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NEWS
Brief news items on Antarctic and sub-Antarctic
non-government expedition activities.
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Dispatched on Wednesday, 25 October 2000 @ 0600 UTC.
News in this edition:
33-01. Lives Lost As Fishing Vessel Founders Near Kerguelen.
33-02. ANI Fly-In To Commence, IL-76 Fuel Flights Planned.
33-03. IL-76 Offers ANI Greater Payload Capacity.
33-04. IAATO Examining 'Big Ship' Issue, More Large Vessels Anticipated.
33-05. Seabourn Looks At Antarctic Operations But No Visits Scheduled.
33-06. 'Pole To Pole 2000' To Include Two-Way Pole Traverse.
33-07. NAE Traverse Departs Troll For Geographic Pole.
33-08. Peninsula Traverse Faces Challenging Conditions, Tight Timetable.
33-09. Traverse Pair Plan Sea Return From Antarctica.
33-10. Danish Expedition Arrives In Punta Arenas.
33-11. 'TAE 2000' Cancels Planned Antarctic Crossing.
33-12. McClintock Climb Postponed To 2001-02.
33-13. 'Tooluka' Prepares For Second Antarctic Season.
33-14. East Antarctic Overflight Season Commences Next Week.
33-15. Video On Commonwealth Bay Winter Released.
33-16. Coming Events Relevant to Non-Government Activities.
IN READING PLEASE NOTE: This newsletter is being produced in the interest of improved information sharing in the Antarctic and sub-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.
The Spanish-registered pirate fishing vessel 'Amur' foundered near the French sub-Antarctic island of Kerguelen in the southern Indian Ocean on 9 October during a period of severe weather. While few details of the incident are available, reports indicate that up to fourteen of Amur's mixed Spanish, Chilean and Korean crew of forty died in the tragedy.
Data from the ship's satellite emergency beacon shows that it sunk about 210 km east of Kerguelen, a position which is well inside the island's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ); although whether the 'Amur' was actively fishing in that region is not known. According to a report posted in the on-line newsletter 'The Antarctician' early last week (ANAN-7/13, 27 October 1999), details of the incident are sketchy as surviving crew members were apparently rescued by two other pirate vessels.
Quoting newspaper reports from Chile and Reunion in the south-west Indian Ocean, 'The Antarctican' says that the 'Amur' took a large wave over its stern and was swamped, and that it sank in less than an hour. On receipt of the satellite distress message, the French Government rescue service on Reunion dispatched two vessels which were fishing legally in the Kerguelen EEZ to Amur's position, and medical facilities at the Port-aux-Francais station on Kerguelen were made ready to receive crew members.
According to 'The Antarctican', survivors from the 'Amur' spent about six hours in liferafts in very cold conditions before being picked up by the 'Abriza I' and the 'Big Prince', neither of whom has been licensed by French authorities to fish in the region. Both vessels also apparently retrieved a number of bodies, however since then French rescue authorities have not been able to make contact with either vessel. The rescue vessels dispatched by the French only found wreckage when they arrived on the scene. 'The Antarctican' says that the crew's fate only became known when the Spanish Maritime Rescue Centre in Madrid was advised of the situation, presumably either by the 'Abriza I' or 'Big Prince' or a fishing company.
Illegal fishing for Patagonian toothfish and other species around French, South African, and Australian islands in the sub-Antarctic part of the Indian Ocean has grown significantly over the past four years. Those three nations have been working together and within the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) in an attempt to halt this activity as there are serious concerns that unregulated activity could lead to the collapse of the fishery. CCAMLR was established by the Antarctic Treaty System to manage fishing in the waters around Antarctica.
Given the distance between ports in the African and Australian regions and the sub-Antarctic islands of Kerguelen and Crozet (France), Heard (Australia), Prince Edward and Marion (South Africa), it is difficult and very expensive to mount regular, effective, fisheries patrols in the vicinity of the islands. Even when such patrols are mounted however the size of the EEZs and the often poor weather conditions that prevail makes detection of pirate vessels difficult, although a few vessels have been arrested by French and Australian authorities in recent years.
The environmental group Greenpeace has also conducted limited operations in the region over the past two years as part of its campaign against illegal fishing (ANAN-18/07, 29 March 2000).
[ANAN-33/01]
Adventure Network International (ANI) is preparing for positioning flights this weekend by its two Twin Otters from Punta Arenas, Chile, to the Patriot Hills in Ellsworth Land to open its summer field camp, an operation that is critical to the start of the company's 2000-01 revenue operations. Later in the season it is understood that ANI plans to conduct up to five flights to the Patriot Hills with a heavy-lift Ilyushin-76 (Il-76) in order to boost aircraft fuel reserves held there to support intra-continental tourist and adventure operations (see ANAN-33/03 following).
The positioning flights mark the start of tourist and adventure activities on the continent for the 2000-01 austral summer, although at least one non-government group wintered over on the continent this year (see ANAN-33/07 following), and data published by tour companies on the web and elsewhere indicate that the first tour ship voyages will get underway very early in November.
Over the next three and a half months ANI is believed to have scheduled up to 19 inter-continental flights, 18 being from Punta Arenas to the Patriot Hills and return, and the other from Cape Town, South Africa, to 'Blue 1' in Dronning Maud Land (DML). A total of 17 flights, all to the Patriot Hills, were conducted in the 1999-2000 season. With the exception of IL-76 operations, activities scheduled by ANI this season appear similar in scope to those it has conducted over the last few years, involving as they do a mix of support activities for tourist, adventure and basic logistics flights (ANAN-28/02, 16 August 2000).
The first inter-continental flight to the Patriot Hills is scheduled for 3 November, however that operation, which will be conducted using a L381-G 'Hercules', will not be attempted until the field camp is set up by staff flown in on the Twin Otters, the adjacent runway is declared ready, and weather in the area is suitable. Similarly, the flight of a second ANI 'Hercules' from Cape Town to 'Blue 1' currently listed for 1 November will not take off until one of the Twin Otters is positioned at the blue ice field from the Patriot Hills and the weather there is satisfactory for the 'Hercules' to land.
The 'Blue 1' operation is particularly susceptible to delays as the Twin Otter needed there to support the Cape Town flight requires good weather to get there, not only for the 3000 km flight into the Patriot Hills, but also on the 2200 km leg from there to DML. The aircraft will have to refuel at intermediate depots established previously by ANI on both route sectors. Last year the Twin Otter fly-in to the Patriot Hills was seriously delayed by bad weather which in turn delayed the start to inter-continental flights (ANAN-7/01, 27 October 1999).
Initial inter-continental flight timings are particularly important to the various groups planning to conduct traverses from 'Blue 1' and the Patriot Hills to the South Geographic Pole and beyond this season (see ANAN 33/06, ANAN 33/09 and ANAN-33/10 following, and ANAN-32/03, 11 October 2000). They need to reach their starting points on the continent as early as possible in November if they are to maximise the chances of achieving their objectives within the region's narrow summer window.
Over the past year ANI marketing for the 2000-01 season has included six separate Vinson Massif operations, six SGP flights, a single Emperor penguin visit, stays in the Patriot Hills area, and three opportunities for groups to ski to the Pole from either the Patriot Hills or from Latitude 89° South. Prices for these activities range from $US14,000 for a Patriot Hills visit, to $US45,000 for the full ski trip to the Geographic Pole. It is not known at this stage how many people will be supported by the company's operations this season.
Data collated by the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators for last season which was provided to the Special Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting held in September, indicates that ANI flew 139 tourists and adventurers to Antarctica from Punta Arenas. Thirty-one of these were flown to the South Geographic Pole (ANAN-12/03, 5 January 2000); 42 to climb Vinson Massif, Antarctica's highest mountain (ANAN-19/06, 12 April 2000); 20 to an Emperor penguin colony in Coates Land; 7 skied from the Patriot Hills to the SGP; 6 skied to the SGP from Latitude 89° South; while one person limited their visit to the Patriot Hills.
Support was also provided to twenty-six people who conducted a range of adventure activities (ANAN-9/01, 24 November 1999). A further six people were flown to DML from the Patriot Hills (ANAN-19/09, 12 April 2000), however no intercontinental fights were made by ANI to DML from South Africa last season.
In addition to the IL-76, L381-G 'Hercules' and two Twin Otters, an ANI-owned Cessna 185, which is left in a snow cave at the Patriot Hills each winter, will be used for flight operations within Antarctica (ANAN-28/02, 16 August 2000). The DC3-based Basler-67 which ANI chartered for the first time last season , and which added significant capacity to the company's operations (ANAN-1/6, 4 August 1999), is not expected to be available this year as it is being used by another company, Polar Logistics, which specialises in the provision of air support to national program operations (ANAN-28/03, 16 August 2000).
Polar logistics is believed to be conducting three separate inter-continental flights to that of ANI from Cape Town to DML this season for national program operators.
[ANAN-33/02]
The decision by Adventure Network International (ANI) to charter an Ilyushin-76 (IL-76) for fuel delivery flights follows the company's experience with the aircraft type last season on its key Punta Arenas to Patriot Hills flight route (see ANAN-33/02 preceeding).
Twice last January ANI chartered an IL-76 being used by the independent Millennium Expedition to deliver drummed fuel to the Patriot Hills, although the aircraft to be used this season will apparently not come from the same operator (ANAN-14/02, 2 February 2000).
It is understood that ANI may use the Russian-built aircraft every second or third season in the future to build up its fuel reserves for intra-continental flights. Data available on the IL-76 indicates that it can carry almost three times the load of the 'Hercules' on the Punta-Patriot route. Despite their different load capacities however, both aircraft types can conduct return trips from Punta without the need to refuel in Antarctica.
While use of the IL-76 is likely to be costly, the expense of delivering fuel with the aircraft is, when spread over 2-3 seasons, likely to be cost effective and offer a number of other efficiencies. About half of the inter-continental 'Hercules' flights ANI has operated each season in recent years have had to be dedicated to fuel delivery. As aviation regulations prohibit the simultaneous carriage of drummed fuel and non-essential aircraft personnel, the IL-76 flights may free the 'Hercules' for at least a few additional passenger flights to the Patriot Hills, although that has yet to be confirmed.
Increasing the number of visitors ANI carries to Antarctica each season was stated as one of the longer-term aims when U.S. tour conglomerate Grand Expeditions acquired the air operator last July (ANAN-28/01, 16 August 2000).
[ANAN-33/03]
IAATO EXAMINING 'BIG SHIP' ISSUES,
MORE LARGE VESSELS ANTICIPATED
The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) has announced in a paper submitted to the Special Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting held in The Netherlands last month that it intends to conduct a study into future trends in visits to Antarctica by large, 400 plus, passenger vessels, and that it is considering opening its membership to both the companies concerned and land-based adventure tourism operators (ANAN-25/01, 5 July 2000). The industry body believes however that the matters involved are complex and that no speedy resolution of the issues involved can be expected.
National program operators, IAATO, environmentalists and others have been concerned for some time about the visits of large vessels to Antarctic waters. This is because their hulls are normally not ice strengthened and facilities in the region are unlikely to be able to cope with the rescue of a 1000 or more people should a serious incident occur. There is also the potential for significant environmental damage to result from any such event.
The Antarctic Treaty System is currently considering the general issue of ship standards, however it seems likely to be a year of more before any international agreement is reached on the issue, and that the resulting guidelines will not be mandatory. Reports indicate that IAATO contributed significantly to discussions on shipping guidelines held at a meeting of experts in London last April (ANAN-20/01, 26 April 2000).
IAATO's evaluation comes at a time when visits are being planned to the Antarctic Peninsula in 2001-02 by two large, U.S. operated, passenger vessels which have not previously visited the southern-most continent. The vessels involved are understood to be Holland America Westours' (HALW) 'Ryndam', and Crystal Cruise Lines' ship 'Crystal Harmony', which are expected to carry between 960 and 1000 passengers and have crews of around 550. 'Ryndam' will apparently conduct two voyages and 'Crystal Harmony' at least one, although early indications are that no landings are being contemplated from either vessel during their time in Antarctica. HALW have previous experience in operating one of its large vessels in Antarctica, the 'Rotterdam' having carried nearly 1000 passengers to the Peninsula area in January this year (ANAN-19/03, 12 April 2000).
'Crystal Harmony' is 264 m long, 35 m wide, has a draft of 8 m, and is close to 50,000 Gross Registered Tonnes (GRT). 'Ryndam' is of 69,130 GRT, is 240 m long, 37 m wide and has a draft of just over 8 m. In comparison the 'Rotterdam' is 238 m and is of 60000 GRT.
The U.S. Enviromental Protection Agency has indicated on its web site that it has received an environmental evaluation from HALW for Antarctic operations in 2001-02 although no details of the document are available on line. There is also an entry on the site about operations in 2000-01, however a spokesman for HALW told ANAN this morning that his company is not conducting any ship operations in the Antarctic in the coming season.
IAATO is currently estimating that up to 3000 passengers will be carried to the Peninsula by the two ships in 2001-02, and the operations of both ships are likely to lift the number of Antarctic-related passengers that pass through Ushuaia, Argentina, to near the record level of the 1999-2000 season (ANAN-25/02, 5 July 2000).
Representatives of several companies which have operated, or plan to operate, large cruise vessels in Antarctic waters have attended IAATO's annual meetings in the past few years. The tourism body has invited the representatives to make both private and public presentations to their meeting about their activities. Attendance by the large ship companies at these meetings is a recognition of the contribution IAATO makes to the management of Antarctic tourism.
[ANAN-33/04]
SEABOURN LOOKS AT ANTARCTIC OPERATIONS
BUT NO VISITS SCHEDULED
Seabourn Cruise Line, which conducts luxury cruise ship operations to many parts of the world, has made intial enquires with U.S. authorities and IAATO into the possibility of visits by one of its ships to the Antarctic Peninsula area, however the company told ANAN this week that it has no plans for any voyages to the region prior to 2003.
U.S. based Seabourn currently has six vessels in its fleet. The largest is the 758 passenger 'Seabourn Sun', while three sister ships the 'Seabourn Pride', 'Seabourn Spirit' and 'Seabourn Legend' can each accomodate 208 passengers, and the smaller 'Seabourne Goddess I' and 'Seabourne Goddess II' 116 passengers each.
Company promotional material says that it's ships offer its clients "an up-scale luxury cruise experience", and that its passengers "are affluent, well-seasoned travellers", most of whom are from the U.S. and to a lesser extent Europe. It is not known at this stage which of the six vessels may have been considered by the company for Antarctic operations as part of its recent evaluation.
Seabourn is operated by Cunard Cruise Line Limited, which is part of the huge Carnival Corporation, the largest cruise ship owner in the world. Earlier this year the Corporation made an unsuccessful bid to purchase Norwegian Cruise Lines, the parent company of Orient Lines operator of the 400-500 passenger, ice strengthened 'Marco Polo', a ship which has been conducting Antarctic tour operations since 1994 (ANAN-14/06, 2 February 2000).
Carnival Corporation has six operating companies, made up of Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line Westours (see ANAN-33/04 preceeding), Windstar Cruises, Cunard Line, Costa Crociere and Seabourn. The Corporation's various brands currently operate forty-nine cruise ships to Caribbean, Alaskan, European and other world-wide destinations.
At present the conglomerate's various entities have sixteen new ships on order from yards around the world. The total cost of these new buildings, which are due for delivery between now and 2004 range in size from 60,000 to 150,000 gross tonnes, and their value has been put by the Corporation at around $US7,000,000,000.
[ANAN-33/05]
Four members of the 'Pole to Pole 2000' expedition are planning to ski to and from the South Geographic Pole (SGP) in December and January to end the venture's ten month journey from the North Magnetic Pole (NMP) via the Americas (ANAN-19/10, 12 April 2000). The six other members of the expedition will take part in the southern leg of the journey, however once at the Pole they are to be flown north by commercial air operator Adventure Network International (ANI).
The 'Pole to Pole' venture started from the NMP in Arctic Canada last April and since then it has travelled through North and South America, involving itself in a range of environmental and humanitarian projects on the way. Expedition members are this week cycling through Argentina and plan to visit the Chilean fjords prior to arrival in Punta Arenas, Chile, around 20 November where they are to prepare for the last leg of their journey to the SGP.
Leader Martyn Williams told ANAN last week that his party of ten anticipates being flown from Punta Arenas to the Patriot Hills in Ellsworth Land by ANI any time from 25 November onwards as weather conditions permit. ANI will also fly the group 250 km further on from the Patriot Hills to the starting point of the traverse and provide search and rescue cover for traverse activities. If weather and other conditions are ideal for both the intercontinental and deployment flights, the traverse itself could get underway as early as 26 November.
The ten expedition members who are expected to ski to the Pole are Martyn Williams and Dylan Spencer (both Canadian), Jay Choi (South Korea), Devlin Fogg (South Africa), Jessica Casas and Heidi Hausman (both U.S.), Mercedes Rosauer (Argentina), Naoki Ishikawa (Japan) and Renaurd Richard (France).
Williams, Spencer, Fogg and Rosauer have been designated to ski back to the Patriot Hills and will be resupplied at the Pole by ANI. They anticipate completing their journey northwards to ANI's field camp around 20 January, and from there they will be flown back to Punta Arenas. The decision to add the return journey to the group's plans was only made very recently and details of it have not yet appeared on the expedition's web site. The Dutch-organised Sasquatch expedition is attempting a similar return journey this austral summer although they plan to start and finish at ANI's Patriot Hills field camp (ANAN-32/03, 11 October 2000).
The journey southwards by the ten will be upsupported, the group man hauling all their supplies, although parasails will be used to maximise their progress where conditions are suitable. Most of those involved have little experience in using such equipment however and it is probable that it will take a while for sufficient experience to be obtained so that they can be used in the most effective manner (ANAN-12/06, 5 January 2000). Williams says that he hopes they can reach the Pole in just thirty days if conditions allow, which if achieved could see their arrival at the SGP just before New Year.
Williams plans to follow the route to the Pole used by Italian Reihold Messner and German Arved Fuchs in the first part of their 1989-90 crossing of Antarctica. Messner and Fuchs started their journey at a location near the coast of the Filchner Ice Shelf some 250 km south-east of the Patriot Hills, taking 47 days for the 800 km journey to the SGP.
Communications will be maintained between the traverse group and the Patriot Hills during the trek via a 100 Watt high frequency radio, and via enthusiasts in both North and South America ham radio bands.
[ANAN-32/06]
Reports from Norway indicate that Rolf Bae and Eirik Sønneland left Troll station in Dronning Maud Land on 20 October to start their planned 1900 km trek to the South Geographic Pole (SGP). The pair, who are members of the Norwegian Antarctic Expedition (NAE), wintered at Troll this year with two other members of the group who are continuing to operate the station (ANAN-27/02, 2 August 2000).
Over the past month NAE's newsletter has reported that Bae and Sønneland have undertaken a number of short overnight trips from Troll to test their equipment and generally prepare for the trek to the Pole. These journeys have included practice in using parasails, for if the wind is from the right quarter, is not too strong, and the right techniques are used, they can significantly increase the distances skiers are able to achieve on the polar plateau each day (ANAN-12/06, 5 January 2000). While Rolf has had experience with parasails previously Eirik has not, and the NAE newsletter indicates that it has taken him a while to become reasonably proficient in their use.
Both men set out on their journey pulling sledges weighing around 165 Kg as the 70-90 day traverse is planned as an unsupported journey. While the weight they have to pull will obviously decrease as supplies are consumed, one of the most difficult parts of the journey south, when their sleds will be at their heaviest, will be the first 180 km as they climb from Troll's 1270 m elevation to the main plateau level at around 2600 m above sea level. The pair are currently working up that slope to the main plateau level.
During their journey southwards an Orbcomm satellite communications unit (ANAN-32/06, 11 October 2000) and High Frequency (HF) radios will be used for communications withthe outside world. Reports from Troll and other stations in the region indicate that HF radio conditions have been significantly effected by Sun spot activity during this year's peak in the 11-year solar cycle (ANAN-18/01, 29 March 2000). According to an NAE newsletter earlier this month, operators at a number of national program stations in the region who have been talking with Troll via radio during the winter are keen to conduct HF skeds with the pair during their trek.
Bae and Sønneland expect to complete the journey to the Pole in 70-90 days, therefore they could reach the Earth's southern-most point sometime in mid-January 2001. Commercial air operator Adventure Network International (ANI) has been engaged to fly the two men from the Pole to Punta Arenas, Chile, via the Patriot Hills in Ellsworth Land. ANI will also provide search and rescue cover the for the traverse operation using aircraft based in the Patriot Hills (see ANAN-33/02 preceeding).
[ANAN-33/07]
PENINSULA TRAVERSE FACES CHALLENGING
CONDITIONS, TIGHT TIMETABLE
A three-man party which plans to undertake an unsupported sledging journey along the spine of the Antarctic Peninsula from the north-east opposite James Ross Island to Charlotte Bay on the west coast next January-February, faces challenging conditions and a tight timetable if they are to complete their proposed trek in the four weeks scheduled. After arrival at Charlotte Bay the trio plan to use sea kayaks to travel to Paradise Harbour where they are to be picked up by their support craft.
Those involved in the traverse and kayaking venture, Jay Watson, Peter Bland and an as yet un-named third person, are from Australia. They plan to ski and manhaul sledges over a distance of 220 km, and kayak for a further 70 km, during the expedition. Two thirds of the traverse route proposed involves travelling along the twisting, sometimes narrow, but generally flat, plateau that marks the divide between the west and eastern sides of the Antarctic Peninsula. Once on the plateau the group will be very much on their own and dependent on their own resources should difficulties be encountered.
Support for the traverse party is to be provided by the commercially operated, 14.2 m steel sloop `Tooluka`, which was used last year for mountaineering activities on South Georgia and in the Antarctic Peninsula (see ANAN-33/13 following). 'Tooluka' is expected to depart Ushuaia, Argentina, on 1 January with the expedition, and deploy the traverse party about a week later, as weather, ice and other conditions allow.
The trekkers are currently planning to disembark from 'Tooluka' at Hope Bay, the site of Argentina's Esperanza station. From there they are proposing to manhaul kayaks doubling as sledges across the Tabarin Peninsula and the Cugnot Ice Piedmont, and then paddle and haul the kayaks along the eastern side of the Peninsula and down the Prince Gustav Channel. Ascent from there to the most northerly part of the main plateau area is expected to be via either the Russell or Victoria Glaciers, and once there the party is to strike southward down the main spine of the Peninsula.
Once the land party is deployed, 'Tooluka' is to travel first around the northern tip of the Peninsula then down the north-west coast, shadowing the group and maintaining contact with it via radio as they trek southwards. The yacht will also establish a depot of equipment and other supplies at Charlotte Bay which the trekkers will use for their planned kayaking journey to Paradise Harbour. 'Tooluka' skipper Roger Wallis anticipates picking the traverse group up from Paradise Harbour for the return journey to Ushuaia around 7 February, as he is hoping to undertake a second voyage to the Peninsula with other passengers in late February and early March (see ANAN-33/13 following).
The plateau that the three expeditioners will spend most of their time on during their journey is generally around 1800 m above sea level. It is often enveloped in cloud and the trio will have to contend with frequent, long-lasting periods of poor visibility, whiteout, strong winds and snow, therefore they will rely heavily on satellite-derived information to determine their position as they travel southwards. The U.S. operated Global Positioning System, which the traverse party will use, can provide their location to within twenty or even ten metres (ANAN-21/10, 10 May 2000), which is a critical factor given some of the terrain along the route.
The plateau along which the three will traverse ranges between two and ten kilometres in width, the wider areas being named, from north to south, the Detroit, Herbert, Foster and Forbidden Plateaus. Each plateau is connected to the other by very narrow, exposed ridges, two of which have been given the descriptive names 'The Catwalk' and 'The Wall' as they are less than 100 m in width and have steep drops on either side. Navigation in the vicinity of those features will need to be precise, particularly if poor visibility prevails.
The western and eastern flanks of each of the plateau areas are also marked by steep drops and there are few places where land parties can travel between the plateau and sea level, although even those that exist do not offer straight forward routes. A long ridge runs from Foster Plateau down the Reclus Peninsula to Portal Point at the northern end of Charlotte Bay, and while not easy it is the only known route that the group can realistically use to descend to sea level in that vicinity.
Following their arrival at Charlotte Bay the three men are to become kayakers again for the 70 km paddle along the Danco Coast of the Gerlache Strait to Paradise Harbour, camping on shore at various locations as they travel south.
The route along the plateau from Hope to Charlotte Bays was pioneered in the 1957 austral spring by a four-man party from the U.K. national program which included (now Sir) Wally Herbert, who today still visits the Antarctic as a lecturer on tour ships. Up until then virtually nothing was known about the terrain between both Bays and the aim of that traverse was to undertake survey work to improve maps of the area.
The 1957 party, which used dogs for transport, took over eight weeks to travel between the two Bays, most of the journey on the plateau being undertaken in conditions of poor visibility at an average speed of around five kilometres per day. They were assisted from the southern end by a smaller group who had spent the winter of 1957 at Portal Point with the key objectives of finding a route up to the plateau from there, and setting up food depots for use by the main traverse party when it arrived from Hope Bay.
Jay Watson's Antarctic experience includes having sailed twice to Commonwealth Bay in George V Land onboard the 19 m yacht 'Spirit of Sydney, crewing the yacht 'Tooluka' on a lengthy winter voyage across sub-Antarctic waters between New Zealand and southern South America (ANAN-5/07[C], 29 September 1999), and as a member of the four person group which traversed the length of South Georgia last October-November (ANAN-9/02, 24 November 1999). He has also climbed in New Zealand. Peter Bland has also visited Commonwealth Bay on 'Spirit of Sydney' and sledged to the North Magnetic Pole.
[ANAN-33./08]
Ann Bancroft and Liv Arnesen, who are to start their attempted crossing of Antarctica from Dronning Maud Land to Ross Island in the next few weeks, apparently plan to leave the continent by sea at the end of their trek in February, although the precise arrangements that will apply have yet to be confirmed by their expedition headquarters in the U.S.
The pair, who for some time have indicated on their web site that were to fly from Ross Island to New Zealand at the completion of their journey, advised ANAN via a spokesperson last week that they have signed an agreement with new commercial operator 'Ocean Frontiers', for transport for themselves from Ross Island to Hobart, Australia, on its vessel 'Sir Hubert Wilkins'. Until recently the ship's January-February voyage was scheduled to conduct operations along the coast of Oates Land (ANAN-28/10, 16 August 2000).
Given the ship's ice capabilities however, there is no guarantee, particularly if ice conditions are difficult in the Ross Sea this austral summer, that it will be able to get close enough to Ross Island to pick up the traverse pair. Should this occur a spokeswomen has indicated via e-mail that the contingency is for commercial air operator Adventure Network International (ANI) to retrieve the pair from Ross Island and to fly them from Antarctica via the Patriot Hills.
ANI is scheduled to fly Ann and Liv from Cape Town, South Africa, direct to Dronning Maud Land (DML) anytime from 1 November onwards to commence their trans-Antarctic trek (see ANAN-33/02 preceeding and ANAN-9/07, 24 November 1999). In addition, the air operator is to provide search and rescue (SAR) cover for the pair from its summer field camp in the Patriot Hills in Ellsworth Land as the two women make their way across the continent, and will also establish a food and fuel depot for them at the South Geographic Pole (ANAN-22/03, 24 May 2000).
If the traverse pair, who are to use parasails during their crossing, are able to start from DML by early November, and are able to make consistent progress en route, they could reach Ross Island by the end of the first week of February. It is believed that SAR cover provided by ANI is to continue until Ann and Liv reach Ross Island, even if it involves the Patriot Hills camp operating beyond its normal early February closing time, although ANAN has so far been unable to confirm that arrangement.
'Sir Hubert Wilkins' is scheduled to pass Cape Adare on its way south to Ross Island around 1 February, which is around the same time the tour ship 'Kapitan Khlebnikov' will be heading north out of the area bound for George V Land. 'Khlebnikov' will be able to provide details of the ice conditions that then prevail in the Ross Sea to the Ocean Frontiers' vessel, and if the decision is taken to abort the pick-up via ship, ANI will be advise immediately and will affect the retrieval of the two women with an aircraft from the Patriot Hills as soon as weather allows. Under that scenario ANI would fly them from Ross Island to the Patriot Hills then on to Punta Arenas, Chile.
Communications between the two skiers, the Patriot Hills and the expeditioners' headquarters in the U.S. will be maintained during their trek using the Orbcomm system of low-Earth orbiting satellites (ANAN-32/06, 11 October 2000), and the more limited ARGOS system (ANAN-18/01, 29 March 2000).
Given the limits that apply in passing data via the Orbcomm system, expedition organisers have told ANAN that Bancroft and Arnesen plan to transmit video and still images to expedition headquarters in the U.S. via the more robust satellite communications systems available at ANI's Patriot Hills camp. Other plans have apparently been made to send images and data back at several points along the trek, however just how thisis to be done remains unclear. Delivery of these materials electronically to the expedition's U.S. Headquarters will be important in the expedition keeping its accomplishments before the public eye.
[ANAN-33/09]
Two Danes, Gregers Gjersoe and Kristian Joos, who are planning to undertake the 1,100 km overland trek from Hercules Inlet on the southern coast of the Ronne Ice Shelf to the South Geographic Pole (SGP) in November-December, arrived in Punta Arenas, Chile, on 17 October in the lead up to their expedition (ANAN-26/03, 19 July 2000). The pair are expected to be flown to the Patriot Hills in Ellsworth Land by commercial air operator Adventure Network International on one its forthcoming 'Hercules' inter-continental flights (see ANAN-33/02 preceeding). If they are able to commence their journey in early November they could reach the SGP around New Year.
[ANAN-33/10]
Sunniva Sorby of Canada and Uiloq Slettemark from Greenland, who were proposing to cross Antarctica in 2000-01 from Berkner Island to the Ross Sea via the South Geographic Pole (SGP), announced last week that they have been forced to cancel their 'Trans-Antarctic Expedition 2000' (TAE 2000) due to lack of funds (ANAN-22/02, 24 May 2000).
Sorby says in a notice posted on the expedition's website that the expedition's site will remain operational to "serve as an educational tool to help others [in the future to] mobilise and launch their own expedition". The notice acknolwedges that friendly rivalry existed between the TAE 2000 traverse and that planned by two other women, Anne Bancroft and Liv Arnesen (see ANAN-33/09 preceeding), and wishes both a sucessful journey. Sorby and Arnesen skied to the SGP together as part of a four women party in 1992-93 (ANAN-26/05, 19 July 2000).
There is no indication on the web site however that either Sorby or Slettemark currently plan to attempt their trans-Antarctic venture in a future season. Sunniva is currently touring East and South Africa giving presentations to business groups and schools on the polar regions and exploration in general. She also plans to climb Mount Kilimanjaro and in the Drakensburg Mountains. Uiloq is in active training for the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics in Biathlon and still resides in Nuuk, Greenland.
[ANAN-33/11]
The proposal by six Australians to climb 3,490 m Mount McClintock in the Trans-Antarctic Mountains in December has been postponed due to lack of funds, however organisers say they are confident they will be able to undertake the venture in the 2001-02 season. McClintock is the highest peak in the area that Australia claims in Antarctica and the attempt was being made this year to mark the Centenary of Australia's Federation on 1 January 2001 (ANAN-28/06, 16 August 2000).
Leader of the 'Australian Antarctic Mountaineering Expedition 2000' (AAME), Damien Gildea, told ANAN last weekend that his group had had a "very good" response from several potential sponsors for their venture, however due to other committments they have at this time, those approached preferred to look at supporting the McClintock climb in 2001-02.
The AAME only made public its McClintock venture in mid-August and this appears to have been a factor in its inability to raise funds this year, most expeditions of this kind having a lead time of a year or more in which to raise support. Gildea says that his group intends to have the remaining funds needed for the expedition organised very early next year, and is currently targeting December 2001 for the McClintock attempt.
Mount McClintock lies in the Britannia Range about 290 km south-west of Ross Island, however it is some 2,400 km on the other side of the continent from the expeditions' starting point in Punta Arenas, Chile. Original AAME plans called for commercial air operator Adventure Network International (ANI) to fly the six climbers to the vicinity of Mount McClintock from Punta Arenas and leave them there for the duration of their climb. Given the distances involved and uncertainties about weather however, plans for the operation now call for the aircraft to stay in the vicinity of McClintock during the climbing operation.
While considered by many with experience of Antarctic operations a wiser option, such a move nevertheless increases expedition costs significantly.
[ANAN-33/12]
The 14.5 m, Australian registered, steel sloop 'Tooluka', which conducted commercial tour operations in the South Atlantic sector for the first time in the 1999-2000 austral summer, is currently expecting to undertake two voyages to the Antarctic Peninsula from southern South America in the January-March period.
First task for the yacht in Antarctic waters in 2000-01 is to support the three-man, Antarctic Peninsula traverse and kayaking journey planned from Hope to Paradise Bays (see ANAN-33/08 preceeding). That voyage is scheduled to leave Ushuaia on 1 January, and return there around 12 February, the month following deployment of the party around 6 January being spent shadowing the traverse party along their route.
The second voyage was originally planned as a straight tourist visit which was to focus around the north-western part of the Antarctic Peninsula where most commercial tourism currently occurs (ANAN-26/01, 19 July 2000). Recent information however suggests that voyage objectives may change, although it will still be undertaken along the western coast of the Peninsula.
'Tooluka', which was built in 1972, has a dedicated crew of two and can carry six passengers, all of whom share duties while on board. She is owned and skippered by Roger Wallis, the coming season being his fourth in Antarctic waters, and his thirty-first year at sea. Roger first visited Antarctica as relief skipper on the 19 m yacht 'Spirit of Sydney' from Australia to Commonwealth Bay in George V Land in 1996-97, and since then has had a season in the Antarctic Peninsula as owner-skipper of the fourteen metre yacht 'Parmelia' in 1998-99, and again in 1999-2000 this time with 'Tooluka'.
In 1999-2000 'Tooluka' was engaged for two high latitude voyages following her lengthy, weather-effected, eleven week delivery voyage to Ushuaia, Argentina, from south-east Australia during the southern winter of 1999 (ANAN-5/07, 29 September 1999). Her first voyage was to South Georgia where she supported a four-person mountaineering group that successfully completed a traverse of the island's spine (ANAN-9/02, 24 November 1999). The second was to the Antarctic Peninsula and involved a party of six carrying out exploratory mountaineering and ski tours from the southern side of Hughes Bay to the area around the Lemaire Channel, and on Weincke Island (ANAN-16/01, 1 March 2000).
Follow ing the return of the yacht to Ushuaia late last January, 'Tooluka' was left at Puerto Williams, Chile, for the 2000 austral winter, and Wallace sailed 'Parmelia' back to Australia across the Pacific sub-Antarctic area. The 'Tooluka' delivery voyage to Ushuaia and the voyage of the 'Parmelia' back to Australia mean that he has sailed some 40,000 km across the Southern Ocean around Antarctica over the last twelve months.
[ANAN-33/13]
Overflights to coastal regions of East Antarctic in 2000-01 are due to commence on 5 November when the first of the 12-13 hours flights is conducted from Melbourne, Australia. Six, possibly seven, flights originating from the Australian cities of Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney are planned up until mid-February next year. Australian company Croydon Travel, which charters Boeing 747-400 from Qantas for the overflights expects to carry its 20,000th passenger in what is the seventh season of operations since flights resumed in 1994 (ANAN-24/03, 21 June 2000). The majority of flights are likely to overfly the sector of the Trans-Antarctic Mountains to the west and south-west of Cape Adare.
[ANAN-33/14]
A new video about the year-long stay by a small private expedition at Commonwealth Bay, George V Land, was released last week. Titled 'A Year On Ice', the sixty minute feature details the 1999 sojourn of Australian's Jim and Yvonne Claypole in a small hut at a place dubbed by legendary explorer Sir Douglas Mawson as the 'Home of the Blizzard'.
The Claypole's year at Commonwealth Bay was the third such non-government winter operation conducted there since 1995 (ANAN-8/05, 10 November 1999). The pair lived in a very compact 2.4 m by 3.6 m prefabricated structure known as "Gadget Hut" and during their time there assisted with aspects of the conservation program which is currently underway on Mawson's 1911-14 expedition huts and conducted counts of Adelie penguin numbers in the region (ANAN-8/06, 10 November 1999).
The video, which was shot using small digital cameras and is narrated by the Claypoles, is available in either PAL VHS or NTSC formats for around $US20-25; the price varying according to which system version is required and the delivery distance involved. Copies can be obtained by contacting Will Canty at: latitude67@optusnet.com.au
A second version of the program is currently being developed for television and discussions are currently underway internationally regarding television rights. Those negotiations are not expected to be completed until the end of this year however.
[ANAN-33/15]
YEAR 2000
1 November 2000 (Melbourne, Australia)
3 November 2000 (Hobart, Australia)
7 November 2000 (Adelaide, Australia)
14 November 2000 (Perth, Australia)
Presentations by Peter Treseder on his 1999-2000 cross-Antarctica attempt.
Contact: jodyh@yhansw.org.au (Jody Hoffman)
YEAR 2001
5 February (King George Island, Antarctica)
Fourth Antarctic Marathon and Half Marathon.
Contact: marathon@shore.net (Thom Gilligan)
May [Date to be set](St Petersburg, Russia)
Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting XXIV
July [Dates to be set] (Washington, D.C., United States).
IAATO year 2001 annual meeting.
Contact: iaato@iaato.org (Denise Landau)(invitation required).
20-24 August (Amsterdam, The Netherlands)\
COMNAP XIII (including the sub-committee on Tourism and Non-Government Operations).
Contact: jsayers@comnap.aq (Jack Sayers).
YEAR 2002
February [Date to be set](King George Island, Antarctica)
Fifth Antarctic Marathon and Half Marathon.
Contact: marathon@shore.net (Thom Gilligan)
July [Dates/location to be set] (Europe).
IAATO year 2002 annual meeting.
Contact: iaato@iaato.org (Denise Landau)(invitation required).
13-18 July (Shanghai, China)
COMNAP XIV (including the sub-committee on Tourism and Non-Government Operations).
Contact: jsayers@comnap.aq (Jack Sayers).
YEAR 2003
July [Dates to be set] (Seattle, United States).
IAATO year 2003 annual meeting.
Contact: iaato@iaato.org (Denise Landau)(invitation required).
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