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Approach to Breakwind Ridge South Georgia

Each visit to South Georgia seems better than the one before. This time I was lucky enough to get there on Skip Novak’s 74 ft yacht Pelagic Australis, setting off from the Falklands on October 19 in almost Mediterranean conditions.

 
Sunset sail downwind Mediterranean conditions

Later the Southern Ocean lived more up to its reputation, with Gale Force 9 winds on the final, fifth night of the passage.

With the weather temporarily unsettled, we loitered in Elsehul harbour for a couple of days, some of the team recovering from sea sickness whilst going for short walks amongst the seals, penguins and albatrosses. Then, with a brilliant forecast, we sailed round to King Haakon Bay, going ashore to visit Cave Cove where the James Caird made its fraught landfall in 1916.

Cape Cove entrance

Cape Cove icebergs

Unloading at King Haakon Bay

Then on to the head of the bay, enjoying a sunny lunch of asparagus, pasta and wine, before offloading skis, pulks (sledges), food and gear for the Shackleton Crossing.

We left the next morning, October 27, thrilled to be able to ski almost from the beach. After a misty start, the clouds lifted as we approached the famous prongs of the Trident Ridge, where we made our first camp.

 
Prongs of Trident Ridge

The only drama on Day 2 was accidentally lowering one of the pulks into a crevasse during the long, hot descent to the Crean Glacier. This was the scene of Shackleton’s famous impromptu glissade. We took it more gingerly, delayed by the crevasse incident and only skiing down the last few hundred feet, then plodding on over the Crean Glacier in fierce heat to camp just before ‘the great dome-shaped rock’ leading over the to the Fortuna Glacier.

Camp 2 sunset

Camp 2 return

Blessed with extraordinary fine weather, we then spent a couple of days trying unsuccessfully to climb Mt Nicholls. (Even in this brilliant weather, South Georgia managed to fling some of its famous katabatic winds at us, knocking everyone to his feet at some stage).

 
Approach to Breakwind Ridge

On the fifth day we continued over the ‘tooth gap’ notch of Breakwind Ridge for a glorious ski down to the iceberg-filled Fortuna Bay. When the snow ran out, we carried on pulling our pulks through the tussock grass, ski sticks at the ready for self-defence against frisky fur seals. The next morning, after leaving all the heavy gear with Pelagic Australis and wading the icy König River, we just had to walk, then ski, over the final pass, with another beautiful descent on spring snow, before tramping into Stromness, where the boat crew were waiting with champagne and a bottle of vintage cognac.

Champagne at the finish

The cognac was a present from Charlie Bracher – a member of the Beyond Endurance team who had to drop out at the last minute because of work commitments. We missed him enormously, but enjoyed the brandy. Lt Col Ingrid Hall was probably also glad of the extra space, as she had to share a tent with me and 6 ft 7 inches Keith Young – not dissimilar to sleeping with two bull elephant seals. My co-guide, Skip Novak, occupied the other tent, complaining frequently about overcrowding with his companions Lyster Denny, Simon Kewley and Stephen Tetlow. We ignored the complaints.

Keith with elephant seals

So – the traverse which the team had been planning for two years was a huge success. For me, having done it before in 2000 under very different, almost snowless, autumn conditions, it was thrilling to repeat the journey on ski. My only regret was sunburning lips and tongue so that I couldn’t fully enjoy the fine wine selection back on board Pelagic Australis.

Traverse complete, we had a few days left to visit Grytviken, climbing Mount Hodges and Mount Petrel, seeing the much-expanded museum and enjoying a day of brilliant sunshine at the astounding St Andrew’s Bay king penguin colony, before setting sail for the Falklands.

Pelagic punches into a wave on the return journey

Having sailed eastward to South Georgia against easterly winds, we now returned west against westerly winds, with a lot of icebergs thrown in for good measure during the first two nights of anxious watching. Over the next six days and nights time blurred, but I think it was on the third night that we had to keep reefing the mainsail as the wind rose to Force 10. At 1.30 am last Thursday morning we finally sailed through the narrows to moor at Port Stanley, just before a huge westerly storm hit the area.

For further reports and pictures please have a look at www.pelagic.co.uk  and www.beyondendurance.co.uk

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