Until recently I had been plotting, planning and working toward my own south pole attempt. Different route, different mentality, entirely different style than yours.
I started researching every aspect from every angle back in 2004, and spent the next 6 years fiddling with gear, nutrition, and all of the little things that would ultimately give me a fighting chance once on the ice. Recently, after much thought and introspection, I've concluded that I wouldn't get enough enjoyment out of it to make it worth doing. A lack of interesting things to look at along the way is my main reason for losing interest. And that's not even factoring in the enormous cost of getting to and from the continent.
I lead with that intro so that you'll know that I have a very, very good handle on the logistics of this trip.
My $.02 is that you are doing yourself (and those that would attempt it in the future) an enormous disservice by going from "nothing" to Antarctica. In other words, please, for your own good if no one else's, go somewhere else (Alaska, Norway, Greenland, NWT, wherever) and do a big, scary, push-your-limits shakedown ride (or three, or more) before moving forward on 'The Big One'. The point is to do your learning in a safer place, biting off bigger and bigger chunks before committing to something that, quite frankly, you do not and cannot grasp yet.
Another way to put it? Mistakes are the best teacher, and you should make as many as you can and embrace the lesson imparted by each. I don't think Antarctica is the place to do that.
I used the Colorado alpine as my main proving ground, then
went to AK every February to put what I'd learned into practice. And you know what? No matter how many mistakes I made and lessons I learned, there was always another just around the corner.
Please give it some thought. I'd like to see the next group succeed, instead of just provide more no-room-for-private-expeditions fodder for the NSF and others of their ilk.
Best of luck,
MC
