Like walking on the moon

"It feels like I'm dreaming" - Tess Burrows (Team Southern Lights)

"The most stunning place on earth" – Hylton James (Team Due South)

The six teams taking part in the historic Amundsen Omega 3 South Pole Race have now left Novo, the Russian Base to commence the training phase of the race through 100 miles of hazardous Crevasse Fields.

After arriving in Antarctica on Friday, they spent the weekend acclimatizing to the conditions and preparing their equipment for the race.

They also visited the scientific base, ‘the Oasis’, a bizarre rock formation in the icy vista, and a place which feels like 'walking on the moon' according to race competitor Hylton James.

A few days before their arrival, Novo had been experiencing blizzard conditions, but the teams have since enjoyed three days of blue skies, sunny conditions and very mild temperatures at about -5 degrees centigrade.

It is predicted that these conditions will last until about the 23rd December and then turn more severe.

A few pictures from Novo are attached – Ben Fogle on the edge of a Crevasse / Team Danske Bank testing their equipment / Hylton James at the Oasis.

About the race: The Amundsen Omega 3 South Pole race is the first race to the South Pole for almost 100 years since the famous duel between Scott and Amundsen.

The training phase up the Crevasse Fields will last over Christmas, cover 100 nautical miles of some of the most extreme terrain on earth and take approximately 10 days

The race itself begins on approx 1st January 2009.

The six teams will set off on the Antarctic Plateau to race 430 nautical miles across the largest ice cap in the world to the Geographic South Pole

The racers will face constant challenges throughout their journey: surviving in temperatures as low as -50C, navigating and skiing while pulling a 70Kg pulk (sled), sleeping in tents and climbing up to 9300 ft to the South Pole.

The six teams have two or three people in each and include Mark Pollock, who attempts to be the first Irish blind man to conquer the Pole, double Olympic Gold Medalist, James Cracknell, TV Presenter, Ben Fogle, and Peter Hammond, at 61, the oldest competitor in the race.

Please visit www.amundsenomega3southpolerace.com for race updates, additional information and individual biographies as well as the teams own websites for details of the charities they support.