Meet team and spend night on Icebird.
IMPORTANT: Cabin pricing is based off 5 confirmed passengers. Should the expedition confirm with 6 passengers there may be a reduction in the per person costs, at the operator's discretion.
Day 1 - Arrive in Stanley; Embarkation Day
Meet team and spend night on Icebird.
IMPORTANT: Cabin pricing is based off 5 confirmed passengers. Should the expedition confirm with 6 passengers there may be a reduction in the per person costs, at the operator's discretion.
Day 2 - Day in Stanley
Prepare equipment and practice glacier crossing and crevasse rescue skills.
Day 3/6 - Sail to South Georgia
Today we begin our first ocean crossing en route to South Georgia, this usually takes around 4-5 days.
Day 7/8 - South Georgia
We arrive in South Georgia and sail towards King Haakon Bay
Day 9/14 - South Georgia: Crossing
Over the next 6 days we embark on Shackleton's famous crossing, across South Georgia.
Day 15 - Rest day
Today is a day of rest and recovery.
Day 16 - Ski day
Skiing from Maikviken to Grytviken.
Day 17/18 - Cumberland Bay
Exploration and ski touring days.
Day 19 - St Andrews Bay
Today we are exploring the King Penguin colony at St Andrews Bay
Day 20/30 - Exploration & Ski Touring
For the next 10 days we are focused on exploration and ski tours in Drygalski Fjord and the south-east corner of South Georgia.
Day 31/35 - Return to Stanley
Open ocean crossing en route to Stanley.
Day 36 - Stanley; Disembarkation
Today we depart the expedition.
IMPORTANT: Cabin pricing is based off 5 confirmed passengers. Should the expedition confirm with 6 passengers there may be a reduction in the per person costs, at the operator's discretion.
Please consider that our voyages are expeditionary in nature. This means, that there are no concrete itineraries, your Captain and Expedition Leader will utilise their vast experience to chart the best course for your expedition depending on the climatic and environmental conditions. Mentioned highlights and wildlife cannot be guaranteed.
All skiing is on heavily glaciated mountains, above fjords studded with icebergs. Due to the heavily glaciated nature of the terrain we will ascend most mountains roped-up, and will return, un-roped if it is safe to do so, by our route of ascent. While it is unlikely that we will be skiing champagne powder, we will be skiing slopes up to 35° in one of the most spectacular places in the world with truly breathtaking back-drops.
Sea kayaks - great toys for exploring the South Georgia & Antarctic coastline during rest days or when low clouds obscure the mountains.
South Georgia is one of the most remarkable places on earth. Steeped in colourful history, this remote mountainous island is home to a breathtaking amount of wildlife, it makes for an incredible place to explore and ski!
Spectacular in flight and on the ground, with the largest wingspan of any bird on the planet; gracefully and effortlessly glides for thousands of kilometres across the Southern Ocean to their nesting site on South Georgia.
One of the true wildlife experiences on our planet, often the wildlife displays here are referred to as the greatest on Earth. Set amongst awe inspiring scenery and home to King penguins, Wondering albatross and Elephant seals, it’s hard to imagine how early pioneers survived in this harsh landscape.
Enjoy a few nights accomodation in Ushuaia staying in a comfortable cabin.
Your expedition includes highly trained expedition leaders and ski guides. As well group climing equipment, tents and sleds are provided.
There are a number of kayaks on board for you to explore when the conditions are right.
Although no previous sailing experience is required, all members will need to have ski-mountaineering experience and be comfortable skiing all snow-types on slopes up to 30°. It is also preferable that members know how to rope up to cross glaciers and how to perform a crevasse rescue. If this is new to you we can recommend suitable courses that teach these skills so that you can make the most of your expedition to Antarctica.
How much technical climbing is there?
Although most of the ascents will be completed on skis, using skins and ski crampons, there may be short sections, particularly close to the summits, where we may need to fix skis to our rucksacks and use crampons and an ice-axe.
ICEBIRD
Icebird is a specially designed and constructed luxury polar expedition yacht. Built by Trintella in the Netherlands, one of the very best European yards, her aluminium hull has been re-inforced to enable her to operate safely in ice. She has 6 watertight compartments, including the engine room, and is insulated throughout which, together with central heating, makes her ideal for comfortable expedition sailing in Antarctica. Her hydraulically operated lifting keel can reduce her draft to a mere 1.9 metres, allowing access to safe shallow anchorages out of the path of drifting ice, while in the down position the 3.3m keel, with 10-ton foil and 5 tonnes of lead bulb, ensure excellent handling in even the roughest of seas.
Luxury star rating: | 3 |
Guests #: | 6 |
Crew #: | 4 |
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We understand that the trip of a lifetime takes planning, so we make the financial commitments easy to manage.