South Pole – Day 17

It was a great day yesterday – they skied 20 kms and are now 21 kms away from reaching the South Pole. Yesterday was sunny and intensely cold because of a 15 knot cross wind but they soldiered on knowing their destination is so close now.  Sean’s just called to say that the conditions are the same today so if all goes well, the Zahid South Pole expedition should reach the South Pole at approximately 3pm Chilean time (8pm SA time) today.   

If the weather holds, they will be picked up at the Pole tonight and flown back to Union Glacier in time for the flight to Punta Arenas tomorrow.  A bad weather system has been forecast which means they may have to spend the night at the South Pole and fly to Union Glacier tomorrow.  The crew are keen not to miss the flight to Punta Arenas because the next flight out is only schedule d for mid week next week.   The filming and photography is going well.  Yesterday Sean was taking pics of the sastrugi which are sharp ridges and spectacular patterns formed and shaped on the snow surface by wind erosion. 

So close now... (www.zahidexpedition.com)