AC Antarctica 2010
01. Entering the Beagle Channel
Spirit of Sydney departing Ushuaia at the start of the Alpine Club Antarctic Expedition. We sailed to Puerto Williams in Chile before heading out into the Drake Passage.
02. The Drake Passage
We took it in turns to spend 3 hours on and 6 hours off watch, which were spent setting sails and throwing up.
03. Night-time in the Drake Passage
Watches continue all the time; day merges into night, night merges into day, and time goes out the window. A day is 3 hours long, a night is 6 hours long, and then it starts all over again either in the dark or in the light.
04. Making Landfall in Antarctica
We first sighted Antarctica at the southern end of Anvers Island. Since bad weather was on its way we sought shelter at Port Lockroy.
05. Dodging Ice
From the top of the mast the amount of ice below the water's surface was clearly visible whenever we passed even the smallest growlers and ice bergs.
06. Climbing Jabet Peak
Jabet Peak is a small summit that overlooks Port Lockroy which provides a fantastic view of the surrounding area, plus a great ski descent.
07. The summit ridge of Jabet Peak
The summit of Jabet Peak is reached, after leaving ski at the base of a short snow gully, by traversing a sharp snowy ridge.
08. Ice-bound in the Lemaire Channel
As we entered the Lemaire Channel we were greeted by an extensive field of brash ice. Luckily it didn't extend far, and the Polar Pioneer created a channel along which we could sail to open water.
09. Being dropped off in Deloncle Bay
Deloncle Bay lies immediately north of the narrowest part of the Lemaire Channel, and it was from here that we hoped to access the Hotine Glacier and the surrounding unclimbed mountains.
10. Reaching the Hotine Glacier from Deloncle Bay
We landed in Deloncle Bay on a small rocky outcrop, from where we ascended steep snow-slopes, dragging our sleds, until the angle eased and we emerged onto the massive Hotine Glacier.
11. The Hotine Glacier and Mount Nygren
The Hotine Glacier gave straightforward skiing as we headed towards one of our objectives - the unclimbed pyramidal mass of Mount Nygren.
13. Hotine Glacier Camp 1
When the sun set the temperature plummeted and so, being exhausted, we pitched our camp partway up the Hotine Glacier, surrounded by stunning views.
13. The Ice Cliffs of Mt Matin
As we skirted Mt Nygren we were dwarfed by the constantly avalanching and enormous ice cliffs on the west ridge of Mt Matin.
14. Mt Nygren
Mt Nygren was unclimbed and high on our list of peaks to attempt. Our line of ascent took the left hand (east) ridge.
15. The East ridge of Mt Nygren (1454m)
Mt Nygren stands alone between the Leay and Hotine Glaciers. The east ridge narrows and steepens to give a wonderful snaking line to the summit.
16. The summit of Mt Nygren (1454m)
The view from the summit of Mt Nygren was obscured by thick cloud, but it had been an enjoyable climb and a great start to the expedition.
17. Life inside our high camp
After a day's climbing it's always a relief to crawl back in to your tent and start melting snow for a brew.
18. Mt Faraday from Deloncle Bay
Mis-named on the map as Mt Shackleton, it is unclear whether or not this mountain has had a previous ascent. We climbed the (north) face on the left, then the (eat) ridge to the summit, and are proposing the name Mt Faraday in honour of the former British Base that lies close by.
19. High on the North Face of Mt Faraday
Suddenly the clouds parted and below us opened out an amazing vista; Antarctica spread beneath our feet.
20. The broad East Ridge of Mt Faraday
As we emerged from the steep North Face of Mt Faraday we had a wonderful view down the gentle Wiggins Glacier, which flows westwards past Mt Shackleton.
21. Our main camp on the Hotine Glacier
We placed our camp well away from the constantly avalanching face of Mt Matin, but overlooked by Mt Nygren and within striking distance of several unclimbed mountains.
22. Mt Matin (2415m): North Face
This is the impressive view of Mt Matin from the north. We headed to the far (south) side, where we hoped the terrain might be a little easier.
22. Mt Matin (2415m): Southwest Ridge
Marked at 1360m on the map, I suspected Mt Matin to be much higher. Our line of ascent took the broad south-west ridge, from right-to left on this photo.
23. Approaching Mt Matin
The west ridge of Mt Matin is long and lined with massive active ice-cliffs. We stayed well clear of these, heading instead for the south-west ridge, just off to the right.
24. Mt Matin SW Ridge
There is one steeper section on Mt Matin's south-west ridge, which we climbed in the bitter cold of the shade. It was a huge relief to emerge back into the sunlight.
25. Climbing Mt Matin
As the angle eased we were able to use skis again. This was taken at 1400m, just above the height marked as the summit on the maps.
26. Mt Matin south-west ridge
This ridge went on for eternity. The summit turned out to be at 2414m, over 1000m higher than the official height.
27. The view from the summit of Mt Matin
Looking northwards from the summit of Mt Matin was a sea of mountains - Paradise Harbour, Brabant Island and Anvers Island.
28. Lemaire Channel and Cape Renard
From the summit we had a dramatic view down Mt Matin's north face, plus a very interesting perspective of the Cape Renard Towers, which appear tiny and far, far below.
29. Mt Matin west ridge
This long and extremely broad ridge extended westwards to the Lemaire Channel. In the distance the sea was choked with brash ice to the south.
30. Mt Francais from Mt Matin
To the north-west we had an amazing view of Mt Francais on Anvers Island which, at 2825m, is the highest peak in the area.
31. Descending the Hotine Glacier
Having climbed the major peaks at the head of the Hotine Glacier, we packed camp and headed westwards, towards the base of Mt Cloos.
32. The peaks around Mt Shackleton
The ski down the Hotine Glacier passes some spectacular glacial scenery, with views of Mt Shackleton and its surrounding satellite peaks.
33.The Hotine Glacier and Mt Nygren
Having skied up a natural glacial corridor that led safely between two large crevasse fields, we knew that the route back down was relatively safe.
34. Camp below Mt Cloos
We camped below the east face of Mt Cloos, a location that seemed to be in the path of the violent catabatic winds that drain the Antarctic Peninsula.
41. Pleneau Bay
After climbing the mountains on the east side of the Lemaire Channel we sailed the short distance to Pleneau Bay to rest, sea kayak, eat lots of food and drink wine and beer.
42. Route-Finding through the Ice
Brash ice had surrounded us in Pleneau Bay, and so a tense few hours were spent easing our way back out to open water.
43. Ice Watch: From the Bow
With one team member at the top of the mast and one on the bow we were able to pick the best route through the ice, relaying our instructions to Darrel the skipper.
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- 2010_Alpine_Club_Antarctic_Expedition_Report.pdf (1010.4KB)
- ARTICLE_ClimbMagazine_Sept2011.pdf (547.8KB)
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