Epic TV Adventurer Of The Year 2012 - Vote for Sebastian Copeland and Eric McNair-Landry
First human- and wind-powered, east/west traverse of Antarctica
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This year in Antarctica, Sebastian Copeland and Eric McNair-Landry completed the first east-west transcontinental crossing of the ice sheet. They covered the 4,100 kilometers in 82 days, using only human generated and wind energy.
Except for the first 200 kilometres – where ascending the heavily-crevassed glacier required the team to pull their 400+ pounds of gear without the help of their kites – the trip was done primarily by kite skiing.
The trip consisted of leaving from the Novolazarevskaya station on the coast of East Antarctica, traveling to the Pole of Inaccessibility (the farthest point from any coast and most difficult of access in Antarctica), to the South Pole (opening a new route never travelled by kite) and ending at Hercules Inlet on the western coast; all this while pulling all of their food and supplies, without outside assistance and without re-supply.
The trip netted three new polar records:
1. first to reach the Pole of Inaccessibility from the east coast without outside assistance.
2. first to reach the geographic South Pole from the Pole of Inaccessibility and thereby opening a 880-kilometer new route.
3. first time that east coast was linked to west coast, and all was done with only human generated and wind energy..
Sebastian also broke two ribs (on day 8!) and had major frostbites on two toes – developing on day 23 of 82 – and almost lost one (in the end he lost three centimetres from the tip of his right one toe!)
Sebastian Copeland’s Antarctica Legacy Crossing trailer
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