Half Way to the South Pole
On 11/11/08 Adam Wilton and Gavin Booth set off on an expedition to the South Pole. They have now reached the half way point, the 85 degree line.
The sun has been out and the wind is not strong, but the ambient temperature is still a bone chilling minus 19 degrees Celsius.
Adam and Gavin have no supply lines. They have with them everything that they need to survive the expedition, which they intend to complete on New Year’s Day 2009, when they arrive at the South Pole. Previously the Sastrugi were making the going hard. Now the snow has become soft skiing is impossible, so Adam and Gavin are walking, pulling their sleds behind them.
We both agree that this has been toughest thing we have ever done-nothing compares. Every day we put in 9 hours hard effort hauling in extreme conditions.
Since our previous British South Pole expedition update, the view for Adam and Gavin has improved: they can now see the Thiel Mountains on the horizon. This makes a change from seeing nothing but snow in every direction!
By the end of the week they will start the difficult ascent onto the Antarctic plateau. Increasing their day to 9.5 hours they will be able to start eating their larger ration bags of 6500 calories. So far they have been eating 5000+calories a day. Their food rations are made up of porridge, nuts, chocolate, flapjacks, kendal mint cake etc, protein recovery drinks, dehydrated meals and lots of butter.
Adam and Gavin are hoping to raise £250,000 to help save Robert Falcon Scott’s hut.
Gavin Booth
Gavin was born in Aberdeen and is 33 years old. When he is not in the South Pole he works for GE Real Estate in London. His hobby is adventuring: ultra marathons, road cycling and climbing mountains.
Gavin’s previous expeditions and challenges include:
Caledonian Challenge 2002, 2003 (54 miles)
Marathon of Britain 2005 (52 miles, 2 days)
Marathon des Sables 2004 (140 miles)
Yukon Arctic Ultra 2005 (100 miles non-stop)
Guadarun, Guadeloupe 2005 (80 miles)
Mont Blanc Ultra 2005 (100 miles non-stop)
Greenland Expedition 2007 (8 first ascents; >200 km ice cap travel)
More information about Adam, Gavin and their expedition can be found on their British South Pole expedition website.
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