ThePoles.com has an update from the Antarctic where a number of teams are on the ice and heading further South yet. The Polar Quest team is making good progress despite strong winds, and constant sastrugi on the ice. Minor injuries have also begun to wear on them. The team has passed the 82nd parallel, as hav ethe Kiwi team who are making their way South on skis, and have issues with the sastrugi as well.
Meanwhile, my favorite polar explorer Hannah McKeand is proceeding as planned, with great weather reported, but her right leg seems to be suffering in the process and has even written her a letter of protest. She fell while trying to ski and read the GPS at the same time, and Hannah believes she has pulled a muscle or tendon in her ankle. Hopefully it's nothing serious, and she'll be able to continue her solo and unsupporte trip to the Pole.
The article details several other expeditions that are underway, and it seems that dealing with sastrugi is the common theme. For those that don't know, sastrugi are ridges of snow that from on the surface due to a constant wind. They can make travel difficult in the best of conditions and darn near impossible when things get very bad. They even prevented planes from landing at Patriot Ridge when the season officiall got underway a few weeks back. Lets hope the winds die down and things improve for all the teams.
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