Morale is good!
Published on 28.11.2008 - SoloAntarctica
The weather is behaving itself. Mark Langridge is taking full advantage of these favorable conditions to make as much progress as he can, passing through the 81st parallel on 21st November.
The days are still quite cold, with temperatures somewhere between minus 20° and minus 25°C. But there's not much wind and the sky is blue.
Mark is marching for 9 hours a day, taking 3 to 4 breaks to rest a little and to chew on some bars of chocolate and dried fruit. In the evening, he enjoys a relaxing pipe and admits that his tent already stinks of tobacco. He can't imagine what it will be like after 70 days!
Mark is averaging about 11 nautical miles a day (20.3 km). This is particularly good considering he is having to haul an especially heavy sledge, since his aim is to complete a round trip without any outside assistance. But, as he plans to drop off some supplies along the way for his return trip, the load should get lighter quickly and enable him to speed up. He is scheduled to reach the South Pole by 30th December, if not sooner.
Nice little anecdote: Mark found a hair from his dog Bullits in his sock, so he is no longer alone!
By 25th November, our adventurer had reached 81°54' S.
