Sun Valley Trekking guide, Joe St.Onge, has just returned from another truly epic journey to ski in Antarctica. This is the second expedition that we have undertaken with our partners at Ice Axe Expeditions to take skiers down to the icy continent. Each year, Ice Axe has contracted the 330′ Ocean Adventurer to take a group intrepid skiers and guides to explore the fairy-tale mountain landscape of the Antarctic Peninsula. We began this journey with skiing in Tierra del Fuego and then boarded the boat to cross the notorious Drake Passage and made landfall in the stunning setting of Charlotte Bay. Each day we navigated through the icebergs and pack ice of the Gerlastch Straights and found landing points between the precipitous ice cliffs to shuttle the skiers via zodiacs. Once on land, we explored a magical landscape of peaks, massive glaciers and stupendous ski lines. We encountered penguins by the thousands, seals by the hundreds: including close encounters with the elusive Leopard Seals, Humpback Whales and even watched as a pod of 13 Orcas cruised through the massive ice bergs in search of seals! The wild life experience in Antarctica is truly breath-taking!! And the skiing? It was phenomenal! We found snow conditions ranging from perfect corn to legitimate powder skiing. We had 6 solid ski days including 2 days exploring the beautiful peaks on Livingston Island and King George Island in the South Shetlands. This is truly THE MOST AMAZING SKI TRIP on our planet. There is no place more wild, inspiring, stunning to behold and in peril than the continent of Antarctica. If you are a skier and have ever dreamed of visiting this amazing landscape, this is the trip for you. Don’t wait. Drop us a line if you would like to join Joe next year on the cruise, space is limited to a lucky few!
