Expeditions 7: Two Years Around the World on all Seven Continents.

Jeremy P.

Adventurer
I really enjoyed the presentation on Expeditions 7 by Greg at the Expo, and looking forward to hearing about the south and central America segments!
 

cruiseroutfit

Supporting Sponsor: Cruiser Outfitters
The Expeditions7 team has been spotted in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego (Argentina) :cool:

IMG_0308 (Small).JPG

Can't wait to see the footage Clay Croft snagged from the helicopter @ Ushuaia!
 

Scott Brady

Founder
Question: Why the grueling pace?

Whatever the pace, it beats sitting at home hammering on a keyboard ;)

Some travelers meander, some like to pack the experiences in, some have other responsibilities that dictate a faster pace. The E7 pace works for the team, and we have had a blast! :)
 

nwoods

Expedition Leader
Whatever the pace, it beats sitting at home hammering on a keyboard ;)

Some travelers meander, some like to pack the experiences in, some have other responsibilities that dictate a faster pace. The E7 pace works for the team, and we have had a blast! :)
No question about that, but I was surprised at the 24 hour continuous driving. Daylight alone doesn't seem like the sole reason to do so. I was wondering if there was a storm cell that was pushing you guys, or permit issues, or whatever. Then again, maybe staying in the cabin was more comfortable than setting up at tent at those temperatures!
 

Scott Brady

Founder
For Antarctica, there are several factors that contribute to significant driving times. Primarily, it is the time, energy and exposure setting up a camp at -40. As a result, you drive for 18-24 hours straight, and then stop for 10-12 hours. You cook, make water, sleep, etc. Once on the plateau, which is 9,000+ feet, there is little change in topography, so you just drive. Other factors include limited fuel, and since you never shut the trucks off, you are better off turning jet fuel into KMs instead of just heat and idling. Some will find it interesting that even idling uses quite a bit of fuel, as not only is the engine running, but the Webasto must also run. At idle, the engine actually looses heat to the point of being a risk. In the mountains, we drove less and camped longer, took more photographs, etc. It was a wonderful experience.
 

Dan Grec

Expedition Leader
...at -40...... At idle, the engine actually looses heat to the point of being a risk.

To echo what Scott said, in my 1992 Subaru Loyale 1.8, I block the entire radiator with cardboard, leave it plugged in to about 500Watts of block heater, oil pan heater and battery blanket permanently, let it idle for about 30 mins before driving, and even after 2 hours of driving at -40C/F, the temp needle never moves from absolute rock bottom.

-40C/F is extremely hard on vehicles. Past -50C it's not worth it. It's not uncommon for cheap-o brands (Kia, I'm looking at you) to just tear CV boots around -45C. Even the rubber around a cheap stick shift goes hard and will break at -45 ish. It's also funny to sit in the car and feel so much taller - it's because the seats are frozen solid.

I saw -48C (-55F) caribou hunting on the Dempster last fall, just near the Arctic Circle in mid November. Even the tires are not round at that temperature, until you drive for 30 mins or so and they warm up a touch.

Living the Yukon is fun :)

-Dan
 
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