Departures
National Geographic
Men's Journal
Time Magazine
Men's Health
American Girl
Departures Magazine July/August 2008
Today trekking across the tundra no longer means having to forgo 1,000-thread-count sheets and in-room spa treatments. To prove the point we asked ten top adventure outfitters to recommend their most luxurious trips, in the categories of tried-and-true classics, newest itineraries and forthcoming expeditions. The resulting 30 options provide that rare balance of real exploration and true comfort.
"Next" - Peary's Final Dash to the North Pole. A 14-day, 70-mile journey commemorating the 100th anniversary of Robert Peary's North Pole expedition. Highlights: Traveling by dogsled; reaching the pole in April 2009, exactly 100 years after he (allegedly) did. Accommodations: Wind resistant tents. Intensity: High
"New" - Greenland Crossing - A 24 day excursion across Greenland, following the route of the 19th-century explorer Fridtjof Nansen-albeit in reverse. Highlights: Skiing and dogsledding across the ice cap in the Arctic summer's endless daylight. Accommodations: Hotels and tents. Intensity: High
"Classic" - (provided by our parent company The North West Passage) Inn-to-Inn Sea Kayaking. An eight-day trip paddling the Mediterranean waters off Crete. Highlights: Visiting the Knossos ruins and the water-access-only town of Loutro; hiking the Samarian Gorge. Accommodations: Family owned seasside inns in small fishing villages; midday stops for taverna lunches. Intensity: Moderate.
South Pole Travel Heats Up - December 2011
A hundred years ago, on December 14, 1911, Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and his team became the first humans to reach the geographic South Pole, which sits in a lifeless desert nearly 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) from the Antarctic coast.
A little more than a month later, on January 17, 1912, British explorer Robert Falcon Scott and his team also reached the Pole, but they died on the return journey. (Find out how Amundsen won the race to the South Pole, in his own words.)
Today, some intrepid travelers still make it to Earth's southernmost point, though they're only a small fraction of the approximately 30,000 people who visit Antarctica each year, according to the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators.
(Read a first-person account of visiting the South Pole.)
"There's a lot of excitement over the centennial anniversaries, and there's been more interest in South Pole expeditions because of that," said Annie Aggens, a spokesperson and guide for Polar Explorers, an Illinois-based company that specializes in expeditions to polar regions.
For instance, the company usually takes about two teams of four to six people to the South Pole a year, but this year they're taking at least four, Aggens said.
Though the Antarctic tour operators' organization has not made an exact estimate, there will likely be hundreds of people making the pilgrimage to the Pole during the 2011-2012 Southern Hemisphere summer season.
These visitors will also be joined by Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, who is at the Pole today to mark the anniversary of countryman Roald Amundsen's expedition. (Watch archival video of Amundsen's South Pole trek.)
Stoltenberg, who will arrive by plane, will be only the second head of government to visit the South Pole, after New Zealand's Prime Minister Helen Clark in 2007.
South Pole Travel Not Cheap
Most visitors to Antarctica remain aboard cruise ships or coastal camps. Getting to the South Pole, though, requires either skiing from the coast or flying in via private helicopter.
There are no facilities for travelers at the Pole—the only settlement, the U.S. Amundsen-Scott South Pole research station, does not usually house tourists. (Read "Race to the South Pole" in National Geographic magazine.)
This season, however, tourists will be able to stay at a base camp that has been set up especially for celebrations and events tied to the anniversaries.
Many of the people who want to visit the South Pole are attracted by the idea of experiencing something that the early explorers did, Aggens noted.
Though cold-weather gear has much improved, and it's now possible to phone home at the end of each day, "when you've got a sled behind you and it's minus 40 degrees out, you're very much in the same conditions that Scott or Amundsen experienced," she said.
(See pictures from the Amundsen and Scott expeditions.)
The ages of South Pole-bound visitors varies widely, but they generally tend to be between about 45 and 60 years old, she added.
"Being older allows them a couple of things," she said. "They don't have commitments with children and things like that. And many of them also have a lifetime of working behind them and have the income to be able to do a trip that is not inexpensive."
Just how inexpensive? Polar Explorers charges U.S. $45,500 for a flight to the pole on either anniversary and $65,000 for a two-month ski expedition, which involves pulling a 90-pound (41 kilogram) sled for 700 miles (1,126 kilometers). (See a hi-res Antarctic map.)
"They're skiing the whole way, from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole," Aggens said. "Every waking moment of the day, they're either eating or setting up or breaking camp or skiing."
South Pole Tourist Inspired by Explorers
The company also offers a combo flight-and-ski trip that lasts approximately two weeks for about $50,000.
This is the package that Mike Strong, a 60-year-old landscape contractor from Wichita, Kansas, chose for his South Pole trip in 2009.
Strong grew up reading about famous explorers and knew he wanted to go on adventures and expeditions since an early age.
(Read about National Geographic's modern-day explorers.)
He'd also read Alfred Lansing's book Endurance, about British explorer Ernest Shackleton's failed South Pole expedition, and thought that he'd like to go there one day.
He had that same thought again in a hotel lobby in 2006 after successfully climbing Tanzania's Mount Kilimanjaro. He heard someone mention that only a few dozen people had climbed the seven highest peaks and been to both poles.
"I thought that was cool, and the more I thought about it, the more I thought I'd kind of like to do that," said Strong, who has completed more than 50 triathlons and recently finished his first 100-mile (160-kilometer) ultramarathon.
So in 2008, Strong signed up for a 60-mile (96-kilometer) ski expedition to the North Pole with Polar Explorers. He followed that up in 2009 with his South Pole adventure.
"Skiing Through Milk"
For many tourists, Antarctica is as extreme as it gets.
The cold, which can reach the negative teens in summer, combines with wind and dry air to make physical exertion a challenge.
And during December and January—the height of austral summer, when most tourists visit—the sun never sets.
On a clear day, sunlight and ice crystals in the air can combine to make everything glitter, and visitors might glimpse a "sun dog," or a circular rainbow ringing the sun.
(See picture: "Double Sun Dog Dazzles Icy Omaha.")
Other times, the snow swirls so thick that the air seems to merge with the ground and the horizon, and all landmarks disappear.
Traveling in such whiteout conditions, Strong said, was like "skiing through milk."
Even just the flight to the South Pole can be a shock.
Polar Explorers' Aggens said, "You're in a place that's extremely cold, and you get off the plane at 9,300 feet [2,834 meters] of altitude, but because of the polar atmosphere, it feels closer to 12,000 feet [3,657 meters]."
Trekking for the Blind
Briton Richard Smith is experiencing some of these Antarctic phenomena for the first time on a trek from the Antarctic coast to the South Pole. Smith is part of a four-person team called Polar Vision, which is raising funds and awareness for sight charities.
Smith and team members Andrew Jensen and Hannah McKeand are traveling with Alan Lock, a former British Royal Navy officer who lost his sight as a result of macular degeneration. The Polar Vision team, 16 days into their trip, is expected to arrive at the South Pole in January.
"The landscape can be described as a 'white' desert, the sky is incredible, with every shade of blue, and although it's 24-hour sunlight with the sun circling around, you do get a change in the light and the shade," Smith relayed to an assistant in the U.K. recently via satellite phone, who then emailed National Geographic News Smith's observations.
"When you are still and there is little or no wind, there is a silence. You can smell and taste the fresh cleanliness. The snow creates some fascinating structures of all different shapes and sizes; it could be likened to modern art sculptures," he said.
South Pole Celebrations
Once at their destination, South Pole visitors can also take a tour of the Amundsen-Scott research station, which is home to various scientific experiments, including the IceCube neutrino observatory. (See "Photos: Huge Observatory 1.5 Miles Deep in Antarctic Ice.")
The geographic pole is designated by a brass marker that's moved each year as the marker shifts due to ice sheet movement. Nearby, people can take their pictures at the ceremonial pole, which is ringed by the flags of the original 12 nations that signed the Antarctic Treaty.
People celebrate their polar feats in various ways, said Strong, who took the 2009 trip.
"You've got all kinds of antics. People take their shirt—or more—off," he said. "I personally did a handstand and walked around the Pole."
Overall, Strong said his time in Antarctica was like visiting another world.
"You get out on the ice and you're in the middle of nowhere," he said.
"You're just this little speck on this vast continent, and you have a sense of vastness and isolation. And, I suppose, for people like me, that's exciting."
Best
Outfitters on Earth - November 2007
Out of a possible score of 100, Polar Explorers ranks 94 (placing it 19 out of 160+ outfitters in the "Overall" category). Rated by category, PolarExplorers achieves the following scores (each category has a scale of 1-100):
Client Experience -100
Education - 95
Spirit of Adventure - 95
Sustainability - 90
Quality of Service - 90
"Nearly every PolarExplorers trip hits the North or South Pole--and
one expedition even goes to both. Clients learn about Polar history, ecology,
and conservation methods, and receive fitness-training advice before they
head out. One option is to participate in the "Polar Shakedown"
trip in Ely, Minnesota, to get schooled in how to cook and load a dogsled
in the extreme cold. PolarExplorers pays homage to its forefathers with
nightly campfire readings of the writings of Robert Peary, Fergus Fleming,
and Will Steger...."
American Girl Magazine - The Ends of the Earth
Lysee M. has stood on the top of the world - and on the bottom! The 14-year-old girl went with her dad to visit the South Pole and the North Pole in the span of about three months. From her home in Texas, Lysee traveled to Chile on the way to Antarctica before setting out for the Pole itself.
When Lysee finally stepped off the plane at the Pole, she was stunned. The South Pole is "very, very pretty," she says. Even though it is also very, very cold. "It looks like there's glitter all over the place."
It took 32 hours to fly to the South Pole and back from the base camp. Lysee's group spent only a few hours at the remote, frozen Pole itself, but she was away from home for about two weeks.
On her trip, Lysee met scientists and other visitors from all over the world. She made a snowman, and she played a lot of Scrabble. She even got to take controls of an airplane during a flight!
Lysee and her dad loved the South Pole, but they wanted another adventure. So a few months later, they made a trip to the North Pole. That made Lysee the youngest girl ever to reach both Poles.
The trips were "really like a life adventure for me," she says.
Men's Journal- April 2004 - The 100
Best Trips on the Planet
Want ot be on top of Everest with these guys? How about wreck diving in
the pacific, whitewater rafting in Patagonia, or skiing to the South Pole?
We chose the world's 50 best outfitters, and then asked them about their
coolest, newest most thrilling trips. Here's your ticket to the experience
of a lifetime.
The Northwest Passage - This small, family run company offers an eclectic mix that reflects the personal passions of its owner, Rick Sweitzer. They're best known for skiing trips to the North and South Poles, but they'll also take you inn-to-inn cycling in Ireland or paddle you around their backyard, the Great Lakes region. Classic trip - kayaking the remote south coast of Crete, past ancient Greek ruins, sheer cliffs, and old fishing villages. - By David Noland
I'm in a bar with a friend. It's not late, but getting there. Sort of like the definition of midlife. We'd intended to have one beer and head home. that was hours ago. We have moved on to shots. Shots fires, shots taken, the hole's in one's life. He's been telling me about this grand adventure he once planned: a solo voyage down the western seaboard from Seattle to Acapulco. He grew up by the water. He loves the sea. He's an accomplished sailor. But it hasn't happened..."Things just happened. The job, mostly." His voice trails off, and he downs his drink... Want to know what you have to do? Think like an adolescent. That's right, think like a kid -exactly what everybody tells you not to do. Remember when you were 17? Did anything seem impossible? Most guys that age think they have the world by the balls, and in a strange way, they do. Not in terms of money or power or posessions, but in terms of devil-may-care confidence and imagination. What follows is my list of ten adventures to take before you die...These are dream trips. Adventures that will force you to rise to your potential. Adventures that will leave a tatoo on your soul.
Imagine 24 hours of continuous sunlight but a temperature of -20 degrees Fahrenheit. Imagine turning 360 degrees and seeing nothing but brilliant ice and snow. Imagine riding the runners of a sled, mushing a team of eight huskies through a ghostly land of frozen silence. This is the Arctic, perhaps the most surreal place on Earth. At its heart is the mythic North Pole, the top of the world. Want to go? Unless you're an Inuit or an Iditarod vetran, the best way is to travel with The Northwest Passage, an Arctic outfitter. "The challenge and adventure are unchanged from what Peary and Cook did a century ago," says executive director and guide Rick Sweitzer. "We start at 88 degrees North latitude and ski and sled for 150 miles." Sweitzer says they navigate mostly by the sun, checking accuracy with a satellite GPS. The NorthwestPassage provides everything from sleds to sleeping bags, boots to expedition clothing. You sleep in tents, igloos, or out in the open; you share mushing and cooking responsibilities, and treat each other's sunburn, sore muscles and madness. Candidtates for the expedition must first complete a week-long shakedown trip. - By Mark Jenkins.
Time Magazine - October 1999 - Learn a New
Skill
For your next vacation, think about taking a trip that will provide you
with a lasting souvenir - knowledge and expertise.
Arctic Getaway. Ever since Admiral Peary made his third and finally successful
journey to the North Pole 90 years ago, there have been dreamers who saw
themselves skiing to the top of the Earth. Very few have done so, of course,
because it's hard going - and because only in the past decade have travel
companies offered would-be Arctic explorers the kind of expedition they
could manage. The company that pioneered such trips, The Northwest Passage,
is planning its fifth trek to the geographic North Pole starting in early
February with a six-day training session on Baffin Island. In April a
party of 8-15 will fly charter aircraft from Resolute Bay, Nunavut to
within 150 miles of the Pole. Then, under a 24 hr. Polar sun, in often
subzero temperatures, the group will follow Peary's route from 88 degrees
to ninety degrees North, climbing over walls of ice, crossing expanses
of open water on ice blocks bound by rope, skiing through clouds of drifting
snow. Burton Meyer of Downers Grove, IL, a retired toy designer, first
crossed the North Pole with The Northwest Passage at 69. Among his companions:
a 16 year old schoolgirl, one of only three women ever to reach the Pole
on foot. Meyer remembers everything about his trip, the second of 12 he's
made with the company: "We traveled 13 miles a day with 2 dog teams,
breaking camp in the morning and setting it up at the end of the day,
struggling through blizzards, trying to find a way across the open water."
He was thrilled by the Arctic,"one of the most unusual places in
the world - the beautiful blue colors of the ice, the sparkle of the sun."
Travelers of any age are welcome but must be in very good physical shape
and willing to spend $25,000, the cost of the trip. Northwest Passage
also offers less expensive ways to realize a Polar dream, including a
$6,000 ski and dogsled trek across Ellesmere, Canada's northernmost island.
Adventurers travel through an expanse of mountains, fjords and giant icebergs,
observing polar bears, musk oxen, caribou and the island's celebrated
Arctic wolves. Not for the fainthearted. - By Megan Rutherford
