Aid

A journey is Unsupported if:

1. it does not receive any external resupply of food, fuel or equipment, either pre-placed or delivered during the journey ¹
2. it does not off-load anything but human waste and greywater ².
3. it does not enter buildings, aircraft or vehicles, or tents other than their own, during the course of the journey, in particular base camp-style tent (except when instructed to do so as a condition of logistics support, such as at the South Pole)
4. it does not use any type of road, vehicle track or marked route except when following routes into, out of or around bases, stations and camps as directed by authorities.
5. it does not use a vehicle that provides physical and/or psychological support
6. no team members are evacuated

A journey may only use the Unsupported descriptor if it has denied use of all types of above support for its entire journey.

1️⃣

• caches laid by the expeditioner or team during the course of a journey are not considered support unless that cache is a start supply and used to continue a journey
• use and/or consumption of naturally-occurring resources found on route is not considered support

2️⃣

• human waste and greywater collected south of 89° and disposed of at South Pole as advised by authorities is not considered support
• carrying and caching/handing over of foreign manmade waste material found on route is not considered support, so long as it has not been repurposed to benefit the journey
• handing over, or caching for later pick-up, of pre-arranged scientific samples collected on route is not considered support. Unused sample containers may not be handed over

3️⃣

• the abandoned DYE 2 and DYE 3 stations in Greenland are located on common routes across the ice sheet. These Cold War relics offer historical interest and brief visits inside are not considered support unless used as a weather shelter or removing artefacts (which can be used for repairs to equipment).

4️⃣

• the South Pole Overland Traverse (SPoT) ice road runs from McMurdo Station across the Ross Ice Shelf, up the Leverett Glacier and across the plateau to the South Pole. The ice road is permanently flagged and graded at the start of each season and any use of the road is considered support. Any similarly prepared roads constructed in future will be classified as support if used on a journey. Brief crossings of the road are not considered support.
• while the SPoT ice road continues to exist, the use of the Leverett Glacier is classified as support

5️⃣

• use of satellite phones, weather and ice forecasting, and advisers on standby are not considered support. In many cases an expedition will not be permitted to proceed without multiple means of external communication. See Code of Integrity for advice on usage.

6️⃣

• a guided journey can be unsupported as the guide is not being guided and is therefore not supported. However a journey description must include reference to it being a guided expedition. A guided journey cannot be solo.

7️⃣

• An unsupported journey must be unsupported in its entirety. If a planned unsupported journey accepts a resupply it may only refer to the sector between start and resupply as 'non-resupplied'.

• In order to maintain unsupported status, planned encounters (eg. with a film crew) must be brief, transitory and scarce, with no exchange other than passing conversation. Encounters should not break the usual cadence of a journey