Countdown To Antarctica!

I am very excited: in four weeks, I will be boarding this little icebreaker in Ushuaia, Argentina and start my second trip to the Antarctic Peninsula. The ship is called Polar Pioneer, it is an old scientific research Russian icebreaker which has been converted to carry 50 passengers. About 8 of these will be kayakers (me included!), some are mountain and ice climbers, and some "just" hikers. We will be sailing for about 40 hours in some rough seas, but one morning a lone penguin on the shore will open its eyes and this is what it will see: (click on any photo to enlarge it)

Antarctica, the continent which is 97% covered by ice and snow, some of it 3 miles (4.5km) deep. I might be even more overwhelmed than the penguin, because this is what I will see:

 

Nice, isn't it? In fact, it will be early summer there so it won't be too cold. You can follow the weather there using the widget to your right (on the screen, not the wall!) - I sure hope it will get a bit warmer than that! 

Kayaking in the Antarctic Ocean is not as extreme as it may seem. While there is some wind on occasion, the icebergs and sea ice block the waves so paddling is quite calm. We will wear dry diving suits, which block the water out completely, and underneath - long underwear and some fleece. This means I can travel light! I will look a bit like this, only a few years older and more handsome:

Will it be worth it? Try to imagine waking up every day to the view in the following photo, and decide for yourself!

 

In the posts until I depart, in addition to my usual writing, I will walk you through my preparation as my excitement builds up. So please come back to read! 

In the meanwhile, for those interested, read with me a book that's not only a good description of the White Continent, but also considered as one of the greatest leadership stories of all times. A fascinating human story:

Also, read this post by me to get an additional perspective on Antarctica!

Diving Into The Arctic Ocean: Should You?

Let me put it this way: if your friends did not get the message, and did not in fact think you're crazy by going to the Arctic Ocean aboard an old Russian icebreaker on a kayaking trip; and if you desperately want to rectify this and make sure they think you are indeed out of your mind - Then the answer is YES. Same answer if you like seeing raised eyebrows.

Look at this photo below. We were returning from a long paddle to our home ship during a kayaking trip around Svalbard (Spitsbergen) and decided that it would be really cool (what a choice of word!) to dive into the water from the deck. Obviously, the Arctic Fever bug had us by then! This is my friend Steve practicing his Yoga on the way to the water. Although I suspect his Om turned into Oye, my very talented finger captured him at just the right moment:

By the way, this was a moment that showed me how much digital photography had changed the world: just a few years back, people would look at a nice Photoshop work and comment "it looks like a real picture!"; when people see this photo above, they usually comment "it looks like a real Photoshop work!". Oh well. For the record: no Photoshop work on this one.

Was it cold? The Arctic ocean (as well as the Antarctic one) is at roughly 31F (0C). It only freezes at 28F because the water is salty. Thank God it wasn't too cold that day - Can you imagine diving like that into a sheet of ice? Was it painful? Let's look at how happy and groggy I looked when jumping off the deck:

(again, no Photoshop on this pic) and how I looked when my feet, hands and head realized that scientific fact of 31F:

For sure, with the little blood in my brain that was still liquid, I could ponder "am I stupid?" The truth is, the water  IS cold. But look at it this way: no sharks; killer whales really like plankton better; and polar bears would shy away from a thin person like me. Besides - I got my chance to convince some people I must be crazy!

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