The classic South Pole ski expedition
Hercules Inlet is the classic South Pole start point on the coast of the Ronne Ice Shelf. Test your skill, endurance and mental tenacity over 1130km of Antarctic wilderness as you make your way to the bottom of the world.
- Gateway Punta Arenas, Chile
- Distance 1130km
- Nights 58
- Trek days 53
- Daily Distance 20+km
- Sled Weight 70kg
- Temp. Range -10 to -35°C
- Challenge 6 What's this?
- Conditions Altitude, wind, cold
- Challenges Daily distance, cold management, altitude, sastrugi, crevasses
Trip Itinerary
Arrive Punta Arenas. Check-in to hotel
Meet with Icetrek guide. Review itinerary, equipment and food. Preparations for departure to Antarctica.
Briefing with ALE
Fly to Union Glacier Camp in Antarctica (weather dependent). Stay at Union Glacier and finalise preparations, including sled packing and pulling, skiing, camp procedures, equipment tweaks.
Flight to Hercules Inlet, begin ski expedition to South Pole
Ski across the Antarctic plateau to the South Pole
Arrive South Pole. Depending on flight schedule, we may remain at South Pole camp for a night or two.
Flight to Union Glacier
Rest day
Flight to Punta Arenas
Inclusions
- Punta Arenas transfers for Antarctic flights
- Return flight Punta Arenas to Antarctica
- Meals at Union Glacier Camp
- Flight to Hercules Inlet
- Food and stove fuel during the expedition
- Professional guide
- Use of technical equipment including tents, sled, harness (see equipment list).
- Safety/navigation/communications equipment
- 25kg personal gear weight allowance (does not include food, fuel, technical/group equipment or anything else issued to you).
- 20% discount on selected Icetrek Equipment
Exclusions
- Travel to and from Punta Arenas, Chile
- Hotel transfers for non-Antarctic flights
- Hotel accommodation in Punta Arenas (we can help you find appropriate accommodation at your preferred budget).
- Excess baggage above the allowance
- Additional costs (accommodation, meals etc.) due to changes beyond our control ie. weather delays
- Evacuation, hospitalization and repatriation costs and/or insurance
- Satellite telephone airtime
After final preparations at Union Glacier Camp in Antarctica we fly by Twin Otter aircraft to our start point on the edge of the Antarctic continent, Hercules Inlet.
From Hercules Inlet we ascend sharply away from the coast through crevasse fields before swinging south towards the Thiel Mountains and South Pole.
With 70-80kg sleds we slowly make our way onto the Antarctic plateau covering 20-25 km's daily. After a few days we find our rhythm and become a part of Antarctica, skiing, resting, eating and sleeping to a routine that has been time honoured by over a century of explorers. We aim for the Thiel cache where we pick up a resupply of food and fuel before heading onto the high plateau.
The Antarctic plateau is a forbidding place - cold, windswept and remote, with rarefied air. This of course is part of the attraction of skiing to the South Pole, to experience one of the most exacting environments on earth. By now we are a well-oiled team, we have developed specific skills to match the challenge and our professional equipment serves us well. We rely implicitly on all that surround us.
This 1130km expedition should only be considered by the most committed adventurers, willing to undertake a rigorous daily training schedule for several months prior to their trip. The classic route to the South Pole is a serious undertaking requiring supreme skill, fitness, mental strength and teamwork.
Latam Airlines fly daily to Punta Arenas, Chile.
