Antarctica 2016: Italian to Attempt Traverse of the Frozen Continent Again, Researcher Dies in the Field

Preparation for the start of the 2016-2017 Antarctic season is now underway, with the advance team from ALE now arriving on the ice to prepare the permanent campsite at Patriot Hills for the arrival of the first skiers of the season. It will take them a few days to get the camp ready, and they'll spend a considerable amount of time preparing the runway that will allow the big Ilyushin aircraft to begin transporting supplies, crew, and explorers out to site. That typically begins around the end of October, although the weather ultimately decides when those flights out of Punta Arenas, Chile actually begin.

Elsewhere, the McMurdo Station on the Ross Iceshelf has started to return to life. The station is an important research outlet for the U.S., and during the Antarctic winter it is manned by just a skeleton crew. Now, essential personnel are arriving there to prepare for another busy season ahead as a full compliment of scientists, researchers, and military crew have started to flow in.

Similarly, the Russian base called Novolazarevskaya is also starting to come to life with its crew scheduled to begin arriving later this week. That station is manned and supplied out of Cape Town, South Africa, with the first flight planned for Friday, weather permitting of course. If all goes as planned, one of the passengers on that flight will be Italian kite-skier Michele Pontrandolfo, who will once again attempt to traverse the continent via the South Pole.

Last year, Pontrandolfo made the same attempt, hoping to use his kite to cover large chunks of ground at a rapid pace. Unfortunately, he never was able to capture the winds like he had expected, so as a result his expedition was much slower than planned. He never managed to get much momentum going, and eventually had to pull the plug. Now, he's back for another go. Hopefully this season he'll have better luck. We'll of course be following his progress in the days ahead.


There is some sad news coming our way from the Antarctic today as well. ExWeb is reporting that an Antarctic researcher has died in the field while collecting scientific data. Gordon Hamilton, who was on the frozen continent as part of a climate research team from the University of Maine, was killed when the vehicle he was driving fell into a crevasse. The accident occurred this past Saturday as Hamilton and his teammates were exploring an area known as the "Shear Zone" not far from McMurdo Station. According to the report, that region is known for being heavily crevassed, with ice that is as much as 650 feet (198 meters) thick at some points.

Hamilton's body was recovered from the crevasse and is being prepared to be taken back home to his family in Maine. My condolences go out to his friends and family after this tragic accident.

That's all for today. As we get closer to the start of the season, we'll have more updates. Most of the South Pole skiers are now preparing to depart for Punta Arenas, and head to Antarctica, which will soon be a very busy place once again.

Video: Haywire - Making First Ascents on Baffin Island

Remote Baffin Island in Canada is the site for this short documentary, which follows climber Cheyne Lempe as he travels to that wild and rugged place to attempt several first ascents on the difficult rock faces that are found there. Along the way, he was forced to consider the inherent risks that come along with climbing, leaving him to ponder whether or not those risks are worth it. It is a something that most big wall climbers and mountaineers face at some point, but it is handled very well here, wile also giving us a peek at an amazing expedition to a breathtaking place.

Haywire from Mountain Hardwear on Vimeo.

Video: TravelSmith Travel Tips #3 - How To Hold Onto Your Luggage

With 843 passport stamps to his name, Richard Bangs knows a thing or two about travel. That's what makes his new travel tips video series so useful and interesting. This time out, we get some tips on how to keep tabs on our luggage, what to put on your luggage tags, and how to keep your bags secure while traveling. Good tips from a man who has made more trips than just about any of us.

Video: Paragliding with the Northern Lights

The Aurora Borealis (aka the Northern Lights) are one of the most spectacularly beautiful natural phenomenons in the world. Lighting up the night sky in a variety of colors, they are a humbling sight to behold, and what better way to experience them than from the seat of paraglider? That's exactly what pilot Horatio Llorens did when he traveled to Trømso, Norway recently, and his experience is captured in the video below. As you can imagine, it was quite a flight.

Brooks Range Traverse Cancelled

Last week I posted a story about an attempt by Aussies John Cantor and Evan Howard to make the first ever winter traverse of the Brooks Range in Alaska. The expedition was expected to take up to two months to complete and cover more than 1000 miles (1600 km) in the process. The duo knew that to be successful, they would need to endure incredibly high winds, bone chilling temperatures and a host of other difficult conditions. Yesterday, about a week and a half into the journey, they were forced to pull the plug and abandon the expedition altogether, as fears for their safety grew.

 Early on, John and Evan admitted that the conditions were more challenging than they had expected. Posting to their Facebook page, the hinted that the extremely cold temperatures and high winds were making progress incredibly difficult. But as the week progressed, they seemed to hit their stride to a degree and gained confidence in their ability to make progress across the arctic landscape they were passing through. Weather conditions improved a bit as well, with the winds dying down to a degree.

But last night, they posted a new update that indicated that Cantor had contracted frostbite in one of his fingers early on and it has continued to worsen over the days. If he were to stay out on the trail, there is the real possibility that he could lose the finger altogether, and put both himself and Evan at greater risk. On top of that, the chance of a rescue operation being safely conducted in their remote location became a factor too. So, with that in mind, they decided the wisest option was to pull the plug and head home.

This is a good reminder that not all expeditions are successful. The world is still filled with wild and difficult places, and the Brooks Range is one of them. The conditions there are trying at the best of times, and during the winter they are all but inhospitable. I'm sure John and Evan are disappointed in having to go home, but it sounds like it was the right decision.

Video: Hiking Angels Landing in Zion National Park

Zion National Park is home to some of the most outstanding landscapes found anywhere in the American west. It is also home to one of the most spectacular hikes as well. The walk out to Angels Landing is beautiful and challenging, making it difficult for some to reach the breathtaking view found at the end. Thanks to this video – shot on the new DJI Osmo camera – you won't have to. Sit back and enjoy, it is a jaw-dropping experience.

ANGELS LANDING (SHOT ON DJI OSMO) from Baris Parildar on Vimeo.

How Ski Mountaineer Kit Deslauriers Came to Support the Himalayan Stove Project

Last fall, ski mountaineer Kit Deslauriers was in Nepal to climb the 8485-meter (27,838 feet) Makalu when she became ill with High Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE). Seeking some relief, she descended to Yangri Kharka, a village located at 3657 meters (12,000 feet). While there, a local family took her into their home, allowing her to recover before returning to the mountain. While there, the family shared their food, making several meals a day inside their cramped house. While watching them in the kitchen, Kit noticed that dangerous levels of smoke were created, choking the small space with unhealthy fumes. That left her wondering what could be done to combat this serious issue. 

Recently, Deslauriers shared the details of her story at The North Face Never Stop Exploring blog. In that article she talks about the generosity of the family she came to know so well in Nepal, and how their daily exposure to dangerous smoke moved her to seek an alternate method for preparing their meals. This led her to the Himalayan Stove Project, a nonprofit organization that has been working to achieve that same goal for a number of years now.

As Kit points out in her story, a new clean cook stove and chimney, delivered and installed, costs just $150. In the greater scheme of things, that isn't a lot of money, and she has personally pledged to pay that amount for the five homes in Yangri Kharka that she interacted with directly. She is also calling on friends, fans, and others to help fund the HSP to install 135 more stoves in the Makalu Valley, bringing safe and clean cooking to all of the homes in that region. 

The Himalayan Stove Project is an organization I've written about several times here on The Adventure Blog. That's because I think it is an important foundation that is doing important things for the people of Nepal. The HSP has a proven track record of success in that country, and it is great to see such a high profile athlete as Kit Deslauriers getting behind their efforts.