Irish team set to reach South Pole tomorrow after tough 1,100km trek

Irish adventurers Pat Falvey, Dr Clare O'Leary and colleagues aim to reach the South Pole tomorrow at the end of their arduous 1,100km trek across Antarctica.

"Heaven in hell," was how Falvey, the 50-year old Corkman, described conditions over the weekend, after 55 days of man-hauling sledges weighing over 150kg.

The group, which also includes IT specialists Jonathan Bradshaw (36) and Shaun Menzies (42), hopes to become the first Irish team to walk to the South Pole, while Dr O'Leary (35) is set to become the first Irish woman to do so.

The initial Irish South Pole record was set three years ago by Kerry mountaineer and adventurer Mike Barry. He reached the pole in 51 days on January 21st, 2004, as part of an international expedition.

A century ago this year, Irish adventurer Ernest Shackleton came within 180km of the elusive target as part of the Terra Nova expedition. Three years later, the first flag was planted there by the Norwegian Roald Amundsen.

Falvey and company, who have been recording their progress by satellite phone and internet, have named their latest camp after two Irish mountaineers - Joss Lynam and Jim Leonard. The group says its "Beyond Endurance" expedition is paying tribute to former Irish adventurers such as Shackleton, Tom Crean and the McCarthy brothers from Cork.

With less than 70km to go, Falvey has recorded both excitement and exhilaration on his web diary at the weekend.

"Antarctica is being kind to us for a change and the weather is holding good," he said. "Let's hope that it stays that way for the next few days. It would really be nice to finish our journey holding in mind the beauty of this place.

"We really don't mind the cold once it doesn't go above -30 degrees and it's still air temperature. It's the wind and the white-out conditions that drive us crazy.

"You are battling sub-zero temperatures, storm force winds, white-outs and then you wonder why. Why are you here, when you could be at home in front of a fire and watching a documentary about the place you are fighting to survive in. Then you get a day like today, beautiful, heaven-like." Falvey, who leads an expedition company, has climbed Everest twice - his first being just two years after the successful ascent recorded by Belfast architect Dawson Stelfox and colleagues. He has also completed the seven summits challenge twice, among some 30 expeditions worldwide.

Dr O'Leary, a specialist in gastroenterology based at South Tipperary General Hospital, Clonmel, is a highly accomplished mountaineer and the first Irish woman to make a successful Everest ascent.

Meanwhile, Kerry international sailor Damien Foxall has also been battling Antarctic conditions, including icebergs, in the Southern Ocean, as he and French colleague Jean-Pierre Dick maintain their lead in the Barcelona World Race.

Their vessel, Paprec-Virbac 2 was still well ahead of its nearest rival, Hugo Boss, at the weekend, but caught between two depressions. The Franco-Irish duo hope to round Cape Horn by January 9th.