18 December 2013
Lewis Clarke who was training at BS7 Gym in preparation for his ski across the South Pole is currently on Day 16 of his astonishing adventure. Lewis will become the youngest person to ever complete the feat at 16 years old.
Taken from Lewis' website blog
"Day 13.
Distance travelled today: 9.3 miles
Distance still to go: 551.3 miles
Cumulative distance travelled: 171 miles
Hours skiing: 5 hours
Temp: -15 deg C
Until now Carl (Carl is completing the feat with Lewis) and Lewis have had mostly sunny days where they can see the slope and terrain beneath their skis due to the contrast provided by the sun. Today they had their first whiteout and clearly didn’t like it much. Sometimes whiteouts mean snow storms but in Antarctica simply a lack of sun can lead to a whiteout because the snowy landscape and white sky merge into one and you can’t see the horizon. As well as being disorienting seeing nothing but whiteness for hour upon hour, the risk with whiteouts is that Carl and Lewis will lose one another. It is not clear what type of whiteout it was today or why they decided to stop but clearly conditions were really poor because they had wanted to press on. They will be disappointed but at the same time glad to have few more hours in the tent to sleep, melt ice, eat, mend kit and tend to feet and face."
http://youngesttosouthpole.wordpress.com/
Lewis who lives in the Bishopston area and is raising money for The Prince’s Trust charity. Lewis previously become one of the youngest individuals to swim the English Channel, but is now facing the arctic conditions of the South Pole instead of the waves of the English Channel.