In the region of West Antarctica There are dissimilar points: a mountainous sector with the main peaks of the continent, including Mount Vinson, and a series of ice shelves that cover the sea, highlighting the so-called Ross Sea, where various cruise ships from Australia and New Zealand call.
Regions
- Antarctic Peninsula. - The Antarctic Peninsula is the most visited region in Antarctica. This extension of land to the north of the polar continent is located around 1000 kilometers from the southernmost points of Argentina and Chile. It comprises both the Antarctic landmass, numerous islands, and the ice shelves that extend and connect between these bodies of land. It includes the lands of Graham and Palmer.Unknown currency / currency
- Ellsworth Land. - It is largely a raised ice plateau, but it includes the Ellsworth Mountains and a number of scattered mountain groups: the Hudson, Jones, Behrendt, Merrick, Sweeney, and Scaife Mountains. It is bounded to the west by Marie Byrd Land, to the north by the Bellingshausen Sea, to the northeast by the base of the Antarctic Peninsula, and to the east by the western edge of the Filchner-Ronne ice shelf in the Weddell Sea.Unknown currency / currency
- Marie Byrd Land. - It is the portion of land that extends east of the Ross Ice Shelf and the Ross Sea to the west, approximately to a line between the tip of the Ross Ice Shelf and the Eights Coast, and south of the Pacific Ocean. Its southern limit is the Transantarctic Mountains. Due to its remoteness, most of Marie Byrd's Land has not been claimed by any sovereign nation.Unknown currency / currency
To get
By plane
In general, access to the region by plane is limited, for some Antarctic research stations that have a runway on ice, or on flights from tourist agencies. In the first case, they rarely admit tourists on their flights; in the second, access has a cost that may not be cheap, and be part of an organized tour package.
Boat
The main means of transportation to access the region is through cruise ships. Many cruises depart from Ushuaia, in the extreme south of Argentina. For trips from Europe there is also the flight to Ushuaia, through Buenos Aires. A more special alternative is to travel on sailing boats, such as those offered by the company Bark Europe. Enhancing a trip by these means is usually quite expensive, so they are generally accessible to the wealthiest citizens.
A cheaper alternative is to go with your own boat or rent one that departs from Ushuaia, Punta Arenas, Falkland Islands or from South Georgia Islands. In these cases, most of the time is spent on the boat and does not go very far into the interior of the region.
- Bark Europe. ☎ 31 (10) 281 0990, ✉: [email protected]. Price: (from € 6200, it depends on the place of the boat).Unknown currency / currency
Watch
Antarctic bases
(Outside the Antarctic Peninsula region)
- 1 Byrd Base (closed from 2004-2005) (on Earth Marie Byrd). - it was a scientific research station of the United States in Antarctica, which was located on the Rockefeller Plateau in the interior of the Bakutis coast in the Land of Marie Byrd, about 500 km from the current coastline. The base was located under the snow and it carried out research on the physics of the upper atmosphere, meteorology, geophysics and glaciology. It was closed because the snow load it was carrying was increasing and was crushing it. From February 1972 this base was redesigned and moved to the surface and became a summer camp (the Byrd Surface Camp), which was abandoned in 2004-2005 and had a capacity of 8 people.Unknown currency / currency
- 2 Russkaya Base (on Earth Marie Byrd). - It is a Russian scientific station located on the western coast of Antarctica, inaugurated on March 9, 1980. The station's activity was suspended in early 1990. But in February 2006 it was included in a plan to reopen inactive bases together with Molodiózhnaya and Leningradskaya, during the 2007-2008 season.Unknown currency / currency
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- 3 Union Glacier Camp (Union Glacier Camp) (on Earth Ellsworth). ☎ 1 (801) 266 4876. Price: U $ S 5000.Unknown currency / currencyIt is a privately operated camp and airfield, busy during the Antarctic summer. It is located on the Union Glaciar blue ice rink, which is what gives it its name, located in the Heritage mountain range, Ellsworth Mountains. The base is operated by the US company Antarctic Logistics & Expeditions LLC (ALE), a company that provides logistical support flights to national Antarctic programs and other research projects, expeditions and visits to the interior of Antarctica. The Union Glacier Joint Scientific Polar Station also has its base there. chili.
There are walks, mountaineering, nature observation, among other things. The tour package offered by the company includes: transfers to and from the airport of Punta Arenas, informational meeting in Punta Arenas prior to departure, Roundtrip transportation from Punta Arenas to Antarctica, flights within Antarctica, food and accommodation in Antarctica, expedition guides, use of recreational equipment at Union Glacier camp, etc. . It can also include - depending on the package contracted - group camping equipment (when traveling beyond the camp), group climbing equipment (for climbing expeditions), sled, harness, ski poles (on all ski expeditions ); skis, ski skins, ski bastoenes (Ski Last Degree).
Nature
- 4 Subglacial Valley Bentley (on Earth Marie Byrd). - Located at 2540 meters below sea level, is the lowest point on the earth's surface not covered by oceans, although it is covered by ice.Unknown currency / currency
- 5 Byrd Subglacial Basin (on Earth Marie Byrd). - It runs east to west between the Crary and Ellsworth Mountains. It is bounded to the south by a low subglacial ridge that separates it from the Subglacial Bentley Valley.Unknown currency / currency
- 6 Mount Sidley (on Earth Marie Byrd). - It is the highest dormant volcano in Antarctica, with an elevation of 4,181 meters. It is a shield volcano covered almost entirely by snow that is the highest and most impressive mountain of the five that make up the Executive Committee mountain range. The mountain is noted for its spectacular 5 km wide caldera on the southern flank and is located northeast of Mount Waesche in the southern sector of the range.Unknown currency / currency
- 7 Vinson Massif. It is the highest mountain in Antarctica, with about 21 km long and 13 km wide, and reaches an altitude of 4897 meters above sea level. International travel agencies may organize upgrades (at a cost of approximately several thousand US dollars per person), and the trip from Punta Arenas can take about 14 days. Apart from the time and difficulties involved in transporting there, the climb is not supposed to be difficult, especially by the standards of the challenge of the “seven peaks”.Unknown currency / currency
Do
- SkiUnknown currency / currency
- Mountaineering and climbingUnknown currency / currency
- HikesUnknown currency / currency
Security
As in any polar destination, especially in the AntarcticaAll precautions applicable to cold climates must be taken. The traveler must take with him enough clothing so as not to feel the polar cold such as jackets or - even better - covered, and wear boots, gloves, etc. Clothing must be windproof and must be resistant to moisture, because if it passes, the traveler could suffer from hypothermia.
You should take with you the necessary medicines for any chronic illness that the traveler suffers, and also to avoid possible dizziness due to the ascent to high altitudes, since the nearest doctor and pharmacy could be several tens or hundreds of kilometers away. Sufficient food must be available to sustain itself in this region with virtually no significant plant life.
Given the nature of the environment, if possible, on long-distance itineraries on foot, sled or skiing, it is preferable not to do them alone, so that in case of accidents, one traveler can support the other. In itineraries organized by travel agencies, it is recommended and essential to follow the guidelines and advice given by the staff of these agencies, to fully enjoy the experience in the region. In mountaineering and climbing itineraries, it is highly recommended to carry the safety equipment to use on any mountain to be climbed.
For a more detailed and complete reading of the necessary precautions for these climates, read the travel note Cold climates.