ESC Antarctica 2012
01. Perfect Antarctic Skiing
Antarctic powder skiing. It doesn't get any better than this - descending 'Madonna's Peaks'.
02. Seracs and spectacular skiing, Mt Cornu.
The descent of Mt Cornu was amazing. Perfect snow, and a backdrop of enormous seracs.
03. Steep Skiing on Bruce Island.
Overlooking Flandres Bay, this small island gave a wonderful descent from it's shapely summit.
04. Crevasses on the Breguet Glacier.
To reach Mt Cornu involved avoiding monster crevasses on the Breguet Glacier.
05. Descending steep slopes above the Sikorskiy Glacier.
The unclimbed mountains above the Sikorsky Glacier, near Cierva Cove, gave some wonderful ski descents with a backdrop that was simply breathtaking.
06. Base Camp on the Breguet Glacier.
Base Camp below the steep south face of Mt Cornu. Why hasn't anyone been here before to climb these peaks?!!
07. Clouds rolling in on Eagle Dome
The angle of the slope eased and the temperature dropped dramatically by over 20 degrees as we reached 2000m. With clouds welling up from below, we didn't want to hang around for very long.
08. Early morning skining
Early morning skinning up an un-named 1700m mountain that wasn't even on the map.
09. Evening relaxation
After a day's ski mountaineering, three of us head up for an evening ski to unwind.
10. Fresh tracks on Madonna's Peaks
We were lucky to have perfect powder lit by the setting sun as we skied above a sea of cloud.
11. Entering the cloud at sunset
All good things come to an end. Within seconds we were in thick cloud, the sun set below the horizon, and as the temperature plummeted we arrived back at our tents for a well-earned hot chocolate.
12. Perfect Antarctic Skiing
A sea of broken ice extends as far as the eye can see. We climbed and skied every one of the peaks in the back-ground!
13. Returning to the yacht.
To access this slope involved climbing from the inflatable boat onto a steep snow-slope, and then hauling the boat to get it away from the heavy swell.
14. Rising Clouds on Mt Cornu.
As we ascended Mt Cornu, clouds started to build below us, giving a very dramatic descent.
15. Steep, broken icefall
Flanked by enormous icefalls, our descent of this un-named peak was dramatic.
17. Cierva Cove ski panorama.
Descending another unclimbed and un-named mountain, above the Sikorskiy Glacier.
18. Early morning shadows
Crossing the broken Sikorskiy Glacier to access the obvious slope in the centre. This proved to be a lot steeper and more committing than it looked.
19. Descending Mt Ader
With another peak in the bag, we struggled to ski the leg-breaker crust of Mt Ader.
20. Mt Cornu catching the setting sun
The dramatic south face of Mt Cornu catches the last light at sunset.
21. Monster crevasse on Eagle Dome
This monster crevasse barred our way up a virgin and un-named 2300m mountain. David and I stared at each other until one of us volunteered to cross the snow-bridge (on a tight rope!).
23. Skiing to Base Camp from Cierva Cove
The Sikorskiy Glacier tumbles to the sea in a chaotic mass of ice-blocks. To reach the glacier we were able to follow much more benign slopes from the coast.
24. Spindrift and Powder Plume.
Mt Matin dominates the view as David drops onto a steep slope above the Flandres Bay.
25. Spirit Peak
We passed the beautiful mass of what we nick-named 'Spirit Peak' as we climbed Mt Ader in a bitterly cold wind.
26. Starting up the steep section of Mt Ader
The steep slope above the crevasse on Mt Ader, which gave enjoyable climbing in a fine position.
27. The top of the steep section of Mt Ader
The crux of Mt Ader was a large crevasse and steep slope, which gave access to the summit ridge.
28. The lower glacier of Madonna's Peaks.
Skiing the lower slopes of Mt Cornu at sunset, with Brabant Island above the clouds in the distance.
29. Tricky skiing
The descent of this un-named mountain was tricky, with numerous large crevasses to cross and serac bands to avoid.
30. Steep and Deep on Madonna's Peaks
The SE face of the unclimbed peak that we nick-named 'Madonna's Peaks' gave some enjoyable steep skiing in perfect snow.
31. Bad weather approaching.
Hastily returning to the yacht as clouds starting to build as another depression approaches Antarctica.
32. Another superb descent.
Good, firm, wind-crust skiing, with a back-drop of the Antarctic Peninsula. This mountain wasn't even shown on the map.
Amundsen East Summit
High above the broken Sikorsky Glacier, a devious but safe line took us through a dramatic icefall.
Base Camp, Breguet Glacier
Our base camp was located beneath Mt Cornu, and dwarfed by the huge mass of Eagle Dome.
Central Peak above the Sikorsky Glacier
Andy enjoying a fine ski descent after climbing another virgin peak.
Cierva Cove peaks
Taken at sunset from the top of Madonna's Peaks, none of these mountains has yet been climbed.
Crevasse Field on the Breguet Glacier
We needed to cross two crevasse fields to reach our Base Camp, weaving our way around some very large crevasses.
Evening tracks
Above our camp on the Sikorsky Glacier was a lovely little summit that gave a great evening descent before dinner.
Goose-winging in the Drake Passage
With a moderate wind blowing astern, we headed into the Drake Passage with this unusual sail configuration.
Icicle-covered serac
We weaved around crevasses and seracs to reach the top of another un-named and unclimbed peak.
Icy early morning slopes
We were grateful that these slopes were icy, which made crossing the numerous crevasses on this north face much safer.
Landfall in Antarctica
David and Roger keep watch for ice as we sail along the coast of Antarctica. I, on the other hand, will act as a battering ram if we hit something.
Sea kayaking in Skontorpe Cove
After climbing Mt Agamemnon we spent a day resting and sea kayaking in Skontorpe Cove.
Seracs on Madonna's Peaks
The level of glaciation in Antarctica can be overwhelming, and makes it difficult to find safe routes to and up the mountains.
Summit of Madonna's Peaks
David and Andy enjoying the setting sun before embarking on one of the most enjoyable of ski descents.
Summit slope of Mt Ader
After stashing our skis we continued up the summit slope on foot as strong winds battered us with spindrift.
Sunset over Cierva Cove
The view from Madonna's west summit over Cierva Cove and to Brabant Island was unforgettable.
Sunset over Mt William
To make the most of a short period of clear weather we started climbing Mt Francais at 9pm, and were able to watch the sunset as we climbed through the night.
The Breguet Glacier
The unclimbed mountain in the background is guarded by a very fiercely crevassed glacier.
The large mass of 'Eagle Dome'
This large, sprawling mountain was unclimbed and un-named. We climbed and skied it by the safer line on the left side.
The mountains behind Cierva Cove
This was our playground. Surrounding the Breguet and Sikorsky Glacier are numerous peaks that give super ski ascents and descents.
The mountains of Cierva Cove
As we neared the top of this steep face we looked over the Sikorsky Glacier to Mt Cornu, which dominates the skyline.
The summit of 'Central Peak'
After climbing the steep north face, the summit, in contrast, was gentle and rounded.
The summit of Mt Ader
This enjoyable summit gave a unique view of the Antarctic Peninsula, which extends northwards into the distance.
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- 2012_Eagle_SKi_Club_Antarctic_Expedition_Report.pdf (4223.4KB)
- EAGLE_SKI_CLUB_ANTARCTICA_EXPEDITION_2012.pdf (831.6KB)
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