This year’s crop of Antarctic expeditions will soon begin their uphill hauling toward the South Pole. ExplorersWeb will keep you updated as they progress.
This year’s ventures include some variety, including separate solo crossings by American Ashkay Nanavati and South Korean mountaineer Youngmi Kim.
Other solo, unsupported expeditions will tackle the standard Hercules Inlet to South Pole route, while others will use the Messner Start to the Pole.
Crossings
One of the most ambitious expeditions this season is Ashkay Nanavati’s solo, unsupported ski crossing. The American ultrarunner will start from either Berkner Island or the Bay of Whales and cross the South Pole to another side of the continent in about 110 days.
View this profile on Instagram
Currently, the adventurer is waiting for the weather and plans to begin either November 7 or 8. The weather on those days will determine his starting point.
A Marine who saw service in Iraq, Nanavati has struggled with drug addiction, suicide, and alcoholism in the past.
Photo: Akshay Nanavati
South Korean mountaineer Youngmi Kim is also attempting a crossing this season. In 2023, she skied to the South Pole from Hercules Inlet in 50 days. This year’s solo expedition will follow the same path at first. But this time, after reaching the South Pole, Kim will continue toward the Leverett Glacier at the top end of the Ross Ice Shelf, eventually covering 1,700km on skis.
Unfortunately, those are the only details we have at the moment. ExplorersWeb reached out to Kim for more information, including her proposed start date, but hasn’t been answered as of this writing. However, a recent Instagram post by Ashkay Nanavati indicates she too will begin shortly.
Hercules Inlet to the South Pole
Cornwall, England-based dentist Catherine Buford wins the “most cleverly named expedition” award this year. Buford has dubbed herself “The Molar Explorer,” and not without good reason. In addition to her dental practice, Buford also teaches expedition dentistry. Hopefully, she won’t have to use her skills during her expedition!
Burford is setting out on a solo, unsupported 1,133km ski from Hercules Inlet, hoping to make the Pole in 50 days. Burford wants to mark the 30th anniversary of Norwegian Liv Arnesen’s expedition. In 1994, Arnesen became the first woman to ski solo and unsupported to the South Pole.
View this profile on Instagram
The Molar Explorer’s flight to Antarctica is scheduled for November 18. She prepped by notching cold-weather sledding experience in Greenland and Norway over the last few years.
“I’m not naive to what lies ahead, but I feel confident in my training and just hope that my mental game is equally prepared,” she told ExplorersWeb.
Twenty-one-year-old Karen Kyllesø is also tackling the Hercules Inlet-South Pole route this year. A few years ago, at the age of 14, she became the youngest person (guided) to cross the Greenland Ice Sheet. Now, she hopes to become the youngest person — by five years — to ski solo and unsupported to the South Pole.
View this profile on Instagram
In the years since her Greenland introduction, Kyllesø has done a series of solo training excursions, including three weeks in northern Norway.
“It was on that three-week solo that I learned the most,” she told gear maker Shackleton. “It was my first time being alone for that long. There were a lot of things I had to handle on my own.”
ExplorersWeb reached out to Kyllesø for more information on her proposed start date but hasn’t heard back yet. In the meantime, watch this space.
Messner Start to South Pole
Turkish adventurer, fitness coach, and public speaker Ali Riza Bilal is skiing supported and solo from the Messner Start to the bottom of the world. Bilal, a life-long athlete across a number of disciplines, most notably rowing, prepared with mini-expeditions in the Arctic supplemented by survival training.
“I can’t help but wonder if something is missing, even though I’ve checked every piece of equipment many times,” Bilal told ExplorersWeb.
With a start date of November 19, Bilal has plenty of time left to fret over his gear.
View this profile on Instagram
British Army veteran John Huntington plans to tackle the Messner Start route solo and unsupported. In 2014, Huntington survived a brain bleed that left him paralyzed on his left side from the neck down. Post-rehab, he turned to para-cross country skiing and para-climbing to retrain his body and mind.
View this profile on Instagram
According to Huntington, the 40-day, 911km trip will make him the first disabled person to reach that destination in such a fashion.
Rounding out the Messner to South Pole expeditions this year is an ALE-guided group trip containing skiers Julian Evans (UK), Emil Neszmelyi (Hungary), David Pierce Jones (Switzerland), and Montague Pierce Jones (UK). ALE guide Morten Rostille (Norway) will shepherd the group beginning around November 18.
Berkner Island to South Pole
Twenty-nine-year-old Frederick Fennesy’s journey draws inspiration from the legendary Ernest Shackleton.
Fennesy’s departure point is a stone’s throw from where Shackleton’s aborted 1914 expedition became trapped in ice. That’s very much on purpose — the Brit aims to ski the route the Weddell sea party was initially slated to travel. He too will manhaul solo and unsupported.
Photo: Frederick Fennessy, Expedition 90 South
Fennesy spent the week in Punta Arenas, finalizing his preparations. In an interview with ExplorersWeb, Fennesy revealed tentative plans to fly to Union Glacier camp on November 10 and then on to Berkner not long after.
“I’m feeling good — it’s been five years in the making, and it’s definitely surreal,” he said. You can follow his tracker here.
Constellation Inlet to Mount Vinson
Australian James McAlloon isn’t going solo and he isn’t going to the South Pole. Instead, he and ALE staff member Robert Smith will ski 300km from inner-coastal Constellation Inlet to the base of Mount Vinson in 20 days. Then they’ll spend 5 to 10 days summiting Antarctica’s highest peak. Smith joined the expedition after McAlloon’s first partner had to drop out.
According to McAlloon’s latest Instagram post, the expedition will begin in a little over a month.
View this profile on Instagram
More expeditions to come
According to ALE, “There are other expeditions that have not announced their plans yet, and we will respect their confidentiality until their plans are announced or confirmed.” ExplorersWeb will update this list as more information becomes available.
