"Conditions may become favorable for me to use the kite today as the wind seems to be turning and coming from the west. The kids normally move faster than me during the day and I meet up with them at the campsite in the evening. If I can use the kite I may ski past them during the day and beat them to the campsite. That'll be fun but I best not get my hopes up too much because the last time I took my kite out it was a complete disaster."
News from the Mike Horn Team is also very positive. The day today is spent learning communication skills and the youths are divided into teams and are learning about filming and editing techniques. It's a lot of fun as the teams are running disguised around the Hotel de Ville enacting funny scenes. Tonight will be hilarious as we watch the final cut films that the teams have made and grade them.
Tonight it will be the Mike Horn team that will be doing the filming as we will interview all our young explorers individually to get their opinions of the camp. We will discuss their motivation towards the Pangaea Project and how they would like to continue with the Pangaea initiative in the future.
After this serious moment, a fun evening is planned with a game of bowling – a relaxed night before the energetic raid!
They have the advantage of having lighter sleds than mine so are able to move at a faster pace. As usual my heavy sled sinks into the soft snow. For me it doesn't change a lot as I'm progressing at my usual pace. Yesterday I did 27 kms and met up with Borge, Clémence and Nicolas at the end of the day. They walked for 10 hours and because I was slower, I needed another 2 hours to cover the same distance. Today we have 76 more kms to walk so we'll arrive at the Pole in three days time!"
While Mike, Borge, Clémence and Nicolas are progressing well on the ice, things are still happening at the selection camp in Switzerland.
There was no time to waste. The team attached their sleds and walked for four hours in the direction of the Pole.
Mike was happy, "It's great to be moving again. The stop-over at the Pole with Prince Albert was an amazing experience for the four of us, and of course it was a great honor to accompany him.
As we had to wait the following day at the Pole we were invited into the research station. The station is normally closed to visitors so we were very fortunate to do this and to learn about the ice cube project that they are currently doing.
But now we must return our thoughts to the reason we are here. For me it's to ski from the continents edge to the South Pole and for Borge, Clémence and Nicolas, their goal is to ski the last degree to the South Pole.
The weather is favorable today with blue skies, no wind and temperatures around -25°C.
Everybody is on form. We are getting on well and all have the same mission in mind – to get to the pole!
With only 105kms to go we think we'll be there in four days time." Mike
Today’s activities were planned on the Les Diablerets Glacier so the YE's were warmly dressed, equipped with backpack full of equipment, harness, helmet, caribiner, snow rackets, ski poles, and picnic.
A 40 minute bus drive took them to the base of the glacier. From here they all huddled into the cable car and were taken up to 3'000 meters to the Botta restaurant. Here the youths were able to prepare themselves for the upwards climb that lay ahead. They put on their ski racket’s and keeping a steady pace, walked 30 minutes to higher and colder altitudes. It was not easy as the climb was steep and the glacial wind dropped the temperatures even lower. Some seemed to suffer from the exertion but they were quickly rewarded once they reached the summit at 3'200meters. From here they had a panoramic view of 26 mountain peaks over 4'000 meters – well worth the walk!
The next task was to divide our 16 YE's into groups and with a team of experienced mountain guides they learnt about the mountain, and the glaciers. Then the fun part – to retrieve their friends fallen in crevasses. It was a little airy at first but once they realised they could trust their colleagues who were securing them, it became a lot more fun!
The tired group put their racket’s on once again and strolled down the mountain looking forward to a hot drink and some rest time once they returned to the hotel.
Philippa prepared a super dinner for the famished crowd before the evening seminar. This was a discussion about agriculture, covering some very important aspects, economic, social, environmental, and sustainability.
Another exciting day of activities tomorrow so our YE's have now retired to their beds.
Mercedes-Benz will treat them with the Mercedes-Benz driving experience. A fascinating day of learning about cars and latest technologies, testing driving skills on the ice and learning how to drive with a reduced petrol consumption.
Many other activities are in store for our YE's tomorrow but for now remain a secret!!
Mike calls at 16h00 Swiss time.
During the first day together, we walked 12kms. Luckily the conditions were relatively good, even though the temperatures were very cold and winds moderate to sometimes strong. Surprisingly enough everybody adjusted very well considering they had all stepped entirely out of their usual environment.
Prior to this, myself, Borge, Clèmence and Nicholas left our equipment at about 118kms from the Pole. Marking the GPS position were we left the equipment will, allow us to find it again when we return after the royal party have left.
The following day in Prince Alberts’ company, we had a 10km walk to the pole. It was a victorious moment for myself, Prince Albert, Borge, Clèmence and Nicolas as we held onto the South Pole monument to have our photo taken.
Not only is it amazing to see the large buildings and research station at the pole but also to see it buzzing with scientists and researchers. It’s incredible to have so much information about the worlds’ evolution right here under our feet and to know that we have arrived at the same point where men have tried to conquer now for centuries.
Prince Albert and his party have now left us and today we will back track once again to our equipment. As soon as we are reunited we can start again our trip South to the Pole.
With 118kms to go, I think it will take us around six days, but now we know where we are going it might even be faster. We’ll see!
Clèmence and Nicholas seem to have acclimatised nicely now and seem to be rearing to go under their own steam. Borge and I will guide them safely to their goal and they will soon be some of the youngest people to walk the last degree to the South Pole.
Here are a couple of photos taken over the last few days.
Regards to all those people who are following our progress!!”
Mike
The YEP candidates are:
South Africa: Daniel Maidment, 14yrs
China: Jun Lee, 17yrs
Russia: Alisa Baranskaya, 20yrs
Germany: Simon Straetker, 15, Philipp Griedl, 20yrs
Belgique: Annelies Vanherck, 16yrs
Bulgaria: Vesela Manolova, 19yrs
France: Lisève Fierens, 15yrs
Poland: Zofia Drapella, 17yrs
Spain : Gerd Coenen Gajardo, 17yrs, Pilar Orti Lopez, 19yrs
Switzerland: Raphael Gabella, 19yrs, Claire Von Siebenthal, 19yrs
UK (Swiss living in UK): Baptiste Glassey, 16yrs
Canada: Maxime Thibault-Le Blanc, 17yrs
USA: Andrew Lynch, 18yrs
The first evening for our YEP group was a relaxed evening where the youths were able to get to know each other and to familiarise themselves to their new environment. The following day was debuted with a visit to the Group E electrical plant in the nearby village of Broc. The visit was completed with an interesting discussion by their specialists about renewable energy and sustainability.
In the afternoon the youths started a series of tests, all carried out by the specialist doctors of the Mayo Clinic, USA. The tests include balance, reaction, stamina, respiration, cardiac fitness and discussions about diet and nutrition.
As tradition has it, the evenings during the camp are offered to our partners. We invite them to speak with the YEP's, discussing their motivaton towards the Pangaea project and their initiatives in working towards a brighter and sustainable future for the planet. Official equipment supplier, Wenger (the Swiss army knife) was the first partner to present themselves to our team.
Tuesday was another day of tests by the Mayo Clinic, as well as an outdoor mapwork course by our team of professional mountain guides. Geberit AG, a Swiss based market leader in sanitation products and Official Presenting Partner to the Pangaea Expedition, was the evening speaker and gave a highly interesting talk about water, sanitation and the importance of water preservation for the future of our planet.
Our YEP are tired this evening and are now preparing themselves for a day of search and rescue activities tomorrow.
We can happily say that they all seem to have settled in nicely and are getting on extremely well. They show great motivation and enthusiasm towards the Pangaea Expedition and each has a lot to contribute within the group.
More news tomorrow!
From a lone traveler to one of a group!! Mike calls from Lat 88°51 S Lon 83°14 W!
HSH Prince Albert II left South America on the 5th of January for a three week tour of Antarctica. This trip, in acknowledgment of the end of the international polar year, is to visit 26 international scientific bases on the glacial continent which are currently measuring the impact of global warming on this greatly affected continent.
"The royal team arrived at 7 pm local time, just when Borge, Clémence, Nicolas and I were about to complete our day and set up camp. It was the first day walking for Clémence and Nicolas and we were happy to have advanced 16.5kms – not bad at all! Clémence ad Nicolas took it all in their stride, with no problems at all, even with the very cold conditions."
"With visitors dropping in on us like this, we quickly set up several tents, with one larger one where we could congregate and chat about our Antarctic experiences. It's always a great pleasure meeting up with Prince Albert. We have meet many times in the past, but this was certainly unique! We have a joint passion for the ice and have both visited the Arctic and Antarctic. I am very fortunate to have the Principality of Monaco supporting the Pangaea Expedition and to be associated with like-minded and motivated people who concentrate their efforts in creating awareness about the environment and the importance of its' preservation."
"Tomorrow we'll all walk together towards the Pole. It will be interesting for me to be with a group of people for a change. I'm looking forward to sharing this amazing time with these dear friends.
Even though it may be short, it'll be an experience I will never forget!"
Mike Horn
Mike has company at 88°42.436' S 82°37.137' W!
At 8 am Chilean time, in favourable weather conditions, explorer and friend, Borge Ousland and two young explorers, Clèmence Cadario and Nicolas Valdivieso, stepped off the plane and were greeted by an elated Mike.
It had been 41 days since Mike left the Antarctic coastline and since he had seen or spoken to other people. He was thrilled to have company again! For Clèmence and Nicolas also, this was an unbelievable moment that will rest in their memories for the rest of their lives.
After the first Pangaea selection camp in Château-d'Oex, Switzerland, these two YEP candidates were chosen to accompany Mike on the last degree of his trek to the South Pole and it was decided that they would be accompanied by only the best of the best! Borge Ousland, undoubtedly the most experienced of any other polar explorer, and Mike Horn, with his wealth of exploration experience, will accompany these two youths, share their knowledge and experience, and will ensure that Clèmence and Nicolas will arrive saftely to the Pole.
With temperatures of -28°C the team decided not to stop for long. They quickly started walking to reheat their bodies and to acclimatise to the Antarctic conditions. It was about 3 hous later that they set up camp and celebrated their meeting in true Swiss style, with a typical fondue from the Swiss region of L'Etivaz and Chilean wine. Afterwards Clèmence and Nicolas familiarised themselves to their four man tent and Antarctic environment as Mike and Borge discussed their stategy for the next few days.
With 144kms to walk until they reach the Pole they will take it easy initially and will try and advance more and more each day. Today, being their first real day on the ice they will try and advance somewhere between 10-15 kms. Mike estimates they will arrive at the Pole in about 9 days time.
After a hearty breakfast the team will set off. Weather conditions today are favourable with sun, no wind and temperatures of around -28°C. Clèmence and Nicolas are both pulling sleds, laden with 12 days food and other odd and ends, so the going will not be easy. It will imply huge adjustment on their behalf
with a lot of stamina and motivation. They have been well prepared for the task that lies ahead of them. They are also both ready to face the challenge and are excited to live this amazing experience.
We'll be following Clèmence and Nicolas's progress closely as they approach the Pole and send them lots of encouragement from the Mike Horn team back in Switzerland!