Kiwi joins race to the South Pole
16 Jul 2008
A New Zealand / British team is to compete in the first race to the South Pole since pioneers Amundsen and Scott reached the geographic landmark almost 100 years ago.
The three-person team is one of 10 that will race 800km across the Antarctic ice cap in December as part of the Amundsen Omega 3 South Pole Race. As well as the New Zealand / British team, there are seven teams from Britain and two from Norway.
The New Zealander involved is Ross Maxwell, a former New Zealand representative sky diver who’s also base-jumped off Norwegian mountains, scuba dived off the Ross Sea Iceshelf, and competed in ultra endurance ironman triathlons.
"New Zealanders have always had an association with the Southern Continent and growing up in a country that has Sir Edmund Hillary as a hero, is there a better event to take part in?" says Maxwell.
‘The Crazies’
The race to be the first to reach the South Pole dates back to December 14, 1911 when Norwegian Roald Amundsen’s party made it ahead of the British team led by Robert Falcon Scott who arrived on January 17, 1912.
Organisers of this year’s race say the teams will have to survive temperatures as low as minus 50C, navigate, ski, pull 70kg sleds and face climbs of up to 2850m in the battle to reach the pole first.
Race organisers say they’re calling the competitors "the crazies".
"It’s about mental endurance. They will be skiing for 18 hours on a good day. The worst that can happen is falling down a crevasse. It’s the most dangerous element," says organiser Tony Martin. Faster teams may complete the course in 30 days while the slower groups could take up to 45 days.
Otherworldly
Britain’s two-time Olympic rowing champion James Cracknell and television presenter Ben Fogle will be among those taking part. The pair completed the 4700km Atlantic Rowing Race in 2005.
Fogle recently spent nine days in New Zealand experiencing extreme adventures including blue water kayaking, rock climbing in the Southern Alps and exploring deep bush in search of kiwi. Fogel’s experience prompted his quote: "This country is just so otherworldy it’s difficult to describe how beautiful it is."
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