South Pole Expeditions – Expeds UK
Polar Exped
Polar Exped
Polar Exped
Polar Exped
Polar Exped
Polar Exped

South Pole Expeditions

from
£53,500

The South Pole is an unforgiving landscape yet beautiful in every sense. Join us where the latitude and longitude merge and the only way left is North!

You’ll be skiing across some of the most spectacular landscapes on Earth. Not only that, when the wind picks up, Dixie will have you kite skiing!

A spectacular trip in its own right, you will join a small number of people who have actually set foot on the South Pole. The joy of completing this challenging expedition will last with you forever.

This is a difficult trip and requires determination and strong will power. The fitness levels need to be high and experience in a similar environment will be an advantage. We will be running training programs in the lead up to take off.

  • Reviews 0 Reviews
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  • Style Type
    • Cross-country-skiing
    • Expedition
    • Polar
    • Secret Planet
    Kite-Ski, Polar
  • Level Ultimate
    8/8
  • Group Size Small Group
    6
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All about the South Pole Expeditions.

The South Pole, an unforgiving landscape. Yet beautiful in every sense. Join us where the latitude and longitude merge and the only way left is North!

You’ll be skiing across some of the most spectacular landscape on earth. Not only that, when the wind picks up, Dixie will have you kite skiing!

Led by Dixie, we’re going to need energy and determination to get there, pulling our sleds in, sometimes, extreme weather conditions. Clearly, we will operate in the Austral Summer so add the extremely dry air and suddenly -25° becomes very bearable.

From Punta Arenas, we fly to Union Glacier, a base where scientists and adventures find all the necessary logistics to operate for their ambitious goals; A Twin Otter or Basler aircraft flies us consequently to the starting point of our expedition at latitude 89° South.

One last degree, 111 km and a dozen days later, we will reach the South Pole and the American station Amundsen-Scott. A pure expedition literally and figuratively speaking…and for kite-skiing specialists, we can, consider a drop of 500 km from the Pole. Emotions guaranteed.

In order to prepare for this expedition meticulously, there will be training days and briefings in the run up to the departure date.

The program is run by our partners Expeditions Unlimited who are part of the Secret Planet Group.

 

Travel Advice Summary

The tour package inclusions and exclusions at a glance
What is included in this tour?Items that are included in the cost of tour price.
  • Transfers as indicated in the program
  • Accommodation as indicated in the program
  • Meals as indicated in the program
  • The guiding as listed in the program
  • The equipment as indicated
  • The entrance fees and permits for the sites mentioned in the program.
  • A travel folder made of recycled sailing materiel.
What is not included in this tour?Items that are not included in the cost of tour price.
  • Everything that is not mentioned in “the price includes” rubric.
  • All accompaniments, accommodation or meals mentioned “not included” in the program.
  • Drinks and personal “extras”. The “single” supplement.
  • Other supplements linked to a lower number of participants registered your desire to “close/privatise” the group of participants, etc.
  • Mandatory insurance.
  • Contact us for a flight inclusive ATOL protected package.
  1. Day 1 ARRIVAL AT PUNTA ARENAS

    We land in Punta Arenas on Chilean Patagonia. On arrival at the airport, we are greeted by Dixie and are then invited to a welcome dinner.
    Transfer: taxi.

  2. Day 2 BRIEFING INSTRUCTIONS

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

  3. Day 3 FLIGHT FOR UNION GLACIER (ANTARCTICA)

    We load the equipment and take the morning flight to Union Glacier. This flight is subject to the vagaries of the weather and to the state of the runway in Antarctica. It will take 4 to 5 hours of flight from Punta Arenas. Then we will pass the Antarctic Polar Circle and see our first icebergs! One hour before landing we get dressed to face the imminent cold and after an impressive landing on the blue ice runway we are greeted at the camp.
    Transportation: flight for Union Glacier (4 to 5 hour flight)

  4. Day 4 EXPLORATION AND FREETIME AROUND CAMP

    We take our breakfast at camp and then we visit the area and we relax. Dixie prepares us for the next day, we analyse the weather forecast. Briefing and Q&A from participants. Inspection of equipment. We do a bit of kite-surfing if we find the time in order to become familiar with the material that we will use.

  5. Day 5 INSPECTION OF POLAR EQUIPMENT AND FLIGHT TO THE FINAL DEGREE

    Today we are ready to go! We only need the pilot and to the weather to give us the green light. After breakfast, we check our equipment with Dixie one last time and start charging the plane, either Twin Otter or Basler BT-67, for our flight to the South. Depending on weather conditions and where the fuel cashes are situated, we land to refuel once or twice. It will take us 4-5 hours to reach the starting point of our expedition. We land at some 111 km from the South Pole, the last Degree! We set up camp and prepare for the next day. The plane takes off again to Union Glacier. We progress a couple of hours and then set up our camp.

  6. Days 6 - 12 EXPEDITION TO THE SOUTH POLE

    Today we will put in a good long day. Our sleds are loaded and this will become our routine for a total of nine days to reach the geographic South Pole.
    The surface of the ice shelf is safe and wrinkled with the presence of sastrugi (sharp topographic irregularities on the snow surface resulting from erosion caused by wind), the highest can measure up to 50 cm … we are in an indescribable white vastness, a blinding purity and so isolated…there is no other place on Earth that looks like what we will see every day.
    Theoretically, the weather is predominantly sunny and dry with a little wind and the temperature is still mild at this time of year, between -20°C and -45°C when you take into account the wind chill factor! If the wind picks up, we will use our kite sails, with increasing wind throughout the day. We have a giant playground and endless opportunities! We feel a little what the first explorers experienced when they came here nearly a century before us.

  7. Day 13 REACHING THE SOUTH POLE

    Today, if the conditions were favorable and if we persevered, we arrive at the South Pole. We already see it 15 kilometers away because the American Amundsen-Scott station is very visible! When we reach the mark of the South Pole, we will go around it (walk around the world and have the entire globe at our feet!) and celebrate our achievement.
    We meet a member of the National Science Foundation (NSF) who shows us around the base. We can even find a souvenir for our family and send a letter from the one and only South Pole Post Office!
    We stay about 2 to 3 hours at the South Pole and then our plane will pick us. Then it is time for our goodbyes, the plane is refueled and Northbound we fly!

  8. Day 14 - 15 WEATHER INCONSISTENCIES

    Sometimes we get stuck for weather reasons at the American Amundsen-Scott station of one to two days, so the Twin Otter cannot fly. These precaution days can also be used for the same reasons at the beginning of our expedition, or during, if we’re stuck in a tent to shelter us. We are reminded of the fact that Mother Nature still reigns in extreme climates like this…

  9. Day 16 RETURN FLIGHT TO UNION GLACIER

    Today, we return to Union Glacier late afternoon. It will need to refuel again on the way. We are greeted with a “sumptuous” dinner to celebrate our return.
    Transportation: flight for Queen Maud Land (4 to 5 hour flight)

  10. Day 17 - 18 RETURN FLIGHT TO PUNTA ARENAS

    Today, according to the schedule of our aircraft and the weather, we explore the surroundings of the Base, enjoy a little of the privileges given to us being here. Then we get on the plane to the North and the heat! A reserve day is still expected. We land in the morning.
    Transportation: flight for Punta Arenas (4 to 5 hour flight)

  11. Day 19-20 RETURN FLIGHT TO EUROPE

    In Punta Arenas, we take our flight back to Europe. Landing the next day.

Expeds Antarctica 2 blue ice84

Credit: Dixie Dansercoer

Expeds Antarctica Mountains

Credit: Dixie Dansercoer

Expeds Antarctica Mountains

Credit: Dixie Dansercoer

Expeds Antarctica Skiing the ridge

Credit: Dixie Dansercoer

Expeds Antarctica Vehicle

Credit: Dixie Dansercoer

Accommodation

At a hotel in Punta Arenas (accommodation not included), at the campsite at Union Glacier and tent during the expedition.

Food
Meals are (not included) at the restaurant or at the hotel in Punta Arenas. Meals included at the Union Glacier campsite. During the expedition, the meals have been prepared in advance in dehydrated form. They give us all the calories required for the expedition all the while providing a balanced diet and taking into account the weight and simplicity of preparation.

Antarctica is a vast icecap, up to 4 km in thickness, lying on rocky soil that makes up the Antarctic continent. Due to the absence of fertile soil there is no life once one leaves the coastal areas. Away from the areas of activity the terrain is evenly covered with sastrugi, natural ridges formed by the wind. Temperatures are given additional intensity by the strong winds that blow there. The desert-like nature imposes a feeling of desolation once the mountain chains in the vicinity of the coast have been crossed. The geographic South Pole is marked by a symbolic ‘ball’ at the US Amundsen-Scott scientific base. 98% of Antarctica is covered with ice. This amounts to 30 million km3 which accounts for 90% of all the ice on our planet. 70% of all fresh water (even though in frozen form) on Earth is to be found in this frozen desert.

Please follow the link for the latest health advice

No visa required for citizens of the European Union and the Swiss. For other nationalities, check with your local consulate or embassy. Necessity of a passport valid 6 months after your return date. These procedures may change and we thank you check the entry requirements with the consular authorities. Each traveler is responsible for complying with these formalities.

This program is deemed “Difficult” given the climatic and environmental conditions. The carrying is done by the participants with sleds, which can weigh nearly 60 kg at starting point of the expedition. Excellent physical and mental condition is imperative. It is not required have any special technical skills, especially for handling sails, which will be tested prior to the start of the expedition. Some knowledge of the Great North and alpine hiking is naturally a plus. Each participant is responsible for enforcing safety rules, equipment and its maintenance, camp installation, meal preparation. As always in this type of project, the key to success remains a collective and team spirit. Also, participating in the two-day preparation course is essential.

We leave with ALE from Punta Arenas to Union Glacier. It is they who are responsible for the logistics that represents over 80% of the total price of the expedition. International flights are not included in the price; however, we can still make the reservations, especially for the preparation weekend in Belgium or in Switzerland.
ALE is the organization that has the sole responsibility of the logistics and every cent of these costs is charged to the EXPEDITIONS UNLIMITED participants. With ALE you must also sign all of their documents (registration forms, medical forms, liability releases) and must have accepted their general and special conditions of sale and finally, you must prove that you have a repatriation and health insurance. Naturally we will assist you in the provision of these documents.

The transfers (to or from) the airport, (to or from) the starting point of the expedition are insured by taxi (not included).

Permits

Before travelling to the British Antarctic Territory, and the wider continent of Antarctica, you may need a valid permit which your travel company may obtain from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in London.

Passport validity

There are no specific passport validity requirements for the British Antarctic Territory, although to fly to the continent or to depart for the Antarctic from another country (e.g. Chile, Argentina) British nationals will need a valid passport.

Contact details

Government of the British Antarctic Territory Polar Regions Department, Overseas Territories Directorate, Foreign & Commonwealth Office London SW1A 2AH. Tel: 020 7008 1639 Email: polarregions@fco.gov.uk Office Hours (GMT): Mon-Fri: 9am – 5pm.

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