Kayakers paddle the waters off the shores of Antarctica during an 11-day cruise to the southern continent with Aurora Expeditions.Al Bakker/Supplied
In many ways, just getting to Antarctica is an adventure, thanks to logistics that involve flying to Ushuaia, Argentina – one of the most southern cities in the world – and crossing the notoriously nauseating Drake Passage. But for travellers wanting even more excitement, the icy continent is ready to deliver.
Ski touring may be the flashiest sport on offer. Last fall, Vancouverite Jeff Rosen managed to make it down five Antarctic peaks during an 11-day cruise with Aurora Expeditions aboard its Greg Mortimer ship. It was an experience Rosen – who has now skied on six continents – says was unlike any other: “That idea of, you’re skiing your line, making sure you’re not getting too close to the penguins, was really unique.”
Downhill not your thing? Pick your thrill: Passengers sailing with the Australian-based expedition company can, for example, also try sea kayaking, snorkelling, snowshoeing, stand-up paddleboarding, polar camping and alpine trekking (depending on the season). And while some of those may not sound too hard core, an unforgiving landscape and unpredictable climate instantly make every activity more extreme.
Take snowshoeing. On the world’s coldest and windiest continent, it’s not the same winter pastime you know from tramping around a local conservation area. Why? Because Antarctica also has the highest average surface elevation of all the continents, and it is packed with mountains. So when Aurora’s guides take snowshoers out, it’s typically for not-insignificant climbs of up to 750 feet, with everyone wearing harnesses and roped together for safety. It’s doable for a novice, but still thrilling enough for someone who has almost summited Everest – twice.
There are a wide variety of activities for passengers sailing with the Australian-based expedition company, including sea kayaking, snorkeling, snowshoeing, stand-up paddleboarding, polar camping and alpine trekking.Tyson Mayr/Supplied
“I was happily surprised to see that there were some ridges and some rope travel on glaciers,” says Ricardo Pena, a professional mountain guide based in Colorado, who was on the same November sailing. (He also enjoyed serenading the penguins by playing Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head on his ukulele.)
But, for him, the real revelation was the view from the top.
A seal looks up at a passing boat just off Antarctica's coastline.Domini Clark/The Globe and Mail
“It’s just like what I’ve seen at 20,000 to 25,000 feet in high mountains – like the same snow formations and cornices and crevasses. So it’s like you’re instantly there, but you just did half a mile and then you go back to your four-star hotel. It’s unique. You get to experience things that are really like Everest.”
The big difference, of course, is that snowshoeing in Antarctica is much safer than scaling the Seven Summits.
From Day 1, the Aurora expedition crew made it clear that safety is a top priority, for any and all activities.
“We mean nothing down here,” said expedition leader Flo Kuyper during the first passenger briefing, warning us about weather that can turn without a moment’s notice, 15-metre-tall icebergs that can flip suddenly and massive glaciers that can calve in a thunderous instant. The message was clear: Listen to the guides and do as you’re told.
(Not that I needed any further convincing, but when news reached passengers part way through the sailing that a Zodiac owned by another cruise line had capsized in nearby waters, killing two passengers, it drove the message home.)
The constant threat of hazardous conditions is one of the reasons Aurora lets its guests select only one activity per cruise (beyond Zodiac outings and shore landings, which are open to anyone), as opposed to many other expedition companies, where you have the chance to dabble depending on what’s on offer each day. By focusing on one sport, more in-depth safety protocols can be put into place, and guides can get a better feel for people’s skill levels – which ultimately means passengers get to do more exciting stuff.
Aurora expeditions use Zodiacs to get close to icebergs and wildlife, and to ferry people ashore for hikes.Yan Zhang/Supplied
But there are also other reasons for going this route, explained assistant expedition leader Catherine Ardagh, who is originally from Vancouver. For one thing, it allows people to gain confidence and progress in their abilities more rapidly.
“You have a better experience in the long term because you’re more comfortable in your gear,” she said. And since each activity group is fairly small, it’s an easy way to meet people; friendships sprouted practically overnight.
I selected sea kayaking as my sport of choice, and the hours spent in the mandatory lessons, safety briefings and equipment fittings meant I, a novice paddler, felt as prepared as possible.
Although nothing could truly prepare me for what it was like to finally hit the water around Danco Island, near the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula.
The first thing that struck me was how connected I felt to the landscape. By this point, I had already been out in a Zodiac, zipping along while perched on its side, about 30 centimetres above the waves. Turns out that being level with the ocean, in the bottom of a kayak, is a completely different feeling.
“You can explore in a way more intimate nature,” is how Peter Wainwright, one of the guides, and another British Columbian, put it. “You feel it when you hit the ice, you feel the bump, you feel the ice knock together.”
Sea kayaks are offloaded into the icy waters.Domini Clark/The Globe and Mail
And the ice was ever present, in seemingly every form. But where there wasn’t any, the water was somehow clear and reflective at the same time. From a distance, it mirrored the massive electric blue icebergs surrounding us. Up close, it revealed their other 90 per cent – at least to 26 metres down (yes, visibility was that good).
Penguins “porpoised” nearby, diving in and out of the water on their hunt for fish. A 400-kilogram Weddell seal lounged on a chunk of ice. A tiny, almost luminescent krill floated near the surface. The scene was quiet, but not silent, as brash ice – an accumulation of small floating pieces – lived up to its “ice krispies” nickname, and waves lapped against bobbing bergs. At one point, a thunderous clap boomed across the water, and an avalanche sent snow crashing down hundreds of feet directly in front of us.
It was simultaneously peaceful and wild, earthly and fantastical – and truly like nowhere and nothing I have experienced, incomparable even with the Arctic.
“The ice down here is just such a fantastic way to experience sea kayaking,” Wainwright said back onboard. “You do it whether it’s brash ice or cracking through frazzle ice or paddling around these small, grounded icebergs like you did on the island there. It’s just so much fun.”
Kayakers take to the water around Danco Island, near the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula.Domini Clark/The Globe and Mail
And it was, until I began to panic slightly as the sky turned grey, the waves started whipping up and all that ice closed in around us. Suddenly we were paddling with all our might. At one point, a couple of us were cut off from the rest of the group. I tried pushing a bergy bit away with my paddle but it just slipped off. Finally, I resorted to shoving the ice away with my hands and, with the encouragement of Wainwright, broke through into the clear waters once again and headed back toward the ship.
But if I’m being honest, even that was exciting and, yes, fun – but only because, thanks to all the safety prep, I was never really worried. I swear.
If you go
In Antarctica, Aurora expeditions use Zodiacs (small, rigid, inflatable boats) to get close to icebergs and wildlife (including predatory fanged leopard seals) and to ferry people ashore for hikes among the penguins and around research huts and old whaling stations. They are also used in the Citizen Science Program, where passengers help collect data and samples for environmentally focused research.
Aurora Expedition Antarctic Peninsula cruises start at US$9,500 for 12 days. Included in the fee is a predeparture one-night hotel stay and half-day tour in Ushuaia. Onboard, it includes all meals and snacks; drinks with dinner; all shore excursions and Zodiac cruises; a waterproof polar expedition jacket to keep; muck boots to use during the voyage; and gratuities for the crew.
The writer was a guest of Aurora Expeditions. The company did not review or approve the story before publication.