But there is more. On top of having to distinguish our gear from each other’s, we have to sew on extra patches to deal with the extremities of the Antarctic climate. Every season, clothing manufacturers try to deal with new information and innovation by explorers. But they are still often behind the curve. I have just finished sewing fleece patches on my thermal underwear. No thermal underwear we have seen so far has extra fleece on the thighs. There is a condition known as the ‘Antarctic thigh’ – severe frostbite/irritation on the front of thighs. It is believed to be due to the thighs facing the onslaught of Antarctic wind which blows towards those going towards the South Pole.

Then there is the issue of batteries, which fail in the extreme cold, necessitating battery pockets on your thermal underlayers – to keep batteries warm and working. I have kangaroo pockets on both my thermal shirts and on my thermal pants. Yes, you have to set that ipod on random and prepare not to touch it for the rest of the day – or go through three to four layers of clothing to make a song change!

There are also the elastic loops on gloves. Antarctica is windy! No glove should be worn there unless in some way attached to you or prepare to lose it. So I sewed on elastic loops to attach it to my big fleecy jacket.

Man I’m sure I can make a living sewing when I’m done with all this!  The anticipation and preparation pains continue and the fact that I’m actually on the way gives a sweet adrenaline rush.  I live for your little comments and encouragement as I journey on. Continue following my trek in the Flair and online at www.gleanerblogs.com/flair  and www.kasperskycommonweaIthexpedition.com.  See you again on November 30, 2009.

Contributions to Kim-Marie’s expedition can be made at Jamaica National account no. 10870166. Also provide feedback at Jamaica@commonwealthexpedition.com or South Pole Trod Face book Page

I’ve arrived in Punta Arenas, Chile where we picked up our gear and started off on our Antarctic adventure.  Even with my internal turmoils, Punta was strangely peaceful and everyone went about their normal business-like it wasn’t VERY cold. I waited quietly in the airport for my teammate Helen – who I had met up with in the airport in Santiago.  All this time I’ve been clinging to home comforts by reading the Sunday papers (yes, I packed the Sunday Gleaner and took it all the way to Chile with me!).

We went to this huge warehouse in which our gear was housed. It had all been freighted from Britain. We went through four huge bags and 3 boxes containing sleeping bags, snow shovels, sleeping mats, snow boots, pots, thermoses, and copious amounts of food, especially toffee popcorn – we need our calories! The next few days will be spent preparing the kit for the rest of our team. The other 6 members have spent time sorting the rest of the food, sewing on sponsor logos and flags onto our gear. All our gear is colour coded. On a team like ours where everyone has the same everything, we need to distinguish between stuff. My colour is brown – not my choice.

We keep running into other expedition teams. It is a whole new world, this expedition world. It is hyper competitive, with everyone checking out each other’s gear. It is a world in which being Jamaican gains no bonus points. Being Jamaican just screams “I know not what I am doing!” One guy even asked whether I knew Antarctica was going to be cold. This is the time to pull out the tallawah-ness from wherever it is! Antarctica, here I come!

More on the sojourn in Punta Arenas when you check back here on November 23.  You can follow my story at www.gleanerblogs.com/flair

Contributions to Kim-Marie’s expedition can be made at Jamaica National account no. 10870166. Also provide feedback at Jamaica@commonwealthexpedition.com, at the SouthPole Trod Face book Page and at www.kasperskycommonwealthexpedition.com

I have been visualizing and trying to imagine Antarctica and You Tube definitely helps! I’ve watched countless videos, some so serene and others make horrific seem like an understatement.  I have been trying to say goodbye to Jamaica by capturing aspects of my life here on video. The tyre pulls, the workouts, the runs, the questions people ask, the curious school children, Devon House, Knutsford Boulevard and the like. I realize many of last rituals revolve around food – my last vegetarian  pizza slice; my last scoop of coffee ice cream; Nature Valley Oats n Honey bars in yoghurt cups; and my last vegetable patty. Then I watch shows that I will miss – like Everybody Hates Chris, Monk and Direct. I even had a goodbye event – the Frozen Goodbye last Sunday at the Stanley & Empress Boutique.

But there is another agonizing goodbye any endurance athlete will recognize – the tapering. You have to start training less. It is to rest you up for the big agonizing event. However, you feel sluggish and tired now that you are doing less, except when working out. I never thought the day would come when I would say this – but I am longing for a 10-mile run!

I still want to enjoy your support even while on the way to the South Pole! As you know this blog is available online at www.gleanerblogs.com or in print in the Flair – keep sending the messages of support! You can also follow the entire team at www.kasperskycommonweaIthexpedition.com The Journey has begun!! Jamaica to the World!!

More on arrival in Chile when you check back here on November 16. You can follow my story at www.gleanerblogs.com/flair

Contributions to Kim-Marie’s expedition can be made at Jamaica National account no. 10870166. Also provide feedback at Jamaica@commonwealthexpedition.com or the SouthPole Trod Face book Page and at www.kasperskycommonwealthexpedition.com

I have also been forced to increase the acclimatization aspect of my training which I do via freezer sessions. It is the most interesting part of my training as I have to do what no sensible Jamaican will do – sit in a cold freezer for over an hour! I know, I can already see the shock on your face.

So occasionally, I go to sit in the huge Crazy Jim freezers. I even have a backup option – Wisynco (through WATA and Nature Valley).  The freezer is – 20 below zero. In case you were wondering, that is VERY cold!

Sitting in the freezer is more for your mind than your body. It is to know what below zero feels like. The numb skin- if left exposed. The toes and fingers that feel like frozen fins. The clarity of the mind – when the body finds itself in a dangerous situation! Despite all this happening, you have to remain personable, alert and confident. It is this that will be the difference between success and failure in the Antarctic – mental strength.

What’s worse is that below zero temperatures does not just disappear once you leave for a warm place.  After extended periods, I sometimes run hot and cold for a week!

Now I am packing for departure – on to Chile and then to Antarctica. The day is drawing nigh – 9 days and counting! So one last freezer session planned! I will surely miss Jamaica, my family and friends and even though I complain about how hot it is these days, I’ll surely miss the sun.  I’ll be sure to keep you updated though so check back here on November 9 where you’ll hear about my arrival in Chile.  You can follow my story at www.gleanerblogs.com/flair.

Contributions to Kim-Marie’s expedition can be made at Jamaica National account no. 10870166. Also provide feedback at Jamaica@commonwealthexpedition.com or the SouthPole Trod Face book Page and at www.kasperskycommonwealthexpedition.com

Kim-Marie has since arrived in Chile and is on her way to Antarctica.

Back to New Zealand – I had noticed some snow-covered mountains from the airplane.

That was where I was going – to Mount Cook, the highest mountain peak in New Zealand’s South Island at 12,320 feet. We drove from the airport through beautiful grassland to snow-covered terrain – amazing. We were to camp out above a town called Wanaka for the next week!

I was glad to see my teammates who feel more like sisters, despite our obvious differences! I went straight to the Singaporean Sophia – who we all call ‘Mommy’ – for good food. She is a kickboxing instructor with 3 children. Tent teams were chosen. I am in the tent with the Kiwi (New Zealander) – Charmaine (aka Chief), the British reserve – Helen; and the Indian – Reena. The other tent team was the British captain, Felicity; the Bruneian Era – the epitome of tallawah; ‘Mommy’; and the Cypriot Steph – who I share music with. I have already started 3 play lists – “On The Ice”, “Positive”, and “Dance Party”. So far, G-Whizz’s ”Life “and Shaggy’s “Strength of a Woman” are our top choices.

We spent the week in New Zealand skiing and pulling about 160lbs behind us. That was excruciatingly hard on an icy morning. The music of choice then was an old one “This is Why I Am Hot” by Mims with Junior Reid and Cham – only the Jamaican remix for me! Nevertheless, by day 3 , I actually felt stronger. My muscles had gotten used to the weight! Fingers crossed for Antarctica! More on the return home for the final training period when you check back here on November 2. You can follow my story at www.gleanerblogs.com/flair.

Contributions to Kim-Marie’s expedition can be made at Jamaica National account no. 10870166. Also provide feedback at Jamaica@commonwealthexpedition.com or the South-Pole Trod Facebook Page

1 New Zealand is mainly composed of the North and South Island.

All the debates are about black consciousness and black people accepting themselves and seeing themselves as beautiful. But is that the real issue? Is it that we think our hair is not good enough or is it that women just think it looks better? When women spend so much (trust me they can get expensive especially ones like what Beyonce wears) and buy these things is it that they are saying, ‘I don’t like who I am’ or are they thinking, ‘Hey this looks good on me.” A few years ago natural ‘dos’ were in but that, to an extent, has died off and HBO (hair belonging to others) is now all the rage. But is something really wrong with that? If we process our hair and wear hair pieces does it mean we do not love who we are and we are not embracing our ethnicity?  What do you think? Is it all much ado about good hair?

Kim Marie with Pulk

After our Norwegian trip, we flew to Britain to for Commonwealth Day at Westminster Abbey – There I got the support of the Jamaican High Commission and High Commissioner, Burchell Whiteman. They welcomed me back to civilisation and sent me home with a game plan to get funds and train while home.

It was an intense period back home – lots of training, work and fundraising.

But I still needed lots of money and use of the Commonwealth name was the main privilege. Each candidate needed the equivalent of millions of Jamaican dollars, just to fly into Antarctica, which is accessible for only three months each year, due to its weather. There is no Air Antarctica – you have to basically charter a plane.

I started writing to companies and applying to relevant government funds again. Again the rejection came. With lots of help from friends like Yolan Zanders, Leana Tomlinson and Christina Hoo Fung – we kept the expedition in the media…and had FROZEN – a benefit event to raise funds for the expedition. We raised more awareness than funds. But it helped in securing sponsorship from Nature Valley and WATA – without which New Zealand would have been impossible. Plus with my new gummy bear-free diet, both products were key. I eat about two bars a day!

Secondly, another sponsor – Earth Chef, Grace Foods – came on board as well to supply food to the expedition. On a team with a Muslim, a Hindu, Christians – of the traditional and RastafarI-tinged variety – food preferences are important. Vegetarian is what we can all agree on.

The little engine propelling me to New Zealand had started.  Jamaica to the South Pole!!!
More on the actual New Zealand trip when you check back here on October 26. You can follow my story at www.gleanerblogs.com/flair.

Contributions to Kim-Marie’s expedition can be made at Jamaica National account no. 10870166. Also provide feedback at Jamaica@commonwealthexpedition.com or the SouthPole Trod Face book Page

The final team sets up in their new ‘home’ at the Norway Training session.

On to Oslo! I met some of the other women right in the Oslo airport. We had come from all over the Commonwealth – Singapore, Brunei, New Zealand, UK, Ghana, India, Cyprus and Jamaica – to be part of this expedition to the South Pole!

Kim Marie and the semi finalists pose after the final 7 were selected for the expedition.

I was a little scared, I had eaten properly – replacing gummy bears with Nature Valley bars and swapping coffee for WATA, run up hills, climbed the Blue Mountain Peak – but was it enough?

Kim Marie shares a huddle with team members at the final selection in Norway.

We ended up in a hut in the middle of Norwegian nowhere – the Hardangervidda, Europe’s largest mountain plateau! For miles there was no vegetation, just snow. Felicity had organized a stellar training team – Polar Challengers, nutritionists and skiers. We learnt to ski, put up a tent, use a camping stove, and carried up to 40kg of weight in our pulks. We had to clear the front door of our hut each morning – the snow was that high. It was cold!

Each country had two finalists – only one could be on the team. I had my doubts about making the final team. Camp was tough– but I enjoyed it and was willing to learn more. Imagine my surprise and joy when I was chosen to remain with the final team!

The final team’s reward was to  wander around Hardangervidda for four more days – training and gelling as a team. We were going to do  this! On to the South Pole! That night in my sleeping bag I thought of the next adventure – New Zealand in September! And a lot of fundraising to do! Where would I find Jamaicans to invest BEFORE I reached the South Pole?

More on that and New Zealand when you check back here on October 1. You can also follow my story at www.gleanerblogs.com. Contributions to Kim-Marie’s expedition can be made at Jamaica National account no. 10870166. Also provide feedback at Jamaica@commonwealthexpedition.com or the SouthPole Trod Face book Page

Now that selection was out of the way, the rigours of training began. How do I prepare for this and Antarctica’s below 30⁰ summers? I’ve had to sit in huge cold storage freezers for an hour or more at a time, crazy right?

Kim Marie braces herself as she does her tyre pull routine.

The rest of the training is not so simple, especially with a car accident keeping me in bed for 2 months right after selection – I was scared I’d not be ready for the final team selection in Norway.  So with less than 8 weeks to go, and with Yolan Zanders’ negotiation with Juliet Cuthbert, I walked into Cuthbert’s Gym to begin my specially-designed strength training regimen. This included intense squats, lunges, push-ups and even tyre pulling.

Gym workouts are also a part of Kim Marie’s hectic training.

Tyre pulling is the Holy Grail for polar explorers.  The 200lb pulk has all your food, fuel, tent, and medical supplies among other things. Pulling tyres is the best way to simulate that. You put a weight belt around your waist with a rope, attach tyre(s) and you are in business.  Weight is continuously added to build endurance. My body began to change – a larger derriere (and increased strength) was the  gift of this particular exercise. My 10-mile Saturday runs with my running club, the Jamdammers also started feeling easier.

Kim Marie does her regular trek

Leon Barnaby of the JDF also came on board.  He took me to the Blue Mountain Peak for the first time in my life, along with fellow Jamaican finalist, Alecia. We slept for a mere  3-4 hours on the way to the peak; starting from Mavis Bank – a distance of about 13 miles with bags packed with power food –Nature Valley bars, bottles of WATA, gummy bears, crackers and tuna. You need easy-to-digest meals on this trek and breaking up the granola bars with gummy bears makes a great fuel for trekking.

Under the watchful eye of Olympian Juliet Cuthbert, Kim Marie goes through her regular gym routine.

Norway was my next stop! I was still scared – was I ready?

More on that and the fundraising drama to get to Norway when you check back here on September 28^th. You can also follow my story at www.gleanerblogs.com.

The Start of the Adventure

As many great opportunities in life, I heard about the Commonwealth Women’s Antarctic Expedition through a friend via late evening phone call on the day of  the application deadline, October 16th 2008.  It sounded surprisingly exciting and before the call was even finished, I had completed the application form online.
The  Commonwealth Women’s Antarctic Expedition is one which will see 8 women from 8 countries – Cyprus, Ghana, India, Singapore, Brunei, New Zealand, Jamaica and the United Kingdom – will ski over 800 kilometers across Antarctica to the  South Pole together, braving temperatures below 30C.  This expedition marks the 60th anniversary of the Commonwealth and aims to demonstrate the potential of greater intercultural understanding, while highlighting the achievements of women across the world – the ancestors on whose shoulders we stand. Just the thought of being a part of this intrigued me. I wanted to go…and badly. So I hoped I would be selected. Why? You may wonder. I needed to conquer the unknown within myself and in the world around me. Moreover, there is the ‘tallawahcity’, as my fellow finalist called it,  a marked determination that we Jamaicans can do anything

Kim Marie and Queen- Kim Marie Spence meets the queen on her first session in the UK.

A week later, I was among 10 finalists, from 26 applications from Jamaica, who were invited to the British Council in Kingston to interview. “It is dangerous” Felicity Aston, team captain and a member of the first all-female Polar Challenge  team said.  She was experienced; friendly; looked normal – if she had done it, couldn’t I? A few hours after that interview, Felicity rang letting me know that I was one of two Jamaicans selected for the final round– I was ecstatic! My journey to the South Pole had officially begun, so did the many challenges. The first of which was a major car crash the day after selection, leaving me without a car, my hand in a sling, no way to get around and a beyond extreme training routine that I had no idea how I was going to be able to follow manage.

Kim Marie 1st training- Kim- Marie looks quite at easy at her first training session in Antarctica.

The challenge, the camaraderie, the nationalism, and the countless stories of the extreme cold and melting snow for water surprisingly continue to inspire me. More on that next time! Off to face the rigour of running up Long Mountain!
Be sure to check back here on September 28th for more from Kim-Marie. You can also follow her story at www.gleanerblogs.com for more info.

Kim-Marie with Flag: The proud Jamaican raises her flags to the world!

[1] Polar Challenge is a 320-nautical mile race to the 1996 position of the Magnetic North Pole with the competitors stopping en route at two manned checkpoints to re-supply.The race is held between mid-April to mid-May every year since 2004, and is televised annually to 168 million homes in 107 countries.

Kim-Marie Spence is the Jamaican team member of the Commonwealth Women’s Antarctic Expedition (www.commonwealthexpedition.com) and is training to be the first Jamaican to ski from the Antarctic coast to the South Pole. She welcomes your support, financially and otherwise. You can contribute to her expedition at Jamaica National account no. 10870166. She welcomes your feedback at Jamaica@commonwealthexpedition.com and on her Facebook page, Southpole Trod.