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On January 18th 2012, Richard and Michael arrived at Hercules Inlet, 57 days after we started out from Union Glacier. They skied 900kms to the South Pole and kite skied 1100kms to Hercules Inlet. An extraordinary achievement; they become the 3rd team in 100 years to have made it from the coast to the South Pole and back, unsupported.
Our Mishri School Appeal is on track to hit the £50,000 target. We are close to £40,000 and still have quite a few outstanding pledges to come in. The generosity of so many family and friends has been fantastic. This is going to make a huge and lasting difference to the boys and girls of Mishri village. Bob Phillips is over the moon and work will start very soon. He wants to write to each and every donor to fill them in on the whole project.
I've been back at work in Paris for the last 2 weeks and shuffling around on crutches. My wrist, hand, knee and calf hematoma problems are getting better, but it's still going to take me another month or so until I'm totally fixed. I'm still not able to put full weight through my leg. Colleagues at work have been tremendously supportive and it's great to be back. Having lost 14kgs (I'm down to 72kgs) for the first time in years I can now eat as much chocolate, puddings, foie gras and anything I want. My boss, having seen me turn up to our LVMH board meeting with my suit hanging off me, encouraged me to go and buy some new smart Dior suits, saying that they were perfect for slim chaps. I told him I thought that it would be cheaper and more fun to just eat extra foie gras and chocolate! Jo's become Florence Nightingale, looking after me so wonderfully and even coming to Paris to help me. We've just moved into our new apartment and she's in the process of sorting it all out.
I have to admit that I'm hugely disappointed that I was not able to finish my Antarctica expedition with Richard and Michael. For the whole year before the expedition I had trained hard and dreamt of how fantastic it would be to accomplish this challenge. Every single training session, be it in the early hours of the morning or whilst pulling tyres up hills, I motivated myself by thinking of how amazing the challenge ahead would be. That said, the biggest part of this adventure was the mental challenge and I certainly got more than I ever bargained for!
I lived for 32 days in Antarctica, skiing/walking 8-9 hours everyday. Pulling a sled which initially weighed 85kgs. I covered almost 700kms, and the last 4 days/80kms walking "banged-up" on serious painkillers. We climbed from sea level to 2600m (the South Pole is at 2900m). We lived at temperatures between -17C and -26C and spent most the time skiing into relentless winds. What's more 4 of us lived in a 3 man tent, 2.5m x 2.5m for all this time. A great test in tolerance!
Our Mishri School Appeal is on track to hit the £50,000 target. We are close to £40,000 and still have quite a few outstanding pledges to come in. The generosity of so many family and friends has been fantastic. This is going to make a huge and lasting difference to the boys and girls of Mishri village. Bob Phillips is over the moon and work will start very soon. He wants to write to each and every donor to fill them in on the whole project.
I've been back at work in Paris for the last 2 weeks and shuffling around on crutches. My wrist, hand, knee and calf hematoma problems are getting better, but it's still going to take me another month or so until I'm totally fixed. I'm still not able to put full weight through my leg. Colleagues at work have been tremendously supportive and it's great to be back. Having lost 14kgs (I'm down to 72kgs) for the first time in years I can now eat as much chocolate, puddings, foie gras and anything I want. My boss, having seen me turn up to our LVMH board meeting with my suit hanging off me, encouraged me to go and buy some new smart Dior suits, saying that they were perfect for slim chaps. I told him I thought that it would be cheaper and more fun to just eat extra foie gras and chocolate! Jo's become Florence Nightingale, looking after me so wonderfully and even coming to Paris to help me. We've just moved into our new apartment and she's in the process of sorting it all out.
I have to admit that I'm hugely disappointed that I was not able to finish my Antarctica expedition with Richard and Michael. For the whole year before the expedition I had trained hard and dreamt of how fantastic it would be to accomplish this challenge. Every single training session, be it in the early hours of the morning or whilst pulling tyres up hills, I motivated myself by thinking of how amazing the challenge ahead would be. That said, the biggest part of this adventure was the mental challenge and I certainly got more than I ever bargained for!
I lived for 32 days in Antarctica, skiing/walking 8-9 hours everyday. Pulling a sled which initially weighed 85kgs. I covered almost 700kms, and the last 4 days/80kms walking "banged-up" on serious painkillers. We climbed from sea level to 2600m (the South Pole is at 2900m). We lived at temperatures between -17C and -26C and spent most the time skiing into relentless winds. What's more 4 of us lived in a 3 man tent, 2.5m x 2.5m for all this time. A great test in tolerance!
The challenge was actually more mental than physical. After a week, when the novelty wore off, it became so mentally tough just to keep skiing and skiing and skiing across the endless frozen "white desert". The endless grind, cold, wind, scenery became so boring! There were days when the body just didn't want to get up and go, but there was no choice, you just had to get on with it. The head on winds were relentless, biting and energy sapping. The white outs made it so dissorientating that it felt like skiing along inside a large ping pong ball. I just focussed on the back of Richard's sled for hours after hours. The ground "explosions" as we skied over unsettled ice/snow gave us the odd fright. Crossing cravasse fields got the adrenalin pumping.
Eating the same high calorie pasta with cheese and polar pate every breakfast and every dinner for 32 days was another interesting challenge. I've never eaten as much fat in all my life and it took my body some time to readjust on my return home. Another challenge was the being deprived of basic things we take for granted: toilets and showers. I wore just 2 pairs of thermals for the whole trip! The snow showers at -20C and wash down with tea-tree oil were a welcome re-fresher.
My favourite gadget was my Ipod which allowed me to listen to over a dozen audio books and endless music. This was powered by an amazing small solar panel called a "Power Monkey", which could work all hours since we had 24 hour sunshine.
Lastly my companions were tremendous - never complaining and always motivating each other. We worked as a team all sharing the same goal and constantly helping each other. Richard the human "Duracell Bunny Rabbit" - led from the front for the whole trip, pulling more weight than the rest of us and preparing all our meals. He never tired and was always wanting to go faster! Now I know why he's the most accomplished Polar explorer of our generation. Kathy was always hugely positive and it was so unfortunate she picked up a bladder infection and left after only 1 week. Ruth had tremendous courage to shack up with 3 middle aged men in a 3 man tent and patched up all my kit whenever I needed help. She made it to the South Pole. Michael, my Kiwi friend, who I will never be able to thank enough. He always offered a helping hand, always positive and helped me in ways that were simply extraordinary in my darkest days, when I couldn't even dress and undress myself. I will never forget what he did for me.
Biggest thanks of all go to Jo for letting me go on this adventure, especially over Christmas, for all her support before I left, for running the family alone, writing my blogs, running the Mishri appeal and now looking after the "Polar Cripple".
Thank you to everyone who sent encouraging messages to my blog and once again to all of you who've supported the Mishri Appeal.
I look forward to sharing the stories with you over drinks and dinners in the months ahead,
in the meantime enjoy the slideshow on the "Photos" page.
Chris
Eating the same high calorie pasta with cheese and polar pate every breakfast and every dinner for 32 days was another interesting challenge. I've never eaten as much fat in all my life and it took my body some time to readjust on my return home. Another challenge was the being deprived of basic things we take for granted: toilets and showers. I wore just 2 pairs of thermals for the whole trip! The snow showers at -20C and wash down with tea-tree oil were a welcome re-fresher.
My favourite gadget was my Ipod which allowed me to listen to over a dozen audio books and endless music. This was powered by an amazing small solar panel called a "Power Monkey", which could work all hours since we had 24 hour sunshine.
Lastly my companions were tremendous - never complaining and always motivating each other. We worked as a team all sharing the same goal and constantly helping each other. Richard the human "Duracell Bunny Rabbit" - led from the front for the whole trip, pulling more weight than the rest of us and preparing all our meals. He never tired and was always wanting to go faster! Now I know why he's the most accomplished Polar explorer of our generation. Kathy was always hugely positive and it was so unfortunate she picked up a bladder infection and left after only 1 week. Ruth had tremendous courage to shack up with 3 middle aged men in a 3 man tent and patched up all my kit whenever I needed help. She made it to the South Pole. Michael, my Kiwi friend, who I will never be able to thank enough. He always offered a helping hand, always positive and helped me in ways that were simply extraordinary in my darkest days, when I couldn't even dress and undress myself. I will never forget what he did for me.
Biggest thanks of all go to Jo for letting me go on this adventure, especially over Christmas, for all her support before I left, for running the family alone, writing my blogs, running the Mishri appeal and now looking after the "Polar Cripple".
Thank you to everyone who sent encouraging messages to my blog and once again to all of you who've supported the Mishri Appeal.
I look forward to sharing the stories with you over drinks and dinners in the months ahead,
in the meantime enjoy the slideshow on the "Photos" page.
Chris
