The fiverWe had almost given up. Amongst the team insinuations have been overheard to the effect that it was all a big bluff – a cheap publicity stunt by United Bakeries. The UB fiver was non-existent.
“Haved stayed put today, rested, and prepared for the final onslaught. We have put down a depot here to lighten the sledges. HH keeps his sledge unchanged, while the two others have been lightened. ”– Amundsen on this day 100 years ago (Read more …) 
For those who have not been following us every step of the way, we recapitulate briefly the story of the UB fiver. United Bakeries has been an important provider of a) lunch bars (incredibly delicious – and we still haven’t tired of them) and b) vacuum-packed breakfast muesli. The food was delivered with the following extra message: “One of the breakfast packages contains a five crown coin. The finder wins a trip to Paris with his entire family.” In the beginning we almost fought to be responsible for breakfast rather than dinner. As time went by, and rumours about a possible bluff began to circulate at around 85 degrees, the enthusiasm for being on breakfast duty gradually cooled. But it turned out to be true. This morning a fiver fell into the breakfast bowl of – guess who – Vegard Ulvang! In other news, we are now at approximately the highest point on our entire journey: our GPS shows 3159 metres altitude. Position: S 88 02.892, E 178 46.259
Temperature: -27°C morning, -26°C evening Wind: 4–6 m/s from the north Elevation: 3159 metres Distance traversed: 45 km Distance behind Amundsen: 31 km Total distance traversed: 1093 km Distance remaining to the South Pole: 218 km Did you know that there are many similarities between the Arctic and Antarctica?
..and that there are many differences between the two polar regions at either end of the Earth. Here are a few of them. |
South Pole 1911–2011 is an informational outreach project run by the Norwegian Polar Institute
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