Men wanted for hazardous journey, small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger. Safe return doubtful, honor and recognition in advent of success.

-Ernest Shackelton’s recruiting ad for the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition.

This TR describes a trip to Antarctica with Ice Axe Expeditions where I joined several of the Tokyo based crew: Ninjaman, Pinky, KingOfMyhr and Soprano. A TR with exceptionally good photos was already posted on TGR (but with a limited number of pictures of us) at

http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/showthread.php/231218-TR-Antarctica-2011-(nsfw-pg-3)

Our group arrived several days early in Ushuaia, where we would meet the ship taking us to Antarctica, planning on doing some touring in the area before joining up with the Ice Axe crowd. Unless you happen to live in Patagonia, the flight to Ushuaia should convince anyone of the truth of at least the first part of the city’s motto: ‘Ushuaia, fin del mundo, principio de todo’. (Ushuaia, end of the world, beginning of everything). Though starting in the western hemisphere my flight lasted twenty five hours. The Tokyo based guys may have set some kind of a record (and once again demonstrated their high pain thresholds) by signing on as prisoner of the airlines for over forty hours.

Ushuaia

Ushuaia

Ushuaia is a surprisingly large town (population ~55,000) given its location. Ushuaia features:

-A strikingly beautiful setting surrounded by rugged peaks.
-Dogs so generally lethargic that they appear dead (at least until passed by a truck filled with ski gear which apparently spurs their killer instincts).
-A bizarre mixture of architectures that has to be seen to be believed.
-Speed bumps so large that they might well have been found originally as part of the Siegfried line.

The mountains surrounding the town are quite spectacular, somewhat reminiscent of Valdez. Although there wasn’t much snow left when we arrived (supposedly unusual for the season) the touring potential would be almost unlimited if it weren’t for the fact that most lines were guarded by incredibly dense forest up to tree line.

One exception to this was the Marshal Glacier area.

Marshal Glacier Area

This could be accessed by a road to a small ski area (completely snow free while we were there) but offering a path through the forest to the tree line using the dry ski runs.

Hiking up to the start of the touring area.

We spent three days touring in this area which gave us an opportunity to get our gear dialed in and summer softened feet accustomed to being encased in plastic for hours on end.

Gearing up.

Reaching the ridgeline offered spectacular views.

Pinky, Ninjaman and KingOfMyhr enjoy the cooling breezes.

Lot of terrain back there.

Snow was ‘variable’ but occasionally good chalk or corn was to be had.

Pinky carving chalk.

Jet lag had the Tokyo boys rather ruined for much of the time and definitely out of synch with the Argentine schedule (get up late, siesta, go to dinner late, stay up late). We still managed to find some excellent restaurants in town that were open when the Ninjas were awake.

Admire the décor. In Ushuaia ‘waiter’ refers to ‘the guy you wait (and wait and wait) for’.

More of the Ice Axe people showed up as the days progressed and we started running into some of the people that we would be heading south with. Two of the most enthusiastic were guides Jim and Kevin (who spend their springs working for Points North in Cordova).

Jim and Kevin looking forward to alternative descent method.

Jim on his first flight goes high.

Kevin, having a few more flight hours, goes low.

Departure

Finally the day of departure for Antarctica arrives and we finally get to see our ride.

Clipper Adventurer

Not the typical start to a ski trip.

Following a lifeboat drill we got underway and heading into the Beagle Channel (discovered by and named after the HMS Beagle in 1830 during a hydrographic survey of Tierra del Fuego).

Pinky, Soprano and friends line up for lifeboat drill.

Once we got done with our drills we got to start wandering around the ship and were treated to some different perspectives of Ushuaia and its surrounding as well as a variety of water craft found in these waters.

View from the top deck.

Some rather pointy mountains in the area.

Our ship is bigger than yours.

And much bigger than yours.

Soon we were called to dinner and got our first experience of the excellent food that would be offered three times a day on board. The food was so good and plentiful that in spite of our daily excursions and often missing lunch, we figured that few people actually lost weight on the trip. (I certainly didn’t…)

Me, KingOfMyhr, Soprano and Pinky surround post dinner carnage.

As night fell, the moon lit the channel in an otherworldly fashion.

Moonrise in the Beagle.

Drake Passage

Below 40 degrees south there is no law.
Below 50 degrees south there is no god.

-Old whalers saying about the Drake Passage.

Drake Passage Map.

Morning brought us into the Drake Passage and for many the first opportunity to try out the particular flavor of seasickness remedy chosen. Patches and pills were widely in evidence. Mix these with alcohol and results were ‘interesting’ to say the least.

Those less hammered wandered the boat, listened to lectures by the ship’s crew and organized gear. Particularly interesting was visiting the bridge which became more popular whenever the weather got worse since you could see exactly how high the wind speed was and how many degrees the ship was actually rolling.

Third officer, who previously served on Corvettes in the Columbian Navy. Where do we enlist?

Guide Doug Workman organizes gear in tight quarters.

On the second day the weather cleared for a while and the ship was followed continuously by a bevy of seabirds of all shapes and sizes. Not sure exactly why they liked hanging out with the ship, but they offered a continuous show of soaring skills as they played with the air currents behind the ship.

Drake seabirds over the wake.

That night we arrived in the South Shetland Islands, but due to poor weather we headed further south to find better conditions.

Antarctic Peninsula

Overnight we travelled down into the shelter of the Neumayer Channel to Port Lockroy on Goudier Island where we got our first chance to on Zodiacs to get on shore and see some wildlife.

Zodiac being lowered from top deck.

Ramp from ship to Zodiac

Zodiacs cruising back to ship.

Finally, what we’ve all been waiting for-

Penguin!

And more penguins!

Oh, apparently they swim too.

Besides the penguins, there this guy, a Weddell seal.

Enjoying life on the ‘beach’.

He seemed singularly unimpressed with us, hardly moving as we trooped by ,until a bird showed up and took a nip out of his flipper.

Chutzpah…

Seriously?

There really were a lot of penguins though…

Proof that I wasn’t actually in Thailand the whole time.

First Skiing

Having gotten our wildlife fix, we moved on to the first skiing excursion of the trip. Objective was a couloir on the side of Dorian Bay where we first formed into skiing groups. Most people were in groups of three or four clients and a guide. Two such groups would then go out in a Zodiac. Our group was over complement with five people (actually six counting our guide Kent McBride) so we teamed up with a group of three clients (John, Jeff and Marni) with guide Doug Workman. Since all of our group and the people in the Jackson crew had worked with both Doug and Kent before this worked well and provided us with a natural two group Zodiac package each day.

Dorian Bay Couloir.

Once onshore, in most places one was almost always on some sort of glacier  holes  rope teams. Most of us hadn’t spent much time skinning roped up, and very few in a rope team with as many as five people on it. If you haven’t ever tried it, all I can say is that until you do, you’ll never appreciate how much extra enjoyment can be squeezed out of a set of steep switchbacks on a skintrack by trying to maintain correct spacing while roped together with four of your closest friends.

Moving! (Sort of…)

The initial skin and following boot up the couloir managed to cook off much of the seasickness medications and alcohol accumulated on the trip down.

See how much better Soprano looks after some exercise.

Pinky also looking refreshed.

The snow in the couloir itself was pretty good, even if the visibility wasn’t.

Ninjaman dropping in.

KingOfMyhr disappears into the myhr (well, murk actually).

Once onto the apron we found an interesting breakable crust which gave Ninjaman an opportunity to display his ski ballet skills.

And a one…

and a two..

Everybody enjoyed the show even though he never actually went down. Once we got a bit lower, the crust turned into smooth corn.

Soprano enjoying the creamy goodness.

Ninjaman shows that he can ski without one board held behind his back.

In celebration of our outing, Ninjaman started the quest for the perfect chunk of ice by consulting with the ship’s crew then doing some judicious shopping on the way back on board. Having found a lovely clear chunk we then had to find a good use for it.

Doug Workman shows why we all needed to carry an ice screw.

Ninjaman tends bar.

The Vodka always tastes better chilled by 15,000 year old ice.

Although we planned to stay in the same location, strong winds caused the ship’s anchor to drag, at which point the captain decided to pull up stakes and head for a new location. Those of us distracted by staring at a beautiful chunk of ice didn’t notice until morning when we woke up entering Paradise Bay on the continent of Antarctica itself.

For ice shopping this had a lot to recommend itself.

Yup, plenty of ice here…

Some rock could be seen as well.

Off you go, I’m sure we’ll find a place to land and ski.

Well, maybe…

Due to lack of landing spots there was some bunching.

No, after you…

The weather went from murk to clear and back repeatedly on the hike up.
Mob moves uphill. Ninjaman, Soprano and me leading the charge

Clearing spell shows that the ship hasn’t abandoned us yet.

Our selected line involved a short down climb onto a fairly steep starting slope.

Doug shows us how this is best accomplished.

The down climb and issue of getting skis on on a steep firm slope proved somewhat time consuming. In the middle of the exercise we started getting calls from the ship to get down immediately since ice was blowing in, possibly making it difficult to get us off shore.

Looking down at the crew in the start zone.

Looking up doesn’t really improve the view.

Although late getting down we finally managed it. Getting out of the murk we saw what the captain was concerned about.

Good ice shopping. Zodiacing, not so much.

Once we managed to get back to the ship we moved on to a new location again, getting some great views along the way.

Finally clear of the ice pack.

Icebergs and mountains, oh my!

The sun sets late, but it does set.

The following morning we arrived at Chiriguano Bay to our first day of bluebird.

Sunshine, blue seas and icebergs.

The scenery again didn’t disappoint.

With the good weather it was possible to hit a number of different objectives on different sides of the bay and move back and forth between them using our zodiac taxis. Starting objective was Victoria Peak.

Gearing up to board our taxi.

Victoria Peak

Looks steeper ahead…

Indeed.

Near the top, as the slope steepened, the snow got very firm. As such, the first part of the descent was basically a ‘ski assisted down climb’.

Steep enough for you?

Ninjaman displays aerial skills.

Doug and Kent look on, unconvinced.

Lower down the pitch moderated and the snow improved, allowing us to enjoy both the skiing and the scenery.

Pinky enjoys the view.

Meanwhile Andrew McLean and his crew go for the directisma and manage to find some more negotiable conditions.

StraightChuter indeed.

We then motored across the bay to try some stuff in the Lagrange Range.

The LZ.

On the way up we encountered this character sunning himself on the shore.

Pinky successfully avoids disturbing the locals.

That roped skintrack switchback thing again…

Some take the direct route.

Our descent line was again fairly steep at the top. The thin covering of soft snow was gone by the time the last people in the group dropped in.

The entrance.

Looking back up at the line.

Lower down, the sun had softened the snow to fun lower angle corn.
Doug enjoying the softness.

Pinky so taken by the scenery that he neglects to store his poles.

KingOfMyhr not bored yet.

Once down we send for our ride and started a new round of ice shopping, in this case for the very best cocktail ice. Apparently the best cocktail ice is younger (still containing air bubbles) which capture light in the glass for a sparkling appearance.

There’s our ride!

An overnight attempt to approach Ronge Island was thwarted by tightly packed ice so we aimed for Charlotte bay. Heading out there was a radio call that orcas had been spotted in the area.

In the zodiac ,driver Chris gets a call reporting orcas.

We then took some time to go look for them. Didn’t have any luck finding them ourselves, although we did spot a couple of crabeater seals hanging out on ice flows. (Wonder why the orcas were there?)

Crabeater hanging out.

More persistent people kept looking for the orcas and ended up seeing the following drama.

Another crabeater is there.

Then he isn’t.

Where he went becomes obvious.

Nature red in tooth and claw.

After our mostly unsuccessful dithering we move on to a rather steep landing.

Watch that first step.

A long traversing skin lead us up into ‘holeville’.

Pick your route wisely…

Where now?

Halfway up, the weather came in forcing us to bail to avoid murky wanderings in holeville. This got us back to the ship in time to let us take part in the ‘polar plunge’.

Looks like a fine time for a swim.

Pinky going in.

Soprano decides to get out.

For those who hadn’t cooled off sufficiently, this was followed by a buffet meal on the deck.

Outdoor dining, oh goody!

After another night bouncing around crossing Bransfield Strait we ended up in Admiralty Bay. There we were able to ski on both sides of the bay. The morning excursion featured a rather interesting landing zone.

Really?

This was followed by a steep boot up onto a wind whipped face.

Mush!

Not a good place for a fall.

Jim’s crew huddles in somewhat dubious shelter.

Pinky doesn’t seem to mind the breezes.

I aim for the 17the iceflow from right.

Soprano picks one on the left.

Then there is that small problem of getting back out again.

In the afternoon we moved to a zone on the other side of the bay.

Low tide at the time of landing allowed us to get off on a ‘beach’ of sorts.

Watch your step

Once up the hill a ways one was treated to a spectacular view of the glacier rimmed bay.

Lines in this zone featured a mix of excellent snow on lower angle slopes with some ‘louder’ (icy) snow on the steeper pitches.

Setting up for some loud skiing.

Soprano scraping off ice chips.

KingOfMyhr enjoying the softer stuff.

Since our landing beach was under the tide by the time we got down, we had to work over an adjoining ridge to get back to the boat.

It’s just as bony as it looks.

Getting down from there put us through a variable snow variety pack.

Pinky showing the advantages of a snowboard in variable.

That evening was the night of the ‘Black and White Ball’. This brought out a variety of odd creatures.

Soprano (back to camera), KingOfMyhr and Pinky come as the “petting zoo”. Kent looks away.

Clockwork Orange meets Victoria’s deep dark secret.

And actual girls!

Our final ski day was spent on Half Moon Island which offered a wide variety of touring options and, particularly in the morning, when the sun was out for a while, spectacular views.

Approaching the LZ.

Up we go for the first of several lines done this day.

Doug, KingOfMyhr and Pinky climb away from the sea.

The panorama just kept getting better.

StunkCok reaches the ridge.

Looking north from the summit.

Looking south.

John dropping, KingOfMyhr and Ninjaman look on.

Doug chooses a pretty backdrop for his descent.

Ninjaman tries to compete.

Soprano into the blue.

Followed by Pinky.

Once we got down, some of the crew went off to visit a penguin rookery. Unfortunately another cruise ship showed up, blocking them from that objective, so they went ‘zodiacing’ (driving around in one of the zodiac looking for wildlife targets of opportunity). In this effort they came across some leopard seals, the top predator (other than orcas) of the southern ocean.

Leopard seal.

Meanwhile, the hiking continued as the weather started to deteriorate.

I find some steep (and loud) skiing.

Soprano goes for better snow.

Pinky kicks up a cloud.

After our final run, Ninjaman tries a final time to communicate (unsuccessfully) with one of the locals.

Penguin, unimpressed with Ninjaman’s flippers.

Parting shot, Soprano, Kent, Ninjaman, Pinky, KingOfMyhr and me.

On the way back to Ushuaia, the Drake Passage flexed its muscles.

Can we get a bigger ship?

Or maybe a plane?