January 4
|
Sir Edmund Hillary has reached the South Pole - the first overland explorer to do so since Captain Robert F Scott's expedition in 1912. The New Zealander and his team arrived safely after travelling 70 miles (113km) through mist and poor weather conditions. They described seeing the round tower of the South Pole for the first time as a "black blob" on the horizon. Sir Edmund and his colleagues had only one drum of petrol left when they sighted the Polar base. This would have been enough for the "tractor train" to travel 20 miles (32km). Earlier, the explorer had said fuel consumption was the party's main worry and that the team were "cutting it fine" because of very soft snow. Members of the team had to use shovels to clear a path for their tractors. It took the tractor train, which included three tractors, a caboose and two sledges, more than 80 days to complete the 1,200-mile journey (1,930km) journey. Sir Edmund was reportedly enthusiastic ahead of his arrival at the South Pole, and had told colleagues of heavy going in snow with a consistency of sugar, although he said good progress had been made. In the final leg of the journey, the sky was overcast and there was no sun to warm the polar plateau. The party had to travel in "white-out" conditions for most of the time, with Sir Edmund telling Scott Base by radio: "It is tough, but not too tough." The explorer later thanked his team, which included Ron Balham, Peter Mulgrew, Murray Ellis, Jim Bates and Derek Wright, and everyone involved in the expedition to the South Pole. A broadcast message congratulating the triumphant group has been sent by New Zealand Prime Minister Walter Nash. All the explorers have spent 16 hours sleeping following their gruelling journey. Crossing the polar plateau has led to several problems for Sir Edmund and the others in his party, including engine failure and poor weather conditions such as low cloud and strong winds, plus the hidden danger ofcrevasses. Meanwhile, Sir Vivian Fuchs - director of the British Antarctic Survey - has reported a significant advance to about 200 miles (322km) from the Pole, and hopes to advance by around 50 miles (80km) per day. The two parties, approaching from opposite directions, had originally intended to link up on the Scott Base side of the South Pole. Both teams of explorers were able to report progress by radio to the outside world and also made radio contact with each other to discuss future plans. They were also helped by the Beaver aircraft of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Sir Edmund Hillary's team is one of two Commonwealth Antarctic Expeditions.There are also 10 other national expeditions currently exploring the vast Antartic continent. Since October 1956, the Americans have had a station at the geographical pole, with 20 men there at any one time. Russia has five bases - including the biggest in the Antarctic, which is at Mirny. Forty-six-year-old Mr Campbell was killed instantly as the boat hit the water and immediately disintegrated. He was just 200 yards (183m) from the end of the second leg of his attempt when the accident happened. On the first leg he had reached speeds of 297mph (478km/h), which meant he had to top 308mph (496km/h) on the return journey. Initial reports suggest he had actually reached speeds of up to 320mph (515km/h). This means the water speed record of 276.33mph (444.61km/h), which Campbell himself set in Australia in 1964, remains unbroken as both legs of the attempt were not completed. Had he broken this barrier it would have been his eighth world water speed record. Divers have attempted to recover Mr Campbell's body which is submerged in more than 120ft (37m) of water, but as yet have been unable to locate him. Norman Buckley, chief observer for the attempt and holder of five water speed records, said: "Donald wanted to put the record so high that it would be unassailable by any foreign competitor. "I think conditions were as perfect as I have seen them on Coniston, but Donald was going into the unknown and he was well aware of the risks." Mr Campbell's wife, Tonia Bern, flew to Coniston from London late this evening. |
