Shackleton Centenary Expedition
As you might have noticed - our interactive map has been moved.
We wanted to show you that our focus has changed from the Expedition to the Foundation. If you're looking for the map, and want to listen to those daily broadcasts from Antarctica click here
12.6 nm achieved today in low, heavy cloud and flat light. Listen to Henry Adams's report describing the sheer scale of the Ross Ice Shelf.
Photos
Henry W has been able to get the PDA working today and so has sent through a couple of photos which I have published as part of the daily report.
Video
We have also received some great video footage from New Zealand (see below). This was taken by a film crew making an educational film about drilling in the ice for environmental samples, when along came our team of explorers! It was shot at Cape Evans on Day 2 of the expedition.
There was also coverage on NZTV which you can see here.
100 Years Ago
Note that Shackleton achieved a new "Furthest South" record today in 1908, beating the previous record set on the 1902 Discovery expedition.
A very creditable 13.1 nm achieved today. Listen to Henry Worsley's report describing the sheer scale of the Ross Ice Shelf. Shackleton refers to it as well in his diary entry 100 years ago.
Daily Report Sponsorship
If you would like your company to get a mention in the daily report live from Antarctica, combined with a logo and link in the email bulletin (currently 2,638 subscribers and growing) and on the website, please contact me. A £100 donation to the Shackleton Foundation will secure a unique opportunity!
Other Fundraising Ideas
I am working on some other ideas for raising funds for The Foundation during the expedition, including a Christmas Day Sweepstake, involving predicting where you think the team will be on Christmas Night. Any other fundraising ideas would be welcomed. Watch this space!
Schools
As I mentioned a couple of days ago, we are keen to publicise this expedition to children in schools in the 11-18 age range. The history, geography, environment and leadership aspects of this expedition lend themselves to the young of today.
I have created a poster designed to be put on to school noticeboards. It is downloadable from the website and is available in A3 and A4. Could you please pass this email to anyone involved in education or to your children, and get them all to print out the poster and pin it to their noticeboard? In due course, we will be making the expedition team available to come and give lectures to schools, and we believe that engendering interest while the expedition is "live" will enhance the children's experience. Many Thanks!
Website Map
I have changed the map on the front of the website to more accurately represent the route and have added some more features to it. Enjoy! There is also now a link to the detailed map on the website homepage.
Much tougher conditions today, with cold of -25° C and strong headwinds, but a creditable 12.0nm covered. Listen to Will Gow's report to hear about the day in detail.
Ablutions - Good Subject for a Monday Morning!
Several of you have asked (and I'm sure many more thought but were too embarassed to ask!) about arrangements for ablutions. The answer is that under the terms of the Antarctic Treaty, all "waste" has to be removed, so solids are put into empty food wrappers and taken with them. So the weight of the sledges does not reduce by quite as much as you might think! Luckily the temperature ensures that everything freezes, so there is no problem with odour. The boys also use bottles for peeing in the tent, and Henry Worsley says that these can double up as a hot water bottle, once used. He does stress however that it is very important to him to ensure that he is hugging his own bottle in his sleeping bag, rather than someone else's!!
Another perfect day's weather conditions enabled a very good 13.9nm today. Listen to Henry Adams's report to hear about the day in detail. They have now completed over 100 nm and their daily average has now reached double figures.
Listeners Questions
In his report Henry Adams covers some listener's questions - about sleeping arrangements (Michael Scanlon and me!) and what sounds they can hear (Caroline Burch).
Route Map
I have updated the detailed map, and have also plotted on it Shackleton's route as acurately as is possible. He often only recorded his latitude so I have guestimated his longitudinal positions. I am particularly unsure of his route at the top end of the Beardmore Glacier at around 85° S 165° E. I would be interested in thoughts on this.
Power
Many of you have asked about how they power their iPods , phones and PDAs etc. The answer is that they have taken some new solar technology with them and this enables them to charge all the kit, and it certainly seems to be working well. However we do have a problem with charging the PDA, which I am investigating from this end. The downside of this is that they have not been able to send me any photos since leaving Ross Island. I hope we can solve that problem soon as it would be good to see some pics, if only to see the length of their growing beards!!
97 Mile Team
The 97 mile team, led by Dave Cornell, depart today for Norway and their final training and preparation before flying out to Chile and on to Antarctica just after Christmas. This team will meet Henry Worsley, Will Gow and Henry Adams at the point 97 nm from the South Pole, where Shackleton turned around. We wish them well for their week's training.
I forgot to mention in yesterday's bulletin that the daily report by Henry Worsley was cut off at the end, due to him running over the max time on the system.
I hope those of you in the UK are enjoying our polar-like weather this weekend!
The team set their record for a day's distance today - 14.4 nm!! What a fantastic achievement. They are certainly taking advantage of the favourable conditions. Listen to Henry Worsley's report to hear about the day in detail. He attributes the improvement in distance to the position changeovers happening every 45 minutes rather than every half hour, and also to the snow conditions. He refers to sastrugi, which are are sharp irregular grooves or ridges formed on a snow surface by wind erosion.
Listeners Questions
In his report Henry also answers a couple of listener's questions - about wildlife (Caroline Burch) and the 'invisible extra man' (Frances Kay). I'm still waiting for him to answer my question about the sleeping arrangements. On the basis that they sleep line abreast, I want to know who gets the middle position, which must be the warmest! Do keep those questions coming.
100 Years ago ...
Read also Shackleton's diary entry from 100 years ago and the travails of Jameson Boyd Adams's tooth. (Thanks DWB). Incidentally I have changed the diary links so that from today onwards I will be linking by date correlation rather than by location. That is to say today's Heart of Antarctic diary entry is for 22 Nov (today's date) rather than 12 Nov which is the corresponding entry in terms of Shackleton's position being closest to our team's location today.
Schools
Over the next week I want to do what I can to promulgate information about the Expedition to as many schools as I can. I am going to produce a notice which can be printed out and pinned to noticeboards, encouraging children to visit the website, sign up for these bulletins and read about what our team are doing to commemorate the achievements of Sir Ernest Shackleton. Any thought, tips or ideas about how to maximise this would be welcomed.
To sign up to receive these bulletins by email click here.
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Mission Statement
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Sir Ernest Shackleton is widely known as one of the most inspirational leaders of the twentieth century. The Shackleton Foundation is a new charitable trust.
Matrix Group are proud to be the Headline Sponsors of the Shackleton Centenary Expedition
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Please don't hesitate to get in touch with the SCE if you have any questions regarding our project, or if you would like to know more about how you can become a sponsor.
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