A team of British and Canadian adventurers has described the "surreal" experience of arriving at the most remote point in Antarctica — only to find a bust of Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin.
The team was the first to reach the Pole of Inaccessibility (POI), the point on the Antarctic continent that is farthest from all surrounding seas, on foot.
But an expedition from the former Soviet Union, using huge mechanized snow vehicles, reached the pole in 1958 and set up a small camp there.
"When we were within six kilometers of the position signalled on the GPS we noticed a black dot on the horizon," Team N2i said on their Web site.
"As we got closer an outline of (a) bust started to appear — we could not believe it as we were expecting at the very best a mound of snow from when Lenin was left there 48 years ago.
"He is standing on a chimney of the old Soviet hut about two meters above the snow line — he is a shoulder bust of Lenin larger than life size.
"It is made of some plastic composite — he is totally frost free as if he was put there yesterday.
"It (is) so so very surreal. We are all so exhausted that we have only just put up the tent with Lenin's stern gaze over us!"
Britons Rory Sweet, Rupert Longsdon, Henry Cookson — who together won the 2005 Scott Dunn Polar Challenge — and Canadian Paul Landry reached the POI on Jan. 5 after a seven-week trek across the ice.
They had walked or used kite skis to cover more than 1,600km dragging 120kg sleds. Details of the journey can be found on http://www.teamn2i.com/. (AFP)
一群英加探險隊形容抵達南極洲最遠端的經驗為「不真實」,因為抵達時只見俄國革命家列寧的半身像。
他們是第一批步行至「難抵點」(POI
)的探險隊,「難抵點」 是南極洲距四周諸海均最遠的一點。
不過一九五八年就有前蘇聯探險隊以機械雪車抵達難抵點,並且就地紮駐小型營區。
N2i探險隊在自己的網站上表示︰「我們在衛星定位系統標示位置的六公里外,就在地平線上看到了一個黑點。」
他們還表示︰「我們一走近,就可以看到半身像的輪廓,我們不敢相信,以為頂多只會在四十八年前列寧被放置的處看到一堆雪。」
「它佇立於蘇聯老舊臨時軍營的煙囪上,高於雪線兩公尺高處,是個真人放大半身像。」
「它是塑膠合成的材質,但是它上頭
一點雪都沒有,彷彿昨天才放上去的。」
「感覺非常不真實!我們都很累,只好在列寧嚴峻的注視下紮營。」
曾經一起拿過二○○五史卡特杜恩橫越北極挑戰賽的英國籍羅利.斯威特、魯伯特.隆斯頓、亨利.庫克森,並加入加拿大籍的保羅.蘭德瑞,在雪地長途跋涉七週後,於一月五日抵達難抵點。
他們靠著步行或使用風箏滑雪板,拖著一百二十公斤重的雪橇,跋涉了超過一千六百公里。有關這趟旅程的細節可以上http://www.teamn2i.com/閱讀。
(法新社╱翻譯︰鄭湘儀)
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