Antarctica is a very different place to work. The climate is challenging at times with temperatures reaching the minus ten degrees regularly. In most cases it’s tolerable but the slightest breeze creates the need to dress for what you are going to do. We have recently had minus twenty degree days, some days reaching as low as minus twenty-five with winds of ten to fifteen knots which limits what you can do outside. As the wind increases, so does the air chill.
This week the temperatures have been warmer at around minus three with snowing but there is a tendency for the wind speeds to increase with higher temperatures, often being above forty knots that blows the loose fresh snow or it is also snowing at the same time. This changes things greatly and can reduce visibility to a few metres. This drives the snow into everything and creates some new challenges and the need for real planning.
These difficult conditions bring a lot of challenges but working closely with my fellow expeditioners, we can over come most of these.
Mark B