Day 14 - We did it. We completed the climb of the glacier! 

110 years ago today, Roald Amundsen became the first person ever to reach the South Pole. He pioneered a new route from the Bay of Whales up the Axel Heiberg glacier to the Pole.

And today, 110 years later, following in his legendary footsteps, we have successfully climbed the Axel Heiberg glacier. It is a special feeling to have done it on this very momentous day in polar history...

The last 250 meter climb of the glacier was especially challenging for me. I actually missed the soft snow :) With harder snow I couldn't get as much traction with my skis. I'm not the most proficient with them, so I was nowhere near as efficient as the rest of the team. My skis often slipped out from under me, so I struggled a bit on this climb. But eventually, one step at a time, we all made it to the top.

As soon we got up to the polar plateau, the wind hammered us and the temperatures dropped significantly. It is much colder in my tent now than it was on the glacier.

In a way, the rest of the trip will be a completely different journey. I'm readjusting some of my systems now to take into account the much colder temperatures.

We'll take it all as it comes, but for now, we celebrate...

My teammate crunched the numbers yesterday based on the intel we received about this route. It turns out we are all now one of only 26 people to have skiied up the glacier and one of only 53 to have set foot on it, which is so wild. (The rest of the people either took dogs or went down the glacier)

It was an honor and a privilege to have set foot on this relatively untouched part of the planet. I am proud to be a part of this team and am forever grateful for this truly epic experience. 

Now begins part 2 of our adventure to the South Pole...