December 23, 2011
S81°22.321 E049°03.220
Elevation 12072 feet
The best I can say about today is that it followed Marc’s meteorological prediction, generally speaking. In the end, the wind did not blow four to six knots from the south; it didn’t blow from the north either; it simply did not manifest at all.
We are hanging on to Marc’s prediction like the word of the evangelist, hoping for wind tomorrow and then Christmas day. Aside from the very short 14 kilometers covered two days ago, today makes for the fourth day cooked up inside the tent. It is a little surreal. Aside from the tense anti-climax of watching days peel off the calendar while we still have so many miles to cover, it is also strange to think that we are now two days away from Christmas. In this festive time, I think of loved ones, family and friends preparing and planning dinner celebrations and I miss everyone, feeling fortunate that I have so many to miss.
In the spirit of the season, Eric did a wind dance that I captured on film, for your entertainment, as well as our own. In truth, today has been the most still day of the entire trip so far, with not a whisper of wind all day and all night. In that respect, the dance is a relatively fail-proof proposition: it is hard to imagine that it could actually get worse! Wispy high clouds have been developing this afternoon, partially shielding the sun, resulting in cooler temperatures inside.
I have began writing an article due in for the end of February; something that I honestly would never have imagined undertaking from the ice. But there are only so many chess games you can have in a day. With the iPod on the fritz, it comes back to writing! And here I thought I was getting away from the office…
On the health side, the toe is following its healing cycle, which is to say that the dead part is black and hard. It will eventually detach, but when exactly, I am not sure. As for the rib, I hardly feel the pain there anymore, except while sneezing. There is a bump where the break happened, but I assume that that, too, will eventually go away. Eric’s cough is still very much with him. I suspect it will dissipate as we lose altitude, but this won’t be for a while. We have a little over a month left on the ice. Our daily average has risen to 50 kilometers per day until the South Pole. We remain cautiously optimistic…
Hang in there guys!!! MERRY CHRISTMAS TO BOTH OF YOU!!! Will be thinking of you and send good vibes your way!
Thnking about the pair of you, , with your daily challenges, which in it self is awe inspiring, your writing helps put things in perspective, thank you for that, but have you tried xmas shopping at the grove at this time, out of control……makes your journey seem like a vacation….lol HAPPY HOLIDAYS MERRY CHRISTMAS AND SUCCESS, all the way, yer mate mackkie
Merry Christmas, mates…be safe and at peace with the ice.
I pray for your health, I hope it will not get worse, try to stay safe.