Polar Explorer Eric Larsen
Day 5. Nowhere Man
Eric Larsen
29 November 2018 | Antarctica
I was dropped at Hercules Inlet 7 nights ago and that was the last full day of decent weather that I've experienced out here.

Normally, I don't complain about the weather - especially in Antarctica. You get what you get. But now, so much of my speed is directly connected to the weather and Antarctica isn't giving me any breaks. Five and a half of the last six days have been whiteouts.

Today was the worst, that flat light where you can't see anything - not even any variation in the surface of the snow. All day long, I stared down at my compass bracket as I skied. (Imagine walking for 11 hours with your head down and not running into a single thing.) My neck is killing me.

To make matters worse, the weather changed into some kind of ice fog / mist that coated my entire being - pants, jacket, gloves, goggles... everything... with ice. I've never experienced anything like it here.

For all I knew, I didn't move at all... just slid my skis back and forth.

Every so often, I looked down at my Citizen Watch. Sometimes time went fast. Other times, it went slow. I can feel my energy ebb and flow throughout the day. Still, I kept a consistent pace of a little less than 2 miles per hour.

And that was my day. I literally didn't see anything all day. Fun times!
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