Hedrich is behind schedule
Published on 14.12.2007 - Opération Pole Sud
Since his departure on December 2nd, the French adventurer Charles Hedrich has covered 320 kilometres in 10 days. But he is behind schedule.
As Charles Hedrich is tracing his progression on that of Borge Ousland when the Norwegian explorer successfully crossed the Antarctic from Berkner Island to Scott Base in 1996-97, he has calculated that he was two days behind the pace. The supposed average of Borge Ousland at the time was 39 km per day; on Thursday, 13 December, he was 70 km behind.
It's because the wind was not always as the Frenchman had anticipated and he often had to progress on skis, which obviously slowed him down. And then, it should not be forgotten that it all started with mechanical problems: the stove, essential for producing water, wasn't working and a frame attachment that connected it to the pulka had broken.
Something else: Charles had envisaged taking short spells of sleep as he had done when crossing the Atlantic in 2006-2007, i.e., sleeping as skippers do when they're in race. But on the one hand, his tent wasn't working as planned (fast opening in a just few moments) and on the other, because of advancing during the night, when the temperatures are at their lowest, with ice literally on the body, despite two pairs of Goretex trousers that Charles puts on, one on top of the other.
