"Breaking the Ice" is dedicated to reaching the top of a previously
unclimbed mountain and naming it. It's not merely a test of their physical
abilities. It's a matter of principle. Climbing the mountain is meant to
send a message - to show the world that when they work together as a team
Palestinians and Israelis *can* reach their objectives.
If you are not familiar with this expedition, you can view the
Guardian (UK) presentation:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/flash/0,5860,1080359,00.html
You can check out the groups web site at:
http://www.breaking-the-ice.DE
For stunning images check out the Gallery
http://www.breaking-the-ice.de/t_gallery.htm
To sup****t the expedition visit their fundraising page:
http://www.justgiving.com/PFP/pages/?id=CGG/1637
To follow the exploits of this group, you can read the logs online:
http://www.breaking-the-ice.de/WebLog/b2/index.php
Here is a recent entry:
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Prospect Point, Antarctica (66° S, 65° W)
When they awakened this morning, the members of the Israeli-Palestinian
peace expedition to Antarctica were ready to take the first steps in the
multi-day trek that will lead them to an unclimbed mountain, but nature
had
plotted overnight to delay their departure, locking their yacht, Pelagic
Australis, among icebergs and sea ice.
It took several hours of organization and some deft rigging by the boat's
captain Skip Novak before it was possible to begin trans****ting people and
equipment to shore. Even after the process began several hours would pass
until everything was ready for departure.
Finally, they were prepared to set off onto the glacier, wearing
snowshoes,
carrying backpacks and pulling heavy equipment behind them on plastic
sleds. Expedition leader Doron Erel gave the order to rope the eight
trekkers together into two groups of four. They will remain that way
whenever in motion during the days ahead -- a safety measure against
numerous deep crev***** hidden by a thick covering of snow. If any member
of the team falls into one it will be up to all the others to stop the
fall
and pull him or her back out again. Without ropes -- and teamwork -- the
dangers multiply.
The night before their departure, the expedition members argued vocally
about the name they would give to the unclimbed peak that is their final
destination -- a name meant to symbolize their desire for peace. As usual,
Avihu Shoshani, the Israeli attorney and Nasser Quass, the Palestinian
political activist, were in the thick of the debate, disagreeing over
every
nuance of every name suggested by the others. It fell to Breaking the Ice
initiator, Israeli businessman Hezkel Nathaniel and Ziad Darwish, the
Palestinian journalist, to restore calm. Though the tempers finally
cooled,
the meeting ended without a decision.
The extraordinary thing about this extraordinary peace mission is that, on
the very next day, Shoshani and Quass were roped together in the same
trekking group, helping one another to shoulder their load up the glacier.
Time and again, the team members have demonstrated their ability to work
together on a pesonal level despite their political differences.
Their luck, on this day, was that the outstanding Antarctic summer weather
of the last few days has continued to hold. As a result most of the
trekkers today wore no more than thermal underwear, saving their warmer
fleece and down garments for the colder temperatures of the evening.
Everyone was warned to apply thick layers of sunscreen and to use dark
sungl***** -- protection against sunlight reflected off the snow.
At this time of year it never gets dark in Antarctica. The sun hovers just
beyond the horizon and the skies remain illuminated throught the night.
So,
as the team members established their first base camp, setting up tents
and
unrolling sleeping bags, they were able to enjoy a breathtaking view -- on
one side the sea, littered with patches of ice and framed by snow covered
mountains in the distance; on the other side, much closer that it had been
the day before, an unclimbed mountain -- their mountain. Its dark brown
slopes are edged in pure white snow, extending up to its summit -- their
summit. If the weather remains good, they'll reach it within another two
or
three days.
As the team settled into camp, the gas stoves began hissing, turning out
tea, then soup, then pasta -- a fine evening's repast in the middle of a
frozen meadow. Cameraman Colin Rosin taught everyone some of the basic
moves of Tai Chi. Everyone had another couple of tea. And then the
expedition's two female members, Israeli Arab Olfat Haider and Yarden
Fanta, the immigrant Jew from Ethiopia, crawled into their tent for a good
night's sleep on the ice -- followed by all the others -- ready for
another
day of climbing tomorrow as Breaking the Ice moves, step by step, towards
its objective.
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