Arctic Sea Ice Basin Survey Team Down To Half Rations As Foul Weather Blocks Resupply Drops - AFP

[hatrack]

Three British explorers trying to ski to the North Pole to measure the thickness of sea ice only have one day's food left as bad weather hampers supply flights, the mission said Tuesday. Project director and ice team leader Pen Hadow and his colleagues Martin Hartley and Ann Daniels are now down to half rations and fighting to survive in brutal sub-zero weather conditions.

"We're hungry, the cold is relentless, our sleeping bags are full of ice and, because we're not moving, the colder we get," Hadow said Tuesday in a statement from the London headquarters of the Catlin Arctic Survey. "Waiting is almost the worst part of an expedition as we're in the lap of the weather gods. This is basic survival."

The expedition set off on a 85-day hike on February 28 when the three were dropped off by plane on an ice floe some 668 miles, (1,075 kilometers) from northern Canada. During the past 17 days temperatures have consistently dropped below minus 40 degrees Celsius (-40 degrees Fahrenheit), and have been accompanied by strong winds increasing the chill factor.

Bad weather has forced three attempts to drop food supplies to the team on a landing strip close to their camp to turn back.

EDIT

http://www.terradaily.com/2007/090317165549.ticmw8v6.html

[Delphinus]

1. I feel for them.

No way would I want to do what they're doing. This might not end well at all.