77 Days To Complete The Expedition

The expedition will be travelling to and from Antarctica with Antarctic Logistics & Expeditions, via their camp at Patriot Hills near the Antarctic coast.

The base operates from early November until late January. Allowing for secondary flights to and from the coast, this leaves John with a maximum of 77 days to complete the expedition. Weather delays may well reduce this.

Previous expeditions have averaged 55 days to reach the pole. Given that the fastest-ever journey was 40 days, with a sled weighing about 85 kg, John has an immense task ahead. With a 180 kg sled he needs to reach the Pole in around 41 days, and then make it back again in just 36.

Whilst his sled will be lighter on the return journey, he will be notably weaker. John will need to average some 17 miles a day on the outward journey and 20 on the way back.

Ideally, the expedition would run over some 95-100 days, but this would then push the start and /or finish into a period of much colder weather and massively increase the overall cost by having to pay for individual flights to and from South America.

The limitation of time and the extreme distance involved make this perhaps the longest foot race ever.

Keeping the weight of the sled to a minimum is vital in order to maximise the daily distance that can be travelled. But most of the weight is food, and reducing that will reduce the energy available. But using too much energy brings another problem, in that it is difficult for the body to absorb enormous amounts of energy. So too little food will mean failure, and too much will mean failure. Given that no one has attempted this journey before, it can only be hoped that John and his advisers have got their calculations spot on.

The physically hardest part of the journey is likely to be the beginning. With the sled at its heaviest and a steep climb for several days, passing through a large crevassed area, strength and fitness will be tested. Mentally, however, the difficult ice about 200 miles before the pole (and of course after the pole) is perhaps the worst, and the time when keeping to target distances may become impossible.