Section A.
The first section crosses the expansive Ross Ice Shelf from Scott Base to the base of the Beardmore Glacier.
Distance - 369miles (590km)
Altitudes - variable from sea level to 150m
Surface - variable from firm snow to sastrugi to breakable crust to soft snow.
Wind - prevailing S-SE though may come from any direction at variable strengths.
Temperatures - variable from minus 10°C to minus 30°C. Return temperatures will be slightly warmer.
Outward Bearing - Follows 170° East
Section B.
Section B consists of the Beardmore Glacier from its terminus at the Ross Ice Shelf to the Polar Plateau.
Distance - 108 miles (173km).
Altitudes - 180m to 2500m
Surface - bare ice, crevassed, icefalls requiring detours
Wind - prevailing S-SE
Temperatures - variable from minus 10°C to minus 30°C. Return temperatures will be slightly warmer.
Outward Bearing - shifts from 170° East to 160° East
Section C.
This section crosses the Antarctic plateau from the top of the glacier to the South Pole and return.
Distance - 323 miles (517 km)
Altitudes - 2500m to 2990m at the Pole.
Surface - variable firm to soft snow and sastrugi
Wind - prevailing S-SE though may come from any direction at variable strengths.
Temperatures - variable from minus 20°C to minus 40oC. Return temperatures may be slightly warmer.
Outward Bearing - 160° East
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The route chosen by IceTrek has been selected to incorporate a number of specific objectives.
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The majority of the route is close to sea level, resulting in higher temperatures for the greater proportion of the journey.
- The terrain on the Shackleton Glacier is generally easier to traverse than the Beardmore or Axel Heiberg.
Both Ranulph Fiennes (92/93) and Reinhold Messner (89/90) reported heavy crevassing on the Beardmore, resulting in short daily distances and considerable danger.
Borge Ousland (96/97) and the Mordre brothers (89/90) both reported difficulty in negotiating the Axel Heiberg glacier.
Section A.
The first section crosses the expansive Ross Ice Shelf from Scott Base to the base of the Shackleton Glacier.
Distance - 782km
Altitudes - variable from sea level to 150m
Surface - variable from firm snow to sastrugi to breakable crust to soft snow.
Wind - prevailing S-SE though may come from any direction at variable strengths.
Temperatures - variable from minus 10°C to minus 30°C. Return temperatures will be slightly warmer.
Outward Bearing - Follows a great circle from 167°T to 154°T
Return Bearing - 334°T to 347°T
Section B.
Section B consists of the Shackleton glacier from its terminus at the Ross Ice Shelf to the top of the Zanefeld Glacier. The Zanefeld will be used to gain access to the plateau.
Distance - 132km.
Altitudes - 180m to 2500m
Surface - bare ice, crevassed, icefalls requiring detours
Gradient of Shackleton -100m per 6 km (1:60), Grade of Zanefeld - 100m per 3.2km (1:3.2)
Wind - prevailing S-SE
Temperatures - variable from minus 10°C to minus 30°C. Return temperatures will be slightly warmer.
Outward Bearing - generally 178°T
Return Bearing - generally 358°T
Section C.
This section crosses the Antarctic plateau from the top of the glacier to the South Pole and return.
Distance - 488km
Altitudes - 2500m to 2990m at the Pole.
Surface - variable firm to soft snow and sastrugi
Wind - prevailing S-SE though may come from any direction at variable strengths.
Temperatures - variable from minus 20°C to minus 40oC. Return temperatures may be slightly warmer.
Outward Bearing - 180°T
Return Bearing - 0°T
The outward journey will carry 64 days food.
The remainder (36 days) will be depoted on the ice for the return journey.
This allocation of food ensures an adequate food supply remains on the sled for the entire journey.
Shackleton Glacier
The glacier is 132km in length from the Ross Ice Shelf to the plateau. It has never before been traversed in its entirety. Wally Herbert mapped the plateau section in the 1960's and scientists have been deployed to various parts of the glacier to carry out research.
The following indicate the glacier to be of great potential as a route to the plateau; personal accounts from:
Wally Herbert. Mapped the upper reaches of the glacier
Dr. Graham Claridge - soil scientist. Has worked extensively in the central glacier
Lt. Col. Richard Saburro - USAP helicopter pilot. Has flown extensively over the glacier
Kim Stanley Robinson - science fiction author. Spent time on the Shackleton and highly recommends it as a route to the plateau.
Route
The route up the Shackleton Glacier begins at S84.27.00 W176.50.00 at an elevation of 200m. From this point (Depot #5) the route follows the western side of the glacier for 80km up a gradual incline past the Swithinbank Moraine to Matador Mountain. Hugging the moraine, the route continues 20km south to Vickers Nunatak at 1800m then sweeps S-SE 10km to the eastern flanks of Roberts Massif (1950m).
Up to this point the gradient is gentle, gaining 100m every 6km.
Passing close-by to Everett Nunatak the route takes the Zanefeld Glacier another 20km to the Antarctic plateau at an altitude of 2600m. The gradient up the Zanefeld is steeper with an altitude gain of 100m every 3.2km.
The route is generally crevasse-free. Obvious crevasse-fields and ice-falls are marked clearly on the map, though some land/map discrepancy will occur.
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This section crosses the Antarctic plateau from the top of the glacier to the South Pole and return.