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Colin O'Brady Completes Historic Antarctic Crossing (nytimes.com)
The final miles of a nearly two-month race across Antarctica -- a lonely effort marked by long days, short nights and stunning endurance -- ended Wednesday with a sprint to the finish.
From a report: Adventurer Colin O'Brady on Wednesday accomplished what he had dubbed "the Impossible First," becoming the first person to complete a solo, unsupported crossing of Antarctica. With a push of 32 hours after leaving his last camp on Christmas morning, the 33-year-old American reached the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf on Day 54 of his expedition. He had covered almost 80 miles since his last sleep. Briton Lou Rudd, who set off the same day -- Nov. 3 -- on the same quest, on Wednesday had about 70 miles left, according to his expedition's tracking map. It estimated a finish on Saturday.
The full trek is about 935 miles. O'Brady's Instagram post from the finish post read in part: "While the last 32 hours were some of the most challenging hours of my life, they have quite honestly been some of the best moments I have ever experienced. I was locked in a deep flow state the entire time, equally focused on the end goal, while allowing my mind to recount the profound lessons of this journey." O'Brady had reached the South Pole on Dec. 12, a day ahead of Rudd. The New York Times story adds: To some following his progress, his decision was unnerving. Under intense stress, the line between lucidity and madness can be fuzzy, and especially so for someone who has been alone for almost two months, trekking miles each day, while doing battle with raging winds, unseasonal snowfall, whiteout visibility and polar temperatures. Could someone in that situation, exhausted and emaciated, be trusted to make sound choices?
"I can feel myself in a deep fatigue state," O'Brady said when reached by satellite phone on Dec. 22. "When I was crossing Greenland" -- a journey he undertook this summer to prepare for this expedition -- "I kind of let my guard down on my last night, and I fell into a crevasse that could have easily killed me. I want to be done badly, but at the same time, it's about executing all the little things and not make any stupid mistakes at the end."
The full trek is about 935 miles. O'Brady's Instagram post from the finish post read in part: "While the last 32 hours were some of the most challenging hours of my life, they have quite honestly been some of the best moments I have ever experienced. I was locked in a deep flow state the entire time, equally focused on the end goal, while allowing my mind to recount the profound lessons of this journey." O'Brady had reached the South Pole on Dec. 12, a day ahead of Rudd. The New York Times story adds: To some following his progress, his decision was unnerving. Under intense stress, the line between lucidity and madness can be fuzzy, and especially so for someone who has been alone for almost two months, trekking miles each day, while doing battle with raging winds, unseasonal snowfall, whiteout visibility and polar temperatures. Could someone in that situation, exhausted and emaciated, be trusted to make sound choices?
"I can feel myself in a deep fatigue state," O'Brady said when reached by satellite phone on Dec. 22. "When I was crossing Greenland" -- a journey he undertook this summer to prepare for this expedition -- "I kind of let my guard down on my last night, and I fell into a crevasse that could have easily killed me. I want to be done badly, but at the same time, it's about executing all the little things and not make any stupid mistakes at the end."
This is one of those rare situations where the guy coming in second deserves just as much respect as the guying coming in first!
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
It'll take a month for his testicles to thaw
I was really concerned I'd never hear from Colin again. In the last exchange we had, two months ago, he said we should meet up at a new local hot spot I had found but when I asked him if he needed directions and he wrote, "Nah, I'll just use Apple Maps." ;)
Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
Deep respect to both. And take that flat-tards.
Because I sure as hell couldn't have done it. But it's a bit different doing it today, with GPS telling you exactly where to go, and a satellite phone to bring in the air cavalry if something should go wrong. Early explorers had to navigate with a sextant, hoping they got their times and calculations right so they'd hit the next supply cache. Miss it and They Would Die. Scott's party died a few miles from a supply depot, and had wasted considerably time and strength searching for previous caches. Likewise if someone broke a leg, or a sled runner came off and couldn't be fixed, They Would Die.
Yes, when first and second aid each other, they should be commended. I only meant when, for instance, the person is second is more like Edison - someone who takes work from the first person and uses that to get across the line next.
Your ad here. Ask me how!
looks easy
Not with a shoggoth on your tail.
Have gnu, will travel.
while doing battle with raging winds, unseasonal snowfall, whiteout visibility and polar temperatures
The major hurdle in such a long crossing is not really those things, it is Sastrugi - a combination of wind and snow carves the flat surface of the Antarctic plateau into an endless series of hardened snow ridges, varying from inches to feet high...
That doesn't sound so bad, but imagine having to pull a supply sled 1000 miles over one of these ridges every few feet, for months on end. The very definition of torture.
I was following a guy last year attempting the crossing - Ben Saunders - who had to stop in the middle, he had an excellent blog as he went detailing the day to day travails of the journey - and Sastrugi topped the list (read the entries backwards to see how they wore him down).
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
Cool dude!
Thank you! I'm here all week, come back and bring a friend!
"File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
Figures that the New York Times would bestow upon itself the moral authority to call into question people's motives and mental ability. These asshats just love to sit around and pontificate about what should or shouldn't be done based on nothing but they never actually step up and attempt anything of merit themselves.
Water finds jack shit. Water has no will and no agency. And no fucking memory either, while we're at it!
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.