Day SEVEN
Distance Traveled: 19 Km
Day 7 was the toughest day so far.
Editor’s note: Today’s communication was called in by satellite phone so there are no pictures. They will have to wait until Bill once again has email availability.
Photo from Day 5
It snowed all day, from start to finish, really for nine hours.
There were often total white out conditions, and snow all day was really the last thing I needed. The wind was from the south-west, but it was quite warm.
This makes the snow wet, sticky and heavy, making the sled feel about twice the weight it normally does. This makes it harder on the back and the legs, and things start to break down more easily in those conditions.
This makes it even more important to look after the body and work around things.
I covered around 19 Km today, which wasn’t bad, considering the conditions.
I did fall a couple of times on my ass pulling the sled in deep snow and standing on snow-covered ice makes it very hard to get traction sometimes.
I tried using snowshoes, but the conditions are so variable with snowdrifts, ice, and trying to see through the whiteout conditions. There were also other navigation issues, trying to get out around the ice. Trying to go a non-direct route is also a challenge because it’s hard to see where the ice is until you can get close to it. Visibility at times was down to 200 meters, so it was not an easy day’s travel.
We’ve lost a bit of ground, time-wise, but we have to go with the conditions. It’s a great example of how small we are in this big natural world, and we have to adapt to what we get.
Let’s see what tomorrow will bring.
Bill
Today was a full-on day.
Scellig did not like this particular section also.
Some time and energy lost travelling through the broken sections but safer.
Snowing all day, minus 5, sticky snow,headwind, poor visibility.
Found a slightly exposed and windy campsite near the coastline but on the ice among the rubble.
Camped on night 3 on the edge (literally) of Listvayanka on the ice
Some hovercrafts on the ice.
These longer expeditions require some basic things to survive
So far the unleaded petrol is working.. fingers crossed….
Beautiful crisp morning.
Just finished a supper of expedition freeze dried food that expired in 2014!!
Mild at present minus 15.
Hope to touch base this evening.
Started out the day with some fresh snow in Irkutsk and treacherous roads over the passes to 
It was a special celebration of Masleniza today in Irkutsk celebrating the transition from winter into spring.
This upcoming trip has lots of uncertainties as the adventure begins.
In an attempt to further highlight the health care needs of communities living in remote places across the globe, Dr Bill Hanlon is planning a 700 km, unsupported, solo expedition on ice from the southern tip to the northern tip of Lake Baikal, Siberia, Russia in late February 2017.
Lake Baikal
Early in the morning of July 12th we set off from Passu to the Yashpirt summer pasture on the Batura Glacier (fourth longest glacier in the Karakorum).
