20 Dec, 2011
Don't Go It Alone
Alone in Antarctica: British woman on solo journey
As she skis across Antarctica, Felicity Aston is taking on dangers including crevasses, storms, injuries and frostbite. Her biggest challenge, though, has been adapting to solitude in the seemingly endless expanses of white.
For more than three weeks, she has been skiing toward the South Pole pulling two sledges packed with supplies. Aston is attempting to become the first woman to cross Antarctica alone, and has covered about one-third of the journey of more than 1,700 kilometers (1,000 miles).
The British adventurer expects to reach the South Pole this week, then pick up more supplies and head out again for the other side of the frozen continent. She says the emotional toll has been much greater than she expected.
"When that plane disappeared and left me on the wrong side of Antarctica all by myself with two little sledges, it really hit me that I'm completely responsible for myself," she told The Associated Press in an interview by satellite phone. "It's just you. You have to sort out your problems, and that makes you feel very vulnerable."
When alone in Antarctica, little problems can easily become big problems.
One ski binding is slightly out of alignment and has been making her ankle ache.
The three cigarette lighters she brought to start her camp stove suddenly stopped producing a flame in the cold, leaving her with only matches for a time, though she finally managed to get the lighters working again, intermittently.
She's been fighting a cough. And her breath freezes and forms icicles on her mask as she skis in temperatures of minus 25 Fahrenheit (minus 30 Celsius) and below.
After each day on the ice, she pitches her tent, cooks a freeze-dried meal on her stove and posts messages on Twitter.
"Ice coating my fur hood and icicles hanging off my mask and goggles made me look like a real polar explorer today," she posted on Saturday.
Sometimes, she raves about the beauty of the landscape. Other times, she says she feels tired, bitterly cold or even a bit overwhelmed.
"Yesterday was the first day I didn't burst into tears at any point. Must mean I'm getting used to this finally?" she said in a post on Twitter last week.
The 34-year-old used to work as a meteorologist in Antarctica and is a veteran adventurer who has led team expeditions in the Antarctic, the Arctic and Greenland. She said she decided to attempt her first solo expedition to test her personal limits and also because she was curious about being on her own.
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Story and Photo courtesy of news.yahoo.com.
Ecclesiastes 4:7-12 (ESV)
The Advantages of Companionship
7 I observed yet another example of something meaningless under the sun. 8 This is the case of a man who is all alone, without a child or a brother, yet who works hard to gain as much wealth as he can. But then he asks himself, “Who am I working for? Why am I giving up so much pleasure now?” It is all so meaningless and depressing.
9 Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. 10 If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. 11 Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? 12 A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.
What does today's God's Story scripture teach us about journeying alone?
Today's God's Story scripture reminds us that being alone on this journey through life is not good. From the beginning of creation, we see God saying it is not good for man to be alone. That doesn't just apply to being married. It also applies to how we journey through this life. In today's story, we read about the sturggles of one woman attempting to journey through Antarctica alone. As you journey through this life, make a commitment to yourself and to your Heavenly Father that you won't go it alone!
How can I connect today's God's Story to My Life?
- Take some time this week to memorize this passage from God's Story.
- Make a list of everyone in your story who is on this journey with you. Take some time to thank God for them by name.
How can I connect Today's Story, God's Story, and My Story with Others?
- Are you attempting to go it alone? Make a commitment to find someone in your life to journey with you, to hold you accountable in your relationship with Jesus and to help pick you up when you stumble and fall.
- Do you know someone in your life who tends to want to go it alone on their journey? Come along side them this week and offer to journey with them. Let them know you want to be there to pick them up when they fall.
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