Antarctica Travel Cruises - Tours - Vacations

Sharon and Lynn.

Re: South Pole Flight trip Dec. 2016

I know this is long and probably contains much that you already know, but wanted to make sure you got some good feedback about our trip.

This trip was fantastic! When we arrived (Dec 9) we were met by Carolyn and Hernan and transferred to our hotel. We got beautiful folders with welcome letters, post cards, stickers, and a luggage arrangement info sheet. We arrived about noon and Carolyn came to our room at 5 pm to inspect our gear. We passed with flying colors, in fact she loved the way I had everything laid out so she took photos!

The next day was free time (Dec 10). At 9:00 am (Dec. 11) they came to the hotel lobby to weigh our duffles and take them to the plane for loading. The limit was 30 kg and we had only 12 kg each! We were concerned that we had so little but we had everything on the list, plus some extras we wanted. At 2:30 we walked over to their office and were fitted for the rental jackets, bib-pants and boots. (note: for some reason they did not have any paperwork letting them know that both of us were renting gear (only Johns) but they suspected it and it was not a problem) Then at 5:00 we walked back for the Welcome Briefing and Cocktail Party. It was great to meet everyone we were going with and to hear how everything is going to play out over the next week. Really surprised when we got to keep the beautiful etched drink glasses they served the drinks in. We got rides back to the hotel as we had the gear rental bags to take with us.

That night we got a call at 7:40 pm with a pickup time of 7:10 am (Dec 12) (unless things changed and we got a call in the morning with a new time). It was a go! A big bus picked us and everyone else up and took us to the airport. We got off the bus with boarding passes and passports only (everything else was left on the bus), cleared security (easy we had nothing with us!) and we waited about 1.5 hours before we boarded the bus and waited for the call to go to the big Ilyushin. It was a fast board and before we knew it we were airborne for Antarctica watching the Go-Pro feed from the nose of the plane. They fed us lots of goodies and a sandwich as well as drinks. They did play a movie but with no sound or subtitles, it was an interesting watch! It really didn’t matter that there was no sound as we would not have been able to hear it over the engine noise and through the ear plugs they provided.

We arrived to wind and sunshine and were transferred in big vans to the Union Glacier camp. We got a quick ‘there’s the washrooms, the tents, and this in the dining tent and lunch is ready, orientation in 30 minutes in the other tent”. One of the owners, Dave, told us that there is a window to go to the Pole. We would have to stay at least two nights at the pole before the next window to return and by the way, we would be leaving in 1 hour! He explained that this is usually an extra cost but they felt it was more important to give us the opportunity to get to the pole than fuss over the fact it is usually an extra charge. We were not about to argue!! It was unanimous by the 6 of us so in 1 hour we were on the Basler headed for the pole with a cook, food, doctor and 2 guides (all of whom packed really fast with this quick change in plans!). We didn’t even see our bags as they went straight to the plane. We did grab the self-inflate mattresses and pillows from our Union Glacier tents. We were up at 5 am this morning and by the time we reached the pole and had dinner it was 11 pm, so we were exhausted but thrilled beyond belief.

The camp at the pole had 2 washrooms (his and hers), a small dining/kitchen/command center tent, a similar tent for supplies and the pilots, the camp manager Devon, and about 8 small tents. We have not had to crawl into a tent in years and my knees were a bit cranky to say the least but it was surprisingly ‘warm’ as the sun was out full on the whole time we were there. The sleeping bags are very bulky but very warm. In fact we ended up sleeping on top of them as they were too warm!

Having the whole day (Dec 13) at the pole was a definite advantage for me because the altitude really caused havoc with my breathing. Between the altitude, the cold, and all that HEAVY outer gear I could not walk very far without stopping to catch my breath. We had lots of time so this was not a problem.

After breakfast we went to the Ceremonial Pole, and the Geographic pole to get all the customary photos plus a few special shots for others at home (including one in that wonderful earflap fluffy hat you sent us).

After lunch we attended a wedding at the Ceremonial Pole – the 3 in our group from the Czech Republic were the bride, groom and best man. The camp manger officiated, the guide (Carol) was official witness and the other 5 of us with the manager from the Amundesn/Scott Station were the ‘guests’ (she, the manager, gave some orange plastic flowers for the bride to hold!). Champagne flowed and hot water was thrown into the air to create ice crystals (fake confetti!!). We all had a stiff shot of something before heading out for the wedding. The groom brought it with him from home. The bottle had no label on it and it packed quite a punch! The wedding party wore light blue sashes with gold letting on them to identify who they were – in Czech of course. The temperature was about -27C with a wind chill putting it about -35C. Wow!!

Back at the camp we all got those wonderful heavy duty Certificates of Achievement for being at the South Pole. They came in excellent heavy cardboard envelopes to make bringing them home safer. They travelled well!

Our doctor, Gaynor, and the pilots had to miss the wedding so they could go and rescue someone from an adventure trip, Ski the Last Degree. They actually came back with 3: one with Pneumonia (his friends stayed out there), and two guys traveling together but one had altitude sickness and the other had frost bite on his thumbs (he will make a full recovery as he came in early enough).

Before dinner we had a tour of the station which was really interesting. The place is huge and has basically everything you could want. We got to use the flushing toilets – a big bonus, especially because the ladies ‘pee toilet’ was a disabled walker style chair with a big red bucket underneath that you pour into a funnel on a large jug! We also got stamps for our passports. We were here on the 105th Anniversary of man first reaching the South Pole.

After dinner Carol told us the interesting story about the Norwegian Larsen’s expedition to the pole and how his crew got all split up but were eventually all rescued except one that died. We all loved the part about the three guys who had black skin from burning seal fat.

Leaving the next morning (Dec 14) was an unknown until after breakfast when the pilots got the go to return to Union Glacier. It was fine where we were but UG was unsure for a bit. So we finally got back to Union Glacier and it was so wonderfully warm we shed the jackets as soon as we got there. The pilot took a different approach so we got to see the awesome rock formations near the camp.

We had time to set ourselves up in these luxurious tents! Having cots with little pockets hanging down the sides is like a 5 star hotel. The small table was also like a slice of heaven! (note: on the table were 2 Nalgene bottles and inside were eyeshades (that work better than any we brought), lip balm with spf 50 and a small sunscreen with spf 50 - - If we knew this we could have saved buying ones at home that we will never use again).

Mid afternoon we got to witness a first in Antarctica – skydiving. There were 6 skydivers (groom and best man from our pole group). They did two very successful dives before dinner. By this time the showers were ready and we did not hesitate to try them out. They were fantastic and HOT, even after we added some snow to our bucket to cool it down a bit! It was great to feel human again. They had liquid soap in the showers but you need your own shampoo if you don’t want to just use the soap for your hair. The towels and face cloth they provided were nice. Had a need of a brief visit to the doctors (nothing serious – just a small infection) and were really surprised to find out that medical there is covered. Very pleased with this fact! Serious stuff the insurance would cover but anything simple is included. Gaynor said their job was to keep us healthy so that’s what they do.

At the camp with us were three young people from the Kazakhstan Geographic Society (just holidaying), several Mt Vinson climbers, several hikers and skiers, the wife, daughter and son of Henry Worsley who died on an un-assisted expedition last year (distant relation to one of Shackleton’s crew members), Hank from Edmonton, Alberta who was attempting to bike from the South Pole to Hercules Inlet. He started over a week late and lasted just over a week I think it was before calling it off saying that “Antarctica had kicked his butt!” His double fat wheel bike was custom made. We think he made a very good effort to do a very tough thing! Also Mike, from Toronto, was there last year for the marathon and stayed in hopes of reaching the pole (by plane) but three weeks later he finally got out to go home slightly late for work! His arm was up before anyone when he heard we could sleep at the pole.

There is now a small store in the camp BUT they only take US cash. There is a web page with a link to see what they have to offer and the prices. We each got the jackets and I got one of the tote bags. We had no money with us (only about $25) so Carolyn (guest services) made arrangements for us to take the stuff with us and when we returned to Punta Arenas we went to the bank and got the equivalent in Chilean Pesos and took it to their office. They do not sell in the office as they do not have permission to sell merchandise in Chile and they cannot take credit cards out in the camp for obvious connection reasons. (note: It would be really nice if people knew about this beforehand so they could arrange to take enough cash with them, as most going on these trips would not be carrying a couple of hundred or more US on them. It is also good to shop early after arrival as stock is limited.)

Our first morning at UG (Dec 15) was relaxed and included an excellent lecture on the history of the South Pole station and all about the Amundsen and Scott expeditions. During the night the clouds moved in and we never saw the sun much until the morning we left. After lunch we headed out to Elephants head and the blue lake filled with bubbles and Cryocronites. The whole group hiked up to the Elephant head but I stayed at the lake with Carol exploring the fascinating rock formations in the area. It was also great to just sit and soak in the quiet!! Back at the truck were snacks and hot drinks before returning the 40 minutes drive to the camp.

That evening’s dinner was a giant celebration dinner in the Terra Nova tent. There was one big table down the middle, table cloths, fancy folded napkins, flowing wine, beer and champagne, a chocolate wedding cake for the newlyweds (with a map of Antarctica on it), many speeches and thank yous for all the staff, and a lot of laughter. Dinner was special and served to us – not buffet. The windows were blacked out and there were candles on the table. It was a very special evening. They showed a first rendering of the video of the skydiving.

On Friday (Dec 16) we woke to gusting winds and blowing snow. Mid morning we were treated to a talk on Adrien de Gerlache’s expedition of 1897. Carol asked which explorer we would like to hear about and we suggested the one our tent was named for. Lots of facts and interesting tidbits!

We then geared up for a cross continent trip (we were not in a country so it was not called cross ‘country’ skiing!). We have not skied for about 25 years so we were not very fast but did quite well and really enjoyed it. We headed out of camp down the road towards the Blue Ice Runway. We went as far as the only tree (cardboard) in Antarctica before turning back. About half way back we got a BIG taste of how fast this unforgiving continent can change! Within minutes we were in near gale force winds and whiteout conditions! We were with a guide so we were okay although we knew to just follow the black flags and we would reach camp eventually. We went 4.5 km in total and were exhausted!

We thought conditions would cancel any outing after lunch but nope! We drove the 30 minutes out to the wind scoop. That was a fascinating long walk and our second walk on ice with the spikes put on the bottom of our boots. Surprisingly there was little or no wind in that area. That time we went out in the big snow cat tractor which was really fun. Again they had warm drinks and snacks for us before we headed back to the camp. We had a really physical day and were very tired this night.

For our last day at camp it was snowing all day (Dec 17). After breakfast we were treated to a talk on Ice-sheet and Sea-level Rise by Helmut Rott, a glaciologist from Innsbruck. He shared some very scary facts on global warming. It was very interesting to hear about the type of work he does.

Mike from Toronto had some air time cards for the phones so that he could do some work while he was here. One had some time left on it so he gave it to me. I called my girlfriend and she spent the whole 7 minutes we had crying – or so it seemed! (note: The cost for air time is $US 35 cash for 30 minutes.) Not bad if you really want to surprise someone or have to work.

Around noon a group of people started to build an Igloo. Several of the pilots (grounded by the weather) and some staff got involved and about 8 hours later it was all done! It had stairs going down underground and then up into the igloo. Omar (one of the skydivers) was the instigator and he apparently spent the night in it.

At 3:30 a session of Yoga was offered but we passed on that! Getting all sweaty and then going out in the cold was not our idea of fun.

Before dinner Carol gave us a very informative behind the scenes tour of the camp. We really understand now where the cost for these trips comes from. The logistics of running this operation is staggering and our hats are off to the people who do this every year. It is a very impressive camp.

We had our second shower of the Antarctic trip and prepped to leave the next day. As of dinner it was looking like a 50/50 chance for departure. By bedtime it was clearing nicely but we had no info on conditions in Chile.

Our last morning it was sunny and beautiful! (Dec 18) The Guest notice board said “Big Bird has taken off from Punta”. It was stopping in Ushuaia to get some scientists so it would be a bit late getting here. We signed up to go out and watch the landing. Right after breakfast the skydivers did a third and final dive and it was the best for lighting for us a spectators.

Watching the Ilyushin land was incredible and sad as this was our flight out of Antarctica. About 2 hours later we were loaded and heading to Punta Arenas. Sandwiches, snacks, and drinks were plentiful and the two movies had subtitles – much easier to watch. Before we could blink we had our bags and were at our hotel – the big adventure over.

We spent the next day in Punta Arenas before our flights home – which went off without any problems.

Thank you for all your help getting us to the South Pole! It was a fantastic, overwhelming, stunning, experience of a lifetime and we have been sharing it with anyone interested in what we did (and some still think we were totally nuts!).

Holly and John

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