NEWS

News in this edition:
39-01. 'Millennium' Sequel Fails to Materialise; Possibilty for 2002?
39-02. 'Khlebnikov' Establishes New Ship 'Southing' Record.
39-03. B15 Iceberg Expedition Faces Challenging Pack Ice Conditions.
39-04. New Air Route Transiting Sub-Antarctic, Antarctic, Regions.
39-05. Tourist Overflights Again Operating From Chile.
39-06. Dangerous Rock Conditions Force Revision Of Holtanna Plans.
39-07. Second DML Climbing Group Filming TV Documentary.
39-08. Women Reach Pole But Face Tight Schedule To Meet Ship.
39-09. NAE Pair Make Slow Progress Northwards, Wind Needed.
39-10. Sasquatch Pair Complete Return Journey To Patriot Hills.
39-11. Re-Enactment Of Shackleton's Scotia Sea Crossing Cancelled.
39-12. Planned World Flight KGI Visit Deferred.
39-13. First 'Vendee' Yachts Round Cape Horn.
39-14. 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.

A Russian non-government venture with the title 'The International Complex Expedition to the South Pole' (ICESP), which planned to offer its clients a range of recreational activities in the Ellsworth Land region this austral summer, has yet to commence operations and now appears unlikely to proceed this year.

The ICESP appears similar in size and scope to last year's troubled 'Millennium Expedition' (ANAN-17/06, 15 March 2000). Few people outside Russia appear to have been aware of ICESP plans until the last few weeks, and no information about it has been circulated via the exchange of information processes set up under the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS). Similar problems were experienced in obtaining details of 'Millennium' plans in the lead up to its Antarctic operations (ANAN-10/01, 8 December 1999).

Like 'Millennium', the ICESP aimed to provide opportunities for sky diving, hot air ballooning, climbing, and general tourist visits in the area around Antarctica's highest mountain, Vinson Massif in Ellsworth Land, and south to the South Geographic Pole (SGP) itself. In addition, a 2,000 km 'motor-race' to the SGP and back involving 'dune buggy' like vehicles was apparently proposed, as well as what were described as a variety of 'scientific' activities.

ICESP operations were to have been directed from a field camp which was to be established in the Patriot Hills by air from Punta Arenas, Chile, using an Ilyushin 76 (Il-76) heavy lift jet aircraft in a similar manner to the Millennium venture (ANAN-4/01, 15 September 1999). The U.K. based commercial air operator Adventure Network International (ANI) has been successfully operating similar inter-continental flights into, and summer field camp operations at, the Patriot Hills, since 1985 (ANAN-28/02, 16 August 2000). ANI used a chartered IL-76 earlier this season (ANAN-35/02, 22 November 2000), as has the air operator Polar Logistics which operates in the Dronning Maud Land (DML) region (ANAN-28/03, 16 August 2000 and ANAN-39/07 following).

According to the ICESP web site, its operations were to have taken place in the month from 15 December and should therefore be concluding about now. A message posted on 2 January on the web site of a Russian Ham radio club with links to the ICESP, says however that the start of the expedition had been "delayed at least a week or so". Despite a number of attempts over the last two weeks, it has not been possible for ANAN to obtain an up-date about expedition plans, and reports from Punta Arenas over the last few days indicate that the expedition has not arrived there as yet.

Even if the problems that have caused the delay can be resolved it is unlikely that the expedition will operate this season. This is because the short window that is available for 'summer' operatons on the high plateau of Antarctica will close in the next few weeks.

ANI normally commences its operations in the Ellsworth Land region in late October and ceases in early February. Information provided by the U.K. under the ATS exchange of information process for 2000-01 indicates that ANI's last inter-continental flight to and from the Patriot Hills is scheduled for 25 January, while final closure of the field camp is due around 2 February. While both those activities are, as always, subject to weather and other delays, ANI's field camp is expected to be cease normal operations around that time, although it seems likely that it may operate at a lesser level for several more weeks (see ANAN-39/08 following).

ICESP's web site indicates that in addition to the IL-76, the expedition was to have at its disposal a medium-sized 'Basler 67' twin-engined aircraft, as well as a single-engined Antonov-2 (AN-2) biplane to support expedition operations on the continent. ANI used a 'Basler 67' in Antarctica for the first time in 1999-2000 (ANAN-1/6, 4 August 1999), and the same aircraft was used by the U.S. national program in operations from McMurdo station in November-December (ANAN-34/05, 8 November 2000). Since leaving McMurdo late last month that aircraft has been working in DML in support of Polar Logistics activities.

Surface transport to be used in the ICESP operation was to consist of an unknown number of large trucks and 'dune-buggy' racers. While no technical details have been provided by the expedition about either of the vehicles, web site photographs indicate that the trucks are six-wheel drive, and that they might be able to carry up to five tonnes of equipment given reasonable surface conditions.

The 'dune buggies' appear to be a standard Lada 'Niva' passenger car fitted with 1.2 m diameter balloon tyres, and most probably, or 'hopefully' according to one vehicle expert contacted by ANAN, a more powerful engine. It is possible that the trucks were to be used to transport people and hot air balloons from the Patriot Hills to and >from the SGP, although why they would be needed for such an operation when the Basler and AN-2 were to be available is difficult to access given the limited information available.

While the IL-76 could fly unrefuelled from Punta Arenas to the Patriot Hills and return, the other two aircraft and the surface vehicles listed in the expedition's inventory would require significant amounts of fuel if they were to be able to operate in a meaningful way.

Close to half of all ANI's inter-continental flight operations each austral summer are dedicated to fuel delivery (ANAN-33/03, 25 October 2000), and the Millennium Expedition's pre-season plans were severely compromised once operations began due to lack of fuel (ANAN-14/02, 2 February 2000). It is not known what ICESP plans were regarding fuel delivery and storage. The 'Millennium' group first proposed to store fuel in large fuel bladders, however this was abandoned and the fuel that was eventually used was delivered in 200 litre drums.

Despite ICESP's problems, which are probably primarily due to funding and and to a lesser extent organisational difficulties, sources in several countries suggest that it is only one of several Russia-based groups that may be competing with each other to conduct commercial air-based 'tour' operations in the interior of Antarctica in 2001-02 and beyond.

Several observers familiar with the Russia scene have told ANAN that in the long-term they believe that Millennium or ICESP type ventures from that country have the potential to provide strong competition for the now well-established operations of ANI and Polar Logistics. They are of the view however that despite Russia's undoubted expertise in high latitude operations, the groups or businesses involved have yet to come to terms with the funding, marketing and other realities involved in such commercial ventures, and that until they develop a coordinated, long-term committment to the task, little useful is likely to be achieved.

While the nature of Antarctic weather and other factors often effect ANI's program (ANAN-35/02, 22 November 2000), the support that it has provided to tourists and adventurers in Antarctica over many years means that it is likely to be the preferred option for non-government personnel wanting to visit the interior of Antarctica. ANI's market position was strengthened in August last year when it was purchased by a new U.S. travel conglomerate, a move which widened the air operator's client reach and funding sources (ANAN-28/01, 16 August 2000).

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A new southerly record for shipping of Latitude 78° 37' South was established by the Russian ice breaker 'Kapitan Khlebnikov' on 11 January during tourist operations in the south-eastern Ross Sea. The record, which may stand for sometime, was achieved as a result of the calving of large sections of the Ross Ice Shelf last year which saw the front of the barrier retreat some thirty kilometres.

'Khlebnikov', which is currently conducting the second of three voyages to the Ross Sea this season for the U.S. company Quark Expeditions, reported that the new record was achieved in Longitude 162° 02' East in the Bay of Whales. Expedition Leader Werner Stambach said in a news release that the ship's passengers were landed on fast ice at the head of the Bay, and that they were then able to walk along a flagged route >from there up on to the Ross Ice Shelf (RIS). Prior to this season, the furthest south that ships could reach in the Bay of Whales was close to Latitude 78° 30' South.

Last year's major calving event was first noted in weather satellite images obtained by meteorologists at the U.S. national program station McMurdo on Ross Island in March. The first pictures received showed that the front thirty kilometres of the shelf had calved for a distance of around 250-300 km westwards from the Bay of Whales, forming a large 250 by 30 km iceberg which was give the reference code B15, and a smaller one which was labelled B16.

Since calving, B15 has broken into many fragments, at least seven of which are currently being tracked by the National Ice Centre (NIC) in the U.S. using the reference numbers B15A to B15F, the largest of which is currently B15A. Satellite images obtained over the last month show that C16 was just north of Ross Island with B15A not far to the north-east, while other B15 remnants lie close to the International Date up as far as Latitude 70° South.

Khlebnikov's Master, Peter Golikov, reported last week that it took his vessel seven hours to travel along the length of B15A, and that he estimated that the iceberg was then around 170 km in length. NIC is currently estimating from satellite images that B15A is around 140 by 30 km in size.

The shape of the Bay of Whales is continually changing, however despite this the embayment has been a permanent feature of the south-eastern Ross Sea since its discovery nearly 100 years ago. Ice covered Roosevelt Island which lies just to the south of the Bay plays the key role in its formation, parting the flow of ice from the south, therefore it seems likely to be around for the forseeable future.

Unless significant changes to the dynamics of the Ross Ice Shelf occur over the next few years it seems probable that its central edge will push forward again and that the southern end of the Bay of Whales will again advance. This may mean that Khlebnikov's record could stand for some time.

U.S. national program authorities are currently developing plans to visit B15's component pieces in order to conduct a range of research activities. A non-government expedition on the vessel 'Braveheart' is also proposing to visit at least one of the large bergs in February to conduct a range of activities, although it is neither funded or affiliated with national program activity (see ANAN-39/03 following).

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The thirty-six metre vessel 'Braveheart' is scheduled to leave New Zealand for the Ross Sea in the next few days in support of the 'Ice Island' expedition, a non-government venture whose aim is to study and document the large icebergs that resulted from last year's major Ross Ice Shelf calving event (see ANAN-39/02 preceding). The ship, which is understood to have little or no ice strengthening, is heading south as ice centre and ship reports suggest that pack ice conditions in the Ross Sea this austral summer are amongst the heaviest seen in the last ten years.

'Ice Island' plans call for 'Braveheart' to spend almost two weeks in the vicinity of one of the fragments of iceberg B15 in the first half of February. B15A, the largest remaining piece of last year's calving event at 140 by 30 km, is currently located close to Ross Island in the south-west Ross Sea, while other smaller fragments lie to the north-east of that. All are well inside the pack ice zone, and last week's ice analysis released by the National Ice Centre in the U.S. clearly suggests that 'Braveheart' will have to penetrate 350-450 km of ice of seven tenths or greater concentration in order to reach the large bergs.

If 'Braveheart' manages to reach one of the B15 fragments, expedition members aim to conduct a range of activities around, above, under, on, and even 'inside' the 'ice island' chosen for investigation. The latter appears to indicate that attempts will be made to enter caves and cracks around the periphery of the iceberg, and possibly any crevasses that may be on its top, although precise details have not been spelt out. Some members of the expedition are understood to have undertaken ice and glacier travel training in the U.S. late last year.

Expedition aims are divided into two parts, one of which is research targetted at determining the effect of such large icebergs on the local environment. It is said to involve collecting oceanographic data, and information on whale, seabird, seal, and invertebrate life such as jellyfish, krill and salps, observed in the general region of the iceberg. The second aim is for a film and photographic team is to document the icebergs in some detail using the new digital Hi-Definition format, a television production and magazine features being planned.

In order to support the work planned 'Braveheart' will carry a Hughes 300 helicopter and an underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV), as well as what is said to be 'state-of-the-art technology' to enable free diving activities by expedition personnel. The helicopter is expected to be used for ice reconnaissance, aerial photographic work, and the placement of personnel and equipment on to the icebergs, while the ROV will be used to film marine life beneath them around iceberg keels, perhaps to depths of up to 300 m.

'Braveheart' was built in Japan in 1982 and first operated as a fisheries research vessel. It is now registered in New Zealand and over the last few years has support operations conducted in sub-Antarctic and other islands near NZ, as well as in the Pacific and as far north as Alaska. A crew of around eight and nine people involved in science and documentary activities expected to be on the voyage. About half of the vessel's compliment are believed to be from New Zealand, the others coming mainly from the United States, and some >from Canada and Chile.

During the past month the ship has been in dry dock in New Zealand. Its hull was to be checked ultrasonically during that time, and the expedition web site says that should 'suspect areas' be found, they were to be 're-plated' prior to departure for the Ross Sea. Recent reports from non-expedition sources indicate that 'extra plating' was added to the bow of the vessel while it was in dry dock, but that otherwise the ship has no ice strengthening.

A number of changes have been made to 'Braveheart' over the last few months to accommodate 'Ice Island' objectives. These include constructing wet and dry rooms, camera and diving storage areas, a launch area for the ROV, 'plenty of covered deck areas' a helicopter landing pad, and an aquarium 'for jellyfish and other delicate animals'.

New Zealand's Maritime Safety Authority has inspected the ship to ensure that it meets that country's legislative requirements, although just how these relate to standards for shipping currently being discussed under the Antarctic Treaty System is unknown (ANAN-20/01, 26 April 2000). The expedition is also understood to have submitted an environmental impact assessment of its planned activities to New Zealand authorities.

While small-scale expedition activity can make important contributions to sub-Antarctic and Antarctic research, Braveheart's limited ice capabilities have led a number of experienced Antarctic personnel to express concern about the operations planned on this occassion. The U.S. national program is understood to be gearing up to study the bergs in some detail in the near future, and given the location of the icebergs and the reported ice conditions it is likely to have more robust, versatile, resources with which to undertake the research involved.

'Braveheart' was due to arrive in Lyttleton, New Zealand, on 16 January and is currently expected to head south sometime before the coming weekend. The ship plans to travel south via the sub-Antarctic Auckland Islands and its schedule suggests that it could encounter the first pack ice in the northern fringes of the Ross Sea sometime in the last week of January. It hopes to be in the vicinity of one of the large Ross Sea icebergs from 4-15 February, and to return to New Zealand via Cape Adare, the Balleny Islands and Campbell Island. Arival in either Dunedin or Lyttleton, New Zealand, is put at around 10 March.

'Ice Island' is being funded by a number of organisations in the United States, including the National Geographical Society, The New England Aquarium, and Kurtis HD Partners, as well as the Underwater Exploration Institute based in Bermuda. Other partners from North America have provided a range of support, including diving, climbing and survival equipment.

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A new non-stop, regular public transport (RPT) air service between Sydney, Australia, and Johannesberg, South Africa, which the Australian airline Qantas commenced on 15 January, will involve regular overflights of sub-Antarctic, and at times Antarctic coastal, regions. Flights on the new route will increase the level of RPT activity around the fringes of the Antarctic continent, and will see large wide-bodied jets regularly operating in higher latitudes of the Indian Ocean sector than before.

The new Africa-Australia service is designed to provide a quicker service between the key economic centres of southern Africa and Australia which eliminates the need a refuelling stop in Perth, Western Australia.

The Australian airline currently plans to conduct four return flights each week on the new route, with the west-bound journey taking just over thirteen hours, and the east-bound around eleven hours and possibly less if weather and other conditions are favourable. The shortest, or Great Circle (GC) distance, between Sydney and Johannesberg is close to 9,500 km, and an aircraft following the GC for the new south Indian Ocean route would pass over or near sub-Antarctic Heard Island or Kerguelen during the journey.

Despite the theorectical attraction of the GC route however, in practice the actual ground track of flights will vary depending on the prevailing winds and temperatures at cruise altitudes as well as aircraft parametres that change from day to day.

In addition other issues must be considered by flight planners, including ensuring that at any point along its planned route, the aircraft has the ability to reach a suitable airfield in Africa or Australia in the event cabin pressure is lost or an engine fails. Both of those scenarios are considered low probability events by aviation experts, however they are standard considerations for Qantas in planning all of its flights, including Antarctic tourist overflight operations (ANAN-7/04, 27 October 1999).

These variables mean that the aircraft's Latitude at the mid point of the new flight route, which will be in around Longitude 90° East north of Wilhelm II Land, could vary anywhere between Latitudes 45° and 70° South; although under Qantas flight rules aircraft will not be permitted to fly further south than Latitude 65°. Given the geometry involved, without Qantas' self-imposed latitude limitation, should an aircraft actually fly to Latitude 70° on the new route, it would probably be operating up to 350 km south of the Antarctic coast in the vicinity of the northern Prince Charles Mountains in Mac.Robertson Land.

High latitude RPT operations in sub-Antarctic and Antarctic regions commenced in the South Pacific sector in the late 1980s when the Argentinian airline Aerolineas Argentinas (AA) commenced flights between Buenos Aires and Auckland, New Zealand (NZ) using Boeing 747 aircraft. Qantas joined the Argentine company on the route in 1998 following the down-turn of the Asian market, and between them the two companies now operate up to six flights with 747 and Airbus A340 aircraft each way every week of the year. In GC terms alone the new Australia-Africa route is some 600 km longer than that between Auckland and Buenos Aires.

Flights eastwards from NZ normally travel across the South Pacific in between Latitudes 50° and 55° South in order to use the strong westerly winds that prevail for much of the time in that corridor. Westbound flights from Buenos Aires are different however as they try to avoid the strong westerlys, and as a result they often dip much further south, sometimes flying very close to, or even over, parts of Marie Byrd Land en route to NZ. AA is understood to have flown as far south as Latitude 78° on some occasions, while Qantas says that it limits its operations to Latitude 73° whatever the conditions prevailing.

Qantas operated a non-stop service from Melbourne, Australia, to Johannesberg for several years from the mid 1990s and this regularly saw aircraft overflying places such as Heard Island and Kerguelen, however that operation was discontinued in 1998. One of the best images ever taken of the normally cloud-covered Heard Island was captured on film by the Captain of one of those flights in 1997.

Since then Qantas and South African Airways (SAA) have continued to operate flights between Perth, Australia, and Johannesberg, however these do not travel much further south than Latitude 50°. SAA is continuing to operate the Perth-Johannesberg service with Qantas as a code sharing partner, while the Australian company operates its aircraft on the new direct route.

While there are no known plans for such an operation, one of the most interesting potential future flight routes in Antarctic terms is that >from New Zealand to South Africa. The theoretical flight path for it would take an aircraft very close to the South Geographic Pole, however a report in the magazine 'Aircraft and Aerospace' last August, claimed that SAA had examined the potential for such a service but that it had assessed such an operation "as being too fraught with risk for a 747-400 in the event of even a single engine failure over the middle of the continent".

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Half-day tourist overflights of the Antarctic Peninsula region are operating from Punta Arenas, Chile, again this austral summer, although little detail is available on the dates the flights are being conducted on, the routes that are used, or operational and other parameters that are set for air crews.

The flights, which in recent years are understood to have been conducted using Boeing 737 aircraft, usually operate with passengers on optional 'day excursions' from large cruise ships which visit Punta Arenas as part of cruises 'around South America' (ANAN-5/02, 29 September 1999).

Tourist overflights of Antarctica commenced in late 1956 when a Douglas DC-6B of the Chilean airline Linea Aerea Nacional de Chile (LAN) flew over the South Shetland Islands and Antarctic Peninsula. Similar operations continued spasmodically in the Peninsula region in the 1960s, and the current generation of overflights using jet aircraft are understood to have commenced in the late 1980s.

Few details are available about the flights that have been made since then, although the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) stated in a report to the 1999 Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting that at least twenty-two flights took place in the 1998-99 season alone, while its year 2000 report says little extra except to comment that obtaining information on the flights is difficult.

LAN and more recently other Chilean companies Ladeco (Linea Aérea del Cobre) and Avant are believed to have operated the overflights in the last decade. The flights, which cost passengers around $US1,500 and last around five hours, are conducted as a charter operation, publicity materials available on them indicating that the aircraft flys 'over the South Shetland Islands, then south to both Adelaide and Alexander Islands" as weather permits. If conditions in the Peninsula area on the day of the flight are poor, an alternate route over Terra del Fuego is apparently provided but at a reduced price.

In order to maximise viewing opportunities only window and middle seats are filled, with no one being placed in either aisle or wing area seats, IAATO's 1999 report indicating that forty to sixty passengers take place in each flight. A number of 'guides' also accompany each flight and provide passengers with information about the geography, flora, fauna, and politics of the Antarctic region.

Several people on tourist ships in the Antarctic Peninsula region who have seen the overflights pass overhead in recent years have suggested to ANAN that the aircraft fly as low as 300 m during sightseeing activities. One person said that they could 'clearly read' the airline's name on the side of the aircraft as it passed over their ship. Despite numerous attempts over the last six months by ANAN to clarify this and other aspects of the overflights, no details of the operations have been obtained.

All 257 people on an Air New Zealand (ANZ) DC-10 were killed while on a tourist overflight in 1979 when their aircraft hit 3,795 m high Mount Erebus in the Ross Sea region at an elevation of 500 m in conditions of whiteout, although navigational problems contributed to the tragedy (ANAN-5/04, 29 September 1999).

ANZ, and the Australian airline Qantas which inaugurated such operations in the Ross Sea area in 1977, had allowed their aircraft to descend to low levels during sightseeing operations prior to that disaster. As a result of the tragedy, New Zealand and U.S. national program activity based on Ross Island not far from the crash site, was significantly affected due to the need to divert personnel and resources to recover bodies and assist accident investigators.

ANZ has not returned to the area since the crash on Erebus, however Qantas resumed overflight operations in 1994 with a minimum safe altitude (MSA) for its flights calculated to provide a buffer in excess of 600m above the highest terrain within 160 km of the flight track regardless of how good the weather is, although on top of that a further safety factor is sometime added. (ANAN-8/11, 10 November 1999).

For example the highest peak in the Victoria Land region where most East Antarctic overflight operations now occur is 4,165 m Mount Minto, however Qantas' operational rules require an MSA close to 6,000 m for overflights in that entire region. Experienced Antarctic personnel who have taken part in these overflights reported that the views from that altitude are 'excellent', and that the height requirement does not detract from the sightseeing experience.

There are numerous peaks above 2,000 m in the region of the Antarctic Peninsula where the flights from Punta Arenas are believed to conduct overflight operations.

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Dangerous rock conditions on the nothern summit of Holtanna Peak forced the Queen Maud Land International Expedition (QMLIE) to revise its planned climbing program late last month, however the group successfully reached Holtanna's southern summit late on 31 December. Since that event the expedition has spent the last two weeks 'picking off as many virgin summits in the area as possible', conducting parasail assisted journeys in the area for filming and other activities, including looking for meteorites in nearby blue ice areas.

As a result of a reconnaissance carried out by group leader Alain Hubert and fellow expedition member Daniel Mercier early last year, the QMLIE group planned to climb the sheer walls Holtanna's northern peak, cross the intervening rock ridge, then descending via the southern peak (ANAN-19/09, 12 April 2000).

Following the establishment of their base camp the climbers commenced their attempt on the northern summit on 18 December (ANAN-37/01, 20 December 2000). Reports indicate that within a few days it was realised that the rock which makes up the face of the sheer 800 m wall involved was rotten and that it was too dangerous for the climbers to proceed. They were able however to climb a candle of rock adjacent to the northern face of the mountain which is half as high as the main face. Due to the conditions on the main face climbing aids which had been fixed to the rock, together with a 'few hundred metres' of climbing rope, were left behind on its lower reaches.

After their set back the party then decided to climb Holtanna's south peak using the same route used by a Norwegian group seven years ago, rock conditions being much more acceptable than was the case at the northern end of the mountain. It appears that it took around five days for the attempt and that it involved a number of bivouacs on the sheer face of the peak. While the climbing involved was described as very difficult in a number of places, at least six members of the eleven strong expedition group reached the southern summit.

Three members of the QMLIE flew from Antarctica on commercial air operator Polar Logistics' flight from 'Blue 1' to Cape Town, South Africa, on 8 February, however the other eight members are still in the Orvin Mountains area.

The expedition's web site is indicating that when they have completed their activities in the region, at least three of the eight remaining members will be travelling to the South African national program station SANAE, and then to the German national program station Georg von Nuemeyer from where they will board the icebreaker 'Polarstern' for the passage to Punta Arenas, Chile. Details of how they are to travel to SANAE and Nuemeyer are not mentioned, although previously a parasail assisted overland traverse to SANAE was proposed (ANAN-28/07, 16 August 2000).

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A mountaineering group from Spain which arrived in Dronning Maud Land (DML) on 6 January is scheduled to spend a month in the region climbing mountains and filming for a Spanish television channel. The five climbers involved are independent of the Queen Maud Land International Expedition (QMLIE) which has made a number of ascents in DML over the past month (see ANAN-39/06 preceding), however they will be operating in the same general area.

The climbing party, which flew into the 'Blue 1' ice runway on a Polar Logistics' flight from Cape Town, South Africa, have since established a small base camp in the Orvin Mountains area some 50 km to the south-east. Their field camp is reported to be located a few kilometres from that of the QMLIE which is located at the foot of Holtanna Peak (ANAN-37/01, 20 December 2000).

Little is known about the members of the Spanish group or just which peaks they will attempt to climb, although it is understood that they are to leave DML by air on Polar Logistics' next scheduled inter-continental flight to Cape Town on 9 February.

Polar Logistics was established in 1991 as a separate arm to Adventure Network International (ANI) specifically to provide air support to national program operations in the East Antarctic region of Antarctica. It was not included in last August's sale of ANI to U.S. travel conglomerate Grand Expeditions Incorporated (ANAN-28/01 and 28/03, 16 August 2000), although commonalities in senior personnel mean that it has close links with ANI. While Polar Logistics focus is on government business, it also provides a commercial air service to non-government personnel on behalf of ANI in the DML region.

In addition to the Spanish, Polar Logistics is also providing support for the Queen Maud Land International Expedition this season (see ANAN-39/06 proceding), and flew Slovak skier Stane Klemenc from Antarctica on 10 December after he abandoned his attempt to travel solo across Antarctica (ANAN-36/01, 6 December 2000).

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'Your Expedition' trekkers Anne Bancroft and Liv Arnesen who are attempting to become the first women to travel overland across Antarctica, reached the South Geographic Pole on 16 January after a sixty-three day, 1,800 km journey from 'Blue 1' in Dronning Maud Land. The pair, who have been slowed in recent weeks by the lack of wind, must now average fifty kilometres per day if they are reach Ross Island in time to meet their ship 'Sir Hubert Wilkins' towards the end of February (ANAN-33/09, 25 October 2000).

In the period from New Year's Day until their arrival at the Pole, the two women were only able to use their parasails to good effect on five days. Their average day's travel in that period was just under forty kilometres, and for most days it was just ten kilometres. When the wind blew however their daily rate improved significantly, and on four days distances of 70, 89, 106 and 123 km were recorded.

A message distributed by expedition headquarters in the U.S. indicates that Bancroft and Arnesen only plan to stay at the Pole for twenty-four hours. While there they have been giving a range of media interviews using their Iridium satellite phone (ANAN-36/03, 6 December 2000), and they will also pick up a resupply of food, fuel and equipment delivered there by commercial air operator Adventure Network International (ANI) (ANAN-22/03, 24 May 2000).

The 1,520 km of their cross-Antarctic attempt that is still before them involves continuing over the plateau to the head of the Axel Heiberg Glacier which they will use to descend to the Ross Ice Shelf. They will then travel across the ice shelf to reach Ross Island. The traverse of the fifty kilometre long glacier is likely to be slow, therefore it is critical that they get sufficient wind both on the plateau and while they are crossing the ice shelf so that they can use their parasails, otherwise they will not be able to achieve the fifty kilometre daily average required.

Contingency plans have been developed by expedition organisers to cover the possibility that the 'Sir Hubert Wilkins' is unable to travel far enough south into the Ross Sea to pick up the traverse pair due to ice conditions (see ANAN-39/03 preceding and ANAN-33/09, 25 October 2000), or the pair are unable to reach Ross Island in time to meet the ship.

Commercial air operator Adventure Network International (ANI), which is providing Bancroft and Arnesen with search and rescue (SAR) cover during their journey, has also been contracted to fly them >from Ross Island, across Antarctica to their camp at the Patriot Hills in Ellsworth Land should either of those two scenarios eventuate.

In order that ANI can continue to provide SAR cover and be in a position to retrieve Bancroft and Arnesen from Ross Island, they are likely to have to keep Patriot Hills operating into mid-February, some three weeks longer than indicated pre-season (see ANAN-39/01 preceding). ANI has operated the camp until as late as 18 February in the past.

It is possible that inter-continental flights by Hercules to the camp will still cease sometime late in January and that it will be maintained at a reduced level sufficient to support operations by the two Twin Otter aircraft ANI is using for intra-continental operations again this season. One of these aircraft would, if needed, fly to pick up the two women, and would probably also fly them from the Patriot Hills to Punta Arenas, Chile.

'Sir Hubert Wilkins' is now scheduled to leave Hobart, Australia, on 4 February for the Ross Sea, which is around ten days later than originally planned (ANAN-36/06, 6 December 2000). The delay is designed to provide Anne and Liv with more time to reach Ross Island, however its operator Ocean Frontiers, which originally set 15 February as the latest date for their retrieval, has now extended that deadline to 22 February at the latest.

'Sir Hubert Wilkins' return to Hobart this morning Australian time after a thirty-two day voyage to George V and Adelie Lands (ANAN-38/08, 3 January 2001).

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Norwegian Antarctic Expedition (NAE) pair Eirik Sønneland and Rolf Bae who are attempting to trek across Antarctica, appear to be making slow progress on their journey northwards from the South Geographic Pole (SGP), although position reports from the pair are continuing to be received very spasmodically (ANAN-37/02, 20 December 2000). Current indications are that the two men need good winds over the next two weeks if they to have a chance of reaching Ross Island in time to meet the tourist vessel 'Kapitan Khlebnikov' for passage from Antarctica (ANAN-38/02, 3 January 2001).

Reports from the U.S. Amundsen-Scott station at the SGP, which Sønneland and Bae camped near from 20-22 December, say that the two men appeared to be in very good health despite the rigours of their sixty-day, 1,800 km journey, from their winter quarters at Troll station in Dronning Maud Land (ANAN-27/02, 2 August 2000).

The same reports suggest that the pair were not concerned about the infrequent transmission of their position reports, or if they were, they were not prepared to risk loosing their 'unsupported' status by asking that their communiations equipment be checked by technical staff at the U.S. national program station Amundsen-Scott. Indications are that they were happy to proceed with their emergency beacons alone.

It is known that their emergency beacons were tested successfully prior to departure from Troll in late October however they have not been activated since then. ANAN has been advised that commercial air operator Adventure Network International (ANI) has not been contracted to provide search and rescue cover for the trekkers. In response to a direct question from ANAN last October, the NAE said that ANI was to fly the two men from the Pole to Punta Arenas, Chile, via the Patriot Hills in Ellsworth Land, at the end of their trek to the Pole, and that it would provide search and rescue cover during the traverse (ANAN-33/07, 25 October 2000).

A position report issued by NAE headquarters in Norway on 11 January gave the pair's position on the evening of the previous day. It indicates that by then they had travelled 425 km north since leaving the Pole on 22 December, and that they plan to use the Axel Heiberg Glacier to descend from the plateau to the Ross Ice Shelf. Until that advice it was not publicly known just which route they planned to use to reach Ross Island. Anne Bancroft and Liv Arnesen, who are now at the Pole (see ANAN-39/08 preceding), announced in late 1999 that they planned to use that route to travel northwards.

If accurate the 11 January report indicates that the two men were then near the top of the glacier. It also suggests that until then they had had little wind since leaving the Pole, for they had only been able to travel an average of twenty kilometres a day, far less than could be expected to be made if their parasails had been used very often.

Bae and Sønneland have arranged to be picked up from Ross Island by the tourist vessel 'Kapitan Khlebnikov' around 1 February (ANAN-38/02, 3 January 2001). The lastest NAE advisory says simply that their first option is 'a boat leaving on 1 February', however it also refers to the possibility of catching 'the next [ship] leaving on the 15th' if they are unable to complete their journey in time to meet 'Khlebnikov'. No indication is given about the identity of the second ship involved.

Three non-government vessels are scheduled to be operating in the Ross Sea in mid to late February, New Zealand company Heritage Expeditions' vessel 'Akademic Shokalskiy', the Australian company Ocean Frontiers' ship the 'Sir Hubert Wilkins', and the NZ registered 'Braveheart (see ANAN-39/03 preceding).

Heritage Expeditions and Ocean Frontier representatives contacted by ANAN say they did not know until they read the report in ANAN's 3 January edition (ANAN-38/02), that the NAE pair were attempting a crossing of the continent. 'Braveheart' could not be contacted however it appears unlikely that it is the vessel involved.

Both companies contacted told ANAN that their vessels are fully booked and that they do not have space to carry the two men from Antarctica should they miss 'Khlebnikov'. 'Sir Hubert Wilkins' will be on charter to the Bancroft-Arnesen expedition, its prime task being to pick up and carry the two women from Antarctica (see ANAN-39/08 preceding), while 'Shokalskiy' will be conducting its second and last tourist voyage to the region this season.

While there is no way to confirm it, it seems probable that the two men are currently descending the Axel Heiberg Glacier. Once on the Ross Ice Shelf they have another 600 km to travel to complete their journey, and will therefore need to average at least 40-50 km travel a day if they are to arrive at Ross Island in time to catch 'Khlebnikov'.

There is little doubt that they can achieve that if the wind is such that they can consistently use their parasails. Should the wind prove fickle however they are likely to miss 'Khlebnikov'. The ship has some flexibility in that its has helicopters on board with which to pick up the two men, although such an operation would depend on weather conditions in the Ross Island area in late January, and is only likely to apply if they are within a few tens of kilometres of the ship's position.

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The two members of the Sasquatch or Origin expedition, Marc Cornelissen and Wilco van Rooijen, arrived at the Patriot Hills in Ellsworth Land on 16 January to complete their sixty-six day, 'unsupported' 2,200 km return journey to the South Geographic Pole. The pair, who arrived at the Pole on 28 December seven weeks after setting out from the Patriot Hills (ANAN-38/04, 3 January 2001), took just over two weeks for the return leg of the journey.

During their trek northwards Cornelissen and van Rooijen were able to take maximum advantage of the prevailing winds, travelling an average of nearly seventy kilometres per day with the aid of parasails. The two men, who were the second party to reach the Pole overland this season, are expected to be flown from the Patriot Hills to Punta Arenas, Chile, by commercial air operator Adventure Network International (ANI), sometime in the next few days as weather allows.

The fourth trekking group to arrive at the Pole after the Norwegian pair of Rolf Bae and Eirik Sønneland on 20 December (see ANAN-39/09 preceding), Cornelissen and van Rooijen eight days later, and the 'Pole to Pole 2000' party three days after that (ANAN-38/04, 3 January 2001), were the eight members of ANI's 'Last Degree' commercial traverse on 9 January.

The Last Degree' group started their trek from a point just north of Latitude 89° South some 115 km from the Pole on 31 December. The party had originally been scheduled to fly to the Patriot Hills from Punta Arenas on 16 December however they were twice delayed by bad weather. After arriving on the continent a week late they then had to wait a further week at ANI's field camp until conditions were suitable for them to be flown to the starting point of their trek. During their traverse the eight averaged around fifteen kilometres per day, having one rest day half-way during the week they spent skiing to the Pole.

Laurie Dexter, leader of the 'Last Degree' group, was originally planning to cross Antarctica this season with compatriot Scott Smith (ANAN-19/07, 12 April 2000), however the pair had to withdraw due to lack of funds. Smith told ANAN last week that they were now seeking support to undertake their 'Canadian Antarctic Millennium Expedition' venture in 2001-02. Another 'Last Degree' member was Australian Brigitte Muir who is also planning her own traverse in 2001-02 (ANAN-37/03, 20 December 2000).

Danish South Pole Expedition members Gregers Gjersoe and Kristian Joos became the fifth party, and the twenty-second and twenty-third persons this season, to reach the Pole overland. They arrived at their goal late on 12 January, after a fifty-five day, 1,100 km, 'unsupported', man hauling journey from Hercules Inlet near the Patriot Hills (ANAN-38/04, 3 January 2001).

Another traverse to the Pole which ANAN has not previously reported on is another ANI commercial program which goes under the title 'Ski to the South Pole' (SSP).

Details of when and where in the Ellsworth Land area the group commenced their trek, or how many people are actually involved are not available at this time. Information provided by ANI in the UK's 2000-01 exchange of information documentation, suggests that the group is small and that three people are taking part in the $US45,000 experience.

Promotional material produced by the air operator lists the trip as starting around 3 November and finishing about 5 January, although weather delays to ANI air operations early in the season no doubt led to the start of the trek being considerably delayed (ANAN-35/02, 22 November 2000). ANI's SSP trips are normally provided with additional food and fuel supplies at least twice during the journey by air from the Patriot Hills, and participants do not normally have a significant load to pull behind them.

On Tuesday evening the SSP party, which has been making between twenty and thirty kilometres a day since New Year, were understood to have been close to Latitude 89°. If they are able to maintain that progress, and allowing for the occasional rest day the party has been taking, they could reach the Pole this coming weekend.

The remaining three members of the Challenging Horizons team, Jon Cook, Doug Stoup and Damien Gildea, who are continuing towards the Pole following Miles Hilton-Barber's withdrawl (ANAN-38/03, 3 January 2001), were approaching Latitude 89° on 15 January evening and are now probably within 100 km of the Pole. The trio have managed to make 20-30 km per day over the two weeks and it is possible that like the commercial group they could reach the Pole this coming weekend if conditions allow.

Stoup aims to ride a bicycle from the Patriot Hills to the Pole after he completes the current trek. Given the Horizon group's current progress and his claim that he will need twenty days to complete the 1,100 km ride involved (ANAN-36/04, 6 December 2000), it appears that there will not be time for the adventurer to attempt his unique journey to the Pole this season. It has not been possible to determine the precise situation at this time however.

Thomas and Tina Sjorgen of the Wearables expedition are the traverse group furthest from the Pole at the present time and were reported today to be just north of Latitude 88° South. Thomas is reported to have been suffering from a non life threatening health problem which had slowed their progress over the past three weeks.

Since New Year's Day the pair have travelled around 330 km at an average of just over twenty kilometres per day, although two rest days were taken in that time. They still have some 220 km to travel to the Pole and at their present rate of progress the earliest that they can probably arrive there is around 28-29 January. They thus face a challenge if they are to reach the Pole prior to the end of full ANI air operations in the region this season (see ANAN-39/08 preceding).

Prior to commencing their trek the Sjorgens planned to make an attempt to reach the North Geographic Pole this northern Spring and were anticipating arriving in either northern Canada or Russia for the attempt in late February (ANAN-35/05, 22 November 2000).

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Plans by the 'Shackleton Commemorative Expedition 2001' (SCE) to re-enact Sir Ernest Shackleton's historic 1916 boat journey from Elephant Island to South Georgia next April-May have been cancelled due to problems with the replica of the 'James Caird' (ANAN-32/04, 11 October 2000). Despite this, organisers plan to take the boat to Antarctica in late February for more limited activities and still anticipate that they will attempt a crossing of South Georgia via Shackleton's famous route in early March.

According to expedition leader Neil Laughton the replica of the 'James Caird' that was to be used for the re-enactment was found to have structural problems and that as such it was unwise for it to be used for the long and difficult crossing of the Scotia Sea.

Neil has told ANAN however that it is considered that the boat is quite capable of being used for 'day sailing' in and around the Antarctic Peninsula and South Georgia, and that arrangements have been made for it to travel south on board the icebreaker 'Kapitan Dranitsyn' on a tourist voyage late next month.

The replica, which has the name 'The Sir Ernest Shackleton', has visited Antarctica before, having been used in a 1994 by the 'In the Wake of Shackleton' expedition to make the first and so far only unsupported crossing from Elephant Island to South Georgia. Trevor Potts, who led that expedition, will also take part in the SCE, and hopes to undertake the Shackleton traverse across South Georgia which had been planned in 1994 but was not made.

'Dranitsyn', which is conducting tour operations for the U.S. company Quark Expeditions, is scheduled to leave Ushuaia, Argentina, with the replica and the five members of the SCE on 22 February.

During Dranitsyn's three-week voyage, which is the ship's tenth and last to Antarctica for the 2000-01 season, it is to travel to the Antarctic Peninsula, Elephant Island, the South Orkney Islands, South Georgia, the Falkland Islands and back to Ushuaia. It is expected to be at South Georgia for only three days from 4 March, and provided conditions are suitable, it is to deploy the five man SCE group at King Haakon Bay for the crossing attempt.

Laughton and his companions are scheduled to be picked up by the tourist vessel 'Professor Molchanov'. That ship is due to leave the island on 14 March, therefore if all goes well the SCE party will have just over a week in which to complete the crossing attempt. 'Molchanov', which is expected to be at the island in the period 9-14 March, is scheduled to deploy a commercial group who will attempt to undertake Shackleton's crossing (ANAN-29/02, 30 August 2000).

Another attempt on Shackleton's route may be made around mid-February by the 'Southern Challenge' group which is hoping to climb Mount Roots, South Georgia's highest unclimbed peak (ANAN-36/07, 6 December 2000). Tour company Adventure Network International had mixed success in the two attempts it made to cross South Georgia along Shackleton's route last November-December (ANAN-36/05, 6 December 2000). The crossing was made twice in less than two months early last year (ANAN-16/03, 1 March 2000 and ANAN-20/02, 26 April 2000).

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A proposed four month, 200,000 km, round-the-world flight proposed by a Saudi Arabian group which included a planned round-trip operation from Punta Arenas, Chile, to Chile's Teniente Rodolpho Marsh station on King George Island (KGI) sometime this austral summer, has been delayed (ANAN-30/03, 13 September 2000). The Saudi Arabian company Najaco said in a press release last week that the world flight would not now comence until 1 June this year.

While Najaco have released details of the planned flight route around the world, they have not provided an indication of just when the Antarctic part of the journey will be attempted. Given the route, and that the overall trip is expected to last four months, a 1 June departure time would mean that any attempt to fly to KGI would occur around the end of July or early August. No specific up-dates on the KGI flight have been issued however and Najaco have yet to responded to requests from ANAN for further information.

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The first six yachts in the 'Vendee Globe 2000' single-handed around the world yacht race have now rounded Cape Horn and have passed or are passing the Falkland Islands as they head north up the Atlantic Ocean towards the finishing line in France. The next eight yachts in the event are still crossing sub-Antarctic waters between Cape Horn and the Longitude of New Zealand, while three others are south of Australia travelling along Latitude 50° South. If the current record for the race of just under 106 days is to be bettered, the first yacht must reach the finish line in France by 17 February (ANAN-38/05, 3 January 2001).

Five of the yachts in the BT Global Challenge race fleet have now completed the 9,600 km, third leg, of the around the world event from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Wellington, New Zealand, and the remaining seven craft are expected to finish that journey over the next day or so. Yachts from the 'Vendee' and 'Global Challenge' races passed in the general vicinity of each other in sub-Antarctic waters east of New Zealand several weeks ago (ANAN-38/05, 3 January 2001)

The twelve yacht Global Challenge fleet rounded Cape Horn on 18-19 December and the journey from there to New Zealand was made in the general vicinity of Latitude 53° South into the near-constant westerly headwinds that prevail in sub-Antarctic regions (ANAN-38/05, 3 January 2001). After a break in Wellington the fleet will proceed to Sydney, Australia, and will be back in sub-Antarctic waters in March during the fifth leg of the race from there to Cape Town, South Africa.

The multi-hulled fleet of 'The Race', the third around the world yacht race that is expected to cross sub-Antarctic waters this southern summer has crossed the Equator (ANAN-38/01, 3 January 2001) . One of the vessels that commenced the race from Barcelona, Spain, on 31 December withdrew from the race earlier this week, and the first of the five remaining yachts is expected to enter sub-Antarctic waters south of Africa during the next ten days.

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YEAR 2001

27 January to 2 February (Cape Town, South Africa)
Meeting on measures to protect Albatrosses and Petrels in the Southern Hemisphere

5 February (King George Island, Antarctica)
Fourth Antarctic Marathon and Half Marathon.
Contact: marathon@shore.net (Thom Gilligan)

13-14 March (Cape Town, South Africa).
IHO Hydrographic Committee for Antarctica.
Contact: dir2@ihb.mc (Commodore John Leech)

May [Date to be set](St Petersburg, Russia)
Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting XXIV

9-12 July (Washington, D.C., United States).
IAATO year 2001 annual meeting.
Contact: iaato@iaato.org (Denise Landau)(invitation required).

17-21 July (St Petersburg, Russia).
Antarctic Geodesy Symposium 2001.
Contact: aerogeodezia@actor.ru (Dr Alexander Yuskevitch)

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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