Thread: Antarctica and Tractors

Ref; Prince Harry Heading To Antarctica In Charity Trek For Wounded Servicemen

" LONDON (AP) — Britain's Prince Harry has praised the courage of wounded servicemen and women who are gearing up for a race across Antarctica to the South Pole.

Harry will join a team of four injured British soldiers in the 200-mile (320-kilometer) Walking With the Wounded charity trek.

Three days ahead of the team's departure from Britain, Harry appeared in London's Trafalgar Square on Thursday with members of the three teams — from Britain, the U.S. and the Commonwealth — and spoke of the courage on display going into the challenge.

He said the men and women alongside him "have achieved so much just to get here."

The 29-year-old prince said the trek will prove that even after suffering traumatic events like losing limbs, "you can achieve pretty much anything." "


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Ref; ANTarctica: Fourmilab South Pole Expedition 2013



Ref; http://www.fourmilab.ch/images/antarctica_2013/

“What'll we do for our fortieth wedding anniversary?”

“How about going South for the winter?”

“South?”

“Well, we've been to the North Pole, why not the South Pole?”

“The South Pole—really?”

“Why not? Then we'll be able to say we're officially bipolar!”

How innocently began the 2013 Fourmilab South Pole expedition, chronicled in this photo essay. The expedition is presented in chronological order, but you can explore as you wish from the following links. You can switch back and forth between small and large images by clicking any image in any page.


I best add that this couple isn't yours truly and his better half !!!! Not a bad idea for a Fortieth Anniversary though, we celebrate ours in two year time. 'Come Duck well will go for a trip to a South Seas Island.' I wonder if the surprise ?????
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Well done , Arthur! god for you & SWMBO. There is another Australian team going head to head with the Brits. in ASHES year, Bob
race
By Philip Willliams - November 15, 2013, 3:50 pm
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Wounded soldiers from Australia, Britain and the US, are set to race across the frozen Antarctic landscape with the prospect of a cuppa made by Prince Harry at the other end.
The pits soldiers from various Commonwealth countries and the United States who have suffered various war wounds against one another.
Prince Harry will head the British team, however the Australian team is determined their Commonwealth group will be the first to the South Pole, beating the Americans.


Among the teams farewelled in London's Trafalgar Square were Heath Jamieson and Seamus Donaghue, who suffered gunshot wounds in Afghanistan and are representing the Commonwealth team.
Mr Jamieson says dealing with the freezing conditions is his biggest obstacle.
"It's pretty cold down there," Mr Jamieson said.
"Just doing all the day-to-day things... it's a lot harder doing it in the cold - like going to the toilet, scratching yourself - doing anything like that.
The team did some training in Iceland earlier in the year to give them a chance to acclimatise.
"Everyone got a chance to work out how their injuries handled the cold and what precautions you need to take," he said.
'We will give it our best shot'
Mr Donaghue suffered a severe leg wound and has to take special precautions ahead of this challenge.
"I've got a bit of nerve palsy on the right side, so I can't actually feel from the knee on the outside of the leg all the way down to the foot," he said.
"So I've got to be careful of cold injury in that regard."
The teams have been given modified boots and skis designed for their specific needs.
"I've got a leg length discrepancy as well, so I'm about four centimetres shorter on the right side, which is handy for going to the right, but not so much handy for going straight," Mr Donaghue.
Mr Jamieson joked about the possibility of not making much progress at all.
"We've got to be careful when [Mr Donaghue] is leading it that we're not going around in circles," Mr Jamieson said.


The pride of Australia is on the line and the soldiers are ready to conquer.
"We'll give it our best shot to win," Mr Jamieson said.
"Hopefully we'll regain the Ashes in summer and when we come back we'll find out we've won a few Test matches and we'll also have got to the Pole first as well."
Prince Harry promises to make soldiers a cuppa
Prince Harry has promised the soldiers he'd make them cups of tea when they arrive at the South Pole.
"We will have it all boiling ready for him, he can just pour it for us when he gets there," Mr Jamieson said.


Prince Harry says the soldiers are all winners before taking a single step.
"[The soldier] are going to achieve something quite remarkable," he said.
"We will prove to everybody else that, even when you've lost a leg, lost an arm or whatever the illness may be, that you can achieve pretty much anything if you put your mind to it."
They're not entirely on their own because they will have expert guides, including Australian Eric Philips, who has visited the Antarctic and the Arctic several times.
"Flying in to an altitude of 3,000 metres and a temperature of 30 degrees below zero is hugely confronting," Mr Philips said.
"They're going to feel that cold slapping on their face; their going to feel a numbness in their fingers and in their toes pretty quickly.
"And then on top of that, a distance of 335 kilometres over the course of more than two weeks of travel. That's a pretty confronting prospect."

Ref; The Scott Expedition | To the South Pole and Back - Antarctica 2013/14

"British adventurers Ben Saunders and Tarka L’Herpiniere are setting out on an expedition to Antarctica to complete Scott’s 1,800-mile return journey to the South Pole on foot. Pushing the boundaries of human potential, the Scott Expedition will be the longest unsupported polar journey in history and the next chapter in one of the greatest stories of polar exploration ever told."



You can follow their progress on Facebook, they are currently ( 15th November 2013 ) on Day 22 of their trek.

https://www.facebook.com/TheScottExp...ocation=stream

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Ref; https://www.facebook.com/TheScottExpedition

King George Island, Antarctica - YouTube


"Published on Nov 17, 2013
Hear from Ben Saunders - in Antarctica - as he made his way to the start of the Scott Expedition. Due to weather, the Scott Expedition Team touched down on King George Island on the very edge of the Antarctic Peninsula for the night before flying on to their next destination, Union Glacier. Footage includes a snapshot of King George Island and first site of penguins...

Right now, Ben Saunders and Tarka L'Herpiniere are on arguably the most ambitious polar journey in history - an 1800 mile unsupported return journey from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole and back retracing Captain Scott's footsteps.

The Scott Expedition will be the longest unsupported polar journey in history and first completion of Captain Scott's ill-fated 1910-12 Terra Nova expedition.

Subscribe to the Scott Expedition channel or visit The Scott Expedition | To the South Pole and Back - Antarctica 2013/14 to follow Ben and Tarka's preparation and journey.

Tell us in the comments below if there is anything specific you would like to see and give Ben a shout of encouragement! "

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Ref; Tracking | The Scott Expedition

Track Ben and Tarka’s journey as they retrace Scott’s original 1910–12 Terra Nova expedition. Starting at Scott’s Hut they will traverse the Ross Ice Shelf, climb nearly 8000ft on one of the world’s largest glaciers, the Beardmore Glacier, on to the Antarctic Plateau; and onwards to the South Pole. From the Pole it’s back the way they came.

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Ref; Prince Harry Walking With The Wounded: South Pole trek suspended | Metro News

The race to the South Pole involving Prince Harry and his fellow Walking With The Wounded expedition competitors has been suspended for safety reasons.

Harry had started off on the gruelling charity trek with a team of injured British servicemen and women against groups from the US and the Commonwealth.

Ed Parker, the expedition director, has taken the decision to suspend the race to the pole, but is determined that all the members will make it to the South Pole as one group.

On the charity website, he said: ‘We have had a tricky couple of days. The weather remains good but the terrain is very difficult, far harder than we were anticipating and because of various factors, I have decided to suspend the race.

‘The reasons for this are entirely safety based. I am looking at the three teams. They are going really well but people are beginning to get very, very tired.

‘With our doctor here, who I am in constant contact with, we just feel we are beginning to push people a little too hard, so I have suspended the race.’

The charity’s website said this is ‘certainly not the end’ for the challenge, but added that steps have been put into place to ensure that all of those involved are kept safe.

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Ref; Britons rescued after Antarctic helicopter crash | Mail Online

Two British men were rescued from the icy waters of the Antarctic after their helicopter ditched into the sea.
The Royal Navy said the Chilean authorities had organised the rescue of Steve Brooks, 42, and Quentin Smith, 40, both from London.
The rescue operation was launched after Mr Brooks rang his wife Jo from a satellite phone in the early hours of this morning to tell her they had been forced to launch an emergency dinghy into the sea.
He was one of two British explorers who last year laid claim to being the first to drive across the treacherous Bering Strait from the North American continent to Siberia.
This was despite being refused permission to enter Russian territory.
Mr Smith, a world champion freestyle helicopter pilot who has flown twice around the globe, provided helicopter support on the same expedition.
A spokeswoman for Mr Brooks said today that the men had been on their way from Chile to the Antarctica region when they were forced to ditch the helicopter into the sea.
She was unable to give any further information about their trip.
The Royal Navy survey vessel HMS Endurance - 180 miles from the men - had dispatched a Lynx helicopter in case it was needed for a rescue operation.
A spokesman said the helicopter was on its way back to HMS Endurance.

Ref; Three hurt in Australian Antarctic Division helicopter emergency near Davis Station | The Mercury

THREE Australians injured in a helicopter crash in Antarctica are in stable conditions at the Royal Hobart Hospital.

The pilot and two expeditioners arrived in Hobart at 6.45am yesterday aboard an Australian Antarctic Division Airbus A319. RHH doctors were also on the medical-evacuation flight.

A female scientist among those injured is now focused more on her science, studying penguins, than on her injuries.

Those involved in the rescue have called it a remarkable story of survival.

The chopper came down on Sunday in a heavily crevassed area near the Amery ice shelf, about 150 nautical miles from Davis Station, while the party was returning from a mission to survey a penguin colony.

The injured were cared for by a pilot and expedition members in a second helicopter, able to land near the crash site.

Transferred to Davis late on Monday, the injured trio had been waiting for the weather to clear to allow a medical evacuation to Hobart.

The woman walked from the plane yesterday with minor injuries, another onboard has significant chest injuries while another has suspected back injuries.

AAD director Tony Fleming said that because of the nature of the incident, the harsh environment in which it occurred and the limited medical care in Antarctica they treated the injuries as serious.

"They are stable and doing well considering the nature of the incident," he said.

"It is a great result after a very complex logistical operation involving many hours and numerous people in the planning and execution."

Chief Medical Officer Dr Jeff Ayton said the care the patients were provided with was exceptional.

"The first hour of any multi-trauma is critical," he said, "but in the first 20 hours we had a field training officer and the pilot extricate the patients from the wreckage and manage them in the harsh Antarctic environment -- the cold, the wind -- and it's remarkable what they've achieved in keeping them alive and safe and warm until we could get the doctor in."

Dr Fleming said at least 150 people were involved in caring for the injured and co-ordinating their rescue.

The Australian Transport Bureau is carrying out an investigation into the crash.

emma.hope@news.com.au