The work continues

Linda and Kerryn continue to prepare and move supplies up the valley from El Chalten to La Playita. This will continue over the next few days.

When this work is complete, the expedition team can load their sleds and commence the actual icecap traverse.

Rob is expected to arrive in El Chalten tomorrow to complete the expedition team.

Australian Base Communications (ABC) is operational and now receiving regular status updates from the team using inReach™.

The work has begun

Linda and Kerryn have arrived in El Chalten, Argentina and have commenced transporting equipment to their initial cache at the base of the icecap.

Currently they are at La Playita in pouring Patagonian rain on their second load carrying trip to the base of the Marconi Pass, their access to the icecap.

Fantastic Support

Fantastic Support from some local companies.

The wonderful crew from Carman's have cooked us up a great batch of biscuits, muesli and muesli bars which will keep us fueled up during the trip.  thanks.....and congratulations Carolyn Creswell for being awarded Victorian Telstra Business Woman of the Year for 2012. That is a wonderful achievement.

Pivotel is supporting us also by making the InReach system available for the expedition. We will use InReach to track our progress across the icecap. InReach has the advantage of being able to send and receive sms's allowing us to add detail to our regular and emergency communication. We are delighted to be able to provide live proof of the value of this system as InReach is launched in Australia this week.

We're heading back again

Linda, Kerryn and Rob are heading back to the South Patagonian icecap to see whether a fresh approach will get them successfully across the icecap. "We almost need to take flippers, goggles and bathers" says Linda "to cope with the wet weather that bogged us down last time".

With a gear list more suitable to wet, windy and not quite so cold weather, and a reduced weight more suitable to back packing, the team's plans will accomodate the load hauling that is required to get onto the access glacier. It will take up to a week to reach the icecap. Once there we can lighten our loads by using small sleds to haul our gear. This time we are going in spring when there will be much longer daylight - though we will also need to allow for the wind storms that the Patagonian Icecap is renowned for.

Linda and Kerryn will reach the Argentinian town of El Chalten on October 30th. They will have a week to prepare and once Rob arrives on the 5th November will be ready to begin with a climb up the Marconi pass.

If successful this will complete Linda's goal of doing a journey on each of the world's largest icecaps - North Pole, South Pole, Greenland and South Patagonia......

time lapse video of the Jorge Montt Glacier

The Jorge Montt Glacier is one of the access points to the South Patagonian Icecap. This video shows the rate of melt - captured by Chilean scientists in 2010.
http://spon.de/ve3w5

After moving our gear from the Jorge Montt Lake up the river to the site of ouur first camp (in pouring rain - no photos of that journey), we then had to climb up the valley head a couple of kms away. On our first attempt we took a route up a side ridge that took a long time and was very tiring - lots of clambering over boulders , through bushes and in deep snow. We could see a good route though and left a small cache of gear up high for later on. Back down the valley to our tent and hoping to get the rest of our gear up the hill the next day. But then it rained - we stayed in the tent and listened to creek and river water levels rising.

We shufled gear up the hill the following day, camping near the top. We had magnificent views of the lakes and valleys we'd passed but still hadn't seen the Jorge Montt Glacier. We saw a couple of groups Huemul (deer) and an awe inspiring group of 6 Condors.

It took 5 days to get to the start. Two days by road, one day waiting for boat engine repairs and two days by boat. The larger boat took us along the Baker Fiord and past icebergs that calved from the Jorge Montt Glacier. The inflatable was then dragged over the land for a few hundred meters. We then sped across the Jorge Montt Lake for a few kms. We had spent a night on the boat.