Stand at the South Pole with Adventure Network
Exactly one hundred years to the day after Roald Amundsen and Robert Falcon Scott each reached the South Pole, Adventure Network International is offering the unique opportunity to stand at the Pole and to celebrate the centenaries of these two great explorers.
Amundsen arrived at the South Pole with a team of six men and 16 dogs on 14 December 1911, arriving 35 days before Robert Falcon Scott who led a party of five men to reach the South Pole on 17 January 1912. A century later, their race to reach the Geographic South Pole is still one of the greatest stories in Antarctic exploration.
For the centenary celebrations, Adventure Network International is offering two different ways to reach the South Pole – a comfortable fly-in option and a challenging two-week expedition style ski trip. Both options offer the chance to stand at the Pole exactly one hundred years to the day after Amundsen and Scott, and to come away with the feeling that a journey to the South Pole is as significant today as it was all those years ago.
Fly all the way to the South Pole
Adventure Network International is offering a much more comfortable route than taken by Amundsen and Scott, flying by ski-aircraft to the South Pole as part of an 8-day guided South Pole Flight Experience. Guests fly by private transport jet from Punta Arenas, Chile into the interior of Antarctica then, following a few days at their luxurious expedition-style Union Glacier Camp, there is a flight by ski-aircraft all the way to the South Pole itself, covering in several hours the distance that took those early explorers months of hardship to achieve. While standing at 90° South, history will come alive and there’s time for reflection before taking a walk around the world in just a few steps and getting those all-important photos at the holy grail of polar explorers, the Geographic South Pole. Right beside the Pole is Amundsen-Scott station and, during the trip, guests will learn what makes the South Pole such a unique scientific laboratory. Guests will join centenary celebrations of the historic achievements of the station’s namesakes.
Two South Pole Flight departures for this coming Antarctic season have been timed to fit with the centenaries of Amundsen and Scott. 9-16 December 2011 to celebrate Amundsen’s arrival at the Pole on 14 December 1911 and 12-19 January 2012 to honour Scott reaching the Pole on 17 January 1912.
Price: US$40,500 per person to include round trip flights from Punta Arenas, Chile to Antarctica; flights from Union Glacier Camp to the South Pole; meals and tented accommodation at Union Glacier Camp; and services of an expedition guide.
Ski the Last Degree
Adventure Network International’s demanding, expedition-style trip, Ski the Last Degree, offers first-hand experience of the challenges faced by Amundsen and Scott on an incredible 60 nautical mile (111 km), two-week journey by ski from 89° South to the most southerly point on earth, the Geographic South Pole. This trip is ideal for those looking to capture the true essence of polar exploration and participants will need technical skills, a high level of strength and aerobic fitness and, importantly, a huge amount of commitment.
Last Degree departure dates from Punta Arenas, Chile: 3-18 December 2011 to coincide with Amundsen’s arrival at the Pole (14 December 1911) and 5-19 January 2012 to match Scott reaching the Pole (17 January 1912).
Price: US$52,500 per person to include round trip flights from Punta Arenas, Chile to Antarctica; flights from Union Glacier Camp to 89° South; meals and tented accommodation in Antarctica; and services of an expedition guide.
The Explorers
Roald Amundsen was the first person to reach the Geographic South Pole on 14 December 1911. He forged a brand new route from the Bay of Whales on the Ross Ice Shelf via the Axel Heiberg Glacier, onto the Polar Plateau and the South Pole itself.
Robert Falcon Scott’s expedition started at Ross Island, where Shackleton had also started his expedition some years before. Scott’s route took him across the Ross Ice Shelf, up the Beardmore Glacier and onto the South Pole. But they were too late, not reaching the Pole until 17 January 2011.
For further information visit: adventure-network.com
