Todd Carmichael Expedition Earth 2008 Update: The 81st Degree

It has been a couple of days since I have posted any polar updates.  One of the reasons being that most teams were battling snowy, white-out conditions and decided to hunker down rather than risk the weather.  The weather has now improved and teams are on the move once again.

The last update that I provided had Todd finally reach the ice of Antarctica.  This had come after a brief stay in Chile where Todd began suffering from the effects of tendonitus and a lung infection.  Luckily, once Todd reached Patriot Hill, Antarctica things seemed to get better.

Many of his updates, up till now, have focused on the weather, how good things are going, and thanking everyone for their thoughts and emails.  A few days back, some of you may remember Todd having some problems with the binding on one of his skis.  He was able to MacGyver that (I know I am old) and get back to being useful, but then the darn thing broke again.  The second fix seems to be holding, but now the binding on his other ski has broken, too.

Todd had some choice words to share about the local company that he first bought the bindings from.  I am not going to mention them by name, but let’s just say that Todd’s reflection is to not buy your bindings from a certain company in Philadelphia.

Todd’s latest update has him bunkered down at the 81st degree.  Some of you polar aficianadoes will note that the 90th degree is the goal.  He says this is the first big step of the expedition and that he has made it pretty uneventful other than some weather difficulties (it is still -40 degrees at night) and the binding issues.  He is covering some good ground, including 14km just yesterday.  Thus far, that has been his biggest single day of travel.

All is well and Todd’s latest update ends with the thank-you’s to family and friends and a special “I love You” to his wife.  He is sounding strong, doing well, and starting to get in to a regular rythym on the ice.  Let’s hope he continues in his good fortune and will reach that ultimate goal of becoming the first American to the South Pole, solo and unsupported.  Good-luck, Todd!

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