Monday, January 18, 2010

Antarctica 2009: Meagan At The Pole!


As expected, Canadian Meagan McGrath reached the South Pole over the weekend, arriving yesterday after a long trek from Patriot Hills, and becoming the first person from her country to make the journey solo and unsupported. In an audio dispatch from the Pole yesterday, she talked a bit about the struggle to reach her goal over the course of the past few days, saying that it was very cold and difficult. She sounded excited and happy, and went on to thank her friends, family, and sponsors, without whom she couldn't have made the journey.

You may recall that the expedition got off to a dubious start for Meagan, who fell into a crevasse back at the beginning of December. Fortunately she didn't suffer any major injuries, and a few days later she resumed the journey, a bit behind schedule, but still determined to reach her goal. Now, 40 days later, she's done it. Congratulations Meagan on a job well done.

Meanwhile, Ryan Waters and Cecilie Skog are continuing their traverse of the continent. We haven't received an update from them since late last week, but at that time, they had encountered a treacherous area known as the Devil's Dance Floor, a large, open expense this essentially a gigantic crevasse field. The pair stumbled onto the Dance Floor without even realizing it, but soon encountered deep and dangerous cracks in the ice. Deciding that discretion is the better part of valor, the elected to backtrack away from the dangerous area, and circle around it Since that time, there has been no word, but we can assume that they are still making their way at a rapid pace towards the coast. On the day they found the Dance Floor, they had made 41.4km distance, or roughly 25.7 miles. Impressive progress to say the least.

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