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On Thin Ice - Episode 5

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After an extreme start to the race, TV presenter Ben Fogle, Olympian James Cracknell and doctor Ed Coats are recovering at the halfway checkpoint after arriving in second place, just behind their race rivals, the Norwegians. After 24 hours of enforced rest, they're checked over by the race doctor and given the all clear to start again. The team head out, hot on the heels of the Norwegians. They start out well, racing hard in the face of temperatures that are dropping to minus 40 degrees centrigrade and below. Within days, however, the extreme conditions start to take a dangerous toll on the team, with both Ben and James succumbing to frostbite. After a particularly hard and cold day, they break down completely - James is almost at the point of no return, and the team have to stop early and take a serious review of their situation. They head off again, but only to find themselves in every polar explorer's worst nightmare: a crevasse field. With each step, they risk falling through the thin snow bridges that conceal the hidden danger beneath. Their only escape route now is to reach the South Pole as quickly as possible, and after another nine days of brutal and unrelenting man-hauling, they reach the finish line at the Pole. The men are exhausted and on their last legs, but they've achieved their dream - to race to the South Pole as a team of three.