SNOWKITING DD SNOECK[1][2]

Dixie Dansercoer
Antarctic ICE Expedition
I keep an eye on the wind sock during breakfast.
One moment I am convinced that everything will be
fine, but the next moment I am less optimistic. When
we take down the tent, I look for anything that may be
dancing in the wind: the fur on our cap, the lines of the
tent, the sled canvas. I am not convinced. The wind
seems to be very irregular. I try to pull up my Nasawing,
but the sailcloth is like a limp balloon. I’m only pulling
the sail closer to me without any sensation of tension
on the lines. I have to give it another try … such a weird
start to our progression. Sometimes the wind blows us
ahead enthusiastically and I see the snow passing
under me, but other times the wind drops all of a
sudden and we come to a standstill. For five hours we
give it our best to accumulate fractions of a degree
latitude South. Strange how time fades away – it’s as
if we have just left. We are pleasantly surprised to see
that we have already covered fifty kilometers and after
our pause, our restart goes quite easily. We decide to
keep moving for another five hours, hoping to reach
our optimistic goal of 100 kilometers.
Luckily, the wind picks up unexpectedly. At first, we
are very glad, but suddenly it all goes extremely fast.
Gradually, I feel more afraid and tense as I manage my
sail, control my skis, and make sure that the sled does
not catch up with us. This is functioning on the edge!
But this could also be good news, because kilometers
are rolling by quickly. I try to relax and to let my fear
dissipate. I sincerely hope that there will be no more
high sastrugi. I lower my kite to a level where there is
less wind to be caught in the sail and I try everything
to slow down. I can see how Dixie is being towed over
the ice at a devilish speed. Should we stop? I think we
should, actually, but we are too stubborn and speed
implies more kilometers. Unfortunately after half an
hour, the sastrugi appear much bigger and at half
past five we decide to call it quits and land the kites.
The adrenaline makes my legs tremble underneath me.
We change to the 11 meter Frenzy’s and rush away
again. The ice is now totally covered with sastrugi,
everywhere around us, in all sizes, shapes, and figures.
I feel frustrated again as they really make our lives on
the ice miserable. Normally I can cope with this feeling
of frustration, but today that is not the case. Why can’t
we have a smooth ice surface for one single day? It all
goes so much faster when the ice is flat. Other expeditions
never experienced such problems, did they?
We want to cover the biggest distance ever, and we
are faced with these most miserable conditions ever.
Superlatives, is that what we are going for?
Then I realize that I must stop complaining. I work
to accept this situation, and little by little, I regain a
feeling of calm. Right in the middle of my zen moment,
my skis dive into a upright wall of snow and ice! How
ridiculous this all is!
It is quite cloudy today: everything looks gray and
dull, perfect conditions for misjudgement of the terrain.
The worst falls happen due to upright, sharp sastrugi
and in a split second, you come to a standstill with a
speed of 20 kilometers per hour. Not pleasant at all!
My knees hurt terribly. When Dixie is not nearby, I dare
to shout out my frustrations. Still, we keep going on.
The sun wipes away the clouds and the wind progressively
drops. At about 8:00 pm we decide to stop.
We are glad to see that we are 115 kilometers closer to
the South Pole. Slowly but surely, we are approaching
our first intermediate goal. I have this feeling that our
engines are gradually reaching their full performance
potential. Expedition partner Sam Deltour describes
his impressions:
When I awaken, our tent radiates with excitement.
Because we want to take advantage of every possible
moment of favorable wind, we go through our daily
activities a bit more quickly than usual. We know that a
good day result is not always proportional to the wind
force, for we have had very productive days with little
wind, but kiting is more satisfactory with a stronger
wind. We leave with the 11 meter Frenzy, but I admittedly
feel a bit overpowered. I make it clear to Sam that
I want to stop and change to the 9 meter Frenzy,
a size which allows me to maximize my efficiency due