Starting thinking about the last flight out of Antarctica
Published on 28.11.2011 - Cas & Jonesy : Crossing the Ice
Aussies Justin Jones and James Castrission (Cas and Jonesy) say that their expedition has become a race against the clock.
Exhausted and wounded. Cas and Jonesy had an horrendous weather conditions since they started their adventure at Hercules Inlet. Furious winds, sastrugis fields, soft grounds to ski on, worst visbility and so on. They say that "The horrendous weather conditions at the beginning of the expedition meant that the 100% effort that the guys were putting into everyday wasn’t very rewarding kilometre wise. ..."
Fortunetaly, thanks to a better visibility and to firmer grounds, they were able to pick up the pace. This does not prevent them to think about the unfolding of their trek ; because after having reached the South Pole, they still have to do the return trek, considering that ALE has foreseen the last fligt of the season, to close the base and go out of Antarctica, for 24 January. " ... The last flight out of Antarctica is scheduled for 24 January 2012", they say, "and as Cas and Jonesy are unable to fork out thousands of dollars to keep the base open, the pressure is on. ..."
Another risk factor worries them : their health. Excerpts (28 November) : " ... With this in mind, they are pushing themselves to the limits and still trying to take care of their bodies. This expedition has already put pressure on their bodies and it doesn’t look like this is going to ease up anytime soon. They both have pain in their achilles and toes from the repetitive days of skiing. In addition, the rash/chafe that they had early on in the expedition is back with a vengeance and Cas’ newly developed skin issues in his groin area are not only uncomfortable but downright painful. Unable to sleep with the pain, the guys had a rest day today to help their bodies recover. The priority right now is to manage their injuries so that they can continue. ..."
