Trips
Polar Explorer Eric Larsen believes, “…modern expeditions are less about geographic firsts and more about story telling.” And boy does he have a story to tell. He plans to complete a world’s-first bicycle journey across the Antarctic continent, covering nearly 750 miles, from Hercules Inlet on the coast of Antarctica to the Geographic South Pole. [...]
ALE guests who flew to the South Pole on December 14, 2012 were greeted by a simple and fitting tribute to Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, the first person to achieve the Pole. There were no crowds, no speeches, no great celebrations. A single Norwegian flag fluttered next to the pole marker, testament to the achievement [...]
ALE Ski South Pole Guide Hannah McKeand offers some final tips to get you organized as you get ready to head to the ice.
Pulling together the details for a Ski South Pole expedition can be a challenge. How do you stay on track with all there is to do? ALE’s Hannah McKeand gives some advice on equipment selection, your training regime and tracking down funding. Hannah is an avid explorer and experienced polar guide. She has skied to [...]
Skiing to the South Pole is an incredible, life changing experience. But how to get started? And what’s involved? We asked ALE’s Hannah McKeand to give us some tips. Hannah is an avid explorer and experienced polar guide. She has skied to the South Pole more times than anyone else; has guided several expeditions to the [...]
“Antarctica is big. Really big. You just won’t believe how vastly, hugely, mind bogglingly big it is.” * And knowing exactly where you are is important for explorers and expeditions. So what do they rely on? Well, maps, of course but because Antarctica is so huge, very little of it has been mapped. Existing Topographic Maps Whole [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]