Today Russell, Jake (the newest addition to our team who has arrived to assist with the packing of our equipment and securing the E-Base for the winter), and I went to the morning services at the nearby Russian Orthodox Church that overlooks Bellingshausen Station. Built after the breakup of the USSR, this rustic building was constructed of Sitka pine logs in Siberia, which were then taken apart, shipped thousands of miles down to Bellingshausen, and reassembled, on a rocky spine above both the Chilean and Russian research stations. Scrambling across the mud, sand, and rocks to hike up to the church, it’s something of a Calvary just to reach the door. (more…)

Thank you for all of your support and well-wishes. You have encouraged us to stay inspired when things were not always as rosy as we would have liked, and you still remind us on a daily basis just how many people believe in what we are trying to do.

For all of the friends and supporters of the Inspire Antarctic Expedition team members who are avidly following the story as the team is on their way to join us, thank you for your messages and know that the 2008 IAE Expedition site is up and running: http://expedition.2041.com. You can watch your friends and family as they travel through Antarctica and leave comments on their posts on that site.

All the best from the EBGL team here in Bellingshausen and please continue to follow the adventure!

To say that we have become a truly formidable team doesn’t begin to describe our camaraderie, with a simple understanding that we could not have accomplished any task, large or small, as individuals, but that through teamwork we could conquer any obstacle.

It was quite touching to receive the following message on our Message Wall yesterday from an outside perspective, a gentleman who crossed our path here in Bellingshausen last week, when we first arrived.

Ajay, thank you for highlighting the conditions of our endeavor. Your words were received with great humility and both comforted and inspired our small team. (more…)