After a long flight to Buenos Aires and an over night stay there, we have now spent the last 3 nights in Ushuaia, Argentina. Ushuaia is much bigger and busy  than I expected and  full of tourists that have come to see the “end of the world” .

Sleeping Over The Amazone

We have spent the last days going through our gear and doing some last minute shopping, to get everything ready for the trip. We have also indulged in the local cuisine to fatten ourself up for the cold with mixed results! For lunch yesterday we went out to one of the local meat restaurants, and in our very limited spanish, thought we  ordered a mixed plate of meat but got served a mixed plate of organs including brains! Yummy!

Australis bathing in morning light.

Last night the rest of our group flew in and we spent the evening packing up the boat and getting everything ready for departure today. It is amazing how much gear you need for a trip like this, especially when you include the gear for the film production. Seeing all the bags on the pier last night, I didnt think it would all fit in the boat, but some how everything got stored away.

A real work horse!

Our boat Australis looks like a real work horse. Built in steel, she gives a very solid impression  when you get onboard. Ben Wallis (skipper) and his wife Sky seems like really nice people and I am sure they will take really good care of us. There was a lot of talk last night over dinner about seasick medicines/patches , I have never used any on earlier trips and after seeing the side effects (drousiness)on other people using them, I am going to try not to use them. I might keep some handy in my back pocket though, as I still have memories from being seasick ,once when I was a kid. A very unplesant experience!

Our collection of touring skis for the trip.

The weather/wave report for the Drake Passage looks pretty good for the moment, and we are going to try and squezze in front of a big storm system moving in on thursday/friday. We have also heard reports from another ship down in Antarctica that they have had some heavy snow in the last couple of days, so our fingers are crossed for some powder skiing when we get down there.

We are all very excited to set sail and head furthere south than any of us have ever been before..

The storm we are trying to avoide!

It’s always stressful to pack for a trip where you know you can’t re-supply or get spare parts, you have  to plan for any imaginable situation and a few un-imaginable situations. After a good session last night everything is packed, we  just have to go into town for a few bits and pieces then off to the airport early tomorrow morning.

Very Excited!

Only 4 days left until we depart for Antarctica. The house looks like a ski mountaineering shop, turned upside down! Gear everywhere! Hopefully it will all fit into bags and we wont be charged a fortune in overweight on the plane. Chamonix got some good snow last week and things were looking up, but today it’s 14 degrees. We had hoped to get some ski-touring in before the trip, but because of the lack of snow, we  had to look for alternative ways of training, to simulate what we will be doing down there.

The Winter is almost here, soon all the mountains will be covered in a nice soft layer of beautiful snow, and we can again fly down the fall line without a worrying about a thing………..well, except avalanches.

In Colorado they have already this year had 10 people caught in 9 different avalanches,  so just cause it’s the first snowfall is no guarantee that it’s stable. I have had my share of close calls in my life, but nothing nearly as scary as an episode a few years back in the Waddington range of British Columbia. The summer after the accident Henrik Rostrup from Pixlfamily did an interview with me about what happened.

Billy Poole (R.I.P) and Dan Treadway in front of the face, minutes before the slide. Also notice the cliff in the middle of the face , to the right of the shadow line.

The Helicopter on the Landing Zone before the slide.

Fracture line and slide path.

Landing Zone after the slide.

Fracture line, estimated to be 6 meters at the highest point! Notice the cliff from the first picture.

Janes view up, to where Im hanging of the cliffs.

Janes view down at the Landing Zone

The weather has been great here in Chamonix the last couple of weeks, dry, clear and fairly warm for this time a year. My Antarctica trip is coming up pretty soon, so I have tried to get as much mountain time in as possible, after a  summer of mostly ocean time. The other day, Asmus Norreslet and myself went for a little climb on the Triangle du Tacul, a sub peak of Mont Blanc du Tacul. It felt great to be out in the mountains again!