POLE TO POLE 2000 - December Antarctic Expedition

Pole to Pole 2000
Box 2128
100 Mile House BC
V0K 2E0
Canada
Phone 604-985-2118
Fax 604-296-1827
eventspole2000@bcinternet.net

South Pole - December 1999
Prelude to Pole to Pole 2000

January 5, 2000: The weather has cleared and they're on their way back. Read (below) Martyn's account of his experience at the Pole

Canadian expedition leader Martyn Williams, the first person in the world to lead expeditions to the three extremes, the North Pole, South Pole and Everest, is again on his way to cross Antarctica to the South Pole. This time he is carrying with him the promises of thousands of people all over the world - promises to take action to make the world a better place. These Promises of Action have been collected from people personally and via the Internet. Martyn has been working with Oxfam, World Wildlife Fund, United Nations Environmental Programme and the Nobel Peace Prize Winners Appeal for Peace in collecting these.

At midnight on December 31 1999, as the first light of the new Millennium is visible at the South Pole, he will be there to witness it, with these promises; an offering of human spirit to the new dawn.

This journey to the Pole involves three weeks of hauling a 120 lb. sled across the Antarctic polar Ski View plateau in temperatures as low as -30 C. Martyn says, "This journey is an opportunity for me to remind others of the great potential we have as humans, and the power we have to create a kinder, healthier planet now!"

THE POLE (by Martyn Williams)

The South Pole was wonderful. We reached there two hours before the millennium began, and set ourselves up to enter the millennium on the international date line. I took time to meditate and also join in with the group who were leaping around the Pole, celebrating, laughing, running around with kilts, loin cloths and otherworldly attire. Patriot Hills camp is full with 30 explorers from different expeditions who have finished their climbs or ski journeys and are waiting to fly. There is a carnival atmosphere as most have been successful. I am glad to be in a warm building again, with great food cooked for me!! There are thick clouds reaching almost to the ground, so we have to wait for them to clear before we can be picked up by Hercules aircraft to be taken back to South America and southern Chile. The aircraft that is coming to get us is bringing in some meteorite hunters, including american astronaut Jim Lovell, who was on one of the moon journeys. They are planning to spend a few weeks looking for meteorites around here. The mountains in this area are some of the very few that rise above the Antarctic ice cap. As the almost constant winds scour any new snow away, and even blow the snow off the glaciers, this area of bare ground could have on its surface meteriotes that have been lying there for thousands of years. Any new meteorites found could add hugely to our knowledge of the composition of the universe, thus the importance of searching in these remote areas. This search has taken on even greater importance with the discovery of possible life forms in meteorites that are thought to come from Mars. I have been out looking for meteorites on the rocky shoulder of Patriot Hills. What I found was a great variety of rock types, from ancient marble and multicoloured sandstone to conglomerate, a rock formed on a beach millennia ago. I also found ice shaped into unusual forms by the wind, and pebbles that were melted into the ice up to two feet on the rare hot day. Being on the rocky edge of the hills is just like being at the shore, the waves of ice lap along the rocky shore.

Martyn

Click here to see earlier reports from Martyn.

Thanks to local (100 Mile House) ham radio operator, David Balcaen (VE7GYA), we have managed to connect with Martyn on short-wave. Click to hear part of a conversation between David and Martyn. (File takes a while to download - +-3mins @ 33K).

THE MEDIA: The British Broadcasting Corporation, American Broadcasting Corporation, and the US Public Broadcasting Service, were at the South Pole to film Martyn's arrival there and he did a phone interview for the Canadian CTV.

This is the beginning of the even larger journey, Pole To Pole 2000, an unprecedented traverse of the globe from North Pole to South Pole, through the Americas, to raise awareness for the environmental and humanitarian issues facing the planet, and to ask everyone we meet to join us in taking action.

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