The first arrival to the Pole is Antony Jinman, who reached that point earlier today after 47 days out on the ice. He skied the final 14 nautical miles (26 km) today, and reportedly is in good spirits now that his expedition is done. Antony's 700+ mile (1126 km) journey has had its challenges, just like everyone else, but the Polar vet showed his strength by quietly going about his work, pushing ahead at a steady pace, and completing the journey on the same day that Captain Scott reached the Pole more than 100 years ago. Along the way, Jinman carried two drones with him, which were used to capture arial video footage. It should be interesting to see what he has to share with us once get home and has a chance to review.
Chris and Marty Fagan are on track to arrive at the Pole tomorrow, which is a good thing. They're down to just emergency rations at this point, with Marty drinking his final cup of coffee this morning. If that isn't incentive enough to get to the finish line, I don't know what will be. With 20.4 miles (37.7km) yet to ski, they're not quite done yet. But they can now start turning their attentions to home, where there son has been patiently waiting for their return for the past two months.
Lewis Clarke and Carl Alvey are slowly but surely closing in on 90ºS. As of yesterday, they still had 37 miles (68 km) to go before they finished, and while that is still a daunting distance to cover, they hope to arrive tomorrow too. If high winds persist, as the weather forecast indicates, their arrival could get pushed off until Saturday. It has been 45 days since they left the coast in Lewis' attempt to become the youngest person to ski to the South Pole, and that goal looks like it will soon be a reality.
Daniel Burton is pushing forward with is attempt to be the first person to cycle the full distance to the South Pole. He passed another milestone yesterday by entering his final degree. He reports soft snow on the ground, which makes it harder for him to pedal and slows him down some. Still, he keeps pushing ahead as best he can, and now seems likely to reach the finish line early next week. From the tone of his dispatches, I think it is safe to say that he'll be very happy to have this journey behind him.
Another cyclists, Juan Menendez Granados, is reportedly suffering mightily on his final push to the Pole. We knew that he was nearly out of food a few days back and ExWeb is reporting that he is also going without much sleep. He is trying to get to 90ºS, but he is tired, weak and low on energy. Not a good combination in the Antarctic. His last update said that he is 48.5 km (30 miles) from the finish, so it will likely take him another couple of days to get there.
Finally, on this important day in Antarctic exploration history, the Scott Expedition continues its push back to their starting point. They've been out on the ice longer than anyone else – 84 days at this point – and yet they still have more than 500 miles (804 km) to go before they are done. By early next week they hope to have descended from the Beardmore Glacier, which should make it much easier for them to progress. But at this point, they are exhausted both mentally and physically. Each day is a challenge, but yet both Ben and Tarka seem resolved to see their expedition through. If they manage to make it back to the coast, it will be one of the most impressive expeditions in recent memory. More than 3 months in the Antarctic is enough to test anyone. I sure hope they're making plans to sit on a warm beach when all of this is through.
That's all for today. My next update next week should have news on the successful arrivals of numerous teams.
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