motivation - Teaching On Ice

15th December
I spent yesterday evening talking to the on-site doctor, Hans Christian, about the psychology of Antarctic expeditions, in particular sledge hauls to the South Pole (approximately 1100km) and climbs to the summit of Vinson (the highest peak in Antarctica at approximately 4900m). His answer follows on nicely from yesterday’s update, as the key factor determining an expeditioner's mood state is the weather.

If the weather is good then things tend to go as well as your training allows. If the weather is bad then you struggle more, you’re in more pain, you don’t do the distances/height gains that you need and you start to think that you might not make the Pole/summit. Other factors that also affect mood are your food, any injuries you have and how your kit is performing.

Even on our relatively tame trip we certainly experienced a lot of what Hans Christian talked about.

• When the weather was bad we were confined to tents which rapidly caused frustration, particularly towards the end when we were racing against the calendar (and the weather) to get back to Patriot Hills. To try and release that tension we tended to do something active and fun after our periods of lie-up (kite sledging and ice climbing being the best).
• Days when you didn’t like the evening meal (chilli con carne) were difficult and days when you had tortillas, fish and a nice evening meal were definitely better. The major problem is that no matter how nice your diet (Jordan’s luxury cereal, Dairy Milk, etc) after 20 days you start to despise it.
• Our mood started to sink on the ski back due to blisters forming. During the final 17 hours of hauling the mood fell as the mountaineering boots we had to wear started to create large blisters. It improved again when the surface allowed us to change into our mukluk boots which are far more comfortable and didn’t aggravate existing blisters.
• We had no problems with equipment breaking, but when the comms equipment wouldn’t let us send dispatches or make telephone calls it caused a degree of friction.

The bad weather that we are currently experiencing is causing problems with both the climbers and the people heading to the Pole. The people hauling sledges are struggling to make the distances they want as the snow has caused a layer of powder, which increases friction and makes crevasses harder to see. The climbers are finding strong winds and poor visibility difficult.

7th December
A very brief dispatch today as battery power is very low. We charge the battery by using a petrol powered generator, but that generator can’t be used when there is blowing snow … and we have had blowing snow a plenty all of last night and all day today!  

The same snow that is stopping us charging the laptop is also stopping us from carrying on our haul back to Patriot Hills. Wind chill temperatures are below -30 deg C and the drifting snow increases the chance of any exposed skin suffering from frostnip.

Our enforced tent stay is a real shame as the distance we covered yesterday (15.4 km) left us 32.5km to cover in two days in order to make it back into camp on time – that was easily possible with the team spirit we have. With a good surface and no uphill left, the only thing that could stop us was bad weather, and that’s what we’ve got. Now it looks like we’re going to need a lift back to camp tomorrow so that we can finish our science projects on the 9th and fly out on the 10th.

At least today has given us a chance to catch up on eating and resting. Pulling a pulk tires just about every bit of you:

• your legs are tired from providing the forward thrust
• the harness tires out your shoulders, hips and stomach muscles
• and using the poles tires out your arms.

On the first day of pulk hauling I couldn’t work out why my legs didn’t hurt especially, I now realise that it’s because all of me hurts! Despite the aches I would rather have pulled for the six hours we were planning than be confined to quarters.

30th November
What a difference 24 hours can make! Yesterday evening the weather was beautifully calm and now I’m in the middle of a howling gale.

I used the calm weather to have a proper wash. I headed off down the glacier with a piece of carry mat to stand on (very important), took off all my clothes (temperature was -12.9 deg C), soaped up, washed off, dried myself very quickly and just before my fingers lost all feeling I got all my clothes back on! It’s amazing how good being clean feels (although I still smell horrific as I’ve been in the same clothes now for 20 days).

After all the men had washed we got together as a group and had a glass or two of red wine. The red wine has been hauled up passes and through valleys by Amy and Ruth and it was a great, group moment. When we are staying somewhere for a few days we put up a group mess tent, but for the last week or so we haven’t managed to erect the tent as we’ve been moving too often. Without the mess tent you spend all your time at camp in your own tent, with your tent partner, resting, warming up, eating and sleeping. The only time that you see the rest of the group is when you are preparing to leave to go and do your science, and that is only for 10 minutes or so. In that tent-based atmosphere it is easy to lose track of how people are feeling, what they think is a good plan for the next few days etc. The group spirit, which is so important, is put at risk. That hour, standing together drinking wine has done wonders for camp morale … lucky really, considering what we’ve been through today!

For hours today I’ve slogged uphill, into a howling gale with a heavy sledge harnessed to me. The going has been really tough with fingers frozen, nose running, legs burning and mind always wary of crevasses. I finally climbed into my tent to start eating anything I could lay my hands on at about 18.30. Although normally I’m bored of the food as the diet is unchanging, the same spag bol, tortillas with salami/tuna and chocolate tasted so good after all that work today.

What is slightly (no, very) demoralising is that we’re camped at the foot of a very, very steep hill. And that hill is where we’re going tomorrow. Despite being shattered at the end of the day, and with little chance of sleep due to the noise of the storm, tomorrow is going to need a much greater effort than today. After that hill, though, it should be downhill or flat for the seven days back to Patriot Hills.