Despite the technology that modern expeditions can now employ, we ourselves never cease to marvel that we can communicate by telephone anywhere in the world, anytime, from the remotest part of the world, the Antarctic interior. This we can do via our BT Iridium, an innocuous enough looking handset that links up with Iridium satellite and – bingo! – you could call the North Pole if so inclined. But this remarkable little object is nothing without power. Electrical power is our modern expedition luxury. We need it for our BT Iridium, the Argos communication system, GPS, cameras, video etc. Each of these items have their own independent power sources i.e. batteries. But these have only a certain lifespan, a very limited one in this environment where the sub zero temperatures rapidly drain their power. We would certainly not want to pull in our pulks the considerable extra weight of spare dispensable batteries. But this is where our indispensable whizz in the technical department, Aberdeen based Laurence Howell, comes into his own light. Rapidly dismissing with the notion of pulk-loads of batteries, Howell devised a system by which we can recharge by two different means. We have one rechargeable battery pack measuring approximately 8 by 3 inches from which we can run our BT Iridium, video camera and GPS.

But the real jewel in our crown is our solar panel. This 18 by 12 inch panel is reverently attached to the outside of our tent in the evening, facing the sun and at as complementary an angle as possible to maximise on the sun?s rays. Not unlike my sun vest position. Otherwise we can attach the panel to the top of one of our pulks and recharge whilst en route. Of course, although there is 24-hour daylight during the Antarctic ?summer?, this doesn?t mean 24 hours of sunshine, sadly for us. However it is reassuring somehow that for all our modern technology we can always look at merely harnessing the powers of nature.

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