The last great polar challenge ended for legendary British explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes before it even began.
Fiennes was forced to withdraw from his historic winter crossing of Antarctica after developing severe frostbite during training at an Antarctic base camp last week. He returned to the UK yesterday, admittedly "very frustrated."
The 68-year-old adventurer planned to lead a team of five men on a 2,000-mile trek across the snow-blanketed continent in hopes of becoming the first ever to cross the Antarctic in the winter.
See The Coldest Journey's progress >
The remaining five will continue the unprecedented journey, starting on March 21, but without their fearless leader. This adds risk to an already dangerous journey.
They will battle temperatures that can plunge to minus 130 degrees Fahrenheit and hidden chasms that can swallow entire tractors.
Fiennes' injury stands as another reminder of the inherent danger of the expedition, dubbed "The Coldest Journey."
The team has been chronicling their progress through a series of blog posts and pictures posted to the expedition's website. We already showed you how the team got to Antarctica. Here's what they've been up to since arriving on the continent.
The SA Agulhas, the polar ship that would take the The Coldest Journey crew and all their equipment to Antarctica, left London in early December.
After three weeks on the open Atlantic, the ship stopped in Cape Town to replenish supplies and pick up and the Ice Team, the six men participating in the actual crossing of Antarctica.
Here's the full Ice Team in London pictured from left to right, skipping over Prince Charles: mechanic Spencer Smirl, Ian Prickett, expedition leader Ranulph Fiennes, traverse manager Brian Newham, mechanic Richmond Dykes, and team doctor Robert Lambert.
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