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. They are scheduled to depart from Cape Town to Novo, Antarctica on October 31,2008. 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.

Follow the expedition at http://www.aloha-antarctica.de/en/index.php

PETER VALUSIAK EXPEDITION

Peter Valusiak is an outstanding Slovakian adventurer. He accomplished many polar travels, including the crossing of the Arctic Ocean from Russia to Canada via the North Pole. This season 2008-09 Peter set his steps to Antarctica to make a historical traverse from Novo Station (Queen Maud Land) to Scott Base, Ross Island via the South Pole without re-supplies.

Follow the expedition at http://www.polarneextremy.sk/index.php?sek=6&t1=6

SOUTH POLE RACE

"People do not decide to become extraordinary. They decide to accomplish extraordinary things."
- Edmund Hillary

In December 2008 almost 100 years after Scott and Amundsen's historic race, international teams will race over 400 miles to the Geographic South Pole in the Amundsen Omega 3 South Pole Race.

Amundsen Omega 3 South Pole Race

After almost two weeks of intensive Polar Training in Antarctica covering approximately 100 nautical miles, teams of 3 will set off across the Antarctic Plateau to race 430 nautical miles across the largest ice cap in the world to the Geographic South Pole.

The racers will face constant challenges throughout their journey: surfing in temperatures as low as -50C , navigating and skiing while pulling a 70Kg. pulk (sled), climbing up to 9300 ft . to the South Pole and through everything working together as a team.

Amundsen Omega 3 South Pole Race is more than just a race. It is the journey of a lifetime. This is an opportunity to live your dreams and push beyond the limits of your imagination

Follow the expedition at http://www.amundsenomega3southpolerace.com/

FRENCH MOUNTAINEERING EXPEDITION
IN QUEEN MAUD LAND

The Groupe Militaire de Haute Montagne is an elite climbing and mountaineering squad. It comprises 10 exceptional men, every one a high-mountain guide. They conduct expeditions all over the world. In November 2008 a team of 6 climbers is coming to Queen Maud Land, Antarctica to scale one of the most difficult walls in Antarctica – Holtanna ( 2650 m ). After this climb the team plans to make a reconnaissance ski trip in the Queen Maud Land Mountains .

Follow the expedition at http://www.gmhm.terre.defense.gouv.fr/

SWISS-BAVARIAN CLIMBING EXPEDITION

Alexander and Thomas Huber so-called ”die Huberbuam” and Stephan Siegrist are the well known mountaineers of our time. With their success on big walls and mountains of our planet, they are considered to be the protagonists of new and modern art of mountain-climbing: technical and ambitious mountain climbing on great mountains in the Alps, Yosemite, Patagonia or on high and steep mountains of Himalayas or Karakorum . For the year 2008 these 3 climbers have set a new target:

The sensational Peaks of Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica :
A 900m wall of Granite Holtanna ( "Hollow Tooth" ) and a1,200 m wall of Ulvetanna ( Wolf Fang ). The peaks are a great big wall challenge for the team.

Follow the expedition at http://www.huberbuam.de/e_index.htm and www.stephan-siegrist.ch

Retrace an Expedition
SEASON 2007 / 2008

The team departed from Cape Town , South Africa on 29 November 2007 for what is expected to be a 60-day expedition on the ice skiing unsupported all the way to the South Pole. This route has never previously been attempted before and was the historic route that Shackleton intended on taking on his epic voyage to the continent on his 1915 Endurance expedition.

To ski fully unassisted from the TRUE Antarctic coast at Halley Bay to the Geographic South Pole, exploring the first unsupported 1000 mile route in Antarctic history. The key to this expedition is the purity - no wind-powered kites, no motors, no skidoos, no re-supplies - nothing but the four of us. We will set out head-first into the elements in a struggle to survive in a wilderness that has inspired awe and terror into people for centuries.

four men
minus 40 degrees
1000 miles
70 mph 'katabatic' winds four mile-deep cravasses
330lb sleds
huge sastrugi ice ridges
total desolation -
5.5 million square miles

...these are the raw ingredients for the Journey South 2007. In October of 2007, we will head south to the hostile, windswept ice-cap of Antarctica to undertake one of the world's great epic journeys.

Retrace an Expedition
SEASON 2006 / 2007

Team N2i are heading off to Cape Town on the 23rd November with arrival in the Antarctic scheduled for 28th Nov.

The team consisting of Rory "Glascow Kiss" McSweet, Rupert "Baby Chick" Lonsdon, Henry "Fat Man" Cookson and Paul "The Jedi" Landry aim to man haul and kite ski 1100miles to the center of the Antarctic continent - The Pole of Inaccessibility (POI).

They aim to complete the trip in 52 days with one re-supply when they reach the polar plateau and final extraction when they reach POI. They aim to depart from the continent via the scientific research ship "Akademik Fedorov" from a Russian base called Molodezhnaya.