John Wilton-Davies is back again with Part 4 of his Lessons Learned in Antartica articles over at ThePoles.com This time, the focus is on the Danger/Rescue, and Flights to Antarctica elements.
On the topic of the danger, he has this to say. Before going, he thought that he could be plucked from the ice at any given time, and could be saved in case of emergency, but said that he came across sections of 100-200 miles that would have been impossible for rescue planes to land to retrieve him. Furthermore, ground conditions changed fairly radically from year to year, making it hard to judge an area ahead of time. As for Antarctic flights he simply said: “light timings in Antarctica are highly flexible and weather-dependent. Never assume your time is up until you are on the plane. I lost several days in the belief that I had insufficient time before being advised that the plane would be some days late.”
Again, these articles have offered nice insight into the lessons learned while spending weeks on a solo-unsupported ski trek to the South Pole. When you’re planning your next adventure, some of these tips may come in handy.
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