Gareth Brauteseth

Ilyusion Il-76

There are a few ways to get down to Antarctica.

The SA Agulhas is one.

The mother ship of all South African Antarctic research. Managed by SANAP, she has been making the voyage down to the Ice for almost 30 years. She is loved by science in South Africa and is a symbol for pioneering and a history of great research coming out of the rainbow nation.

Then, there is the Russian way…

The Ilyusion Il -76, a ship of a different kind, an air ship built for moving things. A monster machine build for transporting troops, tanks, refueling fighter jets and in times of peace, lifting scientists, and the White Desert team, to the ice.

These aeroplanes are tough, a bit like the Hilux of the skies. Making their mark in the 80’s, where they transported over 750 000 Russian troops into Afghanistan and surviving ground attack from Afghan rebels, the Ilyusion is now used by governments worldwide for research supply and anything where the ability for an aeroplane to be tough is paramount.

We will be sharing the ride with Russian scientists, a whole lot of kit, engineers and 4 pilots, who I really hope know how to fly this beast.

So, in a few days I head down to Antarctica.

When you type weather forecast Antarctica into your goggle search bar, the response is something staggering.

Obviously the temperature is something ridiculous with the average being somewhere around -49degrees C and the lowest ever recorded a chilly -89degrees C. When the wind doesn’t blow I am assured it is around the freezing point.

The wind has been measured at 200mph, that is strong, one sure way to dry the washing, but wait a minute, the washing freezes!

Luckily I am going down in summer where the sun will be up 24hours a day; yes that’s it 24 hours a day. So, a good pare of sunglasses is absolutely crucial.

That’s why I must say thank a million to my mates at BLUEYE.

BLUEYE is technology coming out of Australia that is amazing. The Injection molded PC Polarized Lenses have a track record of research coming out of your ears. But the proof is in the pudding. You suspend the lenses off the end of your nose and you experience a whole new level of Sun Shade experience.

The brand is specifically designed for extreme sports in mind, made from Polycarbonate material the lenses carry the best impact-resistant material available to
protect your eyes.

I have a few models to test out but what excites me the most are the Zoo frames that are going to be very handy for Kite Skiing on the ice. The lighter lenses won’t be very handy as the white of the ice is brutal, but the darker lenses will most definitely come into their own.

The Norwegians love the Ice, I suppose because they live in it for half the year.

My forefathers are Norwegian with Otto Brauteseth, a hard man of humble means, coming out on a ship to South Africa in 1882. 130 years later I am getting ready for a trip to Antarctica just like so many Norwegians that have gone before.

One of Norways greatest modern day explorers is Børge Ousland, who, for the past 20 years has been exploring the Arctic and Antarctic pushing the boundaries of human endeavor.

The man is amazing, there are not many people who can boast a first under their belt these days, but Børge was the first person to complete a solo expedition to the North Pole without re-supplying, and the first to cross the Antarctic continent alone. He is still the only person to have accomplished both feats.

As I write the man is in the North Atlantic on his latest mission of sailing through the North East and North West Passage in one season.

Awesome!

In the eternal search for adventure, somewhere cool to explore and something new to experience I came across this.

Cenotes, found in the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico.

What make these things awesome are first of all their beautiful and then, the legend that the local Maya have about the Cenotes. Because these are the only natural resource of safe drinking water in the area Major Maya settlements would sprout around the walls of the wells.

The Maya believed that these were gateways to the afterlife and they would throw valuable items into them as offerings to the gods. Golden sacrificial artifacts have been found in some Cenotes which led to some pretty crazy exploration.

You can head there today and dive to all corners of these wells to have a peak at what’s available, pretty nuts…

Who’s keen for a trip to Mexico?

Adventure Chef Jenna Viney

I am a lucky member of a crew that is hosting guests down on the ice of Antarctica during the summer season of 2010/2011.

The opportunity to get down to the White Desert does not come around too often in ones life and I have been blessed with the opportunity that I have no doubt pounced upon.

“Whichaways” camp is based on the ice shelf and plays home base to White Desert. White Desert (www.white-desert.com) is the latest in adventure tourism and if you have the time, the money and the nerve I suggest you make a plan to get down, the waiting list is getting pretty long.

Besides the Ice climbing, the penguins, the leopard seals, the South pole and the Kite Skiing you will be spoilt by some of the most amazing food that adventure has to offer.
Jenna Viney (www.jennamayfood.com) is the award winning chef who splits her time between Antarctica in the European winter, Russia in the European Summer and Greece just for a good time. I had coffee with Jenna yesterday and it was a sign of good things to come. The team is going to be phenomenal and I can’t wait to meet the rest of the guys as they arrive in Cape Town to get ready for the Desert.

Lewis Pugh

Hold the phone!

Lewis Pugh just swam across Pumori Lake.

For those of you who don’t know, Pumori Lake is in the Himalayas at 5300m and the water temp is 2 degrees.

The problem with swimming at altitude is quite similar to walking at altitude, you cannot do it very fast and if you do you run out of energy and need to stop. Only problem is that when you in water when you stop, you drown.

Other problem is that if you spend too much time in the water you get hypothermia.

So Lewis swam across in 22minutes, nicely done. I really hope he enjoyed his first shower after that.

Before the Cold

The Cadiz freedom swim was a great success. Plenty swimmers, no deaths, very very very cold water and unfortunately for me an unsuccessful swim.

As the old adage states, if you fail to prepare you should prepare to fail.

This was the exact circumstance that lead to me being hauled out of the water with 1km to go with pretty hectic hypothermia.

1 month is not enough to do that swim especially at 85kg with very little fat reserves. I need more water time, more cold water time, more fat and I need to be stronger to make it happen.

I will be hitting the pool soon for a well thought out approach to crossing from Robben Island. I must admit that there is nothing like failure to motivate one to get back into the water. You cannot let the island beat you.

The more people I speak to the more excited I get about what there is to do out there in the world.

Coolest thing I have seen this week-The Mongol Derby- over 1000km across Mongolia- ON A HORSE!!!

SA has it’s own entrants, in the sisters Alexandra and Saskia van Heerden as well as Gina Abbott. Follow them later this year here:

http://mongolderby.theadventurists.com/

The Dream Expedition

Mike Horn is in the middle of the most amazing expedition the world is currently faced with. It is a combination of global traverse, extreme challenge, all environments and one key issue. That of climate change and what is happening.
How is this for a line up:

It was only fitting that in October 2008, the Pangaea Expedition launched from Ushuaia, the capital of Argentina’s province of Tierra del Fuego (‘Land of Fire’). That’s because it’s the southernmost city in the world, the city closest to Antarctica and is often just referred to as Fin del Mundo, which means ‘End of the Earth’.
Since then, the Pangaea Expedition has had numerous and diverse destinations on its itinerary; Brazil, Cape Town, New Zealand, Sydney, The Great Barrier Reef, Yokohama in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. From there, Pangaea sets sail for India in January 2010 for the Indian leg of our exciting Young Explorers Programme.
Once in India, Mike will set foot through the Himalayas, to China and Shanghai. And in mid 2010, head back to Japan and then to the Pacific Garbage patch. Then it’s off to Kamchatka and onwards up the North East passage to the North Pole.

The fun part is this, if you are between 15 and 20 make sure you apply to get on to this program, they call them YEPs Young Explorer Pangaea. If I was 16 again and knew about this I would do everything I could to get onto the expedition.

So team, if you have some youngster mates, point them in this direction and get them to have a look at the page. (http://pangaea-yep.com/)

The Perfect Expedition Vehicle

So, the challenge is on and the tropical island awaits the onslaught of seasoned adventurers on their expedition vehicles par excel lance.

Tuk Tuk, Sri Lanka, Race, Tea, Colonialists and Tamil Rebels… This my friends is the making of one of the finest adventure franchises the world has seen and just before you think it is unattainable look a little closer.

The reigning champions are in fact South African and this year’s field has a full on green and gold line up that has the international contenders shivering in their fip flops. Yes, the Tuk Tuk champions lie in waiting to be crowned the kings of Colombo.

The Lanka Challenge (www.lankachallenge.com) kicks of this spring in Sri Lanka and I urge you all to watch it with eager eyes as many of these competitors are training in brick lane and down town Durban where the Tuk Tuk training is second to none.

Good Luck SA- Bring it home one more time.

Out

G