Posted: Sep 03, 2009 07:53 pm EDT
(The Poles.com) American Doug Stoup finished Shackleton’s unfinished business on Antarctica, but now has his own unfinished business in the Arctic.

Apart from the polar ice, Doug also has ski mountaineering and humanitarian plans.

ExWeb’s Correne Coetzer caught up with Stoup preparing for among other expeditions, an Antarctic ski cruise, an Aconcagua ski decent and an unsupported, unassisted North Pole ski.

ExplorersWeb: You have a lot of adventure plans for the second half of this year and for next year. Tell us about your plans for the North Pole Spring Season 2010 please.

Doug: This should be an extremely busy season with 9 expeditions planned for 2009/2010, venturing from the poles to the equator.

I am planning an unsupported expedition from Ward Hunt Island, Canada to the Geographic North Pole. I will be a long time ski friend from London named Jack Ashton (38). We have started training and should be ready.

I also have several Last Degree Expeditions and some clients to Fly in to the Pole. I am working on a guide to fill in while I am skiing across the Arctic Ocean.

I will lead some skiers on a Spitsbergen ski tour immediately after my North Pole Expedition. We are heading to the Atomfjella Mountains to climb the highest peaks in Svalbard and ski them.

ExplorersWeb: You have previously attempted a North Pole expedition from land, from Cape Arktichesky. That season things went wrong for everyone who stated from Russia. What happened? How do you remember the ‘call back’ from the ice? How long were you on the ice?

Doug: Yes, in 2005, Marc Cornielson, Petter Nyquest and I departed from the Cape and were pulled from the ice after 23 days due to political pressure and lack of Cerpolex, our logistics company, to establish Barneo base camp.

Viccar established Barneo that year but we were delayed to the point it was not in the cards for us that year. It was quite disappointing. We were making good time and ahead of the other two teams that were dropped at the same time.

I have always felt that it was a great learning experience for me. Since then I have guided 6 groups on Last Degrees to the pole. So certainly some unfinished business. The pressure is on to get it done before Barneo closes on the 26th of April so I can start my Ski Tour of Spitsbergen.

ExplorersWeb: You have skied twice to the South Pole, but from different coastal starting points. Tell us about the expeditions and how the routes compare.

Doug: Yes. I have skied to the South Pole 8 times and two full expeditions. The Hercules Inlet in 2000/2001 with Jon Cook, Miles Hilton Barber and Damien Gildea was a great learning experience and my first polar expedition.

I had climbed and snowboarded Vinson in 1999 and skied the Peninsula in 2000 but I learned a lot about myself on that journey. I think the Hercules is getting like a yellow brick road with the fuel train by ALE. All you need is to follow the tracks.

In 2007 Richard Dunwoody, James Fox and I started from the Filchner Ice Shelf. Unfortunately James had to be evacuated and Richard and I continued and arrived at the pole Jan 17, 2008 in 47 days 20 hours.

This route was far more difficult than Hercules. We traveled west for 9 days through the heavily crevassed Recovery Glacier. I fell into 3 different crevasses and was able to extract myself. We raised a bunch of money for charity and that’s what gives me inspiration.

I have started my own charity called Ice Axe Foundation where by I educate youth about the environment and try to create a positive role model for them. It is quite inspiring.

ExplorersWeb: Skiing to the South Pole and the North Pole are quite different. But in general what valuable lessons have you learned?

Doug: Both are very different and I enjoy the polar environments. I am humbled and honoured to be able to travel and take individuals to these remote places and make sure we return safely. I hope to be able to continue to do what I love doing. I still have some dreams to accomplish and am working on them.

ExplorersWeb: In December you plan to ski down the highest mountain in South America, Aconcagua. Have you climbed Acon before? Which route will you be skiing down?

Doug: I will be heading to Aconcagua after my Antarctic Peninsula Ski Cruise in Nov. I had been on Aconcagua several years ago. It is a beautiful mountain. My team will ascend the Polish Glacier direct and attempt to ski the Polish Glacier.

I lead a team several years ago and the weather and wind did not allow us to get on top. I am back again and wish to travel the planet and guide individuals on some of the big mountains of the world. I intend to guide a team on Elbrus and ski it in 2010. I have several friends joining me and it should be a blast!

ExplorersWeb: What skis do you use for a ski decent?

Doug: I am sponsored by Voilkl and they are awesome. I have not had my snowboard on for a few years. I love to ski. I use a 177 cm Mauja with the Dynafit binding set up. It is extremely light and would love to ski some big peaks in the Himalayas.

ExplorersWeb: What dangers do you have to look out for on Aconcagua?

Doug: Aconcagua is pretty straight forward. Wind and weather are my concerns. It does get cold and the Polish Glacier at mostly 45 degree with a 200m section of 55-60 degrees. That would be the crux of the climb. The Andes are getting dumped so I am hoping for good snow conditions but the expedition is a couple months away.

ExplorersWeb: What are the ideal ski conditions to ski down a mountain?

Doug: All skiers love pow but we certainly don’t wish to encounter any slides. I love to ski and love to ski whatever the conditions bring us.

ExplorersWeb: You have two other less extreme ski expedition planned and several non-ski expeditions. Tell us about those pls.

Doug: I am leading several non ski expeditions. I have an educational expedition through my Foundation that takes students and teachers as well as anyone else that wishes to learn about our wildlife, culture, history and environment to the Amazon and Rio Negro.

We arrive Manaus, Brazil and cruise up the Rio Negro visiting indigenous tribes and participating in the Piaba Festival in Barcelos, Brazil. We help the local fishermen sell there aquarium fish to pet stores and around the world so they have a sustainable way of life and stop cutting down the rainforest. It is part of my Humanitarian mission.

This summer I helped send 350 youth soccer uniforms to Ghana through World Of Hope International. The tribes are now setting up a soccer tournament because what we did. That is special!

Next up for Doug is an expedition this Nov 5-17, 2009 to the Antarctic Peninsula. He is the only company taking skiers and boarders to the 7th continent to ski and board. They will visit scientific bases and penguin rookeries as well as whale watching but the expedition is designed to go skiing. He has chartered 119-passenger MV Clipper Adventurer with a 4 to 1 client to guide crew ratio. He will be sending some live feeds to schools around the world to showcase this delicate eco system.

He wants wants to dedicate more time to education of our fragile planet and do more humanitarian work. Doug has an expedition to Mongolia next summer and an expedition to the Congo next fall to be the first eco tourism to visit the Bonobo Wildlife habitat and help several villages along the way. Find out more and how to join on Doug’s websites in the links below the images.

Doug Stoup lives Truckee in the Sierras in California with his wife Anne Kershaw, former head of ANI, and their two sons Tyree and Than (both 8; Than is adopted).

He skied to the South Pole in 2000-01 from Hercules Inlet and in 2007-08 from the Filchner Ice Shelf across the Recovery Glacier; both times as the guide. The route from the Filchner Ice Shelf started from where Shackleton planned to trek to the South Pole during his intended 1914 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, but never got to do so when his boat the ‘Endurance’ was trapped in the ice and the amazing challenge that followed thereafter.

Doug loves climbing, skiing, kiting and snowboarding. He was a ski and snowboard Mountaineer before he ventured to the poles and snowboarded on the following mountains:
Rainier 1994, Denali 1996, Vinson 1999 (first snowboard decent), Antarctic Peninsula 2000, 2001, 2003, Island of South Georgia 2001, Cho Oyu 2003 and The Grand Teton 2004.

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