Quebec adventurer Caroline Côté swallows the miles of snow and ice in her quest for a speed record for a woman in Antarctica.
“It’s off to a good start for her,” says her husband Vincent Colliard, joined in Punta Arenas, in southern Chile, from where he supervises the polar expedition.
“If she manages to maintain her momentum and consolidate her average since the start, she could manage to break the record. »
This record is that of the Swedish Johanna Davidsson. In December 2016, she took 38 days and 23 hours to accomplish alone, without assistance, a journey of 1100 kilometers between Hercules Inlet, near the coast, and the South Pole.
Caroline Côté undertook this same journey on December 9th. Before her departure, she tried to minimize the importance of this record.
“There is the record to beat, that’s for sure, but I think it’s more a battle with myself that I’m going to do,” she said.
ARCHIVE PHOTO PROVIDED BY VINCENT COLLIARD
Caroline Cote
But then, during the first 10 days of her expedition, Caroline Côté established an average of 31 kilometers per day, which puts the brand within reach.
Interestingly, another woman is trying to break Johanna Davidsson’s record this year, Britain’s Wendy Searle. This had taken three days longer than M.me Davidsson to travel the distance between Hercules Inlet and the South Pole in 2019.
The start of Wendy Searle was a little slower than that of Caroline Côté: the Briton crossed the 82e parallel during her tenth day of skiing while the Quebecer was able to cross it during her eighth day.
“What I say to Caroline is that she must not fight against the Briton this year,” said Vincent Colliard. It should give him the strength to do more kilometers every day, but the goal is to get the record for the next 10 years. It can give her the motivation to set the bar as high as possible so that she doesn’t get tickled next year. It would be a shame to make so much effort for the record to fall next year. »
Vincent Colliard communicates with Caroline Côté several times a day, especially in the morning and evening.
Morale is fine. I know she’s starting to feel hungry, which is normal with trying so hard.
Vincent Colliard, expedition supervisor
So far, she’s only had one small equipment problem with one ski that she’s been able to fix.
“We spent two and a half weeks here in Punta Arenas, we worked every day to prepare the equipment, says Vincent Colliard. It hasn’t done enough miles yet for it to break. It would be surprising if something broke at this stage of the expedition. »
The terrain is not always easy. The wind notably forms mounds of hardened snow, the sastrugis, which sometimes have to be climbed if they are of a good size.
“Coordination with the sled is a bit impaired, it makes the days longer or it reduces the distance traveled per day. »
Caroline Côté’s fear, however, is the wind, which makes everything more difficult, from food to setting up camp.
“She is alone, she is responsible for setting up her tent correctly, explains Vincent Colliard. If the tent blows away in strong winds, there is almost no chance of recovering it, unless you are in a field of very large sastrugis, where the tent could get stuck. Otherwise, if she loses her tent, she loses her expedition. »
Caroline Côté is fortunate to rely on the experience of her husband, himself a polar exploration enthusiast. In fact, the two recently completed a winter crossing from the main island of the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard to northern Norway.
Vincent Colliard himself was to leave last Sunday to guide an expedition between the 89e parallel and the South Pole, what is called the last degree. But one of his clients contracted COVID-19 and the departure was postponed to December 29.
“It’s a blessing in disguise,” says Mr. Colliard. If we arrive around January 8 or 9, Caroline should not be far away. I hope it will give him the strength to put in the bites so that we can meet there. »