Antarctic Peninsula ski expedition

What a joy to be back in Antarctica for the first time in five years, leading a ski mountaineering expedition on the Peninsula. The weather so far has been rather grey and moody, but we have made the most of bright windows: it’s only a week since we sailed from Chile, and already we have managed three days skiing.

Drake Passage was very gentle this time and the winds were so light we had to motor most of the way, reaching our first Antarctic anchorage on January 3.  The crew had a busy afternoon, setting and re-setting the anchor repeatedly, as rogue icebergs kept drifting menacingly towards us. Yet again I marvelled at their skill and professionalism. Justino G-Borreguero, the Basque skipper, I know from our South Georgia expedition last September. He is assisted by Tor Bovim from South Africa and by overall ‘expedition leader’ Dion Poncet, who was born on South Georgia, spent most of his childhood aboard his family’s famous yacht Damien II, and knows more about Antarctica than almost anyone alive.

Tor Bovim

Dion Poncet

We wasted no time the next day, making the most of clearish skies to ski up and down Mt Tennant on Rongé Island. Climate change, as everyone knows, has hit the Antarctic Peninsula harder than almost anywhere else on Earth, and right now, with our current northwesterly airstream, it feels as though the mountains are falling to pieces. There were far more open crevasses than I remember from previous ascents, with some scarily fragile, soggy snowbridges. Weaving our way through them was a bit like puzzling out a maze. And the descent –normally an easy glide on a firm frozen crust, was something of a battle with wet soggy snow, with poor visibility to add spice. But we have a really competent team: Guillaume and Anne from France, Bruce and Christa from Scotland, and Heather from Canada. And to compensate for my rather wobbly skiing, I am assisted by a mountain guide from Chile, Diego Saez, who led us expertly down through the whiteout. 

Harris Peak crevasse

Onward, the next day, to Portal Point at the tip of the Reclus Peninsula. The name was given by the Belgian explorer, Adrien de Gerlache, who came here in 1898 as leader of the first of the great national scientific expeditions to explore Antarctica, honouring the French Geographer Elisée Reclus. It’s one of the precious few spots on the Peninsula where one can get a foothold on the Antarctic continent and – for us – a landing to attempt Harris Peak. I spent a long afternoon six years ago admiring this peak and I have been wanting ever since to have a go at it. Low cloud and drizzle ruled out an attempt when we arrived on Sunday. The temptation was to stay indoors in the cosy sanctuary of Vinson’s comfortable saloon.  But in the afternoon we managed to shake off lethargy, put on ski boots and go ashore, at least to do a ‘recce’. As always, despite the murky conditions, it felt good to be out, skiing a short way along the peninsula, then trundling back down to be picked up by Dion in the Zodiac and returned to Vinson for an afternoon cruise round the bay, photographing icebergs and humpback whales, and completing our ‘recce’ by finding a better landing place, an hour closer to Harris Peak.

Harris Peak descent

The forecast for Monday was slightly better so – to a lot of complaining – I announced a 6.00 am start for Harris. We should actually have left at 4.00 am. The ascent was fine: the snow was perfect, the views out across the Gerlache Strait were transcendent and the sun shone from a blue sky. The route Diego and I had planned worked out immaculately, weaving safely between immense, cavernous, turquoise crevasses. Five hours climbing got us to the 1005 metres high summit. And then the cloud closed in. Not thick ‘whiteout’ cloud, but enough cloud to flatten the light, which makes a huge difference, especially if you have poor eyesight. At first the snow was soft and creamy and I coped quite well. But as we lost altitude, the midday heat took effect and the snow got steadily wetter and heavier, until we were ploughing down through deep sodden sugar. There’s nothing like poor light and poor snow to show up poor technique, and I struggled to keep up with Diego and the others. If only we had set out two hours earlier! 

Tennant descent

Never mind. It was a fantastic day out and Harris Peak proved as brilliant a ski peak as I had hoped. I have looked it up in the Dictionary of Antarctic Place Names and it is named after Leslie Harris, a carpenter with FIDS (antecedent of the British Antarctic Survey) who took part in explorations here in the 1950s.  Having done quite a bit of woodwork myself, I do like the idea of a mountain being named after a carpenter. 

While we were climbing Harris, the non-skiers had a good day kayaking in Charlotte Bay. Jonas Lam, a photographer from Paris, is on his third Pelagic expedition, and I last saw him on South Georgia in 2018. Dennis and Barb are halfway through an ambitious global circumnavigation and recently sailed their own boat all the way down the Chilean channels to Puerto Williams, where they met us last week. All thirteen of us are now back on board Vinson, now in one of the Peninsula’s most beautiful spots, appropriately named Paradise Harbour. Anne and Guillaume are preparing a Basque chicken dish for dinner and Barb is making apple crumble; I have a loaf rising for baking later this afternoon. The crew are as busy as ever and there is a lot of noise coming from the twin motors and the windlass as they work to get the anchor to bite properly and keep us secure for the night.

Humpbacks at Charlotte Bay

Stephen Venables

Mountaineer. Co-Expedition Leader.