Antarctic Expedition – Days 13 & 14: we still find ourselves stuck at Lower Camp at 2800m in violent storms, extreme cold and almost zero visibility, lots of which I’ve been sharing in my Instagram stories!

If you haven’t managed to follow it all, you can also catch up via my previous expedition articles here:

• Antarctica Expedition: my craziest adventure to date!
• How to follow me in Antarctica
• Antarctic Expedition – Day 7
• Antarctic Expedition – Day 8
• Antarctic Expedition – Day 11: A Huge Antarctic Storm is Coming!
• Antarctic Expedition – Day 12: Our protective wall collapses with the first gust of wind!

During an expedition, we return to our most basic needs and happiness comes from the little things:

📌 you wake up with warm feet

📌 you have enough to eat (and if not, we ration ourselves, which means this little happiness has even more meaning 😉

📌 you were able to load your equipment

📌 you don’t have light bulbs

📌 the feeling of a hot water bottle on your frozen feet

📌 drinking a hot tea when it’s -40°C outside

📌 enjoying a coffee at 3000m

📌 the taste of a cookie (processed & full of ingredients you normally avoid) after the Herculean effort you’ve just made

📌 a “good” weather forecast

📌 meeting nice people (here, Thierry who saw that I was hungry, offered me cookies and French madeleines!)

📌 you share your tent with a super cool girlfriend, Vanessa

📌 you have an ultra competent guide

📌 you manage to protect your camp

📌 you take the time to admire the view

📌 you receive short messages of support on your GPS tracker

📌 and of course, you get to the top or reach your goal, or even just make it back in one piece—because the mountain will always be waiting for you

Material possessions, the internet (which you don’t have), social media likes & follows, news, everyday dramas, Covid and anxiety-provoking updates…all of that is gone!

It’s back to the first level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and it feels good. In our overconnected society grappling with overconsumption, where a single thought can induce high anxiety, this window of time to return to the basics is truly redeeming!

Antarctic Expedition – Days 13 & 14 Conclusion: Even if the price to pay is the fear of being stranded in the eye of a storm, exerting herculean effort and getting frozen feet…it’s all well worth the experience 🙏.

Namaste,

Valerie Orsoni
Your LeBootCamp Coach