Ice Axe Kids

Antarctica Roundup!

admin — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 23:28:44 +0000

THE TALLY: What we’ve seen

• Weddell Seal
• Killer Whale
• Crab Eater Seal
• Leopard Seal
• Gentoo Penguin
• Chinstrap Penguin
• Adelie Penguin
• Krill
• Wandering Albatross
• Snow Petrels
• Cape Petrel (black with patches of white)
• Great-Winged Petrel
• Blue Eyed Shag

Answers to your questions:

What do you do during the day?
o Skiing, eating, sleeping, researching
o Usually awake to get out onto the snow by 9 a.m., and ski until lunchtime. We have a 5 course lunch and dinner—although, not today because the waves were so big in the Drake Passage
o Michael and Rebecca went up on the “bridge,” where the navigation happens, and watched 25 foot waves hit the front of the boat. ‘It was freaky,’ said Michael.

What do you eat?
o Rebecca ate a lot of mousse! Caramel, strawberry, raspberry, chocolate.
o Favorite meals:
• Rebecca: Spaghetti and meat balls
• Michael: The New York Strip Steak

How big was the boat?
o 300 feet

Did you do the polar plunge?
o Michael did! “You can’t move,” said Michael, about jumping into the freezing cold water.

What movies did you watch while you were traveling from place to place?
o The Mighty Boosh, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Titanic, Taken

Other Fun Facts:
• Birds always followed the boat!
• Killer whales are actually dolphins
• There are 19 hours of sunlight in Antarctica
• A leopard seal can open its jaws 160 degrees

Mt Timone

admin — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 17:42:49 +0000

Today we exerted our energy up newly named Mount Timone, about 400 meters up. It was crevasse-ridden and crusty. Michael went to two different mountain spots, while Rebecca came back to the boat and got ready for our live feeds to a radio and middle school. The sun finally came out today!

The Internet connection was dodgy, but we were able to answer most of the questions before cutting out. Here are some of the questions. Feel free to ask us more here on the “Ask the Explorers” tab:

- Have you been ashore yet?
o Yes. We’ve been four times in the locations of: Paradise Bay, PortLockroy and Chiguana.

- How do you get to shore?
o We take small boats called zodiacs; they are hard, rubber, motorized and hooked with ropes

- What shoes do you wear on the boat?
o Sheep Merino ugg boots, snow boots and tennis shoes

- What do you carry on the hill?
o Skis, skins, poles, a backpack full of snacks, beanies, polar sunglasses, water, harnesses, and helmets

- How many species have you seen?
o We’ve seen penguins, whales, other birds (albatross, petrels, etc.,) seals and krill

Paradise Bay

admin — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 20:09:28 +0000

It’s Michael and Rebecca again reporting from Paradise Bay, Antarctica. We skinned and skiied 100 feet up in brisk headwind, but we overcame the weather and powered on. There are four of us, including a guide, in our ski group. At the base of the mountain there were many hundreds of gentoo penguins, with the exception of one Adelie penguin. Michael also spotted krill on a broken ice pack, the food of penguins and much of the Antarctic wildlife. They are like little orange tadpoles.

When we were standing on shore, we saw the fin of a minke whale. People also spotted a humpback. These whales weigh nine tons (“a nine ton piece of fat” says Michael.) After skiing, our zodiac boat cruised around the ice shelves, before heading back to the Clipper.

First Day Ashore

admin — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 20:23:51 +0000

It’s our first day ashore! Male penguins were putting nests together with pebbles, beckoning their girlfriends and fighting against other males who tried to steal the precious black stones. We learned that males build big nests with the biggest stones possible in order to impress their girlfriend penguins. There are eleven species of penguins in Antarctica, and today we saw gentoo colonies. There were seemingly thousands of penguins about a foot and a half tall roaming with their flippers kicked back and mouths open wide. They jump from rock to rock, slide down snow paths, swim, and waddle around. We saw that penguins have exceptional swimming power, and look like they are flying in the water. They swim in packs for protection against seals.

We just saw a wendel seal swim past our boat, and earlier, saw one relaxing on the icy shore. It only picked its head up a few times, and was situated very close to the penguin masses. Near the seal on shore, we saw a mammoth whale bone. Will we see some whales next? We hope so!

The weather was calm at the Lockroy point, and we were fine with light gloves and thick jackets. A zodiac boat shuttled people back and forth to the boat and in between the two penguin sites where we roamed around andtook photos.

More to come! We’re getting a video ready for you now.

Rebecca and Michael

We Made It!

admin — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 16:54:49 +0000

Hey! We Made It! It’s cold and icy and even snowing outside over the water. We saw massive brown rocks almost totally covered with snow, and the water is easy. Time to get some snacks and listen to a lecture on Antarctica’s rocks! Rebecca is studying geology, so it’s very informative.

-Rebecca and Michael

Crossing the Drake Passage

admin — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 01:43:55 +0000

REBECCA:
Today after closing up on the seasick lollipops (strawberry flavor,) and wearing accupressure wrist bands, we stretched our legs up on deck. In the morning, there were many different types of birds, including an albatross and petrels. The albatross we saw was a Wondering Albatross and this type of albatross has a wing span of 330 cm!

The Drake Passage is fairly calm except for a few rough patches and we only witnessed a few spills in the large communal dining room.

MICHAEL:
Today, despite rough winds and waves, it was an enjoyable and relaxing one (Chelsea, our educational leader doesn’t agree! She was in bed sick all day.) Most of the time I stayed in the nice cabins, small but comfortable. The cabins are all relaxing and the communal lounge and dining room are great places for socialization and downtime. Overall, today has been great and the sightings of regular birds has been fantastic.

Beagle Channel

admin — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 01:08:15 +0000

REBECCA:

Date: November 9
Temp: 8 Degrees C
Weather Conditions: Fine
Wind: Blowing Behind the Ship

This afternoon, we set sail on the ultimate adventure to Antarctica. The weather was a bit drizzly, but no wind struck Ushuia Bay as we boarded our ocean blue ship, the Clipper Adventurer.

The ship had sailed fown from the North Pole, so it had made quite the journey, though she looked in fighting condition.

We met the crew and ran through an emergency life boat drill before setting sail along the Beagle Channel—leading into the open ocean. Up on the top deck, we posed in Titanic positions and enjoyed the fresh sea breeze in our hair. The trip along the Beagle Channel would take 6-7 hours before we were left in Drake’s Passage (the roughest sea in the world) without the shelter of land.

MICHAEL:
Today is the time that we all will be boarding the boat to Antarctica. This vast piece of icy land that we will be heading towards is the seventh continent that I will have visited. Antarctica is situated at the bottom of the Earth and is the most southern part of the world. This exciting experience will be a trip of a lifetime. To get there, we must take a voyage through tough terrains like rough seas and cold air.

However, the journey down there is not all negative, we are do see fantastic scenery and beautiful animals that I have only seen on pictures and television. But all in all, the adventure is going to be one that I’ll never forget.

Ushuaia and through the Drake Passage, at the end of the world

admin — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 15:52:41 +0000

Hello from the End of the World! It’s Rebecca, Michael and Chelsea here. Today was the final day in Ushuia before getting onto the boat, and we made the most of the city. Rebecca and Michael checked out a beaver colony in the hills the day previous, and today we explored the city prison and museum. Ushuia was a penal colony, similar to Australia, and so the whole history dating back to the early 1800s with the wipe out of indigenous people (due to diseases like typhiod fever) was shown in the rows of prison cells. Prisoners came from all over the world, and the well-behaved ones were allowed to work outside chopping wood, making oil from whale blubber and such. Only the gold-star prisoners were allowed to play sports, while the rest only were let out of the cells for 2 hours a day. The bad ones were punished in their cells, left with only bread and water for months. It’s a great place to imagine some scary stories. Besides prison showcases, the museum had little models of famous ships and explorers, as well as wall art, photography, clothing from past adventurers, and loads of maps. It’s a wonder why the hotel didn’t advertise this! A must see, for sure.

We’re now on the the Clipper Adventurer, a 300-foot cruiser, on our way through the Drake passage to Antarctica. We actually saw a model of the boat and it’s ice-breaker boat which travels ahead of our ship modeled in the museum. Feeling famous! It will take us a little more than two days to reach land, and tonight we’re expecting 35-foot swells. Stay tuned for the first video from Michael and Rebecca!

Preparing to Depart

admin — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 22:47:25 +0000

The crew is getting ready to depart from California to Ushuaia, Argentina.