Sports Events in Antarctica

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The water temperature is a sizzling 0.3 deg C. Icebergs float around and pieces of broken glacier ice mixed with it… A great day to go swimming! That is what we did, tied with a rope in case one has a heart attack, one – two – three and jump! The only word that came to my find as I emerged from the water was – F@%#! It felt like someone had squeezed my lungs out – a great experience!!

With so many excellent meals to enjoy it’s just as well that the Marco Polo also provided opportunities to work off a few of those pounds. There was a small gym which was well-equipped, though Chris was put-out on a couple of visits to find the captain monopolising some of the machines! There were also various organised activities such as golf-putting and a table tennis tournament. After the latter the table and equipment were left out and were free for anyone to use, so we had several fun hours trying to play properly while the ship tipped the room, and table of course, from side to side!

Other fitness options included dance classes, aerobics and stretch classes, and a “Walk a mile” contest, with a small prize on offer for the most miles walked round the deck during the voyage. Or of course you could just walk or jog the decks under your own steam!

When we landed on Almirante Brown, our guides suggested that we climb up that little hill and toboggan down on our behinds - favourably sitting on a plastic bag...

Well, I did not go, but the others had a LOT of fun - as one could see and hear!!!

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Strangely, most of the Antarctic is not really suited to skiing. Near the coast in East Antarctica, the surface is usually bare blue ice, swept of snow by the winds year-round and ablated by the sun to a solid block in summer. A little further inland the surface is compacted snow, hard packed into a solid white mass which is then scoured by the winds into sastrugi, something like waves and often over 300mm high - hardly ski-able!

So the only areas really suitable for skiing tend to be in the lee of hills, where softer snowdrifts sometimes form. There was such a place near Mawson, named Fischer Nunatak. In 1966 we had a small caravan located there (well strapped down with guy wires) which was used for occasional ski trips (Photo 2). The snag then, of course, was that there were no facilities of any kind: so a run down the hill was followed by lengthy herring-bone climbing up the hill.

Equipment: Take everything - but don't expect to find any facilities such as ski-lifts!

This is about as much sports as I could see! (Good views though :-))
Whatever happened behind close doors, well, can't really classified them as sports under VT ;-)

As for out there, we did a little hiking but I can't really even called those "hiking" since it's somewhat less than 30 minutes walk!

This is where I found Victor duirng his breaks. Guess he probably didn't get as much chance as we did going out on the zodiacs.

If you are a serious kayaker, you cannot miss the Antarctic. Kayaking is offered on most expenditions at $400-$500 additional charge but well worth it. I preferred the kayaking as it did not involve wearing so many layers since you have the drysuit as an outer layer. It was just fantastic paddling among the brash ice and around the huge icebergs. I even encountered a baby seal in a rock cove learning to swim. Penguins were always around the kayaks when paddling. We never got close enough to see whales or sea lions. I cannot imagine kayaking being more fantastic anywhere else in the world!

Equipment: State of the art single and double Crosswind and Storm kayaks. These are Current Designs kayaks considered state of the art. Clothing consisted of a thermal layer with an outer layer such as capilene over a drysuit. I found Polartec as an outer layer too hot combined with the drysuit. Neoprene boots were worn over thermal socks. Most wore the neoprene skull cap alone but I always donned a warm hat over due to my low cold tolerance. Neoprene pogies are mitts fastened to the paddle shaft and allow the hands to slip in and out. I always had a pair of expendition gloves as a thermal layer. Actually I was always warmer in the kayaking clothing as opposite to the zodiac cruises probably due to the drysuit.

Trust me, if you're Scuba Diving in Antarctica, it's not for pleasurable reasons.....

Here is a Coast Guard diver, inspecting the bottom of his ship in the harbor.

You won't find more open powder anywhere else in the world.

When you ski here, try to remain on the groomed trails. There is a real threat of Ice Crevasses here, if you are skiing on the Ice Shelf.