New Zealand 2002

As part of our preparations for the South Pole Expedition, we headed to the South Island of New Zealand for an intensive 3-week training programme in August 2002. We spent much of our time on the Davis Snowfield, high above the Fox glacier in the Southern Alps, testing out our equipment, ski touring, practicing our crevasse rescue techniques and honing our kiting skills.

We were constantly battered by storms inside our igloo ski decent of the southern breach of the Franz Josef Glacier Following our descent of Sandfly, we then had to climb back up On the summit ridge of Mt Von Bulow Trying the kites out on the snow Pat hauling himself out of a crevasse The Southern Alps resembled a mini Antarctica Fresh tracks Sunset over the Tasman Sea