THE EXPEDITION IN FIGURES

2 skiers: Bernard Voyer and Thierry Pétry

1,500 kilometres travelled.

Departed: November 9, 1995 at an altitude of 250 metres.

Skied an average of 10 to 11 hours a day.s

The expedition lasted 65 days.

Each skier consumed 400,000 calories or 6,500 calories per day, consisting of 50% lipids.

Bernard and Thierry lost 18 kg of body weight during the expedition.

The expedition left from 250m altitude, and arrived at 2,835m.

2 pulkas each weighing 170kg.

50 litres of fuel for the stove.

Shortest stage: 3.3km, longest stage 33.3km.

They climbed the Frost Spur glacier 11 times to carry all their gear up.

At Christmas, they were at 86°00’95’’S 52°01’75’’W.

On New Year's Day they were at 87°05’04’’S 52°00’83’’W.

They arrived at the South Pole on January 12, 1996.

Altitude of the South Pole: 2,835m.

Bernard and Thierry are the 9th and 10th people in the world to reach the South Pole unassisted.

More than 70,000 people have heard Bernard speak about his exploit.

The Antarctic measures 13 million km².

It is the highest continent on the planet, with an average altitude of 2,050m.

98% of the continent is covered in ice.

The Antarctic has 30,000,000 km³ of ice.

An ice cap 4,800m thick (just 7m less than the height of Mont Blanc).

The highest mountain, Mont Vinson, is 4,897m.

The record for cold was set in Antarctica: -89.20°C (-128.60°F) on July 21, 1983.

Moisture amplifies the effects of cold 13 times. It is the Polar explorer's worst enemy.

The ice in the Antarctic represents 150 litres of fresh water per day, for each of the 6 billion people on our planet, for... 100,000 years!

The windspeed record in Antarctica is... 320km/h!

There are 5 million penguins living on the shores of the continent.

Only 2 species of flowering plants grow in the Antarctic.

5cm of precipitation a year.

In 1959, the Antarctic Treaty was signed, making it a land of peace and science.

The 1st person to set foot on the Antarctic continent:
French explorer Dumont d’Urville, in 1840 (named it "Terre d’Adélie").

The 1st person to reach the South Pole: Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, in 1911.