Trekker on ice mission posts from Antarctica

updated 10:13 a.m. ET Nov. 19, 2009

Editor's note: Eric Larsen is attempting to be the first person to trek to the South Pole, North Pole and Mount Everest in one year. Msnbc.com will be posting select entries from Eric's posts while on the ice. Bookmark this page to track his progress.

Nov. 18: A New System
Here, there are many ways to fail. Frostbite, injury from a fall, broken gear, not making enough miles, snow blindness, altitude sickness... To succeed requires an equally long list of skills and knowledge.

From the beginning of our training, I tried to emphasize finding systems to save energy, stay warm and be safe. Eating during our breaks can be more of an adventure than skiing. Clif bars, salami, cheese, a few pieces of candy, a chocolate bar all need to be consumed while hunkered down on your sled, wind howling, frozen goggles and parka ruff getting in everything.

Normally, I advise my team to put everything in different pockets and pull them out at the appropriate times.

For Dong, this system didn't quite work. Food was frozen or hard to grab with big gloves. Enter new plan. Dong now takes his daily allowance of nuts, energy bars, Clif shot bloks, cheese and whatever else he can find and breaks it up into small pieces until it fills an entire nalgene water bottle. Now at each break, he simply opens up the bottle and 'drinks' his snacks.

While Dong is the least experienced of our small group, his ability to observe, plan, modify and execute are critical polar skills. Bill and I are now anxiously awaiting Dong's next system overhaul.

Weatherwise, today was almost the exact opposite of yesterday. Good visibility, hard snow, even some sun in the afternoon. We made a beeline for the Patriot Hills, covering 8.28 nautical miles in 5 hours.

Despite Dong's recent success in systems modification, his ability to judge our proximity to the nearby mountains needs work. "Three miles," he calculated.

For Dong, and most other polar novices,  distances are difficult to judge due to the pristine quality of the air here.

Nov. 13: TIA — This is Antarctica
It's been a whirlwind of activity since yesterday morning when we got the green light to fly. Special thanks go to all the ALE staff who made the transition from land to ice so smooth.

Newsvine Discuss Head over to newsvine.com to exchange thoughts with Eric Larsen and his team.

Extra kudos go to the Russian flight crew who piloted the big Ilyushin and landed it on an undulating runway of ice. That's right... Ice!!! I have to admit I was a bit nervous when the wheels first touched down, but realistically it was all smooth sailing. Or landing as the case may be.

None of us could believe our luck at the warm (relatively) weather and blue skies. So perfect were the conditions that we were more worried about sunburn than frostbite.

Antarctica! The place where my dreams have lived for so long. From our small temporary outpost nestled close to the patriot hills themselves all I can see is ice and sky. To feel important here is to simply ignore the vastness and grandeur of this place. This is truly one of the last great frozen places left on the planet.

Being here now, I realize, I must double my efforts. This snowscape is so delicate. No longer immutable to change Antarctica, faces a dire fate unless we act now to reduce carbon emissions.

My fate is equally tied to this place for the next two months. What will I learn? How will I change? Right now there is still too much work to do before flying to our starting point at Hercules Inlet to be philosophical. TIA — this is Antarctica.

Copyright 2009 by Save The Poles

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