Colin O’Brady has begun his attempt to ski completely across Antarctica, or almost completely. The American arrived at Union Glacier last weekend, where he carried out final equipment checks and packed his sled before flying to his starting point.
Tracking data shows O’Brady was flown from Union Glacier to the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf at roughly 79°S — close to, but not directly on, the coastline. This means that, contrary to what we reported in our season preview, O’Brady appears to be starting on the Ross Ice Shelf rather than on Berkner Island, between the Ronne and Filchner Ice Shelves.
O’Bradys proposed route. Berkner Island is top left of the red line, Ross Ice Shelf is bottom right. The blue line shows the controversial adventurer’s 2018-19 truncated ‘crossing’ that avoided the ice shelves. Map: Netflix.com
From there, he intends to ski to the South Pole, then turn west and continue to his finish point on Berkner Island.
O’Brady’s packed sled. Photo: Colin O’Brady
Massive sled
According to media reports, O’Brady’s sled weighs approximately 225kg. Beginning on the relatively flat Ross Ice Shelf will make this heavy load easier than starting on Berkner Island and having to haul that massive weight uphill through the Pensacola Mountains.
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- O’Brady’s start point on the Ross Ice Shelf. A larger scale version is shown on the right. Map: colinobrady.com
However, unlike the Pensacolas — which Borge Ousland reported to be largely free of crevasses during his 1996-97 crossing — the Ross Ice Shelf contains several heavily crevassed zones.
By not starting near McMurdo Station, however, O’Brady circumvents one of the most problematic of these: Minna Bluff, the promontory once used by both Scott and Shackleton as a depot and navigational landmark, but notorious today for extensive crevasse fields.
To avoid this area, O’Brady seems to have started about 50km from the coast. In 2023, O’Brady fell into a crevasse elsewhere in Antarctica during a speed record attempt and barely survived.
A mechanical start
Matthieu Tordeur and Heidi Sevestre are now 12 days and 132km into their 3,650km kite-ski crossing of Antarctica from the Russian research station Novolazarevskaya to Union Glacier via both the Pole of Inaccessibility and the South Pole.
The French duo had intended to ski from Mile 0 at Novo but instead caught a 4×4 ride for somewhere over 100km. With heavily loaded sleds and ground-penetrating radar equipment, they felt the risk was “losing a great deal of time and energy in the first few weeks, when our priority is to start doing science as quickly as possible.”
“Favorable weather windows to climb up onto the plateau using only the power of the wind are extremely rare,” they added. “The katabatic winds blow toward the coast, straight into our faces.”
Photo: www.underantarctica.com
So in the end, they set off in convoy aboard two 4x4s for what they described as “a magical crossing of Queen Maud Land.” They passed the silhouettes of Holtana Peak and other mountains before reaching their drop-off point at Thorshammer eight hours later.
Photo: ousland.no
Veterans return to Antarctica
Lars Ebbesen and German adventurer Roland Krueger (with a combined age of 131), are around a week underway into their short sled journey into the heart of East Antarctica’s Wolf’s Fang Cluster within the larger realm of Queen Maud Land.
From their drop-off near Ulvetanna Peak, the pair plan to ski 250km westward across a rolling ice cap. Their route weaves through rugged nunataks and glaciated terrain previously traversed mostly by climbers rather than skiers.
They describe the region as “one of the most beautiful polar areas in the world for skiing.” The duo will finish at the Norwegian Troll research base.
Other expeditions
Norwegian guide Kathinka Gyllenhammar and her daughter Emma Gyllenhammar are currently at Union Glacier. They are expected to begin their unique journey today. It combines traditional skiing with snow-kiting on a two-way route to and from the South Pole.
Meanwhile, Norwegian expeditioner Sebastian Orskaug began his ski from Hercules Inlet to the South Pole today. He plans to return from the Pole using a ski-sail.
Sebastian Orskaug is collecting and live-streaming biometric data. Photo: polarrideshare.com
Monet Izabeth of the U.S. is due to fly out to Antarctica on November 18 for a solo, unsupported ski to the Pole from Hercules Inlet. Mexican skier Andrea Dorantes is in Punta Arenas, preparing for her own solo attempt from Hercules Inlet to the Pole.
British veteran Ian Hughes began his solo, unsupported ski to the South Pole today. And UK-based skier Tom Hunt plans to start his speed record bid from Hercules Inlet before December 1, weather permitting.
