We received a brief update tonight from Henk-Jan who called during a break in their progression.
He reported from the following position:
S 71° 27' 11"
E 09° 20' 18"
Yesterday, Joke and Henk-Jan advanced via man-hauling progression (on skis pulling their sleds) and accomplished 19,8 kilometres of distance. They pushed through some initially tricky terrain which prohibited the use of their snow-kites before finally setting up their camp at 02:00 am. It took an additional 2 hours to reorganise, eat and rehydrate before they could drop exhaustedly into their sleeping bags.
This morning they allowed themselves a later than normal start and were finally underway just before noon. They progressed the first 5 kilometres by manhauling, but then the wind and terrain combined to create a nice kiting environment. Henk-Jan estimated the moderate winds to be about 4 knots which made the -12°C temps feel colder than yesterday. The blue skies were slowly filling with a few clouds but the sun remained bright and our duo was eager to sail forward.
Please continue to follow their Antarctic adventure here and also at Expeditions Unlimited with its Live Explorer feature.