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Should I stay or should I go?
11:41 a.m. EST Dec 18, 2003
In the famous words of The Clash’s legendary Joe Strummer (may he Rest in Peace). Damien and the Friesland crew are choosing to stay. In the song, if he goes there will be trouble, if he stays there’ll be double. Let’s hope the same isn’t true for the Omega team.
Damien and the crew successfully summited Bowles almost two weeks ago, but since then the weather has just been plain rotten. The helicopter was scheduled to pick them up today, however, they’ve push the pick-up day back to December 23rd with the hopes of getting up to measure the summit of Mt. Friesland, the main objective of the expedition.
The latest word from Damien:
“So it's the 17th of December, one day before we were originally scheduled to fly out - and 13 days since our last good weather, when we summited Mt Bowles. In that time we've had 4 hours of sun - spread over two evenings. Yesterday the 16th was the worst weather of the trip - 45 knot (84km/h) winds and lots of blowing snow, visibility about five metres. These are the days you pray that your tent is as good as the brochure said it would be (ours definitely is).
Bombarded by grapefruits?
In addition to the constant wind and spindrift, every five minutes or so there would be a loud WHACK! on the side of the tent, which we later realized was grapefruit size chunks of ice being blown down off Mt Friesland, across the plateau and into the side of our tent.
Will the weather break?
This morning the pressure dropped even further in the early hours and we expected things to get worse, but perversely they seem to be improving - relatively anyway. I can now see a few hundred metres, so long as I don't turn into the wind, which has dropped to around 25-30 knots ( 55 km/h). Friesland remains invisible behind a wall of cloud and wind, just like every day of the last two weeks. I keep thinking we can still do it. We only need around 8 - 10 hrs of clear weather.
Damiens turn to suffer
It doesn't even have to be sunny, just clear enough to see where we're going and to negotiate the four or five large crevasses that we have seen spanning the ramp which we climb (to reach the ridge that we will follow up to the summit of Friesland). Is that too much to ask - 10 hrs of good weather in 15 days? After four successful Antarctic expeditions in the last three years, maybe it's just my turn to suffer. When I came up with the idea for this expedition I knew Livingston got just about the worst weather in the world. How can I complain?
Sticking it out
We are changing our date of removal from the island to Dec 23rd. So Dec 22nd is our last day on which we can do any climbing or other activity. After that, we have to call in the DAP chopper to pick us up as soon as the weather permits, and if it doesn't permit, then things had better improve within 10 days from then, as that is our emergency food, brought for just such an occasion (we could actually last a couple of weeks easily, but there's only so many ways to prepare instant mashed-potato powder).
Pushing the limits
Of course this means we could fly back to KGI unsuccessful in our main objective - to measure Friesland and any other high peaks possible - with 10 days spare food in our bags - begging the question of why not stay longer? Why not push it to the limit for something that is so important to us?
A safety buffer
Obviously the problem is if the weather is terrible - which it has been regularly - then the chopper cannot fly to pick us up. We use up all our food climbing - or waiting and trying to climb - then we have no food to wait out the delayed arrival of the helo. Not only would that be incredibly stupid, it's not the way to run an Antarctic expedition of any kind.
Live donkeys and dead lions
Better safe than sorry, live donkeys instead of dead lions, etc etc, all that kind of thing. They're just clichés when you're at home. When you're here - with two layers of nylon between you and a white inferno in a place you can't just walk away from, or switch off with the remote - they're not clichés. They're just plain obvious.
Responsibility
Above, I mentioned suffering. We're not suffering. Not even close. Compared to most people in the world, we're on holiday. We're privileged and we know it. But with privilege comes responsibility. Responsibility to look after ourselves - and, in so many other ways, responsibility to all those lucky enough to come to Antarctica in coming years.
Anyway, it ain't over 'til it's over.”
D
On the expedition this year will be Damien Gildea, 34, of Australia, Chilean Rodrigo Fica, 36, an Australian GIS specialist John Bath, 33, and a Chilean student, Osvaldo Usaj. The aim this year is to first ascend Mount Friesland on Livingston Island and record it’s proper height by means of a GPS.
The information collected by the Omega expedition will be combined with previous maps and research to make a more accurate map of the area that will be available sometime in 2004.
Image Damein courtesy of Damien Gildea
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