Congratulations to Chris Jacobs, our Field Facilities Manager, who has been honored twice this year in the United Kingdom. He was awarded the MBE and Polar Medal for outstanding achievement and service in the field of polar research! Chris attended an investiture at Windsor Castle on March 2, 2012 where he was the only person [...]
ALE has been nominated for the prestigious new EWM Excellence in Remote Medicine Award for our quality logistical and expedition support in Antarctica. Nominees for the award include the most inspiring personalities and companies associated with the Remote Medicine industry and we are honored to be included. The award will be presented on April 17, 2012 [...]
Our 2011-12 season expeditions faced brutally cold early season temperatures and tough sledging conditions on historic and new routes to the South Pole. Expedition blogs described the ever-changing balance between the highlights and harsh realities of Antarctica, while cold and repetitive strain injuries; altitude and fitness concerns; and equipment problems took their toll on several [...]
The final ALE Ilyushin flight of the 2011-12 Anniversary season departed from Union Glacier ice runway On January 31. Last to leave were a small team of staff, who had worked hard over previous weeks to dismantle camp and store everything securely for the upcoming winter. The Antarctic summer is short and intense. It seems [...]
Matthew Engel celebrates cricket and cherries at the South Pole, in his Financial Times’ review of his South Pole Flights experience. www.ft.com. Matthew traveled as a guest of ALE for the celebrations held at the Geographic South Pole on January 17, exacly 100 years after Robert Falcon Scott and his team reached this spot. As [...]
One mountaineer, two guides, three weeks, ten first ascents. Exploratory alpinism at its finest. In December 2011, when the rest of Antarctica was celebrating the centenary of the first journey to the South Pole, Ralf Laier made his own contribution to the history of Antarctic exploration. Over a period of three weeks, he and ALE [...]
In 1773, Captain Cook described the great southern continent Terra Australis Incognita as ‘A country doomed by nature never once to feel the warmth of the sun’s rays but to lie forever buried under everlasting snow and ice.’ With these words Professor Chris Turney, from University of New South Wales, introduces his research into climate [...]
It has been 100 years since Robert Falcon Scott and his team arrived at the South Pole. But words from Scott’s journal echo across time, capturing the landscape, the physical and mental hardships of polar expeditions, and above all, the dreams that inspire polar explorers.
Roald Amundsen’s great achievement of reaching the Geographic South Pole 100 years ago was celebrated in style this season. The Norwegian Prime Minister, Jens Stoltenberg, came to honor Amundsen’s expedition and unveiled a specially commissioned ice bust of the great man during a moving ceremony. Prime Minister Stoltenberg also met a number of Norwegian expeditions [...]
Criosfera 1, the first Brazilian standalone module for atmospheric data collection, has arrived at its destination on the West Antarctic ice sheet. “It is a pioneering achievement of Brazil’s institutions and a landmark for the Brazilian Antarctic Program. When we return from the expedition, automatic equipment of weather monitoring, measurement of carbon dioxide, also [...]