News in this edition:
16-01. Climbing potential of Peninsula region considered 'huge'.
16-02. French solo traverse completed with national program support.
16-03. Shackleton re-enactment expedition completes journey.
16-04. Unprecedented Macquarie visit requests leads to approval limits.
16-05. East Antarctic day overflights complete sixth season.
16-06. South Georgia management project gets underway.
16-07. Coming events.

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.

A group of six mountaineers spent three weeks in the Antarctic Peninsula region in December and January undertaking a number of climbs, traverses and skiing activities. Reports from the expedition indicate that they believe the future climbing potential of the region is 'huge', with many challenging, unclimbed peaks awaiting adventurers, confirming comments made previously by mountaineers who know the area (ANAN-2/03, 18 August 1999).

While emphasising the potential however, the group's report also stressed that it would be very difficult to effect a rescue should a serious mountaineering accident occur in the area. They consider that there is a high potential that a serious immobilising injury could prove fatal unless either a suitably equipped helicopter or another party of experienced climbers were close by and contactable, both scenarios they consider unlikely at this time.

The support craft for the expedition was the 14.5 m steel sloop 'Tooluka', which earlier in the season had supported four men who successfully traversed the length of South Georgia (ANAN-9/02, 24 November 1999). 'Tooluka', which was operating commercially, left Ushuaia, Argentina, on 21 December with a six person Peninsula climbing group from Australia. The climbers on board were Lucas Trihey, Rob Topfer, Yvette Yeates, Keith Tuffley, Alex Wilson and Chris Jewell.

After a brief visit to Deception Island in the South Shetlands, all six climbers attempted the first ascent of Mount Zeppelin, a 1265 m mountain lying on the coast of Graham Land adjacent to Gerlache Strait. The attempt was made from the northern side of the peak and a camp established near the 500 m level, however they were eventually forced to retreat due to deep snow, heavy snow falls and poor visibility.
From Zepplin 'Tooluka' travelled south into Neko Harbour in Andvoors Bay and three of the party, Trihey, Jewell and Tuffley, ascended a so far unnamed, 1320 m mountain, close by, the climb and descent being achieved in one long day. The three skied from sea level to around 600 m, then ascended what was described as easy, but crevassed, slopes to the summit ridge. Some technical climbing was then required to pass a ten metre wide crevasse below the summit, and the trio eventually reach the top in whiteout and strong winds.

Lucas Trihey and Chris Jewell then made what the group believe to be the first ascent of what they called "North Mount Scott" just south of the Lemaire Channel. The two climbed from sea level to the summit at around 920 m in a twenty-nine hour push, starting in the early afternoon and climbing overnight to take advantage of firmer snow at lower elevations.

A thirty kilometre, three day, ski traverse was made from northen tip of Weinke Island, down the eastern coast and over Thunder Glacier to Port Lockroy. Most of this journey was made in conditions of poor visibility and whiteout. The route was reported to be mostly free of crevasses, however lack of landing sites on the east side of the island would, according to the group, have made escape by sea difficult.

The group also spent a total of nine days skiing on short slopes on Enterprise Island, Hovgaard Island, Neko Harbour, Weinke Island and Doume Island. 'Tooluka's furthest south on the expedition was the Ukranian station Vernadskiy in the Argentine Islands. The yacht returned to Ushuaia on 22 January after a month away, close to three weeks being spent in the Peninsula region.

[ANAN-16/01]

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Frenchwomen Laurence de la Ferriere completed a gruelling 2875 km, fifty-seven day solo trek from the South Geographic Pole (SGP) to Dumont d'Urville station on the coast of Adelie Land on 6 February with support and assistance from the French national Antarctic program.

Laurence had reached the joint French-Italian station at Dome 'C' on 30 December after a thirty-seven day, 1500 km trek from the South Geographic Pole (ANAN-12/06, 5 January 2000). Despite an arduous journey she was reported to be in very good shape on arrival. After three days rest the Frenchwomen commenced the second leg of her journey on 2 January and over the next four days 290 km was made thanks to steady winds which enabled parasails to be used. During the next week however surface conditions deteriorated, large sastrugi being encountered which slowed progress, only 100 km being made in that time.

Due to the rough surface a bottle of fuel carried on the sledge was damaged and fuel leaked into the sleeping bag, however by the time it was realised what had happened Laurence had already been affected by the fumes and she became ill. Loss of the fuel also meant that it was not possible to cook food or melt snow. A French-Italian Twin-Otter aircraft on a flight from Dumont d'Urville to Dome 'C' delivered fuel and other supplies to the trekker on 14 January when she was some 624 km from Dumont d'Urville. After a few days Laurence had recovered sufficiently and could resume her journey.

By 19 January de la Ferriere was some 275 km from Dumont d'Urville and had entered the coastal zone where winds are normally much stronger. The French national program's pre-expedition requirement was that she be accompanied during her trek in this region by one of its traverse trains which operate between the coast near Dumont d'Urville and Concordia carrying supplies.

At that time however the traverse was en route for Dome C from the coast, and as a result she embarked on the traverse, spending sixteen days riding on it to Concordia and back to the 275 km mark. From there she recommenced her trek in company with the traverse group on 4 February and the coast was finally reached two days later. She left Dumont on the French vessel 'L'Astrolabe' a few days later, arriving in Hobart, Australia, on 15 February, then returning to France.

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The 'Shackleton 2000' expedition successfully completed the re-enactment of Sir Ernest Shackleton's famous 1916 journey when it arrived at the long abandoned Stromness whaling station on the northern coast of South Georgia on 23 February. Three previous attempts in recent years by other expeditions to undertake Shackleton's boat journey and cross South Georgia had all been unsuccessful.

The four member group, Arved Fuchs and Martin Friederichs (Germany), Sigridur Ragna Sverrisdottir (Iceland) and Henryk Wolski (Poland), took seven days to cross the island on foot from King Haakon Bay, experiencing poor weather for much of the journey and being hampered by heavy, open, crevassing on the Crean Glacier. The four have now been picked up from Gyrytviken by German company Halpag Lloyd's tour vessel 'Hanseatic.

Fuchs and his group and their boat originally left Ushuaia on board the 'Hanseatic' on 6 January. They and their boat, the seven metre 'James Caird II, were deployed at Hope Bay at the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula and commenced their journey from there on 19 January, arriving at Elephant Island on 29th and leaving there the following day for South Georgia (ANAN-14/04, 2 February 2000). It took them two weeks to cross the Scotia Sea from Elephant Island and they reached King Haakon Bay on the southern side of South Georgia on 12 February (ANAN-15/02, 16 February 2000).

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Despite a decision to increase from 500 to 750 the maximum number of tourist visitors allowed on sub-Antarctic Macquarie Island in a season, the unprecedented demand for ship visits to the island in 2000-01 has meant that all requests received for visits cannot be met. Of thirteen ship visits requested by five companies, only nine visits to the island have been approved, although the timing of some are still subject to further consideration, while opportunities to visit the research station on the island may be more limited than in the past.

The Tasmanian Department of Primary Industry, Water and Environment (DPIWE) in Hobart, Australia, which is responsible for the management of the island, sought expressions of interest for tourist visits to the island next season last August and had hoped to complete the selection process by the end of that month (ANAN-2/08, 18 August 1999). The large number of requests recieved made the process particularly difficult and it was necessary for a review of maximum allowable visitor numbers to be undertaken before final decisions could be made.

DELM contacted tour companies who have applied for visits to advise them of its decisions last week, and is currently seeking advice from them as to whether they intend to take up the slots offered before finalising allocations for the season.

Those intending to make visits are required to forward a $AUS2000 non-refundable deposit to DPIWE by the end of March. The charge per passenger for visits to the island will increase this year to $AUS165. Companies are required to forward the balance of payments to DPIWE at least twenty-eight days of a vessel's departure for the island.

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The sixth season of half-day overflights for tourists over East Antarctica on board Boeing 747 aircraft ended on 13 February, the nine flights conducted since 31 October carrying almost 3,500 passengers over the northern parts of Victoria, Oates, George V and Adelie Lands. The flights, which were conducted from the Australian cities of Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide by the airline Qantas as a charter for Melbourne-based tour company Croydon Travel, have now carried in excess of 17,000 passengers on a total of fifty-two flights since they were recommenced late in 1994.

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Work has commenced on South Georgia on a three-year research project to provide more precise data on the island's environment for use in the on going implementation of the South Georgia Environmental Managament Plan (ANAN-6/06, 13 October 1999).

Researchers Sally Poncet and Jenny Scott commenced the planned three-year program to collect site-specific environmental baseline data on the plants and animals at a number of locations around the island in February. Tourist vessels have been instrumental in transporting the pair between study areas which to date have included Cooper Bay, Greene Peninsula, and Albatross Island. The ships 'Professor Molchanov', 'Hanseatic','Akademic Boris Petrov', 'World Discoverer' and yacht 'Moritz D' are understood to have all asisted with transport to date.

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25-28 June 2000. IAATO annual meeting. Hobart, Australia.

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