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We will encounter their team around Lat 89, and will be flying back from Novo with them. A good organization.

An extremely productive day, including getting the AT405 38s installed on the Land Cruiser and the Hilux pulled from the container and staged. Chris Collard also landed about 10:30 and helped Paul and I get everything finished. After installing the 38s, we were relieved that everything fit and...

It has been extremely rewarding, and we have gathered reams of data and contacts that we plan to share freely with the community once the trip wraps. Just not enough time during the trip to relay all of the particulars.

I did say stylish

We have arrived safe in Cape Town with the VDJ78, and have it staged with ALCI / TAC at the airport. Tomorrow, we will bolt on the 38s and start sorting through the gear. It is getting real. . .

Another expedition that we will be interfacing with near the pole. We expect to encounter the skier and support vehicle a few hundred KMs into our drive past the South Pole towards the Ross Ice Shelf. Gear Patrol did a nice piece on him here...

I keep practicing setting up my tent while wearing a t-shirt. I do the set-up with my heavy gloves, but I figure the faster I get with the set-up now when it is warm in Africa, the better life will be at -40 in Antarctica!

It could be as cold as minus 30. We do have a temp chart that affects minimum pressures, particularly when starting after the truck has sat and the tires have cooled. Once the carcass runs for a bit, it is warm enough to operate at those pressures.

We had one for quite a while, and really enjoyed the bike. It is more capable on the dirt than you would imagine. I pushed its limits a bit on a few of our test tracks and sound the balance, torque and traction control all quite good. Better than the Explorer on the dirt, but not as good as...

An update from Emil at Arctic Trucks, as they work to prep the 6x6 and additional preparations for other expeditions. Gisli, who will be our team mechanic, is also already on the continent. http://www.antarcticachallenge.com/Pages/4916/NewsID/306

Great question! The water solution has been perfected by the Arctic Trucks boys. They have a melter on the engine that you pack with snow and remove liquid water from several times a day. You also melt water with the white gas stoves. We keep hot liquids and "cool" liquids in an insulated flask.

The ATs fly compared to anything else short of a snowmobile. If conditions are good, we can average 20-30mph on the plateau. The tires also greatly improve ride comfort and reduce damage to the truck. A 44" tire at 3-4 psi has incredible compliance. The Arctic Trucks have almost completely...

This is a common question, about as common as "are you excited to see Polar Bears?" ;) We use a small privy to block the wind (biggest threat to the man-bits is wind), then have a seat that holds a disposable bag with a thickening agent inside. We must remove or burn all of the waste that we...

There are tons of rules, most important of which is permitting and a "security" umbrella organization. The biggest consideration is rescue, so you must (as an American traveling there) operate under a rescue and infrastructure group like TAC (The Antarctic Company), which is a most Russian...

On the HiLux, the gearing is 4.88 and they have twin transfer cases. On the Land Cruiser, the factory gearing will be fine with the 38" tire and in low range. The torque of that 1VDT is impressive.

We are doing both. We have an AT44 4x4 and an AT44 6x6. We are renting the 6x6 from Arctic Trucks as the support vehicle to the South Pole. The 6x6 is already in Antarctica and is part of the support fleet. Conditions of our permit require two vehicles once you leave a 75km radius of a...

Agreed, and we are testing full compression and will adjust the limit straps as required.

This image is a little closer and with the tire straight. Up travel is limited to about 40mm and the steering stops are adjusted. It is also worth noting, that with the angle of the radius arm, the tire will actually move forward slightly as the arm travels through the arc.

Not really, although the front is deceptive in that photo, as the tire is turned. We are not planning to do any cutting with the truck, and have made significant adjustments to the bumpstops and steering stops. Understandably, Greg wanted to avoid any permanent modifications to the truck he has...