk quite strenuous. Continue reading “Day 13: Almost There”