To navigate we use compasses, the sun and sastrugi patterns - the wind is always from the south so sastrugi patterns tend to go east to west.
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With our compasses, we're steering a course of 140 degrees currently. We have to put in a variation of 40 degrees, because the magnetic South Pole is actually to the south west of us on the edge of Antarctica. Even aside from the variation we do not necessarily take a direct bearing to the South Pole because we might wish to avoid, for instance, known crevasse fields or we might wish to navigate a certain route through mountain ranges. We've been steering west quite a bit recently to get ourselves into the right position for our approach to the Thiel Mountains. We're also following this bearing to avoid a crevasse area that we've had information about.
We don't use the GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) during the day for navigating because the temperature would kill the batteries, so we use it in the evenings to establish our position and ascertain our mileage. We also send an Argos signal that communicates our location to our UK base - in fact they know our position before we do.
Navigation varies obviously according to the conditions and while the weather was kind to us for the first week, the last few days have not been so good with very poor visibility and no contrast. When there is a whiteout like this, one does not benefit from using shadows and it slows our progress up considerably because we have to navigate with compass in hand and keep in a tight line for reasons of safety. We have perfected a good technique, albeit slightly eccentric, that is that the second person in line holds the compass and corrects the person ahead in a Bernie the Bolt fashion.
In a whiteout you have no horizon and no edges. This is mentally very trying and one can start imagining all manner of optical illusions. We are measured in our approach to these conditions but not deterred. We continue gaining steady mileage but obviously if we were in a known crevasse area we would not be travelling in whiteout conditions.
We have experienced quite a phenomenon in the last few days - it has actually snowed. Not ground stormed, but snowed, which is very unusual. That's why we're getting the powdery dry ice conditions which make it hard going.
Landmarks to navigate by are few and far between and one tends to rely on slightly larger ridges of sastrugi or other such minimal details which again makes navigating difficult. We think that we have passed the Pirrit Hills now but we can't tell because we can't see. They became our travelling companions for several days and we nicknamed them Avalon - they were mysterious, magical, ever-changing and we saw wonderous cloud formations around and above the mountain range.
