Expedition Dispatches

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See the new Antarctic Peninsula ski and snowboard photos.

The Last Best Place
Thursday, February 24, 2000, 5:58pm PST
"Now returning, I'm filled with joy having spent a few weeks in by far one the best lands in the world. We skied thousands of vertical feet, summitted unclimbed mountains, saw nature's most spectacular creatures of this southern land..."

Thank You, and Goodnight
Thursday, February 24, 2000, 5:58pm PST
"The number of unclimbed and undescended mountains boggles my mind, with the climbing and snowboarding/skiing potential seemingly limitless down here. We had a fantastic team...."

Wrap-up Call
Thursday, February 24, 2000, 5:38pm PST
"We just went through the Drake Passage and are currently in the Beagle Channel awaiting our pilot boat to take us into Ushuaia, where about 6:30 tomorrow morning we should be arriving at our dock...."

Drake Lake
Wednesday, February 23, 2000, 7:18pm PST
"It's dark at night in the Drake Passage — out in about the middle of it. Today it was the Drake Lake; it was smooth as anything. The ship's just barely rocking so not too many people vomiting..."

Lost Friend Couloir on Lowe Peak
Tuesday, February 22, 2000, 6:35pm PST
"Yesterday we skied yet another gem on an unclimbed peak. We named the summit 'Lowe Peak' in honor of Alex Lowe, our friend who was killed last fall in Tibet. Appropriately we called the run 'Lost Friend' couloir..."

Neko Bay
Tuesday, February 22, 2000, 4:25pm PST
"...the sun was out shining bright and we grouped into a 2100-foot space in the sun and post-holed most of the way up. And it was sustained 45 degrees pretty much the whole way..."

First Ascent
Monday, February 21, 2000, 7:08pm PST
"We were in Paradise Bay today where we climbed a route that was about 1,090 [meters] to 1,100 [meters] and it was steep snow. It went up to a beautiful point, overlooking all of Paradise Bay, and I believe it was the first ascent...."

Scary Seracs and Steep Skiing
Saturday, February 19, 2000, 7:30pm PST
"Skiing down was incredible – exceptionally steep, some sections near 60 degrees, but with soft well-bonded snow. Our 1900 foot line took us through blue seracs and hanging snow fields to the beach below..."

A Bluebird Day
Saturday, February 19, 2000, 6:30pm PST
"Today was our first sunny day in the mountains. We've been skiing everything, even though it's been raining really hard..."

Wet and Snowy Day #5
Friday, February 18, 2000, 5:45pm PST
"It's the 18th of February and today was a wet and snowy day, again. Five days in a row. We tried to go out and climb a couloir northeast of Petermann Island and were up about a third of the way and realized that the snow conditions were deteriorating...."

Facing 1,000lbs. of Blubber
Thursday, February 17, 2000, 8:02pm PST
"Soon we found ourselves surrounded by a pod of Minke whales, surfacing and spouting seawater and food five to 10 feet in the air...."

A Narrow Escape from a Seal Attack
Thursday, February 17, 2000, 6pm PST
"...as Stephen walked back down a gradual slope, the Leopard seal was trying to make its way up and attack him. In any case, Stephen made a dive into the boat and escaped unharmed...."

Antarctic Reality: 60 Degrees Plus
Thursday, February 17, 2000, 2:38pm PST
"When things get sketchy, I always ask the question, what would Andrew McLean do? And the answer was, as it most often is, that he would go to the top. Up I went, banging by lopsided skis into the snow...."

Valentine's Day Turns
Thursday, February 17, 2000, 1:06am PST
"Oh yeah, our first turns on Antarctica! For years now I have tried to get to this place and finally my dream is a reality...."

Dali Painted Landscapes
Thursday, February 17, 2000, 12:50am PST
"Giant icebergs standing high above the turquoise blue water like castles of the ocean. The ominous, yet graceful killer whales circle underneath these fortresses of ice as thought they are guardians of this magical place...."

Living a Dream
Wednesday, February 16, 2000, 6:04pm PST
"We're just looking forward to checking out some more couloirs and faces, which are just — it's limitless down here. It's fully, fully amazing..."

Reconnoitering Mount Shackleton
Wednesday, February 16, 2000, 5:26pm PST
"Hey there, this is Dave Hahn stepping in for a little guest dispatchin'. I'm standing on the bow of the Akademik Shuleykin and it's twilight down here...."

Sporty Turns
Tuesday, February 15, 2000, 5:20pm PST
" we opted to get aboard the Shuleykin again and head south for a few more hours to Cuverville Island...Also in this area, some of us took advantage of the very steep couloir..."

Taking the First Run
Monday, February 14, 2000, 4:17pm PST
" We are currently leaving the Shetland Islands where we skied our first peak. It was about 1,000-feet up and it was fairly good conditions...."

Valentine's Greetings from the Icy Continent
Sunday, February 13, 2000, 5:30pm PST
"We have finally reached Antarctica and it's such a beautiful place...."

Everybody Get Your Sea Legs
Saturday, February 12, 2000, 5:20pm PST
"...we are just approaching into the Antarctic Ocean right now, weather is overcast...Everybody is getting their sea legs under them and we're really looking forward to getting into the continent tomorrow...."

Preparing for Epic Drake Passage Crossing
Friday, February 11, 2000, 4:49pm PST
"And about 12:30 tonight, we are going to start our epic crossing across the Drake Passage. We left Ushuaia, Argentina, at around 6:30 this evening. We did a brief life jacket, rescue set-up and had an excellent dinner of sea bass...."

Psyched for the Peaks
Thursday, February 10, 2000, 3:22pm PST
"...he saw great looking peaks right outside of Ushuaia, so that got us all fired up to get on the ship tomorrow and then set sail through the Drake Passage..."

Taking Off to Ushuaia, Argentina
Wednesday, February 9, 2000, 2:29pm PST
"We're leaving LAX, as we speak, and on our way down to Ushuaia, Argentina. The team's excited and stoked to get on the boat..."