Antarctica

Ten hours of flight time from New York’s JFK to Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. Six hours from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia, the Southernmost city in the world, on the island of Tierra de Fuego, at the end of South America (and part of the famous Patagonia in Argentina).

Ushuaia lies in the Andes Mountains, the longest mountain range along the Western part of South America. These mountains, actually connect South America to Antarctica (at the “finger” or the Antarctic Peninsula), it’s just that they are mostly covered by water (some of the tips creating islands along the way).

The passage from Ushuaia to Antarctica is known as the Drake Passage and forms part of the Southern Ocean, where the Pacific meets the Atlantic. It is home to the roughest seas in the world. Fortunately for us, we had a smooth sailing across the Drake.

We arrived to Elephant Island after a day across the Drake. This island is the first island along the Antarctic Peninsula. Around 1915, the famous explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton failed a transcontinental crossing of Antarctica when his ship, The Endurance, was trapped in the ice and sank. Stranded, he eventually led his entire crew of 27 men to Elephant Island (about 100 miles away). From there, he (and four others – one a trouble maker he didn’t want to leave behind) embarked on a 20’ boat to get help from the folks at South Georgia Island (about 800 miles across the Drake Passage!). I won’t spoil the end of the story; you should read Endurance by Alfred Lansing.

Thanks to some phenomenal expedition leaders and good weather, we were able explore many islands and the Antarctic Peninsula. We were even able to penetrate well below the Antarctic Circle, something not always possible. The pictures below are a rare glimpse and yet a poor highlight of the ineffable Antarctic world.

FUN FACTS:

Antarctica is managed through a treaty of 43 nations. Seven of those countries, Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway and the UK have historic claims on parts of the continent as national territory. The treaty preserves the status quo of the continent by neither recognizing nor rejecting the claims of these countries and by not allowing expansion, commercial activity, etc

· Average ice base – 1 to 2 miles deep!
· Area: About 1.5 times the size of the US
· Ice Free: Less than 1/2 %.
· Contains 90% of the world’s ice.
· Has 70% of the world’s fresh water (mostly ice)
· Tourism: Only about 25,000 per year!

Icebergs: Formed from the edge of glaciers as it breaks off when it reaches the sea. Icebergs are made of freshwater - from snow that has fallen over thousands of years. Annual weather conditions are responsible for their “stripes”. Dark blue layers come from snow in relatively warm/wet conditions when no air is trapped in the layer. Lighter layers come from very cold years. Only about 10% of a floating iceberg is above the water level. What’s below the water line is what sank the Titanic.

Sea-ice: Frozen seawater. Relatively thinner and more expansive; it’s what “icebreakers” cut across.

RECOMMENDED READING:

The Last Place on Earth, by Roland Huntford
The race to the South Pole between Britain’s Robert Scott and Norway’s Amundson

Endurance, by Alfred Lansin
Sir. Ernest Shackleton’s epic voyage to Antarctica.

ANTARCTICA EXPEDITIONS:

An experienced Expedition Leader makes all the difference. We were lucky to have more than one, including Dr. Roy “Fritz” Koerner, the first man to cross the frozen Arctic between Barrow, Alaska and Spitzbergen Island (Norway), passing the North Pole on the way. Bill Lishman, also known as “Father Goose” by becoming the first human to ‘fly’ with the birds (the movies Winged Migration and Fly Away Home were based on him), and Geoff Green a Canadian explorer who has led 70 expeditions to Antarctica. There are only six authorized places to land in the continent; our leaders made it possible to land on three.

CLOSING REMARKS:

Antarctica’s full splendor and grandiosity await you.

Please click on the photos to enlarge.