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Day to
Day
Bernard and Thierry skied from 9 to 11 hours a day.
They each had to consume a total of 400,000 calories.
The food they packed along had to meet many requirements:
it had to provide enough calories, with adequate proportions
of carbohydrates, lipids and protein in view of the
energy they were expending, combined with lightness
and ease of preparation. Efficiency was definitely the
key.
Often it was too cold to stop and eat. Dry fruit and
mixed nuts served as the midday meal, eaten while skiing.
They had to take short breaks, nonetheless, to drink,
check their bearings and rest. In the morning and evening
they made hot meals on small stoves that burned 50 litres
of fuel. All the water needed for cooking came from
melted snow. The menus were varied, made from freeze-dried
or dehydrated ingredients for lightness, but providing
6,500 calories a day.
The tent took only five minutes to put up. It became
their shelter, living room, bedroom and the place where
plans for the next adventure were hatched. It started
feeling normal to wash with snow. Pulling, pushing,
climbing and skiing were part of the daily routine,
along with observing and listening, to better understand
this strange environment. Every day, they recorded a
journal entry on audio- and videotape and in photos,
to bring back images of their surreal surroundings with
them.
Communications
The explorers communicated with base camp in Montreal
in two ways:
1/ By telephone
The telephone, weighing 16 kg (including the battery),
bounced their messages off an IMMARSAT geostationary
satellite 35,000 km above the Equator, to the Montreal
base camp. The battery to operate the telephone was
rechargeable with solar panels. The antenna was part
of the cover of the box for carrying the telephone.
All the experts they consulted before leaving predicted
that the telephone would not be operable past the 82nd
parallel, as the Earth's curvature would block the signal.
2/ By Argos beacon
Bernard and Thierry took along an Argos beacon, which
sent a signal every two minutes to two satellites orbiting
8,000 m above the South Pole every 100 minutes. Along
with information on their position, the beacon was programmed
to provide many other details (physical and psychological
condition, type of terrain, km travelled, etc.). After
the signal was captured by one of the satellites, it
was relayed to Toulouse, France and then retransmitted
to Montreal by computer.
Another item in their array of communication equipment
was designed to keep the skiers informed of their exact
position at every moment:
Global Positioning System (GPS)
This system was based on a network of 24 satellites
orbiting the Earth every 12 hours at an altitude of
20,000 km. The
explorers' position was calculated by triangulation,
from a signal sent by the device and received by three
or more satellites simultaneously. The apparatus was
the size of a portable radio.
Scientific and Technological Research
Program
1. Communications
The explorers sent alphanumeric, vocal and pictorial
data directly from the Antarctic to base camp, using
advanced equipment drawing on satellite technology.
Partners: Argos France, Compaq Canada,
CTA Aerospace U.S.A.
2. Nutrition
The food they took along and how it was prepared was
key to the success of the expedition. Meals were prepared
using the most advanced freeze-drying techniques. Research
into the nutritional aspects of the South Pole expedition
focussed on three points:
- evaluating their energy and nutritional needs under
such extreme climatic conditions,
- evaluating the calories required for the physical
effort expended,
- meeting these needs with 70 days' worth of balanced
and practical food rations.
Partners: Cintech AA, Lyosan
3. Physiology
Bernard spent five 24-hour periods in an isolation
chamber with a controlled atmosphere. Researchers were
primarily interested in his basal metabolism.
Partner: Université
Laval, Dr. Angelo Tremblay
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