 Poster: A snowHead
|
A British couple have skied to the South Pole and back to their starting point - a total of 1380 miles - in a record 70 days, using kite power for the return journey. Ex-army captain Conrad Dickinson was reported to be looking forward to a pint of Ruddles and a curry - his wife Hilary preferring a glass of Chardonnay - after the couple completed their marathon trek...
The total journey was some 50 miles longer than any completed previously by British explorers in Antarctica. By using kites, they completed the second leg in just 17 days.
This account of the epic journey in today's Scotsman. Conrad Dickinson said:
| Quote: |
| “There is no doubt that our kite-ski training really paid off, especially during heart-stopping moments such as crossing the bridges of crevasses without rope support or skiing over blue ice with express-train-like winds" |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
I wonder if we could get these amazing people to join snowHeads and do a question/answer session?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
|
More detail on how they achieved it in this press release.
Being hauled by kites across such a rough snowscape must be really hazardous. It must require huge concentration - I wonder how quickly you can stop if there's a really nasty obstacle ahead?
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
David Goldsmith, it struck me as a bit strange when in the Scotsman article Dickinson was reported as saying he occasionally dozed off when kite skiing, only waking up when the kite fell to the ground!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
Yes, I was astonished by that. I guess it's reflective of total exhaustion, but if the kite is - in effect - controlled by a 'dead man's handle'-type device (like a train driver's electric power control) that would make the kite safer in that situation.
Hopefully we can find out more about these kites soon. The first time I saw their use (in that instance a parachute being used uphill) was in the mid-1970s in Scotland, where I know there have been bad accidents using wind power.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
|
David, both my sons are keen kite skiers and boarders, on water as well as snow. I'm sure there were some photos of kite sking/boarding on the Col de Petit San Bernard on my elder son's website, www.morealps.com if we can get you out to La Rosiere maybe they can initiate you into the sport?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
David, you and I should be skiing to the South Pole together. You can pull the sled and I'll mess around with kites.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
David, unfortunately I fear we are both a tad too old for such malarkey. Would you settle for Hampsted Heath, we could make an expedition to the Spaniards or jack Straw's Castle.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
