Puntas Arenas is the southernmost city in South America. It borders to the stunning Patagonia mountain range with the needle sharp silhouettes of Torres del Paine only a few hours away by car. Towards east instead, the barren old gold mine lands of Tierra del Fuego are just a few hours away by boat. Cruise ships leaving for the Antarctic continent are a common sight in season.

The land bursts with wildlife such as the Condors, Llamas, Alpaca wool sheep, wild horses and cattle. The waters are playground to dolphins, whales, seals, penguins and Albatross. There are several landmark hotels for visitors to stay including the legendary Jose Nogueria hotel. This is where Shackelton stayed when he pleaded to the rich of the area to get the funds to save his men remaining on the ice. Polar farers rarely stay here but often get together in the hotels glass veranda.

Condor de Plata is a low budget favorite of many polar expeditions. Finis Terrae is a Best Western hotel with spacious corner suites, Jacuzzi and buffet style breakfast. Cheaper and pleasant places to stay are around ten minutes by car from the town centre where cabins with ocean view go for around 50 dollars per night. There are also cottages and apartments for rent.

Adventure Network International

ANI is headed by Ann Kershaw, the widow of the late polar adventurer Giles Kershaw. Giles started the business some twenty years ago and when his gyrocopter crashed on the Antarctic ice, Ann took over. A cool blonde from Scotland in her late thirties and remarried to adventurer Doug Stoup, today Ann is famous for her tough ways in terms of negotiations and money affairs. Her business is run from Florida off-season and from Puntas Arenas, Chile in season. Update: As of July 2003 Ann has resigned and ANI will not operate the 2003 Antarctic season.

A staff of around twenty administrators, camp organizers, food-, weather- and navigation people and hired pilots arrive around October to the ANI headquarters located in an old wooden townhouse in Punta Arenas. Bursting with activity the staff commences to prepare for the Antarctic summer season. ANI caters to South Pole trekkers, Mount Vinson climbers, wildlife watchers and polar scientists.

A warehouse at the edge of the city holds airplane fuel drums and trekkers sleds. This is where you’ll spend time organizing your sled and counting down the final ounces of your gear.

Base camp on the ice is Patriot Hills a few miles in from the coast of southern Antarctica. A blue ice runway is maintained for the almost daily landing and takes offs of the heavy duty military style Iljusin and Hercules airplanes. A smaller fleet of Twin Otters and a Cessna are kept stationary on the ice for local round trips. The camp consists of a large mess tent holding the kitchen and canteen, a couple of toilet tents and a number of private tents for staff and clients. Several ice caches store food, fuel and other supplies. Human waste is collected in drums and removed from the ice by the end of each season.

The staff is very friendly and the food is excellent, especially considering the challenge of the area. There is a distinct flair of wild adventure around camp quarters. The wind blows almost intermediately, the air is hazy with snow drift, the perpetual sun casts a strong, white light reflected in the bare, shimmering ice. People battle the wind doubled over between tents, bundled in heavy duty down jackets. Once inside the canteen tent however, the music plays softly from the radio, pilots hang out with a game of cards, wine is scattered around the tables and there is a smell of freshly baked bread in the air.

Climbers, ice trekkers and penguin watchers from all around the world exchange wild tales, autographs and take each other’s pictures. Then another big bird arrives with a roar shooting out a long jet of snow behind it, lands on the ice, and a new generation of adventurers sets their first step on the ice.

Permits/insurance/paperwork

Antarctica is a no-mans land but a treaty formed by a bunch of nations impose regulations on the area, especially in terms of the environment. Depending if your country of citizenship has joined the treaty or not, you might need a permit to ski the continent. The permit is fairly easy to obtain, you’ll fill out forms regarding your schedule, gear and environmental “intentions”. The bottom line is to leave as little as possible behind and keep the place clean.

There will be more paperwork when it comes to ANI’s services. The contract is pretty tough and one-sided, and you can be sure that they mean every word of it. It is important that you read it through carefully and don’t pay any money until everything is settled. You need to pay close attention to the insurance requirement, the timelines of the trip, the cancellation refund policy, and the terms surrounding an aborted expedition. Read the fine print.

Obtaining insurance has traditionally been a tricky task. Some adventurers are sponsored by an insurance company. Others have bought insurance once, aborted the expedition, insurance pays out, but then refuses to insure again. We managed to get a deal twice with the same insurance company in the UK. The second time, however, we negotiated terms where – in case of emergency - we would pay for local transportation ourselves and the insurance would only cover an emergency transportation out from the ice. The insurance normally costs around 10.000 USD per traveler and covers around 150 000 USD in emergency transportation costs.

Make sure that you have the permit and the insurance before making final payment to ANI as lack of either will stop your journey with no refund from ANI. Check with ANI which insurance companies to approach as they vary with each year.

Transportation

Getting in and out of Puntas Arenas involves a long flight no matter where in the world you are. In addition, the Patagonia mountain range provides an effective barrier between Puntas Arenas and the rest of South America. Getting there by land would involve among other hassle a truck ride on a very questionable road.

The best bet is to fly in from Santiago. As polar sleds are fragile and even the smallest scratch of their bottom renders a tough pull, it is common to transport the sleds in wooden boxes, snugly tucked away in soft expedition gear such as sleeping bags and food. Remove the runners from the sled and bring spare ones.

The remaining gear is easily transported in climber’s drums or just regular boxes and soft packs. Technology and fragile stuff should travel with you in your hand luggage.

Call ahead to the airline to announce your large luggage. There should be no objections, but expect serious overweight charge unless you don’t have an airline sponsorship.

Beware of customs in Santiago if you have gear shipped. Items have been stolen there and gear can also get stuck in customs in Punta Arenas for weeks. Always use ANI’s connections for shipments that don’t travel with you on your flight. Your shipment should be sent out at least three weeks before your own departure.

There are tourist ships traveling to Antarctica each year, but they are late in season and you’ll get dropped on the ice, far from the coast. Even if you do manage to get through the pans of open water ice to reach the solid ice of Antarctic land, you still have the trip back from the South Pole to consider. A couple of guys did an Antarctic traverse a few years ago flying in from South Africa, dropping their Argos positioning devices somewhere on the road and traveling lost to the world until picked up by a cruise ship on the other side.

This expedition was pretty controversial as the organizers responsible for the explorers had to take much heat. Should an emergency occur, it would have been quite a costly operation. It is an option but a not very popular one with the ice community.
The high cost of Antarctic transportation has however forced people to seek out alternatives, especially in the later years.

Preparations in Puntas Arenas

There are several super markets where you can get your last food and miscellaneous gear. Abu Gosh Supermarket in central Punta Arenas is well stocked with stuff like cooking oils, cheese and meats, drinks, dried fruits and also plastic containers, rope, tape, brushes, funnel and such.
A shopping mall just outside of town sells batteries, outdoor gear, some electronics and other stuff. They sell compasses, but not south weighted interestingly enough. We found a couple of tiny speakers for our miniDV players to play Christmas carols in our tent. Whilst you’ll find curiosa like that, don’t count on finding essentials.

“Ferrerias” are small hardware stores scattered around town. A few Internet cafes are available and some hotels too have connections. It’s slow and expensive - we used our mobile for transmissions and mails. Punta Arenas is the southern most point of South America, so expect limited choices and high prices.

Once all your stuff has arrived in Puntas Arenas, you should be able to pack your sleds in the ANI warehouse. We opted to rent a car, but ANI provides shuttle service in their mini van. Sometimes the warehouse is in great condition, sometimes not. There is no heat and there is mice so be prepared to store your food in sealed containers. Our first year we had plenty of space to work our gear, our second year the place was jammed with fuel drums and our gear got so much beating that we actually rented a second room in our hotel for packing and storage of the sleds.

Keep the sled runners protected at all times. Get a piece of thin plywood and tie it to the bottom of the sleds. Pack gear in lightweight, waterproof bags inside the sleds. Draw up a scheme of what is stored where on the sled in your notebook so you find it easy once out in Antarctica’s storms. Skis and ski poles can travel tied to the top of the sled. Fuel will be handed to you out on the ice. Plan ahead where to store it on the sled.

Check burners, tent and all crucial gear. Before leaving for the ice, your sleds will be weighed on a very handy floor scale that usually sits in the warehouse. If you are over limit you’ll pay excess weight penalties to ANI. Finally your sleds will be loaded on a truck and then on to the plane. You could and should accompany the gear to make sure it’s handled with care.

Now, the traditional Antarctica waiting game commences. Phone calls in the wee hours will be made to your hotel every morning giving the status of the flight out. Winds and snow conditions, the flight crew, the condition of the runway out at Patriot Hills and a whole bunch of other factors must align for the flight to take place at last.

You’ll take countless “last showers” and final “cooked meals” and sit around the hotel dining room or even the airport lounge in full Arctic gear, only to learn that the plane will not be leaving today either. Sometimes the delay will be estimated to last up to several weeks and it is then a good idea to take the chance to do some sightseeing around Patagonia and just relax before the expedition.

But sooner or later the final call will be made and the time for your great adventure will be due. Dress in the shell gear and regular boots, but bring with you full gear including the skiing boots in hand luggage. Dress in full gear onboard the plane, just before landing at Antarctica. Apply sunscreen and lip balm, don’t forget the mask and gloves. Leave the “travel clothes” with the staff at Patriot Hills. You’ll be able to shoot some film and photo upon arrival as your sleds are unloaded. Sometimes you’ll have a few days to make your final preparations at Patriot Hills, sometimes a Twin Otter will whisk you away just after landing on the ice and fly you straight out to the coast twenty minutes away.

Only a few hours after having your hamburger with avocado and espresso in the civilized lounge of the airport, you’ll find yourself standing alone with you sled on an ice continent that’s totally out of this world. You will stand there in awe and fear, in shock and in anticipation. You’ll look around and the entire situation will blow your mind. It’s a one in a lifetime, pal. Bon voyage!