Adventure Magazine

“Although heavy, the effort
required to pull the sled over
uniform ice is significantly less
than carrying a rucksack.”
STRENGTH
On an expedition of this nature it will not always be a
consistent smooth steady state of exertion. There will be
situations where Sam will be required to use explosive
strength.
As part of his preparation Sam will be pulling a sled packed
with over 160 kilogrammes of kit. That's over 25 stone, or
the equivalent of two fully grown men.
“Although heavy, the effort required to pull the sled over
uniform ice is significantly less than carrying a rucksack,”
says Sam. “It does, however, require a fair bit of strength to
get over that initial inertia - but once you're going it's about
maintaining a steady even pace, keeping the connection
between me and the sled as consistent as possible.”
However, the ice will not be consistently flat, and Sam will
need to navigate and manage the 160 kilogram sled over
ice waves, called sastrugi, some of which can be over a
metre tall, and other obstacles on the way to and across
the Antarctic plateau.
Core strength and the ability to manoeuvre his sled around
or over these obstacles requires significant levels of core
muscular strength.
Fortunately, Sam has developed good upper body strength;
focussed weight training in the gym has also enhanced this
to help him cope with manhandling his sled over obstacles.
TECHNIQUE
In any feat of endurance, efficiency is key.
Efficiency can be achieved through planning, choice of
route, and of course good technique.
“That’s something I've really focused on this year,” adds
Sam. “The more efficiently I can travel across the ice,
the less weight I'll need to carry and the quicker I'll reach
my goal. It could even mean the difference between a
successful and aborted expedition.
“Efficiency savings are compounded due to the duration of
this expedition. If better technique allows me to travel an
extra 500 metres a day, that could potentially add up to 40
kilometres difference and days of saved time, by the end of
the expedition.”
“I’ve been specifically focusing on my skiing technique to
make sure I’m as efficient as possible whilst pulling such a
heavy load behind me.
“With this comes the other techniques that I’ll be required
to carry out every day, such as putting up the tent, making
water by boiling snow, as well as my 10-minute breaks that
I’ll be taking every 90 minutes.
Sam in training at the Frozen Dagger Training Camp in Norway
Image by Chris Shirley at Haus of Hiatus
“Getting quick at these small routines affords me another
level of efficiency as I’ll be warm and fed quickly.”
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