News in this edition:

27-01. 'Titanic' Discoverer Eyeing Visit To Shackleton's 'Endurance'.
27-02. Norwegian Winterers Prepare For Trek To Pole.
27-03. Cooperation Between Government And Private Exeditions Key To NAE Program.
27-04. Films Latest Events In 'Rediscovery' of Sir Ernest Shackleton.
27-05. Adventurers Move To Commercial Guiding Operations.
27-06. Three Groups Believed Planning DML-SGP Traverses In 2000-01.
27-07. 'Sir Hubert Wilkins' Undergoes Preliminary Refit.
27-08. Multinational Berkner-Pole Traverse Facing Funding Difficulties.
27-09. SASCO Opens Office, Ship Purchase Awaited.
27-10. New Book On 'Icetrek' Expedition For Publication.
27-11. 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 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.

Dr Robert Ballard, who was involved in the 1985 discovery of the famed ocean liner 'Titanic' nearly 4,000 m beneath the surface of the Atlantic Ocean, is understood to be considering an attempt to locate and photograph the remains of Sir Ernest Shackleton's ship 'Endurance' which lies at a similar depth on the floor of the Weddell Sea. Such a venture faces major challenges however, for in addition to the never routine factors involved in operating thousands of metres below the ocean surface, the work will have to be undertaken in a region frequented by heavy pack ice and poor weather.

Ballard has told a number of media outlets over the past few months about his intentions to visit 'Endurance' in the 2001-02 austral summer, however so far few details of his plans have been released. Queries made to Ballard's Institute for Exploration in the U.S. have so far drawn little response, however Barbara Moffet, a spokeswomen for the U.S. National Geographic Society where Dr Ballard has the title 'Explorer in Residence', told ANAN yesterday that "Bob Ballard's idea to search for the 'Endurance' is extremely exciting, andwe certainly expect to be a significant funder of the effort".

'Endurance' sank in the south-western Weddell Sea on 21 November 1915 while supporting Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition (ITAE). The ITAE was an attempt to cross Antarctica from the Weddell to the Ross Sea and 'Endurance' was being used to place the crossing party ashore in preparation for the attempt. Before a party could be deployed however, the ship was caught in the Weddell Sea pack ice, and after drifting for ten months was crushed, sinking at a location some 300 km east of the southern part of the Larsen Ice Shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula in around 3,400 m of water.

Shackleton's exploits during the ITAE have recently been rediscovered by the general public in many parts of the world, and Ballard's interest in 'Endurance' is likely to have resulted from the publicity that has ensued in recent years (see ANAN-27/04 following).

Heavy sea ice conditions are normally found in the region where 'Endurance' went down even at the height of summer, and this dictates that a true icebreaking vessel would have to be used for any expedition Ballard develops. Experience in other deep sea search operations in the past is however that two, sometime three, ships, each with a particular speciality, may be required. While only one icebreaker would be necessary, any other vessels involved will have to be appropriately ice strengthened. It seems probable therefore that any operation to visit the ship would be a multimillion dollar exercise, and Ballard will be seeking, as in his past expeditions such as those to 'Titanic', to recoup the costs involved.

Analysis of satellite data collected over the past twenty years by the Goddard Spaceflight Centre in the U.S. suggests that if the attempt to visit 'Endurance' is to be made, the best time for it in terms of sea ice conditions would be in late February and early March, although even then between eight and ten tenths of ice is likely to be present in the area. As the time moves on into March however temperatures will quickly start to fall and the weather is likely to deteriorate further as winter approaches.

The first of many challenges for any expedition would be to locate 'Endurance' on the sea bed. As has been the case in searches for other sunken vessels, side-scan sonar (SSS) would probably be used, the device being towed by the search vessel involved and 'flown' several hundred metres above the seabed. Because of the limits in sensing range however, the search vessel will have to conduct a grid search in the general area where 'Endurance' is believed to have sunk if the historic ship is to be found.

When 'Titanic' was discovered, the search vessel used had to sweep a 900 square kilometre area of the ice free North Atlantic for three weeks before the wreck was located. While work in the Weddell Sea would be aided by the fact that little if any ocean swell will be present, any search vessel will have to contend with heavy pack ice while following the grid pattern. General manouevring of the vessel along any search grid may not be straight forward, and towing the SSS in the ice environment is also likely to present challenges.

Should 'Endurance' be located the heavy sea ice environment is also likely to present the ship's crew with considerable difficulties in deploying, operating and retrieving the submersibles that will be used. Each sortie to the sea floor will probably take 5-6 hours to complete, a time in which sea ice conditions can change dramatically. Open water will need to be present adjacent to the ship at the start and finish of visits to the wreck below.

Ballard's Institute for Exploration says on its web site that it is a "leader in merging deep submergence technology with archaeological needs in order to design and develop a series of vehicles capable of carrying out archaeological investigation in deep water environments". It is not clear at this stage whether any submersibles used to visit 'Endurance' would be manned, however it would appear more likely that remotely controlled vehicles will be used. Tourists have recently had the opportunity to visit the 'Titanic' for a fee of around $US35,000, however that is not believed to be part of Ballard's plans.

Should Ballard be successful in his quest he is likely to only find the hull of the vessel. By the time she sank after almost a year in the pack ice, 'Endurance' had lost all her masts, rigging and funnel as a result of pressures exerted on her by the surrounding ice. For obvious reasons 'Endurance' is not amongst the current Antarctic Treaty list of Historic Sites and Monuments (HSM). Protection of buildings and objects of historic interest in the Antarctic region was formally recognised as an issue by the Treaty System as early as the first Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting held in 1961, and the listing system commenced in 1970.

Ballard has significant experience in deep ocean operations. In addition to the 'Titanic', he has also visited several other historic vessels, including the World War 2 ships 'Bismarck' and 'Yorktown, and the 'Lusitania' which was sunk in controversial circumstances in World War 1. He has also conducted a number of scientific programs in the deep oceans.

[ANAN-27/01]

TO THE TOP

The opportunity to test the operation of Troll station over winter was the key factor behind the Norwegian Polar Institute's decision to cooperate with the privately organised Norwegian Antarctic Expedition (NAE), the four winterers conducting a range of activities designed to contribute to studies in a number of areas, including polar medicine, psychology, and the testing of alternative energy sources and "eco-friendly sewage solutions". This cooperative approach has been essential in enabling the NAE to reach and live on the continent in the lead up to its planned traverse to the South Geographic Pole late this year (see ANAN-27/02 proceeding).

As a consequence of this cooperation, the NAE is being conducted in two linked, but distinct, parts. During the 1999-2000 summer the four NAE members travelled south with, and were officially members of, the Norwegian Antarctic Research Expedition (NARE) organised by the Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI) in Tromso. As such they were responsible to the NARE expedition leader and according to the NPI were 'very useful' as considerable upgrading work was undertaken at Troll last summer. NPI agreed to the NAEs request for assistance as it provided the opportunity the evaluate operation of Troll station during the Antarctic winter.

Following the arrival of the new season's NARE personnel next December, the two no-skiing members of the private expedition group then at Troll will again come under national program auspices. They are scheduled to return to Norway at the end of summer with the government group after assisting its field programs in the Dronning Maud Land region, however the two skiers will make their own way back to Norway from the Pole, probably by air.

It is between the two national program summer operations that the NAE comes into its own. According to the Norwegian Polar Institute during this period it has "no responsibility.. ..whatsoever" for the wintering group, a position that includes the time the two skiers are on their traverse to the Pole.

Arrangements between the NPI and the NAE allow the non-government expedition to use Troll station and the equipment there at no cash charge, although the non-government group must cover the cost of food, fuel and other consumables used during the winter, and has been required to provide sufficient insurance cover in the event any damage occurs to Troll facilities. An additional NPI requirement for allowing use of the station was that a mechanic and a medical doctor be included in the party. NAE organisers Bae and Sønneland originally proposed to winter at Troll on their own.

NAE compensates the Norwegian Polar Institute for use of the station and other logistics support by carrying out a number of tasks for the Institute, including "observations, measurements and upgrading work". One project involves testing a waste water treatment system and a composting toilet. Both systems have been designed and developed at the Norwegian Agricultural College by Eirik Sønneland who is a student there.

The expedition is receiving considerable publicity in its home country and the increased exposure of Antarctica in the media is also likely to be seen of benefit to the NPI in furthering its program aims.

[ANAN-27/03]

TO THE TOP

Work underway to produce two further films about Sir Ernest Shackleton's 1914-17 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition (ITAE), and the proposal to photograph its ship 'Endurance' at the bottom of the Weddell Sea (see ANAN-27/01 proceeding), are the latest in a series of ventures that have resulted from the 'rediscovery' of Shackleton in the last few years, particularly in North America.

Director Charles Sturridge is reported to have signed with Britain's Channel 4 to produce a range of films, including a four hour "multimillion dollar" feature on Shackleton. Media reports last weekend indicate that Sturridge, who has started to prepare the film's script, is in talks with Shakespearean actor Kenneth Branagh about playing Sir Ernest. Sturridge's past work includes Director of the recent telemovie 'Longitude' and the 1997 film 'Fairytale: A true story', and as co-producer of the widely-distributed 1982 British television series 'Brideshead Revisited'. Shooting of the Shackleton film is scheduled to commence in 2001. It is to be shown in two, two hour, episodes, probably late in 2002 or early 2003.

U.S. based Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group were reported earlier this year to be working on a "big-budget" feature about the 'Endurance journey' with filming supposedly starting late this year. The film's Director was to be Wolfgang Petersen who made the recently released 'A Perfect Storm', as well as a string of other movies including 'In the Line of Fire' in 1993 and 'Das Boot' in 1981. No further information is currently available about Columbia's Shackleton plans however.

It is not known if either of the films will be shot in the Antarctic. In the past a number of feature films about Antarctic subjects which were shot in the Arctic have provided an appropriate Antarctic effect, although this requires careful site selection. Logistically the Arctic would be an easier location in which to conduct filming.

The interest in Shackleton over the last few years, or 'Shackleton Mania' as some have called it, began with the publication of Caroline Alexander's well-received book 'Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition" in 1998. The book retold the exploits of Shackleton and his men during the 1914-17 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition (ITAE). The ITAE lost its ship 'Endurance' in the Weddell Sea during an attempt to undertake the first crossing of the Antarctic continent. Despite enormous difficulties all 28 men involved eventually returned safety to the U.K.

Alexander's book was published in association with the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York and she was guest curator for the major exhibition the AMNH mounted on the ITAE in 1999. This featured more than 150 photographs taken during the expedition by Australian photographer Frank Hurley. It ran for ten months and received significant exposure in both the electronic and print media. Following its run in New York the exhibition was at the U.S. National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C. for three months, and is currently at the Peabody Essex Museum in Massachusetts until mid-September.

Coincidently, or more probably as a result of the general interest generated about Shackleton in the media, a number of non-governmental operations have been conducted in Antarctica in the past year which centre on Shackleton and his exploits. His boat journey with Worsley, Crean, McNish, McCarthy and Vincent from Elephant Island to South Georgia was reinacted earlier this year by the 'Shackleton 2000' expedition (ANAN-16/03, 1 March 2000), while the crossing of South Georgia was made twice (ANAN-20/02, 26 April 2000).

Several films about Shackleton and the ITAE are in production and are due for release via Television and large screen IMAX® theatres in 2001, some of the filming being conducted around South Georgia and near the Antarctic Peninsula last October-November and again in April (ANAN-20/02, 26 April 2000). Alexander is a writer and co-producer of both of those documentaries.

A number of Antarctic tour operators have used the spectre of Shackleton in framing and marketing some of the voyages they offered the general public in recent seasons, among them the U.S. based Zeghram and Eco Expeditions. Caroline Alexander is scheduled to take part in one of Zeghram's voyages to South Georgia as a lecturer later this year onboard the tour ship 'Explorer'.

The interest in Shackleton comes at the start of a decade which will see the 100th anniversary of a number of significant Antarctic expeditions. These include German Erich von Drygalski's 1901-03 expedition in the 'Gauss', Swede Otto Nordenskjold 'Antarctic' and Briton Robert Scott's 'Discovery' expeditions of 1901-04, Briton William Bruce's 1902-04 'Scotia' venture, Norwegian Carl Larsen's establishment of the first whaling station on South Georgia (1904-05), Shackleton's 1907-09 'Nimrod' expedition, and Frenchman's Jean-Baptiste Charcot's 'Pourquoi Pas?' 1908-10 journey. Four of those activities took place in the region of the Antarctic Peninsula, two in the Ross Sea, and one in East Antarctica.

[ANAN-27/04]

TO THE TOP

The trend for adventurers with experience in Antarctic operations to move to commercial guiding operations on the continent has quickened with the recent establishment of a new company in Australia. Icetrek Expeditions, whose principals all have significant experience in Antarctic operations, joins a growing band of similar companies in a number of countries offering commercial support services for mountaineering and traverse activities in the region (ANAN-21/09, 10 May 2000).

Icetrek's standard Antarctic offering at the present time is for climbs of Vinson Massif, the continent's highest peak, and 'last degree' ski journeys which involve traversing the 110 km from Latitude 89° South to the South Geographic Pole (SGP), although the company says that it is happy to consider providing support for any other activity proposed in the Antarctic region. Air support for the Vinson and SGP activities would be provided by commercial air operator Adventure Network International.

Icetrek's principals are Eric Philips, Jon and Brigitte Muir, and Borge Ousland, all of whom have significant remote area experience in many parts of the world, including Antarctica. Philips is best known in Antarctic terms as a member of the three-man Icetrek Expedition which travelled overland from Ross Island to the South Geographic Pole (SGP) in 1998-99 (see ANAN-27/10 following), and also served a season with the Australian national program as a Field Training Officer at Mawson station in Mac.Robertson Land. Jon Muir was also a member of the Icetrek traverse, while his wife Brigitte has climbed Vinson Massif. Ousland skied and parasailed solo to the SGP in 1995-96, thus becoming the first person to reach both Poles alone, and the following austral summer he completed the first solo, unsupported, crossing of Antarctica from Berkner Island to Ross Island via the SGP.

The new company means there are at least five companies now offering guiding services for SGP traverses and Vinson climbing experiences. These include Adventure Consultants of New Zealand (ANAN-1/2, 4 August 1999), Snowsled Journeys (U.K.), Aurora Expeditions (Australia) and Aventuras Patagonius (United States). Most of the companies put the cost ex Punta Arenas, Chile, of an expedition to climb Vinson at around $US25,000, and for traverses to the Pole at between $US30,000 and $US45,000.

The web sites of Icetrek and the other guiding companies, and other general Antarctic tour companies web sites can be readily accessed via ANAN's web site.

[ANAN-27/05]

TO THE TOP

The sector between Dronning Maud Land (DML) and the South Geographic Pole (SGP) could be traversed by personnel from threeprivate expeditions in November and December this year. The seven people involved in plans announced to date will however be following in the footsteps of four other private ventures that have completed that journey over the past twenty years.

In addition to Rolf Bae and Eirik Sønneland of the Norwegian Antarctic Expedition whose aim is to reach the SGP from Troll station (see ANAN-27/02 proceeding), Anne Bancroft and Liv Arnesen will be attempting to cross to Ross Island via the Pole (ANAN-22/03, 24 May 2000) from the blue ice runway 'Blue 1' which lies some 200 km north-east of Troll, while the three-person Dutch-based Sasquatch Expedition is also proposing to take a similar route from 'Blue 1' to the SGP before heading north to the Patriot Hills in Ellsworth Land (ANAN-21/08, 10 May 2000).

While the Bancroft-Arnesen program told ANAN says that it is on track to proceed, there has been no confirmation as yet that the Sasquatch group will actually undertake their traverse. The Bancroft-Arnesen venture has however still to confirm arrangements by which the two skiers will leave Antarctica after arrival at Ross Island. The expedition's web site has indicated for some time that the two "will fly to Christchurch, New Zealand (NZ)" from Ross Island. Expedition organisers told ANAN early this week however that plans for their departure from Ross Island "are still in the works".

Both the Bancroft-Arnesen and Sasquatch expeditions are scheduled to arrive in Antarctica in late October from Cape Town, South Africa, on an Adventure Network International intercontinental flight to the ice runway at 'Blue 1'. The exact timing of that flight will depend on weather conditions, as will Bae and Sønneland's departure from Troll. Troll is around fifty kilometres closer to the Pole than 'Blue 1', the latter being located at 71° 32' South, 8° 48' East.

A number of private expedition traverses have been made along the DML-SGP route over the past twenty years.

The first was Ranulph Fiennes 'Transglobe' expedition of 1980-81 which travelled via motor toboggans to the Pole and across to Ross Island from its winter based at Ryvingen (72° 55' South, 3° 29' West), a distance of around 2,600 km. Ryvingen lies some 190 km south-west of Troll and is around 90 km closer to the Pole than the Norwegian station. Fiennes' group was not able to leave on its trans-Antarctic journey until 28 October because of weather.

The next private group to travel the route were Alain Hubert from Belgium and Dixie Dansercoer from France. They skied and parasailed to the Pole and on to Ross Island from 'Blue 1' in the 1997-98 season (ANAN-19/09, 12 April 2000). Ronald Naar and Coen Hofstede of The Netherlands made the 2,200 km trip from 'Blue 1' to the Pole in 1998-99; while a solo ski-parasail journey from 'Blue 1' to the SGP and on into Ellsworth Land was undertaken by Mitsuro Ohba of Japan in the same season..

ANAN's web site contains a section aimed at providing consolidated information on non-governmental traverse activities known to have been proposed in 2000-01.

[ANAN-27/06]

TO THE TOP

The 37 m vessel 'Sir Hubert Wilkins' (SHW), which Australian company Ocean Frontiers plans to use for operations in Antarctica from 2000-01 onwards (ANAN-21/01, 10 May 2000), recently underwent a preliminary refit in a Finnish shipyard prior to its delivery voyage to Australia.

The work, which is described by the company as 'substantial', included installing additional fuel tanks to bring its range to around 13,000 km, fitting the latest safety and survival gear and all new equipment on the bridge, stripping and checking all of the ship's systems, and work on the rudder and propeller shaft.

SHW went into dry dock on 10 June and was, according to Ocean Frontiers web site, due to leave for Australia around 11 July. It has not been possible however to confirm as yet that the ship has actually started on its delivery voyage to Sydney via the Panama Canal. The trip is expected to take just under three months, and further work is scheduled to be undertaken after her arrival in Australia in the lead up to the first Antarctic season.

Ocean Frontiers plans to use SHW on two commercial voyages to the George V and Oates Lands areas of East Antarctica early in 2001 (ANAN-21/02, 10 May 2000). One of the company's new McIntyre-55 yachts is also scheduled to visit Commonwealth Bay in George V Land in January, with departure from Hobart, Australia, advertised for 10 January. The yacht is expected to be at Commonwealth Bay from 20-27 January and return to Hobart about 7 February.

Images of the 'Sir Hubert Wilkins' in dry dock are available in the 'Voyages' section of Ocean Frontier's web site.

[ANAN-27/07]

TO THE TOP

Plans by the multinational 'Trinity Expedition' to conduct a traverse from the seaward edge of the Ronne Ice Shelf to the South Geographic Pole (SGP) in 2000-01 seems likely to be put on hold for this season due to funding difficulties. A spokesman for the group told ANAN early this week that the expedition was in urgent need of a 'major sponsor' if it was to achieve its aims in the coming season.

The Trinity group consists of Jorge Alejandro Vigil (Argentina), Gino Casassa (Chile) and Steven Cuthbertson (UK). Its aim was to be on Adventure Network International's (ANI) first flight to the Patriot Hills in Ellsworth Land in order to start the traverse in early November. Where possible the intention was that the route southwards would follow as closely as possible the Longitude 53° West meridian, which is the eastern border of Chile's territorial claim. Arrival at the Pole was expected around the New Year after which it was proposed that ANI would fly them from Antarctica to Punta Arenas, Chile.

The sponsorship problems being experienced by Trinity are close to standard fare for expeditions of this kind, and add an extra dimension to the complexities ANI faces in developing their operational support plans each season. Books written about a number of similar expeditions that eventually managed to undertake their planned program make frequent references to the difficulties of fund raising. One of the latest is the recent book by Caroline Hamilton on last season's all-women traverse to the SGP which gives an interesting description of the problems and frustration involved (ANAN-26/05, 19 July 2000).

[ANAN-27/08]

TO THE TOP

The Southern Australian Shipping Company (SASCO), which has been planning to conduct tourist voyages to the Ross Sea region since mid-1999, last week opened its office in Hobart, Australia, and announced the appointment of a number of staff. Despite the opening however, the company is yet confirmed that it has purchased the vessel 'Olga Sadovskaya' which ithas been pursuing for over a year for use in its proposed Antarctic voyages (ANAN-17/09, 15 March 2000).

'Sadovskaya', which is ice strengthened and is a sister ship to current Antarctic tour ships 'Clipper Adventurer' and 'Lyubov Orlova', is owned by the Russian Far East Shipping Company and has been operating between Vladivostok and Japan for some time (ANAN-5/01, 29 September 1999).

SASCO said in a 25 July press release that its vessel would arrive in Hobart from Vladivostock in August. If the company's stated August arrival date is to be met the ship, which the company plans to rename 'Southern Australis', would have to leave Vladivostok within the next week. SASCO's plans call for the ship to be refurbished in Hobart prior to commencing Antarctic operations.

The Australian Antarctic Division (AAD), which is responsible under Australian Federal legislation for assessing operations by Australian companies in Antarctica, is closely watching developments. SASCO, like all other Australian entities, is required to undertake an environmental impact assessment (EIA) of its planned operation well prior to the season commencing.

The AAD recently advised all Australians planning to conduct non-governmental operations in Antarctic in 2000-01 that their EIAs need to be submitted to it by 8 September.

[ANAN-27/09]

TO THE TOP

A new book on the 1998-99 three-man 'Icetrek Expedition' traverse to the South Geographic Pole (SGP) from Ross Island is to be released later this month in New Zealand and elsewhere later in the year. The book, which has the provocative title "Icetrek - The bitter journey to the South Pole by Peter Hillary, Jon Muir and Eric Philips", has been written by Philips.

Icetrek left Ross Island on 4 November 1998 with the intention of manhauling 2,800 km to the SGP and return, however a combination of factors meant they were only just able to complete the southward journey. Following their arrival at the Pole on 26 January 1999 after a trek of almost three months, almost as long as it has taken several groups in the past to travel right across Antarctica, they were returned by a U.S. aircraft from Amundsen-Scott station at the Pole to Ross Island in controversial circumstances. Subsequent to the expedition considerable disagreement has surfaced publicity from the group about their expedition, particularly between Philips and Hillary.

The book is being published by Harper Collins and it will be available for around $US20 depending on where it is purchased. Its ISBN code is 1869503600.

Philip's book is the first to be published about Icetrek although a film called 'Into the Teeth of the Blizzard' has been produced by Natural History New Zealand Ltd and distributed by Wild South. To date the film has screened on National Geographic's 'Explorer' Channel.

Philips and Icetrek colleague Jon Muir recently established Icetrek Expeditions, a company that provides remote area guiding services, including those in Antarctica (see ANAN-27/05 proceeding).

[ANAN-27/10]

TO THE TOP

YEAR 2000

11-15 September 2000 (The Hague, Netherlands)
Special Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting.
Meeting of the Committee for Environmental Protection.

4-6 October 2000 (Boulder, United States)
American Polar Society Bi-Annual Meeting.
Contact: mckie@cires.colarado.edu (Julie McKie)

11 October (Sydney, Australia)
16 October (Canberra, Australia)
19 October (Newcastle, Australia)
25 October (Brisbane, Australia)
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 2001 (King George Island, Antarctica)
Fourth Antarctic Marathon and Half Marathon.
Contact: marathon@shore.net (Thom Gilligan)

July 2001 [Dates to be set] (Washington, D.C., United States).
IAATO year 2001 annual meeting.
Contact: iaato@iaato.org (Denise Landau)(invitation required).

YEAR 2002

February 2002 [Date to be set](King George Island, Antarctica)
Fifth Antarctic Marathon and Half Marathon.
Contact: marathon@shore.net (Thom Gilligan)

July 2002 [Dates/location to be set] (Europe).
IAATO year 2002 annual meeting.
Contact: iaato@iaato.org (Denise Landau)(invitation required).

YEAR 2003

July 2003 [Dates to be set] (Seattle, United States).
IAATO year 2003 annual meeting.
Contact: iaato@iaato.org (Denise Landau)(invitation required).

[ANAN-27/11]

TO THE TOP