South Georgia Ski Expedition
Donation protected
Two years ago, I became obsessed with Ernest Shackleton and the incredible journey he undertook to save the stranded crew of his doomed trans-antarctic expedition.
As we drove from Santiago to Ushuia on a ski mountaineering trip in 2015, scouting locations for this year's Chile/Argentina Volcano Road Trip Madness
(Happening this September 16-28, 2017 (sign up now: www.katehowe.com/chile-volcano-trip),
my partner and I read aloud obsessively from Shackleton’s diary, “South”, devouring the story, and becoming more and more inspired by the perseverance and dedication to survival these men displayed.
Today, I am excited to have been selected as a member of the South Georgia Island Ski Expedition.
This is a 36 day ski expedition embarks on September 30, 2017, and will trace the route Shackleton plotted, ultimately resulting in the rescue of his stranded crew, as well as explore some of the nearby unskied peaks and fjords on skis.
Expedition Overview:
We meet in Stanley in the Falkland Islands, and after a day of preparations sail east to South Georgia. Depending on weather, we hope to land at King Haakon Bay on the south coast, where Shackleton commenced his famous traverse of the island. The traverse should take four to five days, and if conditions allow we hope to ski some of the summits along the route.
Icebird, a specially designed and constructed polar expedition yacht, will pick us up at the abandoned whaling station of Stromness, where Shackleton finished his traverse. We shall then sail southwards along the coast of South Georgia, making landings as the weather allows. There are numerous glaciers and bays that we can explore on ski, and colonies of King and Macaroni penguins to visit, as well as the abandoned whaling station of Grytviken.
From there we travel back to Punta Arenas, and head home with stories to share!
I will be writing trip reports and documenting the entire expedition from training to successful completion, and along the way we will be reflecting on the moments of great peril, stress, and certain failure which Shackleton and his crew faced and overcame as we travel the same desperate route that they did in 1915 across South Georgia Island.
Taking part in this expedition with Ski Antarctica is truly a dream come true. I am excited to get to know the crew at Ski Antarctica on a personal level, as Kate Howe Global Ski Adventures plans to make a custom group ski trip JUST FOR YOU to Antarctica in 2018! (This trip will be less of an expedition and more of a trip, about 18 days in length.) (And you thought Switzerland was exciting!)
First things first: In order to mount the Expedition to South Georgia, we need to raise funds. My portion is $28,000USD, all of which go towards the considerable expense of mounting an expedition in the Antarctic.
If you are interested in helping us make this expedition possible, please donate to this page. Donations of $150 or more receive a Shackleton Traverse T-shirt in appreciation. Any amount helps, all funds will held in an account until we reach our full goal.
IMPORTANT!
If the entire portion is not raised by July 30, 2017, your funds will be returned to you in their entirety... and you keep the t-shirt!
I am grateful to POC and Rollerblade, two of my wonderful sponsors, who have committed to helping us reach our goal on this trip.
Thank you for your faith, support and help in this endeavor,
Kate Howe
Head Guide
KH Global Ski Adventures
katehowe.com
As we drove from Santiago to Ushuia on a ski mountaineering trip in 2015, scouting locations for this year's Chile/Argentina Volcano Road Trip Madness
(Happening this September 16-28, 2017 (sign up now: www.katehowe.com/chile-volcano-trip),
my partner and I read aloud obsessively from Shackleton’s diary, “South”, devouring the story, and becoming more and more inspired by the perseverance and dedication to survival these men displayed.
Today, I am excited to have been selected as a member of the South Georgia Island Ski Expedition.
This is a 36 day ski expedition embarks on September 30, 2017, and will trace the route Shackleton plotted, ultimately resulting in the rescue of his stranded crew, as well as explore some of the nearby unskied peaks and fjords on skis.
Expedition Overview:
We meet in Stanley in the Falkland Islands, and after a day of preparations sail east to South Georgia. Depending on weather, we hope to land at King Haakon Bay on the south coast, where Shackleton commenced his famous traverse of the island. The traverse should take four to five days, and if conditions allow we hope to ski some of the summits along the route.
Icebird, a specially designed and constructed polar expedition yacht, will pick us up at the abandoned whaling station of Stromness, where Shackleton finished his traverse. We shall then sail southwards along the coast of South Georgia, making landings as the weather allows. There are numerous glaciers and bays that we can explore on ski, and colonies of King and Macaroni penguins to visit, as well as the abandoned whaling station of Grytviken.
From there we travel back to Punta Arenas, and head home with stories to share!
I will be writing trip reports and documenting the entire expedition from training to successful completion, and along the way we will be reflecting on the moments of great peril, stress, and certain failure which Shackleton and his crew faced and overcame as we travel the same desperate route that they did in 1915 across South Georgia Island.
Taking part in this expedition with Ski Antarctica is truly a dream come true. I am excited to get to know the crew at Ski Antarctica on a personal level, as Kate Howe Global Ski Adventures plans to make a custom group ski trip JUST FOR YOU to Antarctica in 2018! (This trip will be less of an expedition and more of a trip, about 18 days in length.) (And you thought Switzerland was exciting!)
First things first: In order to mount the Expedition to South Georgia, we need to raise funds. My portion is $28,000USD, all of which go towards the considerable expense of mounting an expedition in the Antarctic.
If you are interested in helping us make this expedition possible, please donate to this page. Donations of $150 or more receive a Shackleton Traverse T-shirt in appreciation. Any amount helps, all funds will held in an account until we reach our full goal.
IMPORTANT!
If the entire portion is not raised by July 30, 2017, your funds will be returned to you in their entirety... and you keep the t-shirt!
I am grateful to POC and Rollerblade, two of my wonderful sponsors, who have committed to helping us reach our goal on this trip.
Thank you for your faith, support and help in this endeavor,
Kate Howe
Head Guide
KH Global Ski Adventures
katehowe.com
Organizer
Kate Howe
Organizer
Aspen, CO
