Wettlauf züm sudpol
A 6000km drive from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole and back in modified 4WD vehicles. Felicity joined Arctic Trucks as part of a three-person, two-vehicle mobile team that travelled through the coastal mountains of East Antarctica to the South Pole on the Antarctic Plateau. Joined on the return journey by two more vehicles, the journey was in support of a German/Austrian TV production.
"Driving in Antarctica is a mind-bending experience. The first challenge is the mountains which line the coast of East Antarctica like a protective fence. The route through these peaks to the plateau beyond is an intricate pathway weaving around nunataks, across crevasse fields and unnervingly high up the sides of the narrow glaciers.
Once through the mountains the new challenge is the featureless monotony of the East Antarctic ice sheet. Altitudes over 4000m, extremely low air temperatures and high winds create a demanding environment for both vehicles and people. We drive exactly in each others tracks to create firmer ground that is easier for the vehicles but staring at those straight lines hour after hour is almost maddening."
Arctic Trucks is an Icelandic company that has been designing, building and modifying 4WD vehicles for glacier travel since the 1980s. In 2010, Felicity joined a team of Arctic Trucks vehicles following a new route through the coastal mountains of East Antarctica, across some of the highest parts of the Antarctic Plateau, to the South Pole. The route was established by Arctic Trucks in 2008 and has now become a mainstay of Antarctic transportation.
The purpose of the journey was to provide logistical support, including ground transport, for an Austrian/German TV production that spent a month filming in and around the South Pole.
The expedition's route across East Antarctica, 2010
A short clip of the convoy travelling through the coastal mountains of East Antarctica on its way back from the South Pole.
A diagram highlighting some of the modifications featured in these awesome trucks specially adapted for travel in Antarctica.