Polar expedition in Queen Maud Land, Antarctica

We arrive at Cape Town in South Africa where we meet. Depending on our time of arrival, we have a free day and are then invited to a welcome dinner.

Transfer: taxi
Meals: lunch and diner at the restaurant (not included)
Accommodation: hotel (not included)

Preparation day. Safety briefing, detailed planning. Weather forecast. Dixie answers our questions. We get our equipment ready for the flight the following day.

Meals: breakfast at hotel – lunch and diner at the restaurant (not included)
Accommodation: hotel (not included)

We load the equipment and take the Ilyushin-76 morning flight to the Queen Maud Land with a scheduled departure time of 23:30 pm. This flight is subject to the vagaries of the weather and to the state of the runway in Antarctica. It will take 5 to 6 hours of flight from Cape Town to reach Novo Airbase. On the way we will pass the Antarctic polar circle and see our first icebergs! An hour before landing, we get dressed to face the Antarctic cold. We are greeted at the camp around 4:00 in the morning.

Transportation: flight to Queen Maud land (5 to 6 hours)
Meals: breakfast at hotel – lunch and diner at Cape Town (not included)
Accommodation: in the plane

We take our breakfast at camp and then we visit the area and we relax. We talk with the scientists on their research. We check our material and then prepare for the next day. Briefing and Q&A from participants.

Meals: breakfast – lunch – dinner at airbase
Accommodation: at Novo Airbase

Today, after our breakfast, we either start skiing towards the mountains or are transferred by plane/jeeps to the starting point of the expedition.

Depending on weather and terrain conditions and our skiing and kite-skiing techniques,  several options are possible.

To reach the mountains and Ulvetanna, from the Novo Airbase, we expect between 30 minutes and an hour’s flight, from the starting point of the expedition.

• the mountains near Mühlig Hofmann, beautiful and 80-90 km from the station. The Antarctic Plateau starts right there (10 to 12 km sloping up to it);

• Ulvetanna at 160-170 km, are even more spectacular.

We can go by plane or go in the opposite direction depending on the conditions at the time and according to the group. We would take between 2 to 3 days of kite-skiing if we have the technical expertise, if the wind blows in the right direction, which is often the case…this may allow us to go further and / or to save some money.

After the group is dropped off, our sleds are loaded. In total, we have about a week to discover this extraordinary region of the world.

Get ready to feast your eyes with an overload of beautiful vistas and the unexplainable serenity that reigns there.

We enjoy the polar days, a rather mild temperature and favorable southeast winds to go, for instance, in the direction of Ulvetanna Peak, “A Wolf’s Tooth” in Norwegian, at an altitude of 2,930 meters, which is located in the Drygalski Mountains.

This summit was climbed for the first time by three Norwegians in February 1994 by the Northwest side and in 2006 by the North face…

We establish our camp site at the foot of the mountains. Now we have to choose our program for the next days: kite-skiing at the heart of the Drygalski chain, small non-technical ascents by skiing, downhill skiing…total happiness!

The scenery is magnificent and our playground is limitless. The wildlife surrounds us: some birds, sometimes a lonely and isolated Adélie penguin. To the East and the West, magnificent mountain ranges of various heights, bare rock or alpine peaks covered with ice for our ascents on skis and our descents. To the North and the South, flat planes of the Antarctic ice sheet.

Then we return to the East towards Novo, skiing, kite-skiing, exploring everything in our path like the Kurze, Conrad and Orvin Scherbakov chains until we reach the Northern Humbolt Mountains, South of the base. When the time has come, the Twin Otter plane comes to retrieve us.

Theoretically, the weather is nice and dry with a little wind and the temperature is still mild at this time of year, between -15°C and – albeit rarely – -45°C! We feel a little what the first explorers experienced when they came here nearly a century before us.

Transfers: starting point of the expedition by Twin Otter plane (14 seats)
Meals: breakfast under tent – lunch on the ice – dinner under tent
Accommodation: under tent

Today, we return to Novo. We are greeted with a “sumptuous” dinner to celebrate our return. We get to take a well-deserved shower at the guesthouse.

Transfer: to Novo Airbase by Twin Otter plane (14 seats)
Meals: breakfast under tent – lunch on the ice – dinner under tent
Accommodation: guesthouse

Today, according to the schedule of our aircraft and the weather, we explore the surroundings of the Base, we enjoy some of the privileges given to us to celebrate the expedition. Then we get on the plane to head back North and the heat of Cape Town! A reserve day is still expected. We land in the early morning.

Transportation: flight to Cape Town (4 to 5 hours)
Meals: breakfast at camp site – lunch and diner in the plane or at Cape Town (not included)
Accommodation: in the plane

In Cape Town, we take our flight back to Europe. Landing the next day.

Transfer: taxi
Transportation: international flight
Meals: lunch and diner (not included) or on the plane
Accommodation: hotel (not included)