Severe Frostbite Forces British Explorer to Quit Antarctic Expedition

Severe frostbite has forced British explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes to pull out of an expedition to cross the Antarctic in winter.

A six-member team including Fiennes was scheduled to carry out an expedition from the Russian base of Novolazareskaya to the Ross Sea March 21. But Fiennes has abandoned his journey as his hand was frostbitten when he tried to fix a ski binding with bare hands in temperatures of around minus 30 degrees Celsius (minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit), during training at a base camp in Antarctica, reports BBC.

The other five members, however, will continue their journey as scheduled. The expedition is deemed as the coldest journey on Earth. The group will embark on the 2,000-mile (3,219km) trek in very tough conditions such as traveling in complete darkness and in temperatures as low as minus 90 degrees Celsius. The journey is the first attempt to go across the Antarctic in winter, and is expected to take six months.

The expedition team will carry out research work about the effects of climate change on the Antarctic icecap in winter. It also aims to raise $10 million for the "Seeing is Believing" blindness charity.

The team has been preparing for the last five years to carry out the expedition. Fiennes' withdrawal from the trip is a blow to his colleagues, but they will continue their journey as planned. His team members are trying to transport him to the Princess Elisabeth Station, which is located about 44 miles from the team's current location. But blizzard conditions have hampered their evacuation plans.

"This plan is currently being hampered due to a blizzard at their present location which is making the first stage of the evacuation impossible. Until there is a let up in the weather conditions, Fiennes will be unable to leave," according to a statement from the charity.

Sixty eight-year-old Fiennes has achieved various feats that include becoming the first person to reach both the North and South Poles by land. He was also the first person to cross the Antarctic by foot and the oldest man to climb Mount Everest at the age of 65.