Tough going for Lake Baikal expedition says Conrad Dickinson

Wed, 28 Mar 2007

An audacious team of four intrepid Brits - husband and wife, Conrad (51) and Hilary Dickinson (53) plus friends Alistair Guthrie (36) and Anthony Baird (44) - have just four days left to complete their Lake Baikal expedition. So far the team has used skis, skates and snow shoes, but just two and a half hours of kiting.

They have to complete 135 km (83 miles) in just four days, to reach the northern shore of the lake – a total of 700 km (435 miles).

Conrad Dickinson said, “The team brought a combination of 28 kites weighing over 30 kilos with the hope of kiting the majority of the distance. Unfortunately the wind has let us down. Our target daily mileage was based on kiting. For our target to be achieved it means basically increasing the mileage each day to arrive at the destination on time. It feels like you’re missing a train but still need to get to your destination – a very complicated situation.

“Last night again we achieved a 33 km (20.5 mile) day but our luck ran out today with very deep snow and even more falling all day. We’ve had to pull our sledges in these conditions – it’s punishing. To complete the remaining 135km with just four days left is almost impossible to achieve.”

He added, “After yesterday’s heavy snowfall, moving forward along the lake shore was impossibly exhausting because of deep snow. With over 10 km (6.2 miles) out from the shore we found going slightly easier.

“Another benefit was that with this detour we've seen amazing views from east and west shores and more importantly the northern shores at 55 degrees to finish. It’s not long to go now if we just keep pushing!”

The plan was for each person to haul their 100 kg (16 stone) sledges assisted by high tech kites specially made for the Siberian conditions. However, the wind has almost constantly blown in the wrong direction for the entire expedition.

Typical temperatures are -20ºC, made worse by wind chill and the team is spending every night in tents on the creaking ice on top of the world’s largest lake.

The team that is sponsored by Northern Rock hopes to complete their expedition on March 30 2007.