Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
December 26, put them on the flight to Sydney, then hang out in the
Argentinean capital, relaxing and seeing the sights, before rejoining
me for the last leg of the run after I return from the South Pole.
the Plan
Here is the latest plan, ironed out during the past day by
Bernie,EricPhilips,ALEandme.
I'll get as far south as I can past the Chilean port town of
PuertoMonttbeforebeingdrivenbacktoitonDecember26.The
further south I go, the less distance I will have to run when I return.
Eric, Ming and I will fly from Puerto Montt to Punta Arenas,
meetEric,andateighto'clockintheeveningonDecember27we
will fly to Union Glacier, on the Heritage Range of the Ellsworth
Mountains,ontheAntarctic'sRonneIceShelf.Departuredaywas
tobeDecember29,butALEisinsistingweleaveearly,becausethe
weather is worsening, with temperatures of -22 degrees Celsius
(-32 with wind chill factored in), high winds and blizzards. We will
camp by the ice shelf landing strip, and I will start running first
thing the next morning.
TherearetwolightsoutoftheSouthPoleavailabletous:
one on January 19 and the other on January 26. I am aiming to be
on the January 19 flight. This means covering the 1100 kilometres
from the ice shelf to the pole in 22 days, trekking 50 kilometres
every day. People tell me this is impossible. We shall see.
After reaching the pole, we will fly back to Punta Arenas and
catch another plane to Puerto Montt. I will head to the exact spot
southofPuertoMonttwhereIstoppedrunningonDecember26
and recommence my run from there.
It is around 2500 kilometres from Puerto Montt to Ushuaia in
Tierra del Fuego, which is regarded as the bottom of the Americas.
Bernie tried to talk me into finishing the pole-to-pole run at the
South Pole, but I simply couldn't live with myself if I hadn't covered
the entire distance. To have come so far and cut a corner at the end
is not my way. So, if all goes to plan, if I can run 80 or 85 kilometres
a day during that last leg, the run will end on February 17 or
thereabouts.
