Trip Reports

Antarctica Climber 26 Nov â€“ 10th Dec '08

Written by Leader Paul Donovan, December 2008

After meeting up with Rob & Roger, we made a swift transition from the UK, through Madrid & onto BA. After an eight hour stop over and a city in 30°C heat, it was onto Ushuaia with its low cloud base, rain and temperatures of around 9°C. Just like home! Our ship awaited us, as did Rick, the third member of the JG team. With all passengers on board we disembarked & headed down the Beagle Channel, towards the infamous Drake Passage! Initially the swell of the sea gave us a bumpy ride although this eased considerably the closer we got to Antarctica. The journey across the passage gave us sightings of many sea birds, a lonesome whale, chinstrap penguins and the odd iceberg. Wow, what a start to the trip. Our first planned landing at AitcHO was halted due to a 30 knot wind and a swell of around 2 metres. Given our location with many islands around us, disappointment just didn’t feature at all. The ship turned and headed south towards Portal Point, situated on mainland Antarctica

Throughout that night weather conditions changed considerably, resulting in us reducing our speed. This weather continued throughout the day as we tried to second guess its movements. We found shelter at Danco Island and went ashore for a snowy plod to the top of a 250 metres snow dome with snow some two foot deep, making progress very slow. The highlight of this landing was the abundance of penguins for us to admire. From Danco Island it was onto to Paradise Bay and Almirante Brown Station where any more than a snow plod to a high point some 200m asl was out of the question due to a continued abundance of snow. Great views were had from the top of the many glaciers making their way down to the sea and the many peaks above us. After a bum slide back down and a few photos of the Gentoo penguins, it was off on a zodiac cruise of the bay, dodging the huge icebergs, in search of Weddell seals. We were not disappointed. Back on board the splendours of the Lemaire Channel awaited us, steep 1,000 foot cliffs on either side dictated our passage before reaching Pleneau Island for another landing and yet more penguins. A cruise around the bay saw many impressive icebergs, sculptured only by the wind and sea. Faced with a night ascent of a snow dome with yet more new snow, as it had snowed most of the day, the team decided to opt out and await tomorrow’s delights of an ice cliff.

Unfortunately, the ice cliff climb didn’t happen as we were hit by a weather system that gave us winds of 60-70 knots and gusting 85 knots. Wow! what a day as we worked hard to hide from the storm force winds. We got our first sighting of a couple of orcas today. That was a great experience. With luck not on our side today, the decision was made to head north up the Bransfield Strait to arrive at Deception Island in time for an early morning landing but even the supposed shelter at Deception Island was being hit by 35 knot winds. This weather system is just too big to hide from but one thing it is doing is providing us with a spectacular sea. It’s just a bit unfortunate that we happen to be in it!

It's time now to play our last cards and move onto an almost guaranteed safe haven at Half Moon, north east of Deception Island. We just have to negotiate the narrow opening to take us back into the Bransfield Strait and head north for four hours. Half Moon gave us some degree of shelter but the wind was just too great to offload the zodiacs. A vigilant night watch on the wind allowed us to get off the ship at 05:30 for 2½ hours of wandering around the penguin colony, amongst the seals and onto the high points around the bay. What a great landing. We made the most of it as it was to be our last. Whilst this was a great location for the ascent of a snow slope plus a couple of steeper single pitched slopes, the decision was made not to climb here as we may need to bid a hasty retreat back to the ship, were the weather to change. It was a great shame, but the wildlife on the island made up for this. Our subsequent rescheduled landing at AitcHO just did not happen, again due to winds, so with the hatches battened down we entered the Drake Passage for two days of being hit by this continuing storm.

Our course was set for Cape Horn with the aim to get to within three miles (the closest we are likely to be allowed to get to). Beyond the Horn, we continued north easterly to gain shelter from mainland South America before reaching the Beagle Channel. This smooth passage led us safely back to Ushuaia and an early morning disembarkation.

All in all, whilst this expedition has been limited in its climbing it has been an incredible adventure in and around this fabulous continent. We’ve experienced some of the worst weather conditions the staff & crew on the ship have ever experienced in Antarctica, yet despite that we have made many landings at some incredible sights, trekked to a number of high points and seen the splendours of the animal life on the islands and continental Antarctica – Penguins, Seals, Orca’s and many species of sea birds.

Congratulations to Rob, Roger & Rick for their achievements throughout the trip. I’m sure they have enjoyed this wonderful experience as much as I have.

Thanks to all the passengers aboard the Polar Pioneer for their continued camaraderie.

Thanks must also go to the Aurora Expeditions staff for ensuring a good time was had by all.

And finally, a big thank you to the crew of the Polar Pioneer whose outstanding seamanship took us to our southern most point (65°14’S, 64°09’W) and back again, safely.

Llongyfarchiadau pawb

Paul Donovan
Jagged Globe Expedition Leader « Previous report | Next report »

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