So what’s our news:

1)        Well we got married at the top of a mountain, which was quite exciting! Due to the fact that Tarka proposed at the end of our last expedition, whilst we were sheltering from the hefty Patagonian winds down a crevasse, we felt in true ‘Tarka and Katie’ fashion we should have an expedition style wedding.

So on the 6^th of March we got married at 6000ft in the Parc national de la Vanoise in the French Alps at a mountain refuge. Due to the refuge being in a national park, all forms of motorised transport are prohibited, which meant all 60 guests had to hike the 9km up the mountain in snowshoes, aided with plenty of chocolate and a picnic lunch. The guests wedding attire was pulled up in large polar sleds by Tarka as well as various guests who volunteered (briefly), big thank you to all of you. Tarka had already made 5 previous journeys in the days before pulling up to 100kg of wedding ’stuff ‘ up at a time. The evening ceremony was held outside the refuge’s tiny chapel under a clear starry ski at a nippy -18°C. This was followed by a big dinner in the refuge as we partied through until morning with the help of a great band (who also had to walk up the mountain…equipment being towed in pulk)! On the Sunday after a hearty breakfast we all headed back down the mountain! As much as I’m a little biased it was truly a magical weekend, and for the guests, well it was different!

2)       We are project managing, along with race directors Charlie Paton and Alan Chambers, the first race across Greenland, the Greenland Icecap Challenge 2011. This project is exciting on two accounts: Firstly because it’s a 500km race where competitors will complete a full traverse of the icecap, a feat that is highly acclaimed among the world of polar explorers. Racing for 18 – 27 days in temperatures of  minus 35°C, pulling pulks up to 75kg…what’s not exciting about that! Secondly, im racing in the solo unsupported category…my first solo expedition, whoopee!

3)        The sad news is we have had to postpone Rivers of Ice Take 2 until next autumn. We are still as determined as ever to complete our Patagonian mission, but it will just have to wait until 2011. This is a personal choice, as an opportunity in the form of a new business venture arose and we felt we had to grab it (more to come on the new venture soon, as very exciting).  Great article about last year’s Rivers of Ice came out in the Geographical magazine last month PDF version here.

We are off to Mt Blanc later this month so will update you on our return.

Katie

We have finally launched our new expedition.

‘Rivers of Ice’ will depart on the 16^th of August in an attempt to traverse the complete length of the Southern Patagonian Ice Cap with out the aid of sail kites or pre-placed food caches.

The fully unsupported journey will see us kayak, ski and climb 554km across the world’s third largest ice cap in as little as 37 days. Traditionally expeditions across the ice cap have been undertaken with the aid of pulks (sledges) ensuring the ability to carry sufficient supplies for long crossings. However, this makes for an arduous and laborious task having to shuttle loads across the heavily crevassed sections. In contrast we have taken an ultra light and fast approach, undertaking the journey with only backpacks and 1kg micro sleds that attach to the packs. Having reduced the equipment from over 120kg (traditional amount taken on previous attempts of this journey) to 45kg each, we are mobile enough to move fast over the difficult terrain. However, with only 37 days of food rations, we cannot afford any mistakes or delays!

The new ‘Rivers of Ice’ expedition website is finally up and running. I would describe it as innovative and interactive, jam-packed with technical information about the journey and the ultra-light equipment being used to make it happen. Once the expedition gets underway we will send daily updates back to the site as podcasts, allowing for the facts and emotions – be they despair or elation – of the day’s events, to be shared. Between now and departure we will regularly be updating the new website with short videos of our physical preparation, as well as the kit, food and logistical preparations, giving an insight into the pre-expedition work load.

So until mid October it is good buy from the Primal Journey news page but we hope to see you over at www.rivers-of-ice.com

and 1kg micro sleds that attach to the packs.

I had originally hoped to spend 5 days on the Glacier D’Argentiere but found that it was closed and so we opted to climb from Chamonix back up to the Aiguille du Midi via the Mer de Glace. At 20km it’s not exactly ground breaking distances but it was an incredibly useful excises. The main purpose of the trip was to test out every last piece of equipment that we will be using on the expedition to make sure it could hold up to the job. There are a few little pieces that need tweaking and there will be a full breakdown on the website when it goes live, but on the whole I was very impressed with everything and I am now extremely confident that we have the best kit we could possibly hope for. Sadly this means that it pretty much comes down to use now and whether we can hold up to the challenge!

That said we have learnt some valuable lessons this week such as how to abseil and manoeuvred in and out of crevasses with 32kg packs. I expect some of you have tried this before and have found that it’s quite easy to end up upside-down on the rope with such a heavy pack and that really makes life difficult. As a general rule crossing large fields of crevasses isn’t exactly a humorous affair but Katie did manage to make me laugh when after having crossed a precarious snow bridge she triumphantly (and slightly cockily) returned to its edge to take a photo of her exploit when the wafer thin 3 meters bridge of snow promptly collapsed into the depths of the crevasse and she came running past me exclaiming that it was time to leave.

The total ascent was a little over 2 vertical kilometres and as we neared the 4000m mark Katie started to feel the effects of the altitude and progress became incredibly laborious. We are taking 2 days off to recover before heading back out to finish off all the training we didn’t get round to last time and I’ll post again on the long drive back to England on Thursday.

“Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty, well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming WOW, WHAT A RIDE!!!”

I’m obviously hoping that the grave is still many many years away, but if I can arrive in this style I will feel accomplished.

This week our small home (The Chicken Shed) has been turned upside down, and every bit of floor space has been covered in kit ready for Africa. We have been busily working out what we have, what we need, and what we can make … we like homemade gear … it makes Tarka’s time at university studying engineering seem slightly worth while, and strangely he is a whiz with a sewing machine!

The kit list for the two of us (have a look below), is considerably shorter than that of anybody else’s we can find (e.g. World Biking). There are three main reasons why we have opted for one set of clothes and little else other than our camera gear. Firstly, as we are not taking our own bikes, we are unable to predict what we will need for repairs and maintenance. There is no point taking out spare inner tubes if you don’t know what size wheel your bike has! Secondly, in light of the fact that we will have no gears, we are going to be struggling up hill as it is, so light is good! And thirdly… because we like it that way, it adds to the adventure.

I’m taking ‘two’ luxury items with me, (supposed to be limited to one as is decreed by the Primal Journey ‘golden handbook’!!!) although one of them I would consider a necessity. It’s only Tark’s that harps on about it being a luxury, and that is my face cream. I’m taking with me a never ending supply of natural skincare, handmade by my good friend at Pink Leaf, no chemicals just pure goodness. My second luxury item is a miniature pack of playing cards, I have taken them to every country I have ever visited, and they have been a godsend on many occasions. Whether whiling down the hours waiting for a flight or sitting on a desert road in a remote part of Namibia hoping for a car to pass and give us a lift! As for Tarka I’m not sure he has a luxury item yet, I think he’s to excited about getting away from this endless rain!!

Bikes
• See what we can find when we get there!

Bike Accessories and Repair Kit
• 2 x Rear Carriers
• 2 x 10L handle bar bags
• 2 x Homemade triangle bags for bike frame
• Multi-purpose bicycle tool, with spoke key, chain breaker and levers
• Pump
• Inner tube repair kit – glue and patches
• 4 x cycle water bottles
• 4 x water bottle cages
• 1 x cycle computer to measure distance

Kit
• 1 x Mountain Equipment Tunnel tent
• 2 x Mountain Equipment Xero sleeping bags
• 2 x Mountain Equipment sleeping mats
• 2 x head torches
• First aid kit
• Assorted toiletries
• Mountain Equipment Dry bags
• Repair kit containing, Leatherman, cable ties, duck tape, super glue etc
• 2 x Diaries and pen

Clothing
• 2 x trainers
• 4 x Mountain Equipment t-shirts (2 each)
• 2 x waterproof/windproof cycling jackets
• 2 x cycling shorts
• 2 x Mountain Equipment trousers
• 4 x socks and pants (2 sets each)
• 2 x cycling helmets
• 2 x sunglasses
• 2 x cycling gloves
• 2 x swimmers

Electronics and Camera equipment
• Sony A1 HDV video camera
• Sennheiser radio mic
• 2 x Canon 350D SLR’s (lenses: EF 70 – 200mm F/4.0L USM & EFS17-85mm F/4.0-5.6 USM)
• IPAQ PDA
• GPS
• E-Sun 12W solar panel
• Mobile phone
• Gorilla pod
• Spare AA batteries