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Dubai: Dubai-based Arctic adventurer Adrian Hayes is confident that he will reach the South Pole on target despite a broken boot strap causing him to trek across ice sheets without a ski and a four-day storm which caused his team to stop for 48 hours.
"Four days of storms, frenetic winds, buried sleds, whiteouts, near zero visibility, soft snow, hard going, broken boot, and no solar power to send any dispatches. It's been interesting to say the least," updated Hayes on his website on Thursday.
Speaking from a satellite phone a few days after passing the half way point of his adventure Hayes told Gulf News the trek was going well despite a high wind chill factor.
"The wind blasts you to pieces. It's about -19 degrees Celsius but with the wind it doubles and there is a high wind chill factor. The temperature is extreme," he told Gulf News.
Hayes, a motivational speaker, has been on a race to reach the three poles - Mount Everest, the North Pole and the South Pole - in 19 months.
The 1,130km expedition set off around 30 days ago from Hercules Inlet on the northern shores of Antarctica. A British national, Hayes aims to arrive at the South Pole's desolate Amundsen-Scott Base by the end of December or early January. He will also be the fastest person in history to complete the three Poles.
Hayes' boot dislodged itself from its ski when the nail binding them sheared off leaving him to walk in high snow. Several attempts to join them again with rope or webbing failed. Hayes have already received many suggestions via text message on how he might fix it.
On his website www.adrianhayes.com, daily dispatches are uploaded and on the day of the crisis, Hayes wrote: "The steel toe pin of my Meindle Expedition boots - that holds your boot to the ski bindings/skis - sheared off completely this morning. Makeshift temporary alternatives failed and I was left with no alternative but to walk the whole day. In soft snow it was extremely hard work."
On charity
"We have slowed down considerably but we reached the halfway point in 25 days and the second half should be even quicker," he said. "Waling without a ski can be hard depending on the ice."
Hayes is walking to achieve a personal challenge and to raise funds for the Children's Hope Foundation and Friends of Cancer Patients charities from sponsorship by Emirates, Emirates Bank, Financial Partners and Renaissance Services.
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