NEWS Brief news items on Antarctic and sub-Antarctic non-government expedition activities. (Also produced in Spanish) BULK DISTRIBUTION Dispatched on Wednesday, 24 November 1999 @ 0600 UTC. News in this edition: 9-01. Five traverse groups being supported by ANI. 9-02. South Georgia traverse successfully completed. 9-03. Antarctic phase of Shackleton filming ends. 9-04. Sea kayaking opportunities expanded. 9-05. Re-inactment of Shackleton voyage planned. 9-06. Whaling fleet heads for Ross Sea region. 9-07. All-women trans-Antarctic crossing proposed for 2000-01. 9-08. Coming meetings. IN READING PLEASE NOTE: This newsletter is being produced in the interest of improved information sharing in the Antarctic community. Inclusion of information in it should not be taken to imply endorsement, by the publishers of ANAN News, of any company, program or associated activity that is listed, nor that the activity has necessarily completed all environmental impact assessments required under the legislation of the 'home' nation. FIVE TRAVERSE GROUPS BEING SUPPORTED BY ANI Five long-distance Antarctic traverse operations, involving a total of >twenty-one people, are being supported by U.K. based commercial air operator Adventure Network International (ANI) over the next few months. ANI flies each group into Antarctica, positions them by air at the starting point of their journeys, provides search and rescue (SAR) cover while they are travelling overland, and, where required, flies those involved from Antarctica at the end of their treks. Three of the traverse programs involve man-hauling or skiing expeditions to the South Geographic Pole (SGP) from points close to the coast of the Weddell Sea. One plans to ski overland from the SGP to the French station Dumont d'Urville in Adelie Land, while the fifth, 'Operation Chillout', involves an attempt to man-haul unsupported across Antarctica. Participants in these programs include people from Australia, France, Singapore, the U.K. and the U.S.A. ANI completed its fifth Hercules flight of the season between Punta Arenas, Chile, and its field camp at the Patriot Hills in Ellsworth Land on 22 November. The company's flight operations on that key feeder route were disrupted over the first month of the season by bad weather. This is turn delayed the start of a number of the field operations being supported by ANI at various locations in the region south of the Weddell Sea. Improved conditions in the last few weeks have however enabled most operations to get underway. The two-person trans-Antarctic trek 'Operation Chillout', being conducted by Australian Peter Treseder and Briton Tim Jarvis, got underway from Berkner Island on 31 October. After a slow start, reports indicate that the pair have been making good progress over the last two weeks, travelling an average of almost thirty kilometres per day. On 21 November they left the Flichner Ice Shelf in the vicinity of the Pensacola Mountains and commenced the climb up the Antarctic plateau towards the SGP. Treseder and Jarvis are scheduled to leave Ross Island on 21 January for Australia on board the tourist vessel 'Kapitan Khlebnikov', and they will have to continue to average thirty kilometres a day from now on if that are to arrive in time to meet the ship. ANI is providing back-up for them however and will fly them from the end of their trek to Punta Arenas, Chile, via the Patriot Hills, should their arrival at Ross Island be delayed beyond Khlebnikov's departure. Four Singaporians are at this time skiing from Latitude 80°S near the Patriot Hills to the SGP, a distance of just under 1,000 km, and hope to reach there in time to celebrate New Year. If successful they will become the first from their nation to reach the bottom of the Earth. Simultaneously, four of their colleagues are attempting to climb Antarctica's highest mountain, Vinson Massif. Those involved in these two Singaporian programs were part of a successful venture from that country which climbed Mount Everest in 1997. Five women from the U.K. are expected to commence a skiing journey in the next few days from Hercules Inlet on the south-west side of the Ronne Ice Shelf to the SGP. They estimate that it will take them around seventy days to make the 1,000 km journey, with arrival at the Pole likely by late January. Those involved are: Caroline Hamilton, Zoe Hudson, Pom Oliver, Rosie Stancer and Ann Daniels. They were all part of a twenty-person group which skied to the North Geographic Pole in May 1997 and have been in training for the SGP traverse over the last eight months in Wales, Scotland, Norway and the Czech Republic. ANI itself has organised a guided 'Ski to the South Pole' program. This involves an International group of seven clients supported by two guides skiing from Hercules Inlet to the SGP. This team, which includes two women and a husband and wife team, commenced the journey from Hercules Inlet on 17 November. Frenchwomen, Laurence de la Ferriere, is taking the reverse approach from other overlanders this season by flying first to the SGP. From there she will ski 1,500 km north-north-west to the joint French-Italian inland station Concordia high on the Antarctic plateau at Dome 'C', then travel north-east for 1,000 km to the French station Dumont d'Urville on the coast of Adelie Land. Conditions on this route are expected to be particularly arduous as the plateau for virtually the whole way lies between 2500 to 3000 m above sea level. At present Concordia only operates over summer but French and Italians plans call for it to operate year-round sometime in the future. ANI delivered de la Ferriere to the SGP on 21 November and she started the proposed 2500 km journey from there the following day. She will have to average around twenty-five kilometres a day if she is to arrive at the French coastal station by late February. The French Antarctic program normally conducts three separate tractor-supported resupply traverses from Dumont to Concordia between mid-November and early February each summer to carry materials and supplies to the new station. One of these will be on that route in early February and will be able to assist her should she fall seriously behind schedule after leaving Concordia. It is not known at this time how de la Ferriere, who undertook an ANI-supported traverse from Hercules Inlet to the SGP in 1996-97, will leave Antarctica at the end of her venture. All the traverse parties ANI is supporting are flown by Hercules aircraft from Punta Arenas, Chile, to the company's field camp in the Patriot Hills of Ellsworth Land. They are normally deployed from there to their starting points by Twin Otter, and where required are returned to the Patriot Hills and back to Chile by the same means at the end of their journeys. Twin Otter aircraft provide SAR cover during each of the treks. In addition to traverse support work ANI will also provide support for a range of other tourist and adventure clients. This includes flights to the SGP, to support mountaineering programs, and to visit Emperor penguin colonies along the coast of the Weddell Sea. [ANAN-9/01] SOUTH GEORGIA TRAVERSE SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED Four men, Angus Finney, Pat Lurcock, Jay Watson and Grant Dixon, successfuly completed a twenty-nine day, 270 km trek, along the spine of South Georgia from Cape Alexandra in the north-western to the Cape Dissappointment region in the south-east on 10 November. The group estimates that during the journey they climbed a total of around 8,000 m vertically as they zig zagged up and down glaciers and mountains. Suprisingly only two days were were lost to weather over the four weeks of the trek, and these were at the very end of the journey. After they reached the Salisbury Plain depot on 19 October, the four traversed a series of glaciers and reached Husvik on 23 October where their support vessel, the yacht 'Tooluka', had placed a second food dump. Neumayer Glacier was crossed on the 24th, and by the 27th the difficult Geikie and Lyell Glaciers were behind them, although because of his relative inexperience Pat was transported around the latter two ice fields on the 'Tooluka'. After a couple of days at Grytviken where they stocked up on food and stores, the four set off again on 30 October to cross the Harker Glacier. Despite the difficult terrain they crossed it in only five hours, however that night winds estimated to exceed 100 knots ripped a tent away. On 1 November the Hamberg Glacier, the last of the three potentially key barriers to the traverse, was crossed in five and a half hours and the traverse group then walked to the hut at Dartmouth Point where wet sleeping bags and clothes were dried out. From Dartmouth Point the route took them via the Nordenskjold glacier, where more strong winds made progress difficult, then down into St Andrews Bay to where the last food dump for the journey had been laid. The final part of the traverse took a week and involved crossings of the Cook, Ross, Spencely, Novosilski and Philippi glaciers in the island's south-east. From the latter ice field the group descended to Larsen Harbour where 'Tooluka' picked them up after a two day delay caused by bad weather and returned them to Grytviken. Of the four who made the trek, Pat Lurcock is still at Grytviken and will once again take up the Marine Officer position there when Joost Pompert, the current incumbent, returns to the Falkland Islands in December. 'Tooluka' left Grytviken on 18 November and hopes to visit the Falkland Islands en route to Ushuaia, Argentina, from where she will be used early in the New Year to support a mountaineering group in the northern part of the Antarctic Peninsula in January-February. [ANAN-9/02] ANTARCTIC PHASE OF SHACKLETON FILMING OPERATIONS ENDS The Antarctic phase of filming being conducted for two versions of a documentary on Sir Ernest Shackleton's 1911-14 'Endurance' expedition ended on 21 November when the support vessel 'Akademic Shuleykin' departed Elephant Island for Punta Arenas, Chile. Filming is scheduled to continue in North America and the Arctic in the first half of 2000, with release expected in 2001 via the U.S. Public Broadcasting System, and in IMAX® theaters world wide. 'Shulyekin' and the expedition's other vessel the 'Laurel', have been used over the past five weeks for filming at South Georgia, in the area of Antarctic Sound at the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, on Elephant Island, and in the north-west Weddell Sea. Following completion of work at South Georgia, bad weather was experienced en route to Elephant Island, and while a landing was made there on 10 November, severe weather the following day forced the ships to head for Antarctic Sound before any filming could be accomplished. The vessels arrived in Antarctic Sound on the 12th. That day Shackleton's 'Iceberg Camp' was reconstructed on an ice floe and filming undertaken. Laurel left Antarctic Sound late that day for Punta Arenas after its helicopter had made a sweep southwards to try and find suitable pack ice for further filming, but was unable to find anything appropriate before being forced to return to 'Laurel' due to high winds. 'Shuleykin' travelled into the Weddell Sea over the next few days and some pack ice was found 250 km south-east of Antarctic Sound, and here further filming on floes was conducted, together with scenes featuring replica's of the three Endurance boats, the 'James Caird', 'Stancomb Wills' and 'Dudley Docker', which had been constructed specially for the film. After completion of work in that area on 15 November, operations shifted to Elephant Island where the boats were again used for a series of reconstructions. At the end of the work day on 20 November however weather conditions turned particularly bad and the three replicas were lost while under tow from the ship early the next morning. Continuing poor weather on the 21st led to cancellation of further filming and the decision was taken for 'Shuleykin' to head northwards. 'Laurel' has arrived back in Punta Arenas, and 'Shuleykin' should reach Ushuaia, Argentina, today. The latter vessel is due to leave Ushuaia on 27 November on the first of the eight tourist voyages it is scheduled to conduct in the Antarctic Peninsula, Scotia Arc region, this season. [ANAN-9/03] SEA KAYAKING OPPORTUNITIES EXPANDED Sea kayaking activities in Antarctic waters increased this season with the Australian company Aurora Expeditions (AE) offering opportunities on two voyages on the 'Professor Molchanov' in November and December. General planning aims at kayaking activities taking place from the ship once a day during the five to six days 'Molchanov' is in the north-west Peninsula region on each of the two voyages. Between six and ten of the fifty-two passengers on board the vessel are expected participate in kayaking using five plastic double kayaks which are well suited for day trips and paddling through brash ice. Each boat will be weighted to make them lower in the water, thus improving stability and making them easier to handle in windy conditions. All kayaking will be coordinated and controlled by a group leader who has significant experience in this field. Decisions about where, when and whether or not to kayak, will be made in conjunction with the Expedition Leader and the ship's Master. Generally, excursions will be between two and four hours in duration but may run up to eight hours, with a maximum distances from the ship of between eight and ten kilometres. There will be no surf landings but paddling may take place in swell or wind chop, the kayaks being able to be paddled in winds up to 20-25 knots. During kayaking journeys approaches to wildlife will be limited to those required under International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) guidelines for visits on land. [ANAN-9/04] RE-INACTMENT OF SHACKLETON VOYAGE PLANNED A re-inactment of Sir Ernest Shackleton's 1916 open boat journey from the edge of the pack ice in the north-western Weddell Sea to Elephant Island and on to South Georgia, is planned for next January-February. The expedition, titled 'Shackleton 2000', is being organised from Germany by Arved Fuchs, and involves the use of a replica of Shackleton's boat, the 'James Caird', to retrace his sea journey following loss of the 'Endurance' in the Weddell Sea in November 1915. On arrival at South Georgia an attempt will be made to cross the island >from King Haakon Bay in the south-west to the former whaling station at Stromness in the north, using equipment similar to that used by Shackleton and his men. The boat for the re-inactment was constructed by a Danish ship yard earlier this year and has been named the 'James Caird II'. It left Germany on a container ship on 8 November bound for Ushuaia, Argentina. From there Hapag Lloyd's passenger vessel 'Hanseatic', which is scheduled to leave Ushuaia on 6 January, will carry it and its crew to the vicinity of Antarctic Sound at the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. The open boat journey is expected to commence from there towards Elephant Island around 14 January. Four people will travel on the 'James Caird II'. They are: Arved Fuchs and Martin Friederichs (Germany), Sigridur Ragna Sverrisdottir (Iceland), and Henryk Wolski (Poland). Arved has previous Antarctic experience having crossed Antarctica with Italian Rheinhold Messner >from the Weddell Sea to Ross Island in 1989-90. He and the others have worked together on a number of projects in the Arctic, and each has wintered there at various remote locations. All are experienced in small vessel operations in high latitudes. During the journey from the Weddell Sea, the 'James Caird II' will send daily position reports via an Inmarsat C satellite communications unit on board. The boat will be shadowed by the twenty metre sailing vessel the 'Dagmar Aaen'. This vessel has been used in a number of Arctic voyages since 1991 and is reported to be ice strengthened. It is currently en route from Germany to Ushuaia where it will prepare for its Antarctic support role. A film crew from a German television network will be on board while it is in Antarctic waters to make a documentary of the 'Shackleton 2000' voyage. In addition to the 'Dagmar Aaen', the 'Hanseatic', and Hapag Lloyd's other tour vessel in the region, 'Bremen', will be monitoring the progress of the boat journey and are expected to provide additional cover for the open boat should it be required. When the crossing of South Georgia is completed, probably in the last week of February, the 'Hanseatic' is scheduled to pick up members of the party and their boat, and return them to South America. At this time the 'Dagmar Aaen' is expected to sail from South Georgia to the Falkland Islands (Isle Malvinas) then on to Ushuaia from where it is to conduct filming for a second TV documentary about Cape Horn prior to returning to Germany. This is not the first time re-inactments of Shackleton's journey in the 'James Caird' have been organised. Previous attempts in 1993 and 1997 were both unable to complete the journeys planned. According to Shackleton 2000' organisers, the 'replicas' used for those ventures were built with modern materials, whereas the 'James Caird II' has been built out of the same wood and in the same way as the original. [ANAN-9/05] WHALING EXPEDITION HEADS FOR ROSS SEA REGION Reports from Japan indicate that a whaling fleet left the south-eastern Japanese port of Shimonoseki in early in November to conduct whale-catching operations in the general area of the Ross Sea up until early April 2000. The fleet consists of the factory ship 'Nishin Maru' of 7,575 gross tonnes, and three catcher ships, or 'sampling' vessels with a gross tonnage of between 720 and 812 tonnes. The special permit issued by Japan for the operation states that the vessels can catch up to 400 Minke whales, but goes on to say that up to 440 of this species can be taken if it is necessary 'for research purposes'. According to the permit the fleet can operate in waters south of Latitude 55°S, east of Longitude 130° East and west of Longitude 140° West, except where national 320 km Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) are involved. Those Longitudes are centred approximately on the Ross Sea and the EEZs involved are those around Australia's Macquarie Island, New Zealand's Campbell Island, and that of Australia around its Territorial claim in Antarctica. [ANAN-9/06]   ALL-WOMEN TRANS-ANTARCTIC CROSSING PROPOSED FOR 2000-01 Two women, one from Norway and the other from the U.S., are proposing to cross Antarctica in 2000-01 in what they expect will be the first such journey by an all-women team. Liz Arnesen and Ann Bancroft, who are from Norway and the U.S. respectively, have each skied to the South Geographic Pole (SGP) previously, Liz becoming the first women to accomplish the feat in 1994-95. The pair plan to commence their trans-Antarctic crossing in November 2000, travelling from Dronning Maud Land, to the SGP, down the Axel Heiberg Glacier, then across the Ross Ice Shelf to Ross Island where they are due in early February 2001 . They each expect to pull a sled with enough food and equipment to sustain them during what they are anticipating as a 100-day, 2,950 km trek. When winds are favourable sails will be used to assist the skiers on their journey. Both participants are former teachers and like similar expeditions in recent years they plan to correspond with students in many countries during their journey using satellite phones, a Web site, and e-mail. Base Camp Promotions, the US based company planning and promoting the expedition, is working full time to raise corporate sponsorship. A report in the US Newspaper 'USA Today' put the budget of the proposed venture at around $US1.5M. No details are available at this time as to how the pair will be transported to Antarctica for the planned trek, or from the continent after arrival at Ross Island. Of the six successfull private expeditions that have successfully completed the trans-Antarctic crossing since the first by Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Charles Burton and Oliver Shepard of the Transglobe expedition in 1980-81, half have commenced their trek from the Dronning Maud Land region. [ANAN-9/07] COMING MEETINGS IAATO annual meeting. Hobart, Australia, 25-28 June 2000. [ANAN-9/08] ##