Richard suffers Antarctica setback
Richard Parks’ solo expedition to the South Pole hangs in the balance as his body starts to show the strain following some of the worst weather conditions Antarctica has seen in years.
After two weeks of pushing hard to keep within striking distance of the solo coast to pole world speed record in predominantly soft snow, Richard has suffered a series of setbacks.
He had notched up 481.3km/299 miles in 13 days, averaging 37km a day, but on day 14 of his expedition on New Year’s Eve, Richard was forced to stop after two hours of skiing and 7.5km/5miles travelled.
He stated: “I hit a period of heavy soft snow again and I didn’t quite have the energy to push through it like I did in the early parts of the expedition. This also meant that I wasn’t able to move quick enough to generate body heat. I also noticed I had a loss of sensation in my left foot so I pitched the tent, called it a day early and got warm to rest and try to understand what the problem was”.
He added on a phone call back home yesterday: “I am very run down, I have been pushing myself at the limit for quite a while now and when I spoke to the ALE (Antarctic Logistics & Expeditions) doctor, who is based at Union Glacier Base Camp, he felt that the foot was the first sign of a specific breakdown in my body above and beyond general ulcers, aches and pains, which I also have”.
Richard added: “I have a small area on the ball of my left toe where I have a loss of sensation in, it’s not frostbite but it is the beginning of a cold injury.”
Doctors warned Richard that he is on the edge of a cliff - at the moment he is on the right side, but if things were to get worse, his condition could escalate quickly. A loss of sensation can turn in to a serious cold injury. So yesterday, day 15, he took the whole day off, rested and slept to see if his health improved overnight.
Pics: @HamishFrost
Today, on day 16 of his expedition, Richard decided to start skiing again and monitor his progress, but 3.4km in noticed significant problems: “I gave things a go today”, he stated. “It was important to see how the foot felt after the rest, but it was really important that if I was beginning to feel any deterioration in the foot or the other things going on that I would stop immediately and that’s what I did”.
He added: “The conditions were changing every hour. That wouldn’t normally be a problem if I wasn’t so empty. I am absolutely shattered from that first push in the expedition. I have had to work harder on this expedition than I have ever had to work before just to keep within touching distance of the world record in horrific conditions. I really don’t have a lot left in the tank and that is making life really challenging. My body is breaking down significantly as a result of that exertion, it’s just not recovering quick enough”.
The decision to pitch his tent early, rest up again and monitor his progress over the next 24 hours, whilst getting further medical advice leaves him in an uncertain place.
What is not uncertain is his desire to try and keep going. Richard’s goal to ski to the South Pole may still be possible and he has some crucial decisions to make on whether he is physically able to continue, albeit at a slower pace. If he does continue, Richard will need a re-supply of food as he took 25 days worth of rations as part of his strategy to move fast and light.
His chances of reaching the pole within world record time or even within his own British record, which he set in 2014, have now gone. He is heartbroken. But everyone’s first priority, rightly, is Richard’s health and safety.
Life is all about ups and downs; setbacks and comebacks and Richard’s story is continuing to inspire people as he battles yet again with adversity.
“There’s a lot of work that has gone in to this project and there is a lot of people that have worked very hard to give us the opportunity to undertake this expedition. There is still a lot of work to do when I get home to complete the Team Quest project and mission, so I am not going to come to any rash decisions”, stated Richard. “I am going to sleep on it again. I’ll do my best to recover further and speak with the ALE doctors again tonight, get an idea of the forecast for the next few days, get as much information as possible before I make my decision. Ultimately, I am out here and I have to make that decision myself, but equally it’s a much bigger picture than just me, so I have to factor that in to my decision”.
So after 156 hours of skiing, a total of 492.2km/306 miles skied and around 43% complete, Richard’s Antarctica expedition remains on hold.
You can listen to Richard’s full update on his latest podcast episode of Richard Parks: Antarctica. Available for free on iTunes, Spotify and all Podcast platforms. Click here to listen to Rich’s update from Antarctica.
