FFAE2007 departed the UK on 2nd November 2007 for Punta Arenas, where final final packing and weighing of equipment and food was done, before the flight to the Patriot Hills base of Antarctic Logistic Expeditions "ALE " in a Russian cold war Ilusyian bomber. After a few days acclimatisation and a trial trip to a nearby mountain range, on 16th November they were flown into the Ellsworth mountains to the Henderson Glacier. For the next four weeks the team had to be totally self-sufficient in an area where very few, if any, people had ever been before. New species of lichen with the associated tardigrades were found and collected; the human physiology and glaciology projects were carried out. There were two very strenuous days when a col was crossed with the fully loaded puks to reach the next valley from which they trekked back to Patriot Hills base, 60 km distant. In the final push to meet the expected weather window to fly out of Antarctica, the team covered 32 km in 17 hours. Unfortunately the weather did close in, and there was a frustrating 8 days wait before the flight to Punta Arenas, from where they arrived in the UK just before Christmas. |