Todd Carmichael Expedition Earth 2008 Update: Going To The Pole On Foot

Todd Carmichael has phoned in a new update to his South Pole expedition.  In our previous update, Todd had reached the 81st degree, but was having some problems with his ski bindings.  After breaking one, then fixing it, his second binding snapped–forcing Todd to make a couple of tough decisions.  After a couple of days of tinkering, Todd was able to get the bindings back together, albeit not a sure fix for the long haul.  You can read the previous update here.

Day 13 finds Todd at roughly 16 miles past the 82nd degree and moving forward.  He is covering between 12 and 16 miles a day, has been facing some high winds, and is now planning on walking to the South Pole unaided by skis.  His decision to not rely on skis is a tough one, but the binding fix has proven to be just a semi-permanent fix.  He is afraid that he may need them later on and doesn’t want to risk destroying the precarious state they are in.  In Todd’s latest audio update, he talks of actually enjoying the walk and feeling closer to the experience and the history of the past.  He relates that explorers of the past, including Shackleton, made this expedition on foot.  Unfortunately, Shackleton’s expedition wasn’t a success.  Let’s hope Todd’s experience is different!

Speaking of Ernest Shackleton, Todd had the recent opportunity to meet up with The Matrix Shackleton Centenary Expedition.  He mentions holding Ernest Shackleton’s compass.  This compass is being carried by the ancestors of Shackleton’s original 1909 Nimrod expedition, as they search for their own links to the past.  Todd mentions the weight and the significance of holding such a peice of history.

Overall things are going good for Todd.  He has the bit of frostbite to his face, is now on foot rather than skis, but is taking in the moment, trying to protect himself from the high winds, and keeping his mind on moving forward.  He dedicated his latest update to Dr. Galdikas, whom Todd has worked closely with over the years, and told everyone to go visit her site if they have time.  Likewise, I pass on this information.  Go visit http://www.orangutan.org to learn more of the Dr.’s work and why Todd gives this organization so much of his time.  It’s a good cause.

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