The Coldest Journey - Antarctic winter crossing
Discussion
I wasn't sure where to post this thread but as this forum seems to be the place to go for interesting engineering plus the expedition features a rather large boat it may as well go here!
As you may know Ranulph Fiennes is attempting to be the first person to cross the antarctic in winter but I wanted to give a bit more exposure to the fascinating engineering that's gone into supporting it.
The foreign office would not give permission for them to attempt this without vehicular support (As search & rescue planes can't fly in winter!) and thus the "Ice train" as it has now been dubbed was born.
Essentially two Caterpillar D6N track-type tractors pulling shipping containers modified as living quarters and a laboratory.
I really urge everyone who has even a vague interest in exploration, engineering or just plain awesome stuff to follow the expedition on facebook here http://www.facebook.com/TheColdestJourney or through their website http://www.thecoldestjourney.org/ as the photos and blogs posted by the ice team and the ship's crew really are fascinating!
Some more amazing pictures for your perusal
Cat D6N being loaded onto the ship in London
SA Agulhas leaving London
Arriving in the Antarctic
Unloading the ship
More unloading!
The modifications for the ice were carried out by the British CAT dealer - we can still do engineering in this country!
The ship has now left and the expedition team are on their own. They will be updating on their progress on a regular basis. I believe the expedition proper starts in March when complete darkness descends and they have until October (I think) to complete the crossing to break the record! then comes a long wait until early January 2014 when the ship can actually get close enough to pick them up.
Personally I think this should have a bit of a feature on Pistonheads as we love all things mechanical!
As you may know Ranulph Fiennes is attempting to be the first person to cross the antarctic in winter but I wanted to give a bit more exposure to the fascinating engineering that's gone into supporting it.
The foreign office would not give permission for them to attempt this without vehicular support (As search & rescue planes can't fly in winter!) and thus the "Ice train" as it has now been dubbed was born.
Essentially two Caterpillar D6N track-type tractors pulling shipping containers modified as living quarters and a laboratory.
I really urge everyone who has even a vague interest in exploration, engineering or just plain awesome stuff to follow the expedition on facebook here http://www.facebook.com/TheColdestJourney or through their website http://www.thecoldestjourney.org/ as the photos and blogs posted by the ice team and the ship's crew really are fascinating!
Some more amazing pictures for your perusal
Cat D6N being loaded onto the ship in London
SA Agulhas leaving London
Arriving in the Antarctic
Unloading the ship
More unloading!
The modifications for the ice were carried out by the British CAT dealer - we can still do engineering in this country!
The ship has now left and the expedition team are on their own. They will be updating on their progress on a regular basis. I believe the expedition proper starts in March when complete darkness descends and they have until October (I think) to complete the crossing to break the record! then comes a long wait until early January 2014 when the ship can actually get close enough to pick them up.
Personally I think this should have a bit of a feature on Pistonheads as we love all things mechanical!
It'll be interesting to see how it copes with crevasses if it hits them at an angle which renders the front skid helpless. There's a limit to what a snow bridge can support. The '55-'58 Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic crossing led by Vivian Fuchs & Ed Hillary had enough problems with tracked Massey Ferguson TE20s crossing crevasses.
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