Hiking on the Glaciar Martial

Hi All,

Today was the first physical part of the expedition where we hiked to the Glaciar Martial, the Martial Glacier, from 7.45am to 13.30pm. The first goal of this exercise was to put into practice what we had learnt on safety and on the few knots that were presented to us yesterday. The second goal was for each team to develop team spirit and learn to work with one another, since the formed teams for the Glacier hike will be those for any hike we do on Antarctica.

The glacier is located behind the hotel where we are staying at. Each team was to depart at a specific time in the morning. My team, called "Scott", left at 7.45am on the dot. The team leader had our rope, our karabiner, our tassels (on which we fixate to karabiner, and that is itself attached to the rope), and our map. We were driven up to the beginning of the glacier in a pick-up truck. A lost dog accompanied us on our way (as it did for every team going to the same place). It was barking all way long; an effective way to get wide awake!

Since I have lung limitations, the ascension was quite tough for me. It was difficult for me at first to find the right pace, and I was quite fortunate to be part of a team that did not push me to walk faster. Everyone was checking on me, encouraging me, and helping me out. I am very grateful.

We were to follow the given map and pass by specific break points. We trod on stones, walked on bridges, made a few steps in small streams of water. The view was magnificent, especially as it was not raining, and there was no wind. The weather was cloudy but not too dark. Everyone had to put sunscreen on before departure so to not get sunburned. (I got sunburnt in Ushuaia yesterday because I didn't put sunscreen on my face for our small tour in town...)

At the second break point where the paramedic was located, my blood pressure was taken because I was getting into a small weekness due to hypoglycemia this time. So, I had one of the snack bars given to us by 2041 prior to our morning departure. A few minutes later, I was back on track. The most important thing when hiking is to constantly drink water or you get cramps, get cranky, get tired, ...

My team and I were singing along to keep motivation high. As there were 3 different nations in my team, we didn't know many common songs, though "Happy Birthday" seemed to be known to us all for some reason! The hike was not a race to the top, which meant we could take several breaks.

The finish line was just below the tip of the glacier, 2 km from the beginning of it. We met other teams that were heading back down.

In the pictures, you will see the glacier with very little snow. Just 3 years ago, it was much larger. Due to climate change and global warming, it is dangerously receding.

As we head back down the glacier, one of my team mates got cramps in both legs. He couldn't move before several minutes. The paramedic told us is was because he didn't drink enough water. Further down, another of my team mates was giving me some explanations on how we could see the glacier receding and how larger it was (stone colour, tree settings). He also explained to me that moss protects the roots of the trees from the ice and snow, and gets its nutrients from the same roots. This is called symbiosis, for those who remember their biology classes.

Our way back to the hotel included a tour into the forest, where we were to follow yellow paint painted on stones, or as rings around trees. The view was breath-taking as well.

When we arrived back at the hotel, finger food was waiting for us in the conference room (sandwiches, crisps, apples, Argentinian dessert). After lunch, we had a debriefing on the hike where each team was to identify its keys strengths and its key challenges. All this to prepare ourselves for Antarctica. We then got a short presentation on sustainability.

After that, we had a couple of hours to relax and prepare for the evening group dinner on the Beagle Island.

Now, I am going to sleep as tomorrow, we embark on board the ship on our way to Antarctica. I still have to finish packing my duffle bad and recharging my camera battery.

As mentioned previously, this is maybe my last update of the blog before I return to Paris on the 13th of March 2012, so please go to the link I provide on the home page of this blog.

Bye for now.

PS: right, I can't upload the pictures, the internet connection is extremely slow... It took me 20 min just to save a picture, so its too slow, and it's twenty to one in the morning... Sorry.