CCCC

Every Antarctic adventure is different, the people, the objectives and the plans, and like every trip it's the weather and the ice conditions that dictate the schedule of the days. 

January 2014 is Czech time on Xplore and we have the team of CCCC, Chirpy, Cheerful Czech Chappies and such a nice group they are.  

Heading the team of top level climbers is Mareck and the two Valdimir's, ranked as some of the best alpinists in the world, these guys are like rats up a drain pipe when it comes to ice and mountain climbing.

There is the second group of climbers who have also very much had their hey day of climbing adventures with many having climbed over 8 mountains of over 8,000 meters, so with slightly more "less scary" objectives our team two "warm penguins" as they have been fondly referred to as they are still

venturing on some dam fragile mountain faces. 

For the entire team, climbing in Antarctica from sea level has shown them a very different side of what ice and snow conditions can be like, so very different than the Himalayans and European mountains, so the learning curve has been interesting but the successes for both teams has been great.

With one team member who is an active paraglider, we have the first ever Czech pilot to take flight and soar over the white expanse. We have our technical team having made an impressive first ascent on the Osterrieth mountain range, eastern side of Anvers Island, the 14 1/2 hour climber took them from sea level to 1420 meters of truly amazing viewing, as we were able to anchor near by and watch the entire ascent with perfectly clear conditions it was better than watching a nail biting grand final in any sport. 

The decent went smoothly and with the weather starting to close in, Xplore positioned in a near bay to reduce the time the team had to traverse for the final pick up nearly 24 hours after their departure. 

With massive ice cliffs surrounding the bay, we were able to locate a stable 22 meter glacier ice face that the team AB sailed straight down onto the foredeck of Xplore ending their marathon.

The footage from their ascent as they looked directly down 80 degrees sheer ice walls, and the panoramic vistas from their altitude just takes your breath away in every sense.

The travels go on as we search for the perfect climbing routes on the most beautiful mountains here in Antarctica.

Stephen