Sir Ranulph Fiennes will be evacuated once the weather permits
Explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes has abandoned his plans to tackle a winter crossing of the Antarctic continent.
The explorer is suffering from frostbite after he took off his gloves to repair a ski binding during training.
The 68-year-old, who sawed off the ends of his fingers in his garden shed after a previous case of frostbite, is currently marooned 70km from Princess Elisabeth Station as a blizzard is preventing his evacuation.
Organisers of The Coldest Journey said the expedition, which is due to start on the southern hemisphere autumn equinox, 21 March, will go ahead under the leadership of Brian Newham.
The plan is to make a six-month winter journey to reach the Ross Sea. The route from the Russian base of Novolazareskaya to Captain Scott’s base at McMurdo Sound, via the South Pole, will test the limits of human endurance, organisers said.
During the expedition team members hope to travel nearly 4,000km, mostly in complete darkness in temperatures as low as –90C. The expedition team will have to be self-sufficient and there will be no search and rescue facility available, as aircraft cannot penetrate inland during winter, due to darkness and risk of fuel freezing.
But the controversial explorer, who has summited Everest and climbed the North Face of the Eiger, will not be with them.
A spokesperson said: “Sir Ranulph Fiennes has developed a case of frostbite.
“The condition is such that he has very reluctantly decided with the support of the team doctor and in the interests of the success of the expedition and its associated aims, to withdraw from Antarctica while the possibility to do so still exists, before the onset of the Antarctic winter.
“This decision has not been taken lightly and it is, naturally, a huge disappointment to Fiennes and his colleagues.
“Right now the team is working towards evacuating Fiennes from Antarctica. He will be transported by skidoo to the Princess Elisabeth Station about 70km away from his current position, from where he will be flown to Novo to get a connecting flight to Cape Town.
“This plan is currently being hampered due to a blizzard at their present location which is making the first stage of the evacuation impossible. Until there is a let up in the weather conditions, Fiennes will be unable to leave.”
Remaining team members still plan to set off on 21 March
The spokesperson added that the remaining expedition members unanimously elected to continue with the crossing will undertake the scientific and educational aspects of the project as originally planned.
Organisers said Sir Ranulph will continue to support the effort once he has recovered from his injuries, including fundraising for the charity Seeing is Believing, which works to eradicate preventable blindness in the developing world.
