Antarctic - Sail & Ski
With this expedition a lifelong dream of yours will come true. With us you will realize one of the greatest adventures of your life.
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Expedition season:
Puerto Williams - Chile: November 20th to December 20th, 2024
Tour description:
- Group size: 4 people with an expedition doctor or 5 people without an expedition doctor - small groups are always the key to success on expeditions
- Language: German / English
- Duration: 1 Month - 21 days at sea
- Difficulty level: Level 4 & very good condition for ascents of 1000 meters - strong team spirit - every participant must be able to deal with extraordinary situations - seaworthiness on days of rough seas (Drake Passage)
- Expedition leader: Captain - Wolf Kloss -- UIAGM mountain guide - Peter Bacher
- Safety: We have a satellite phone with us for emergencies on our expeditions
- Expedition ship: Santa Maria Australis - 20 meter sailing yacht - 1 Zodiac - 2 sea kayaks - 2-3 crew
- Spa: Deseption Island - Volcanic crater, hot geothermal springs on the beach of the crater, shower on the boat
- Meals: Full board, packed lunch on a ski tour - shore excursions and sea kayak tours - please inform the tour operator about vegetarian, vegan cuisine or any intolerances in advance.
- Drinks: All inclusive, except alcoholic drinks
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Expedition profile
One of your most challenging, outstanding, intense and impressive sailing, skiing, mountain and sea adventures of your life.
At the end of the world where nature is still untamed and this determines the course of our journey.
Feel the wonders of nature up close, get up close and personal with the largest creatures on our planet, the whales, in a kayak. Watch penguins and leopard seals in your living room.
Collect impressions that you will never forget.
Experience the exposure of this area on our ski tours. Be careful, do not allow carelessness. One hundred percent concentration.
For expeditions to the "end of the world" you are well advised to turn to professionals who read the natural conditions 100% and can deal with them in order to make the right decisions immediately.
The wealth of experience counts
Wolf Kloss
Born in 1957. Sailor, mountaineer, climber and all-round adventurer.
In 1985 he sails with his 14 m steel loop Santa Maria in the Mediterranean, the Atlantic and the Caribbean.
In 1995 he founded SIM - Sea, Ice & Mountain Expeditions with his wife Jeannete. You begin with adventurous pioneering efforts to develop the waters of the Tierra del Fuego and mountains around Cape Horn and the Antarctic.
In 2011 he made the entire circumnavigation of America. Within a year he rounded Cape Horn and sailed the infamous Northwest Passage. Nobody has succeeded in doing this before.
Today Wolf Kloss is responsible for the logistics and implementation of new SIM Expeditions projects.
Peter Bacher
Born 1974. UIAGM mountain guide, hang glider and paraglider pilot.
For 27 years he has been guiding accident-free in outdoor sports as a mountain guide, flight, surf, ski and snowboard instructor.
In 2007 he founded ROCKnSNOW Alpin Guiding.
Freeriding his passion makes Peter his "workhorse".
As a tour operator and tour leader, he continues with his
ROCK the WORLD travel program dream tours with his guests into reality.
Expedition yacht - - Santa Maria Australis
Ship plan, cabins, fair
Itinerary
DAY 1:
Important:
- Ski boots / snowboard boots + ski touring clothing always belong in the hand luggage, as it is almost impossible to get the right ski boot in the event of a pastry delay or a pastry loss from the respective airline.
Option 1 - Bed and Breackfast in Puerto Williams:
Flight to Puerto Williams via Punta Arenas and Santiago de Chile.
Our expedition yacht, the Santa Maria Australis, has her home port in Puerto Williams and is the starting point of our sailing trip. The hostel Corión is the associated accommodation of the SIM Expedition where we spend our days before the cruise.
Option 2 - 4 star resort in Ushuaia:
Flight from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia Argentina. Private transfer from the airport to the Hotel Las Hayas Ushuaia Resort. Check-in and welcome drink. After the meeting, we can end the day comfortably in the hotel's SPA area.
Discussion of the coming days. The weather and swell report is essential for our further planning. We need a very good weather window for the crossing of the Dark Passage from South America to the Antarctic Peninsula. If we have to wait due to the lake and weather conditions, we have various activities to choose from. (Hiking, mountain biking, horse riding, sea kayaking or fishing)
Puerto Williams (about 2300 inhabitants) is located on the island of Navarino and is the southernmost settlement on earth. With this we reach the last outpost of civilization.
The last descendants of the Tierra del Fuego Indians live on the island of Navarino in the small settlement "Ukika". We can find out more about nature and Indians in the “Martin Gusinde Museum” or admire nearby beaver structures on a first tour.
In the yacht club we end the day with a glass of “pisco-sour”.
Day 2:
The sailing yacht will be at your disposal on the journey day at about 10 o'clock in the morning. You will be welcomed on board to begin the voyage.
After arrival we will make ourselves at home on the yacht, move into our berths and unpack our luggage. The cozy narrowness of the yacht’s quarters will become our home for the three weeks to come. The yacht will provide us with safety and shelter in the pristine wilderness that we are about to enter.
The technical installations as well as the safety equipment on board will be demonstrated and explained.
Off we go!
Now we need to find a favourable window between two passing depressions. Either first to Caleta Lennox, 40 nm, or we move on right away: Leaving Cape Horn on our starboard side we sail out into the Drake-Passage.
Days 3, 4, 5:
These days are dedicated to crossing this demanding strait.
Limitless ocean expanses. We feel the long breath of the Southern Ocean. No land to be seen either to the west or to the east. This is where the wave systems keep rolling around Antarctica. It is where the petrels and albatrosses feel at home – and ourselves, at least for one short moment.
Our yacht crosses the Antarctic convergence zone. From now on we must take a close lookout for icebergs.
With a bit of luck weather-wise we will reach the old whaling station Deception Island on the fifth day. The crater of its still active volcano provides excellent shelter amid the South Polar Seas.
Day 6:
Hillocks of black lava surround the bay.
Seals and penguins enjoy themselves on the warm beach. We anchor at Port Forster. On the beach there are still the remnants of an old whaling station to be seen.
At the outer side of the crater there are large colonies of penguins. We climb the edge of the crater and visit the breeding penguins there taking care not to cause any disturbance to the birds.
There are a few spots in the bay, where the volcano warms up the seawater. The skipper invites us for an Antarctic bathing spree.
Day 7:
Today we have got to get up early. We need to cover 80 miles to Enterprise Island. We cross the Bransfield-Strait, which separates the South Shetland Islands from the Antarctic continent. We have to sail around numerous icebergs, drifting with the current along the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula until they take their exit into the Weddell-Sea.
The Gerlache-Strait makes for more relaxed sailing. It runs in NE – SW direction between the continent and the forelying islands.
We aim for Foyn Harbour. An old whaler grounded in the bay and its small and fragile hunting boats on the surrounding rocks bear witness of times long past.
Day 8:
Our trip along the mountain range of the Antarctic Peninsula takes us further to the south. With a bit of luck we watch orcas hunting for penguins between the Rongé and Cuverville Islands. Sea leopards, too, patrol between the growlers. Or else they can be see lounging leisurely on their drifting resting places after a successful hunting spree.
Like every year the Chilean Station of Videla is looking forward to our promised visit. Weather permitting we will spend the evening with the Chileans stationed here, provided their workload gives them sufficient time to spare for us.
Day 9:
Closed in by its surrounding glaciers Paradise Bay lies ahead of us.
Huge masses of ice break off from the impressive glaciers and drift slowly in the glittering sunshine. We carefully steer our way through them. Quite often we sight whales. Seals and penguins also seem to enjoy this sheltered and quiet spot.
We have to move on, however. Our course is SW through the Bismarck-Strait. Let’s see what the ice situation is like in the Le-Maire-Strait.
We are about to sail through this impressive narrow passage between towering summits and glaciers. Quite often drifting masses of ice make moving forward difficult. Port Pleneau provides shelter for the night. If we can’t make it that far, we try and spend the night in Port Charcot and have another go tomorrow.
Days 10 and 11:
The Argentine Islands are our next stop in the south. The scientific station Akademik Vernadsky was British until 1996 and thus was always good for a decent stout in its Penguin-Bar. Now it houses a Ukrainian team of scientists, so it’s vodka for everybody.
Provided the ice conditions have permitted us to get so far, this will be the southernmost point of our trip: 65 degrees 25 minutes south. To proceed any further is only possible in years when the ice opens up unusually much.
From this point onward the islands sheltering the coast thin out. Thus the huge icebergs drift in from the open sea until they strand on the coastal shelf. This makes getting through with a boat quite difficult and one may end up getting stuck altogether.
Day 12:
In the morning we make a halt in front of Peterman-Island. Here Adelie Penguins live in a crowded colony between the rocks. Our route takes us back through the Le-Maire-Strait. In case there was no weather for pictures yesterday, we hope for it today.
We steer north for Port Lockroy on Wiencke-Island.
A museum, a post station, a souvenir shop, a colony of Gentoo penguins, a whale skeleton, all nicely laid out on land. Here at last we have a chance to send an all-alive-and-well signal and buy the souvenir of our choice.
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Day 13:
Dorian Bay is just around the corner. An uninhabited British hut for provisions and shelter gives us an impression of the heroic times of the past. From its terrace you enjoy a breathtaking view of the Antarctic scenery.
In front of us rises Mount Frances on Anvers Island, the highest peak of the Antarctic Peninsula.
Day 14:
The vessel ploughs her steady course through the polar waters of Neumayer Channel between the steep mountains on Anvers Island and Wiencke Island. Back again in Gerlache-Strait we soon turn into Dallmann-Bay, a funnel shaped bay studded with tiny islands, the Melchior Islands.
Between whose turtle-shaped rocks we find a wonderfully quiet anchorage.
Day 15:
This is when we are going to ready ourselves for the return trip across the Drake Passage.
Days 16, 17, 18:
Off to sea once more.
The open sea with all its grandeur and beauty surrounds us.
Now we get a good chance to reflect on all the exciting experiences we made in the past ten days.
Day 19:
The vessel and its successful crew anchor in a safe spot.
Antarctica, the Drake Passage and Cape Horn lie behind us. The tension of the past days gives way to the joy of having happily completed a very special turn.
Day 20:
Back to Puerto Williams, where we have a good reason for celebrating. Three weeks packed with unforgettable experiences lie behind us. It will take some time yet to internalize it all.
Day 21:
Next morning, the return journey is again via Punta Arenas and Santiago - Chile
The well-known Twin Otter or the Dash take us back to Punta Arenas. The last views of the Beagle Channel and the Cordillera Darwin bid us farewell from one of the last pristine nature reserves in the world. Arriving Punta Arenas about 01.00 pm.
We do not recommend booking any connections for this day, as we cannot guarantee an exact arrival time.
NO LIMITS IN WONDERLAND
Back to civilization, what we have experienced will seem like a dream to us.
A journey to the mysterious white Continent.
A journey beyond the horizon.
SIM Expeditions
Material check - packing lists for ski touring travel - vaccinations and illnesses
Illnesses, allergies, intolerances, vaccinations:
- Health check, any diabetes, musculoskeletal complaints, intolerance, etc. must be reported to the tour operator when booking the trip.
- All of our ROCK the WORLD expeditions require all vaccinations required in the respective country. A full Covid vaccination or Covid antibody immunity is mandatory.
Packing list for ski touring expeditions:
Extra cost
- Round-trip flight to Ushuaia or Puerto Williams (we will be happy to help you with flight reservations)
- All activities on land that are not in the travel program
- Alcoholic drinks on board
- Service on board (telephone, internet, laundry)
- Ski touring or splitboard equipment
- Additional costs that arise outside of our specified travel plan Travel
- Insurance
Terms of Service
I have read the ROCKnSNOW General terms and conditions + travel conditions and accept them.
I take note of the standard information sheet for package travel contracts
