Aloha Antarctica - The Desire of self exploration knows no boundaries
Long before the actual discovery of Antarctica in 1820, this mysterious continent has captured the imagination of humans. The enormity of its size and its inaccessibility has given rise to countless tales, and legends. From the accounts of the few people who did explore the Antarctic continent we know that this is no place of comfort, but suffering. Its harsh climate and untamed wildness stretches the limits of survival and on many occasions has claimed the lives of those who ventured to unravel its lure and mystery. However the mystery and fascination with this part of our world remains.
Armin Wirth (36) and Dieter Staudinger (32) are following an inner calling to the eternal ice as they prepare to embark on an expedition of a different kind. Starting near the German Research Station "Neumayer" a journey of about 3400km will bring them to the South Pole and onward to Patriot Hills, which is located in West Antarctica, closer to Chile/Argentina.
Instead of conquering themselves, the elements and Nature, they have set forth intention of fully experiencing the true majesty, beauty and connection in a place where few expect to look for it - within ourselves. We invite you to take part in their journey as it may also hold the promise to inspire your own passion and love for adventure and mystery. You can check their progress and experiences daily throughout the 88 days of skiing and kiting through largely unexplored territory right here on this website. They will upload updates via Satellite straight onto their IceBlog.
Why would anyone go to Antarctica for 3 months on skis?
This is the question we hear most often when we both share with people that we are preparing for this project. And of course it is also the question we keep asking ourselves as well. And we will be asking it all the way to the end and possibly even afterwards. So there are no clear cut answers but it is this question that fuels our inspiration and drives our desire.
The development of our Route
The route the expedition will follow emerged by coincidence or as we like to describe it, synchronistically. Armin and I were pouring over our favourite map of Antarctica and literally felt our way through different options. Some starting points or areas literally had the hair on the back of our necks stand up, while other felt rather 'boring' or uninspiring.
As we were checking with our Inner Vision, the German Research Station "Neumayer" (70° 39'S, 08°15W) produced feelings of excitement and joy. It felt a lot better than any other area and also the data and logistical facts supported the area of the Neumayer Station as a viable starting point. We discovered during our research that nobody had attempted an expedition from there to the South Pole, or at least there is no data available that would indicate this, including our inquires at the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany. We do know that scientist stationed at Neumayer have gone as far south as 74°. They used motorized snow crafts and gathered meteorological data as well as did ice core drilling at the "Kohnen" (75°00'S, 00°04'E) outpost. The rest of our route to the South Pole is completely unexplored and just a white blob on any map. Satellite images are not very useful as they do not show any contours or other ice features.
Regardless of the lack of data for at least 1600+ km of the entire route which felt the best to us - we had made our decision. We will start in the vicinity of the Neumayer Station on the Ekstom Ice Shelf in the beginning of November 2008. Altogether the distance from our starting point to the South Pole is 2400 kilometres. From there, if there is enough time, we will travel another 1000+ kilometres to Patriot Hills (80°18?S, 81°21?W). This is where we will catch the last flight out of Antarctica to Puntas Arenas, Chile, for the 2008/2009 season. Adding it all up, this will make for a journey of over 3400km. Sigh…
Supported or Unsupported?
One of the considerations in planning for this massive undertaking was, whether or not it was important to us if our expedition will be unsupported or not. Unsupported means that from the beginning we will haul absolutely everything we need, like food, fuel and gear in our sleds. In our case that would have meant a starting weight per person per sled would have been almost 200kg! Considering that we start right at the edge of the shelf ice (200m above sea level) we had visions of dragging a monster up to the edge of the Antarctic plateau (2500+) und later even higher as we are getting closer to the South Pole. Since our Expedition bears the name Aloha Antarctica and needless suffering was nowhere to be found in any of the translations of Aloha, claiming the title 'unsupported' was not on our wish list. We knew we would be able to accomplish it but carry both the clarity within us that the amount of pain and suffering for indulging an idea in our heads to make it without a depot - was not part of the experience we desired. With that, as synchronicity would have it, circumstances emerged and it all came together rather effortlessly to have a depot on the Antarctic plateau for food and fuel after about 1300 km.
Armin and I both realized that the question about the depot was about chasing records and the past. We do not strive to follow suit in the footsteps of Amundsen and Scott (definitely not Scott!) or setting out to break distance or speed records. We both feel records are rather meaningless and will, in time be broken anyways. In this sense there won't ever be a winner and the intricacies of records are only meaningful to the Insiders of expeditions of such nature, who incidentally are also the self-proclaimed watchdogs of the rules by which these standards are set. We simply felt that we did not want to be part of all of this 'who goes a new route unsupported is a hero' and 'who goes supported is a 'loser' attitude as it becomes even more complicated the closer one looks. As we are using kites, we are kite-supported because we are allow the abundance of the winds of Antarctica to support us - the purist still haven't decided whether they judge this one supported or unsupported. We don't know what the latest verdict on this one might be. What we do know is that it is the life experience gained and the qualities of exactly this experience what is most important. This lasts forever in the hearts and minds of those who undertake a journey like this one as well as in those you become part of the journey through the sharing of the insights and experiences of it. So we feel rather comfortable that we don't have to worry about any records or being judged as such by the records community as two of us are going with a depot and kites.
Fear and the Respect for dangers!
To journey through completely untouched and unexplored territory on our way to the South Pole does however generate great excitement - and with it uncertainty and fear. Fear of obstacles we don't yet know about and may not be able to surmount or overcome - areas of unknown and unexplored crevasse fields, powerful wind storms, the cold, injuries and all the other objective dangers of the Antarctic continent.
And of course there is fear lurking which arises from solitude of such magnificent proportions - looking deeply within oneself without our daily distractions. No internet, no books, no shopping, women or the drama of the world of politics and TV. Always wondering if we will reach a place of darkness or pain from which we cannot deal with or face. That we discover aspects about who we are that we don't want to acknowledge - or worse, we had a lingering feeling about their existence, hidden just beneath our conscious grasp forever.
And yet this is exactly why we are going! Aside from the incredible wonders and character of the Antarctic; the vast open spaces, the stillness and clarity of the land as well as all the challenges - for us it is about being in a dynamic dance of allowing and focus with all of it. And so it is with exploring the absolute divine miracles within who we are - and the heaps of 'crap' alike. And just as we haven't allowed our fears and worries to stop us from undergoing this epic journey across the vast continent of Antarctica - are we embracing the self imposed opportunity of allowing ourselves not to run from our inner discomforts and fears. No endless ways to 'entertain' and distract ourselves as we have grown so comfortable even dependent on in our daily lives - all in a largely unconscious effort to avoid coming into contact with who we really are and why we may be here.
Heading into the Unknown
What we will really encounter and experience throughout this 3 month journey, one can only guess. Although there is lots of data and experience from other Polar expeditions, as well as Armin's own expertise and familiarity with the polar regions of this planet - every expedition is a completely different, new project and difficult to plan for. It can become a journey of great joy, insight and unimaginable riches - or a complete disaster, which ends as soon as it began.
Our intention is to simply move along our journey. To trust and surrender to the process and renew our faith in it and dedication to it anew each day. To be open and ready to explore whatever there may be for us to explore - within us as without. And most importantly, to return in good health, joyful and with an abundance of experiences from our Aloha Antarctica Expedition.