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I was wanting to have a video of the whole circumnavigation to go with this but it's taking far longer than I hoped, so here's the final section and I'll post the video when it's ready.
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Day 30: The final countdown
I've been itching to get going, the wait for dawn has been a long one.
I got bored.
Pomeche 2 C has a circumference of 4662 km, but according to my back of the envelope maths taking into account the 'scenic' detours I will have done well over 5000 km on my way round.
That doesn't include vertical kms I've gone up and down and up and down etc that's an unavoidable part of life on Pomeche, but it's why this place tickles my parts that other worlds can't reach.
Hmmm, anyway, the opener today is an eye opener. No gentle introduction or warm ups, I'm parked at the edge of chasm and:
I have to jump it.
And the next one. Possibly the one after that too. All the ridges on Pomeche align west/east, but I need to travel south for several degrees across those ridges and associated canyons.
It was what I'd been hoping to bypass with speed and big leaps the other day before my detour into the bottom of the chasm.
I spend a fair while dithering, trying to pick the best takeoff spot and I'm struggling a little. After my excursion into the canyon the other day I really don't want there to be any more drama.
Of course dithering doesn't get anything done and eventually I psyche myself up, go back from the canyon for a runup and leap.
What I have decided is that each jump should just be to the next, no more ludricrous speed.
And the jump goes smoothly, the landing less so but as long as I'm in the right place I'm happy to faceplant any rock/wall on the way:
After some more dithering I repeat the exercise to the next ridge up and left in the image above which ends in another satisfying faceplant after a low stress jump.
I contemplate doing the same again but I remember that in my scouting I had to climb 7km tall ridge from a canyon floor.
I'm struggling though, while doing this I didn't have an image like the one above, and looking at things from the SRV ground level it all looks very different from my memory.
The jump looks lower percentage than I'd like and in the end I decide that dropping off my current ridge is the way, 7km down the cliff and then back up the ridge in front of me:
And it goes as smoothly as it can really.
In particular the climb up that ridge isn't nearly as arduous as I remember from when testing it before setting off (to be sure it could be done).
That should've triggered a warning. It didn't.
As I was getting to the top of the ridge Cmdr Alvin Wall arrived for some driving and very welcome company and we headed off along the ridge, which in my head was now going to lead straight to the ascent onto the Pomeche ridge itself.
That welcome company and chat started being punctuated with, well, words, and muttering as the terrain we were having to deal with turned very tricky, very quickly.
This finally did trigger a warning as it didn't fit my memory and my glances to the ridge on our south turned into stares as it slowly dawned on me that I wasn't on the right ridge at all.
Small round appendages!
Crank Larson arrived and his timing was just perfect. He was able to scout ahead on our current ridge and confirm that it vanished down into a canyon and didn't meet any other ridges.
So there was another jump was to be done.
This was a bigger jump than previously, but fortunately there was a low spot that looked reachable:
and taking a bearing we then backed up to the far side of our current ridge and ...
I dithered, then dithered a little more.
See, I had now remembered that low spot as I'd looked at it for a possible approach. That meant I'd also looked at the canyon below ... and it was an SRV's nightmare. A tangle of vertical walls separated by SRV swallowing crevasse that would not be kind to the circumnavigation. I really, really couldn't afford to mess this up.
So of course I did.
Sort of.
It was Crank's prompt "shall we just get on with it then?" that got me going, but during the runup I caught a landing badly, spun and thankfully had the time to abort.
Alvin also aborted but Crank kept going and serendipitously became the guinea pig.
The spin was definitely an accident, honest.
And then "I don't think I'm going to make it ..."
It's not the end of the world as I know I can take the climbing route I'd originally intended, it'd just take a LOT longer than we have time.
but then "oh, maybe I'm ok actually"
"no, I'm good, I'm going to make it"
And Crank does make it. Not by the biggest of margins but it's fine he says.
So Alvin and I go again, my runup goes well and despite holding my breath for most of the crossing I'm over.
Alvin aborts then goes again again, and Crank and I watch on horror as his line takes him straight into one of the cliffs either side of the dip.
We're gutted for him but honestly he seems pretty happy, "I love this type of canyon". He's found a flat section and is off on his own little journey.
Crank and I make our way up onto the ridge proper and a few minutes later:
that icy knife ridge left of centre is the east end of the Pomeche ridge.
I am sooo relieved at this point. I know the rest, while not easy, is manageable and recoverable now.
I'm actually going to do it.
Alvin has gotten back to his ship and we meet opposite the ridge's base:
We're not aiming for the left most end, but for the little col showing the brown ridge behind, and from there it's two very steep walls that allow access to the ridge proper (much steeper than they look from this shot).
Once there Crank and I wait for Alvin to look other way, attach the pre-arranged winch lines and wait for him to watch again before we take off.
"How did you do that?"
Magic
Cmdr Florenus arrives and shadows us in his ship, "wow, the landscape is breathtaking"
Yeah, it really is:
Then suddenly the ridge properly appears:
I am so grateful for the company, Crank who was there as I started this madness and two new friends who've somehow not been put off by this cmdr's ridge obsessed quirks.
( Thanks also to those who've followed along here and the others I've met up with. It's made the journey all the more enjoyable o7 )
The next hour or so is just good fun as we all make our way along by ship or srv until finally, after 63 days on a sea of ridges, I drive cross the line:
It's been a proper adventure.
o7 Cmdrs
ps. Further posts will have the world and route maps as well as that video I'm working on finishing.
Edit: spelling and minor edits
I was wanting to have a video of the whole circumnavigation to go with this but it's taking far longer than I hoped, so here's the final section and I'll post the video when it's ready.
----
Day 30: The final countdown
I've been itching to get going, the wait for dawn has been a long one.
I got bored.
Pomeche 2 C has a circumference of 4662 km, but according to my back of the envelope maths taking into account the 'scenic' detours I will have done well over 5000 km on my way round.
That doesn't include vertical kms I've gone up and down and up and down etc that's an unavoidable part of life on Pomeche, but it's why this place tickles my parts that other worlds can't reach.
Hmmm, anyway, the opener today is an eye opener. No gentle introduction or warm ups, I'm parked at the edge of chasm and:
And the next one. Possibly the one after that too. All the ridges on Pomeche align west/east, but I need to travel south for several degrees across those ridges and associated canyons.
It was what I'd been hoping to bypass with speed and big leaps the other day before my detour into the bottom of the chasm.
I spend a fair while dithering, trying to pick the best takeoff spot and I'm struggling a little. After my excursion into the canyon the other day I really don't want there to be any more drama.
Of course dithering doesn't get anything done and eventually I psyche myself up, go back from the canyon for a runup and leap.
What I have decided is that each jump should just be to the next, no more ludricrous speed.
And the jump goes smoothly, the landing less so but as long as I'm in the right place I'm happy to faceplant any rock/wall on the way:
After some more dithering I repeat the exercise to the next ridge up and left in the image above which ends in another satisfying faceplant after a low stress jump.
I contemplate doing the same again but I remember that in my scouting I had to climb 7km tall ridge from a canyon floor.
I'm struggling though, while doing this I didn't have an image like the one above, and looking at things from the SRV ground level it all looks very different from my memory.
The jump looks lower percentage than I'd like and in the end I decide that dropping off my current ridge is the way, 7km down the cliff and then back up the ridge in front of me:
And it goes as smoothly as it can really.
In particular the climb up that ridge isn't nearly as arduous as I remember from when testing it before setting off (to be sure it could be done).
That should've triggered a warning. It didn't.
As I was getting to the top of the ridge Cmdr Alvin Wall arrived for some driving and very welcome company and we headed off along the ridge, which in my head was now going to lead straight to the ascent onto the Pomeche ridge itself.
That welcome company and chat started being punctuated with, well, words, and muttering as the terrain we were having to deal with turned very tricky, very quickly.
This finally did trigger a warning as it didn't fit my memory and my glances to the ridge on our south turned into stares as it slowly dawned on me that I wasn't on the right ridge at all.
Small round appendages!
Crank Larson arrived and his timing was just perfect. He was able to scout ahead on our current ridge and confirm that it vanished down into a canyon and didn't meet any other ridges.
So there was another jump was to be done.
This was a bigger jump than previously, but fortunately there was a low spot that looked reachable:
I dithered, then dithered a little more.
See, I had now remembered that low spot as I'd looked at it for a possible approach. That meant I'd also looked at the canyon below ... and it was an SRV's nightmare. A tangle of vertical walls separated by SRV swallowing crevasse that would not be kind to the circumnavigation. I really, really couldn't afford to mess this up.
So of course I did.
Sort of.
It was Crank's prompt "shall we just get on with it then?" that got me going, but during the runup I caught a landing badly, spun and thankfully had the time to abort.
Alvin also aborted but Crank kept going and serendipitously became the guinea pig.
The spin was definitely an accident, honest.
And then "I don't think I'm going to make it ..."
It's not the end of the world as I know I can take the climbing route I'd originally intended, it'd just take a LOT longer than we have time.
but then "oh, maybe I'm ok actually"
"no, I'm good, I'm going to make it"
And Crank does make it. Not by the biggest of margins but it's fine he says.
So Alvin and I go again, my runup goes well and despite holding my breath for most of the crossing I'm over.
Alvin aborts then goes again again, and Crank and I watch on horror as his line takes him straight into one of the cliffs either side of the dip.
We're gutted for him but honestly he seems pretty happy, "I love this type of canyon". He's found a flat section and is off on his own little journey.
Crank and I make our way up onto the ridge proper and a few minutes later:
that icy knife ridge left of centre is the east end of the Pomeche ridge.
I am sooo relieved at this point. I know the rest, while not easy, is manageable and recoverable now.
I'm actually going to do it.
Alvin has gotten back to his ship and we meet opposite the ridge's base:
We're not aiming for the left most end, but for the little col showing the brown ridge behind, and from there it's two very steep walls that allow access to the ridge proper (much steeper than they look from this shot).
Once there Crank and I wait for Alvin to look other way, attach the pre-arranged winch lines and wait for him to watch again before we take off.
"How did you do that?"
Magic
Cmdr Florenus arrives and shadows us in his ship, "wow, the landscape is breathtaking"
Yeah, it really is:
Then suddenly the ridge properly appears:
I am so grateful for the company, Crank who was there as I started this madness and two new friends who've somehow not been put off by this cmdr's ridge obsessed quirks.
( Thanks also to those who've followed along here and the others I've met up with. It's made the journey all the more enjoyable o7 )
The next hour or so is just good fun as we all make our way along by ship or srv until finally, after 63 days on a sea of ridges, I drive cross the line:
It's been a proper adventure.
o7 Cmdrs
ps. Further posts will have the world and route maps as well as that video I'm working on finishing.
Edit: spelling and minor edits
Last edited:
