Two Irish adventurers are due to fly to the South Pole today to start a pioneering Antarctic voyage using high-tech ski-buggies powered by kites.
Bad weather has delayed the departure of Jamie Young and Brian Cunningham from their current base at Puenta Arenas in Chile. However, they are hopeful they can leave for the South Pole this morning.
At speeds of 80-plus kilometres per hour sitting on buggies just half a metre above the ice and snow, Mr Young (50) and Mr Cunningham (59) then hope to start their journey from the Pole.
The buggies, which have been tested only on beaches and the Les Diablerets glacier in Switzerland, were designed specifically for the expedition by Formula 1 racing team engineer, Kieron Bradley.
The two men plan to complete a 1,000-km journey to Patriot Hills in a week to 10 days. Trekking the journey with sleds generally takes about 60 days.
With the kites acting as their "engines", the adventurers' sailing and kiting skills will be crucial.
"The whole thing about the trip is that we are using unproven technology. To an extent what will govern our progress will be snow and ice conditions," Mr Young said. "The other thing will be the wind - we will have either too much or too little. The wind is not the main problem but the visibility. You would be going at 80 k.p.h. into a fairly white environment." Mr Young said if things go well they will travel up to 100 km a day. With 24-hour daylight, they plan to keep going for up to 18 hours a day if conditions are good.
Weight will be kept to a minimum to increase speed. The buggies weigh only 34 kilos (75 lb) and they will carry 160 kilos of gear. "We are struggling to keep them as light as possible and at the same time maintain reasonable safety parameters," Mr Young said.
If one buggy fails, both men can travel on the surviving one. They will each carry five different kites. Calling in a ski-plane if they need to be rescued will cost $150,000.
Mr Young has been looking forward to get back to Antarctica, which he last visited on another adventure five years ago. "It is a fascinating continent with all sorts of history and an inspiring landscape. The environment down there is very memorable."
Originally from Co Antrim, Mr Young has competed in a transatlantic single-handed yacht race, led a kayaking expedition to Guinea Bissau and paddled around Cape Horn.
In 1997, he was part of a team of Irishmen who re-enacted Sir Ernest Shackleton's 1915 trip in a seven-metre lifeboat from Elephant Island to South Georgia in the Southern Ocean after his ship Endurance became stuck in the ice.
Mr Cunningham, also originally from Co Antrim, is currently a visiting professor at the Manchester Business School.
He began his adventuring career in 1967 by yachting to Iceland and back. In 1972 he was one of three who used sledges they designed themselves to traverse the Vatnajokull icecap in Iceland - the third largest in the world.
He is also a mountaineer and ice climber. In 1981 Mr Cunningham was the first to run the 90-mile West Highland Way in Britain in under 24 hours.
Last February, he completed a dog-sledding expedition on Canada's Baffin Island in temperatures consistently below minus 40 degrees.