What is the difference between the Arctic and the Antarctica?

 

 

Why travel with Dixie Dansercoer and ZuiDERHuiS?

Dixie Dansercoer has extensive experience travelling and navigating polar regions. In the past decades, he has repeatedly broken world records by covering great distances in complete autonomy, in both the Arctic and the Antarctic. Dansercoer is a member of the International Polar Guide Association and one of the five Master Polar Guides. Besides several books about polar expeditions, he has written about his findings and experiences in the Polar Exploration handbook, published by Cicerone.

 

As part of the Polar Circles company, Dansercoer organises polar training and expeditions to the Arctic and the Antarctic. His unique expertise and ZuiDERHuiS’s extensive experience in the world of travelling are what make PolarExperience possible.

 

This new ZuiDERHuiS project offers polar expeditions to people with a desire to experience the polar regions intensely and see a long-cherished dream come true. It is an extraordinary opportunity under the leadership of experienced professionals. 

 

What experience do I need to participate?

Our mini-expeditions on Spitsbergen do not require any specific technical knowledge.

However, for the Last Degree North  and the Antarctica Queen Maud Land expeditions, some skiing experience will prove useful.

 

Do I need to be an athlete to go on a polar expeditions?

The participants in our polar expeditions are certainly not athletes or physical supermen!

However, being fit and healthy, and having the will to experience the unique polar landscapes from close by are vital.

A good dose of humour and team spirit are definite requirements as well. 

 

Is camping experience necessary?

Experience in camping is always a benefit, but not a requirement. During the mini-expedition Dixie Dansercoer will bring you up to speed with tips and tricks for camping in freezing temperatures. These include the techniques for setting up tents in the snow and what to do in the event of snow fall or heavy wind.

 

What is the degree of difficulty for your polar expeditions?

The difficulty of a polar expedition depends on the condition of the snow and the terrain to be traversed.

Pulling a pulk, weather conditions, spending the night in a tent and the communal tasks combine to add a challenge to almost every journey. But don’t worry! These discomforts are more than compensated for by the overwhelming beauty of the polar environment.

 

During the mini-expedition on Spitsbergen, we will spend five to six hours a day with snow shoes strapped on to trek across terrain that will be anything from hilly to mountainous.

 

In the Antarctica Queen Maud Land expedition we ski for a total of about seven hours spread across the day. Expect terrain that is flat to hilly.

 

On the Last Degree North, we ski or hike approximately eight to ten hours a day. The ‘leads’ and pressure ridges often make the terrain rough and uneven, making smooth and comfortable progress impossible.

 

Polar expeditions which require pulling a pulk are not advisable for people with knee and/or back problems.

 

What physical training do you recommend?

During a polar expedition you will pull a pulk loaded with equipment and food (and weighing approximately 35 kg) every day for a week.

So that everyone will be able to enjoy the expedition to the fullest, it is important that the participants all have a comparable level of fitness prior to departure.

 

To ensure no one has any nasty surprises during the expedition, a medical check-up is required for the definitive booking. We advise you to consult your doctor, to have your physical condition thoroughly checked and to undergo a stress test. In Belgium these tests can be performed at a number of locations, including the Centra voor Sportgeneeskunde (Centres for Sports Medicine) linked to university hospitals.

If you would like, the results of your tests can be used to develop a training programme specific to pulling a pulk. In any case, the test results are useful in adjusting and refining your condition-training programme. (For further information, contact us at polarexperience@ZuiDERhuiS.be.)

 

Besides motivation and physical training, psychological preparation is also highly important. For this, we recommend reading expedition reports. A polar expedition demands thorough preparation; you grow and develop toward your goal.

We also strongly advise taking part in one of our initiation weekends and in one of our mini-expeditions.

Ski experience is not an absolute necessity, although it does ensure better energy efficiency.

 

 

Who can I go to with my detailed questions?

For administrative questions, for information about flights or accommodation before and after the expedition, or for the general course of the expeditions, feel free to contact us at polarexperience@ZuiDERhuiS.be or by telephone on 09 233 45 33.

Detailed questions about the expedition itself, equipment and communal materials, or about the training programme most appropriate for you will be answered by Dixie Dansercoer himself. 

 

Is there an age limit for participation?

There is no age limit for participation in a polar expedition. Participants have been as young as 18 and as old as 72.

What is important is good health, good physical condition and having the right mental attitude.

 

Which materials will we get on loan from Polar Circles?

• Pulks

• Pulk harness/ ski-kiting harness

• Ski sticks (Swix Mt Extreme)

• Snowkites

• Tents (Lowland Polar Dome)

• Foldable tent chairs

• Ice Hammers

• Ice screws

• Snow shovels

• Sleeping mattresses (Thermarest)

• Sleeping bags (+ liners)

• Crampons (Antarctica)

• Stuffbags 60 l + 20 l

• Composite kitchen box: cooking stove, fuel bottles, 2 pots, eating bowls, spoons, lighter, snow bowls, potholders, snow brushes

• Thermos & drinking cups

• Day ration bottles (Nalgene)

• Wolverine ruff

• Oakley or Cébé snow goggles

• Compass

• Headlamp

• Pee bottle

• Food

• Fuel

 

What extra material will the guide have?

• Rope

• Dry-suit (Last Degree North)

• 2 Hi-end photo cameras

• 2 HD video cameras with water-tight casing

• 2 Go Pro mini video cameras

• 2 3D video cameras

• 2 large batteries with USB ports for use by participants

• Fuel containers

• Ice saw

• Avalanche poles

• Climbing equipment (Antarctica)

 

Guides will also be equipped with the following navigation, communication and safety systems:

maps, 2 GPSs, 1 emergency beacon, emergency flares, firearm and ammunition (Svalbard + Last Degree North), 2 Iridium telephones with 4 reserve batteries, medical kit.

 

What do I need to bring myself?

• Ortlieb type travel bag to store your personal equipment in the pulk

• Day backpack (circa 40 litres)[VB1] 

• Water and windproof jacket and pants (breathing)

• Thermal underwear (upper body and legs)

• Polar fleece 200 (jacket and pants)

• Finger gloves and mittens

• Beanie/balaclava with wind-stopping membrane

• Expedition socks

• 100% UV sunglasses

• Leatherman tool

• Petzl head torch

• Personal first-aid kit

• Chemical hand warmers

• Photo and video equipment.

 

Ski equipment and boots: for Last Degree North  + Antarctica Queen Maud Land  (able to be hired).

We will provide you with a detailed equipment list upon enrolment.

 

What do we eat during the polar expedition?

On the ice, breakfast will consist of cereals, energy biscuits and warm drinks.

During the day, there will be a break every 60-90 minutes, with chocolate, nuts and dried fruit, muesli biscuits and warm drinks.

The evening meal is the most energy-rich meal of the day, consisting of a freeze-dried meal with pasta, rice or mashed potato that will be reheated and served with warm drinks. The meals on the ice are prepared per tent on the MSR stoves. 

 

What is the best way to protect myself against the cold?

During polar expeditions, you can expect temperatures to hover around -25°C. Due to the wind chill, it may well feel as if temperatures are lower than those reported. The only efficient way in which to use clothing to keep warm is with the ‘layer system’. This system allows you to easily add or remove clothing based on the weather conditions and the heat you produce yourself. There is no room for compromise in your personal equipment; a fully detailed list will be provided by Dixie Dansercoer when you enrol.

 

What is the best time for a polar expedition?

The travel period differs for every polar area, depending on the number of hours of daylight, the climatic conditions, accessibility and the ice conditions.

 

Spitsbergen: February – March.

North Pole: April only.

Antarctica: Beginning of November up to and including the end of January.

 

How cold is it there?

On Spitsbergen, the Svalbard island where the mini-expedition will take place, the average temperature in March hovers between -25° and -10°C. There are approximately 13 hours of daylight a day, including twilight and dusk. In this time of the year, the semi-darkness is extremely atmospheric and ensures long-lasting sunrises and sunsets with beautiful floodlighting.

 

With the Last Degree North  in the month of April, we count on an air temperature of -35 C° to -20 C°.

 

On the Antarctica Queen Maud Land expedition  the temperatures vary with the height and the distance to the sea. Between November and January, we count on average temperatures of -15°C in Queen Maud Land.

 

In polar regions, wind chill can dramatically drop the temperatures experienced.

 

Glossary ©Jeroen François - [hetlaatstecontinent.be]

Antarctic convergence

The natural borders of the Antarctic region; the convergence is a zone approximately 40 kilometres wide where cold, north travelling streams sink below the warmer, circulating streams; the collision between the warm and cold waters results in cold, wet and windy weather on the islands that lie closest to the convergence.

 

Bergy bits

Half submerged pieces of ice, with less than five metres of ice above the surface of the sea.

 

Blizzard

A snowstorm; a high wind that picks up snow from falling crystals and ground snows, resulting in weather conditions in which it is difficult to travel.

 

Cairn

Pyramid of stones or snow that is used to mark a geographically important point or a depot.

 

Pressure ice

Sea ice that is pressed together and pushed up in ‘pressure ridges’ by the surrounding ice floes.

 

Fast ice

Also called land-fast ice and shore ice, fast ice is unbroken sea ice that is attached to the coast.

 

Firn

Heaped snow, blow hard by the wind.

 

Floe

Every floating piece of sea ice that is relatively flat and 20 metres long or more.

 

Frost smoke

Mist-like clouds caused by cold air that comes into contact with warm water between floes.

 

Growler

A small iceberg, just below the surface of the water and often unable to be seen from the deck of a ship.

 

Hummock

A hump or ridge in an ice field, forced up by pressure.

 

Ice shelf

An ice plateau; flat, floating glacier that can stick out anything from 2 to 50 metres above the water.

 

Iceberg

Large mass of land ice that has broken loose from a glacier.

 

Ice ridge (hummock)

A mountain of broken ice, forced up by pressure.

 

Katabatic winds

Powerful winds that are dragged down from the higher-lying centres of a continent as a result of gravity.

 

Land ice

The ice cap that covers the land at the poles.

 

Lead

Navigable passage through the sea ice.

 

Magnetic pole

The place on earth where the compass needle is vertical; in 1600, the magnetic South Pole was discovered to the east of Ross Island; every year, it moves between six to nine miles to the north-west; the magnetic South Pole is currently found in the D'Urville Sea.

 

Medevac

A shortened term for medical evacuation.

 

Nunatak

A point of rock that sticks up through the ice cap, often shaped like a pyramid.

 

Pack ice

Frozen sea: ‘Pack ice can be described as a gigantic and interminable jigsaw-puzzle devised by nature’ (Ernest Shackleton).

 

Sastrugi

Irregular, angular, wave-like ridges formed by the wind on a surface covered with snow.

 

Ice floe

Any floating piece of ice at sea that is relatively flat and can be 20 metres or longer.

 

Shuga

Spongy ice mass that floats on water.

 

Tabular iceberg 

An iceberg that broke off from an ice plateau relatively recently; it has a flat shape and the original stratification of the ice is still visible.

 

Water sky

Open areas of water in pack ice that are reflected as darkness on the underside of clouds.

 

Whiteout 

A condition of diffused daylight when there are no shadows due to an unbroken cloud layer that appears to melt into the snow or ice surface; there are no irregularities such as sastrugi visible, although a darker subject can be observed like in a mist.

 

Wind crust

Snow crystals packed together by the wind (up to 15cm thick) on the surface; ski tracks and footprints cannot be left behind in the crust.