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Stage 3 Report

26.11.2007

TIA – stands for This Is Antarctica – something every person should understand who travels to Antarctica. Things change daily, sometimes hourly. The weather, ship schedules, sea conditions, glaciers, etc. all can alter or modify plans for the day. Today we had planned to stop at Petermann Island, but the weather quickly put an end to that. We ended up staging the third stage in an area called Neko Harbor, a place we had originally planned for two days ago, but which we had to modify due to the distress call received from the Explorer ship.

Competitors began Stage 3, again on the Antarctic continent, but this time literally in the shadow of a massive glacier. One could hear crashing sounds of the glacier breaking up throughout the stage. What began as moderate temperatures and no snowfall changed by the end to heavy snowfall. The area was full of wildlife with three seals on shore in the middle of several penguin rookeries. Competitors also saw the “penguin highway,� where penguins literally slide into the sea from the top of the mountain.

Competitors started the stage all looking strong. Moo Woong Lee, Dong Uk Lee and Ji Sung Yoo continue to tackle each day. Byeung Sik Ahn tends to run alone and can be found with a camera in hand on most stages. Today’s stage was much the same as the last two with American Joe Holland and Italian Francesco Galanzino running neck and neck. In the end, they finished in a tie, which means that Joe Holland retains a modest lead over Francesco Galanzino.

Tomorrow’s stage will take place in an area known as Culverville. The real test will come on Deception Island when a very long stage is planned. Deception will likely determine the champion. Julio, the ship’s expedition leader, remarked that the weather can be atrocious on Deception, that the island is indeed deceiving. We shall see.

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