This morning I woke up earlier than usual.
It doesn‟t real y bother me, but I can‟t understand why my jet-lag is lasting so long this time. I never had a problem with it before.
I haven‟t made any plans for today in Chicago. At 11.00 Rick‟s company car came to collect me and take me to his office to discuss the planned expedition to the South Pole. The office is outside Chicago in some small town –I‟ve already forgotten its name -, but we drove along a jumble of highways and arrived after half an hour.
These American small towns are always quiet and peaceful. The houses have no fences around them and are in excellent repair, the gardens are always green and well-kept, with lots of trees, and the
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cars drive slowly. Life seems to move at a slower pace here.
Rick welcomed me, and did not seem bothered about yesterday. During our endless conversation I picked up a lot of new information about the South Pole, and what trials and ordeals I can expect.
Though the South Pole is generally colder than the North, according to Rick the North is the more difficult enterprise.
The reasons for the different temperatures are complex.
The Antarctic – which is where the South Pole is – is an independent continent of ice-covered land. Its highest point above sea-level is over 9000 ft, and cold increases with height, (the higher you go, the colder it gets). Conversely, the North Pole is an icefield which lies at sea level and has no significant heights. Here the cold is alleviated by the surrounding ocean, while the Antarctic is denied this advantage.
Expeditions to the South Pole usually leave in January, as that is the summer there, and sometimes you are greeted by a balmy temperature of between -22 and -40F. The Vinson Massiv can get really cold, but weatherwise, according to Rick, it is the North Pole that is tougher.I believe him, as he‟s been to both Poles several times, so he must know what he‟s talking about. The most difficult journey of all is going to the North Pole not on skis, but using a dog-sled. Almost everybody imagines that the dog-sled would be easier – why use this method otherwise – but it‟s not true. The actual advantage of using dogs is not that it‟s easier but that it‟s faster.At the Poles speed can save lives, and also with a dog-sled more supplies can be carried. It‟s not true that the driver of the sled has nothing to do but sit there and whip the dogs.His main duty is to aid the dogs, because the terrain of the North Pole icefields is so very tough.
The ice floes move, collide and pile up constantly, so you can‟t expect to travel over a smooth,flat icefield as you could at the South Pole. The surface of the ice has been weathered into waves, and at each one it is the driver‟s duty to get the sled over the crest. But, at the Antarctic, an expedition on skis is predominantly a mental challenge, and anyway, dogs are not allowed here. The monotonous, unchanging landscape puts a huge burden on the psyche. At the North Pole, one of the greatest difficulties is that the ice is constantly moving south. If you've covered ten miles a day, you'll certainly lose four during the night, as, while you sleep, the ice will move that distance south. This "4 steps forward, 1 step back" progress, many people find hard to bear.
From all I've just heard, I think I'll decide to go to the North Pole on a dog-sled. Rick agrees, and says I'll still have time to do the South Pole, and that, after the North Pole, it will seem easy. Let's hope he's right.
After our discussion, Rick takes me to the local fast-food restaurant, and then one of his staff drives me to O'Hare Airport. On the way, he puts on Motorhead at full blast, which I don't mind at all, as I like this sort of music at that volume.
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So, to the sound of rock and roll, I say goodbye to Chicago.
At the airport I am immediately ripped off for $3.00, this being the price of renting a trolley. The moment I enter, a porter spots my gun case, and ,with suspicious haste, rushes to help me. I soon learn that the gun case will cost me an extra $40.00. What can I do - I cough up. At security, they open the case in front of me; they admire the gun, and are particularly keen on the artistically air-brushed skulls and snake-heads on the riflescope. They nod and smile broadly, acknowledging the excellent work. I can see things are going well.
However, when I turn to the rest of my luggage, I see that my porter friend is shaking his head in sorrow. I'm over the limit, he says - spitting half-chewed pieces of popcorn at me as he speaks - so I have to pay the excess-baggage charge. This comes to exactly $40.00! I make a wry face, and try to bargain; I don't like this system. His smile gets wider and wider; he thinks the money is already in his pocket. But there is another solution: if I give him $20.00, that will sort it all out, and it will also be cheaper for me. Having no other options, I pay up. He disappears with my luggage and gun into the labyrinth of the airport, and I just pray that my $20.00 has smoothed their journey. Before leaving, he even offers me some popcorn.
In 1935, it took Széchenyi ten days to get from Chicago to Seward, in Alaska. Today, if we take a plane, instead of a boat or train, and go to Anchorage, not Seward, we will fly exactly 2823.5 miles.
The plane covers this distance in 6hrs 38mins.
Alaska is still a long, long way away.
200Expedition Headquarters
Room 2162, Anchorage Hilton
500 West 3rd Avenue
Anchorage,Alaska
USA