Antarctica - trip report 2009

November 10, 2009.... Emergency Airlift

We have been under an emergency situation the last 6 hours. We encountered tons of crevasses today with multiple people punching through. We are on an emergency run to the US Antarctic Station - Palmer. We had an

accident with one person falling 35 feet down a crevasse and taking a heavy beating. Will keep you all updated. I think things are going to be fine but the Palmer Station has a doctor and equipment to make the appropriate care.

-Sean Busby

Hi all,

We are heading back to the South Shetland Islands now to do an emergency air lift of the crevasse victim. Will let you know what turns out and if we will head back down to Antarctica.

-Sean Busby

November 9, 2009

Well, I am in that overwhelming feeling again. However, this time its hitting me all right now instead of months following the expedition. At 8:00 pm last night, we came across our first iceberg. It was magnificent and had a glacier pool of turquoise colored water in the middle of it. Due to rough seas, we changed our plans a little

and headed right to the Continent rather then the South Shetland Islands. Our first destination was Cierva Cove. This morning (despite the 2-3 hours of semi nightfall) I woke to bluebird conditions, massive icebergs, leopard seals, penguins swimming, a whale blowing out its blow hole, and an eerie and desolate Antarctica with massive

mountains and glaciers. All of this which was accompanied by freezing winds blowing off of the Antarctic ice cap. I quickly ran back to my room - layered up, tripping over all my gear in the process as I struggled to get right back outside as quickly as possible......I don’t remember Antarctica being this cold - HA! Wind chills and fighting the waves into Cierva Cove made exposing skin begin to numb and burn, but adrenaline was the fire to keep looking onward. Around noon we launched from the boat out on our zodiacs and headed into the mountains surrounding Cierva Cove. We quickly skinned up and were on our way. I decided it was time to rock about three different body layers to conserve as much warmth as possible. The Antarctic sun, quickly had me feeling like I was taking a walk through the Mojave Desert and I found myself stripping as many layers as possible, followed by freezing again. As we skinned up one peak, I fought off my sea legs and the heavy temptation of vomiting from what the Drake Passage had given to me. There was no time for nausea, I was enjoying the outstanding scenery too much. I couldn’t help but think of those struggling in Monday morning traffic jams in the cities while I stared out among remote ice and ocean. I was able to fully enjoy being completely out of the element down here once again. On top of the mountain, my sights were unrestricted and I could see for miles upon miles of glaciers, soaring jagged mountains, and icebergs. Lifetimes worth of ski and snowboarding descents. God’s ultimate backcountry Mecca.

Tonight we are heading down into the Neumayer Channel. The Neumayer was one of my favorite locations on my last expedition down here. The mountains are our dreams and other peoples nightmares. They are extravagant, vivid, and plain out gnarly. The Neumayer even contains the Peninsula’s highest peak at around 9,100 ft - straight out of the ocean. The objectives for tomorrow in this area are Winkie Island and Anvers Island.

Tonight, I witnessed a giant avalanche rip out of a peak and roar down into the ocean with a gigantic powder cloud. I quickly ran to my room and grabbed my camera. By the time I got out side, the sun was setting with a tangerine orange color dead ahead of our ship. Alpenglow was setting on the iceburgs and mountains behind us. As we

made our way further, the mountains lost their alpenglow and gained a purple, pink, and blue color. We passed by more icebergs with penguins on top and saw whales once more literally in front of the setting sun. It was gorgeous and is by far the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen. I will never forget these memories and the remarkable snowboarding.

It is 11:30 pm and the sun is now rising again. We are only a couple degrees from the Antarctic circle so we should now have sun light 24 hours a day. In a few more hours, the sun will be beaming into the port holes of the ship and it will be time to begin another day.

Powder Lines,

Sean Busby

Closing In

November 8th, 2009:

Around midnight, the temperature of the ocean water dropped 3 degrees, meaning that we crossed the Antarctic convergence. We are making some good progress today as our engines are going full tilt. Being on a boat this long sure gets boring, especially when you make the mistake of forgetting to pack some books to read. Thankfully, I found the boat’s library filled with books about the Arctic and Antarctic. My days so far at sea have been spent either in bed, juggling a soccer ball, or looking out over the open seas. Occasionally, a ski movie gets thrown into the mix to keeps things sane. It will be interesting to see what these seas will do to us this afternoon as there are some waves crashing over the bow and its getting ugly again. Earlier today we had a spectacular sight which unfortunately I missed since I was taking a nap. About a dozen Fin whales were spotted swimming next to

our ship. I do hope that there will be plenty more of these sights - maybe some Killer whales, Sperm whales, Minkes, and Humpbacks. Last year I got to witness a mother Humpback and her calf playing around ice burgs and it was rad. There are currently hundreds of birds around our ship gliding slightly above our now stormy seas. There are Albatross, White Chinned Petrels, Southern Giant Petrels, Cape Petrels, and many others all entertaining us with spectacular gliding capabilities. We are also now under iceberg watch and should be snowboarding and skiing come morning in the South Shetland Islands.

Iceberg dead ahead!

Sean Busby

Closing In

Antarctica Expedition

Nov 6-7, 2009:

Around 1 am we rounded Cape Horn and entered into the Drake Passage. The snow outside is really coming down. The seas are much rougher this year. About 25 - 30 foot waves so far. I placed a soccer ball in the lounge and watch it pick up speed last night and roll from one side of the room to another. By 3 am we were really rocking and

rolling. I spent most of the early hours laying awake in bed listening to cabinets open and slam close. The boat makes giant creepy creeks as it plows through these large swells and with every few waves, our boat gets slammed and shakes violently from end to another, just like a wet dog. We are going up and down and side to side, I am nervous and am not used to the seas. Waves are hitting the windows and allowing water in through some of the port holes. The waves are hitting us from all ends and this will continue till we get down to Antarctica. The toilets have been swishing about all over and the shower curtain keeps sliding open and closed. Another large wave hits and I hold onto the side of my bed to keep me from falling out. A few waves later, we are slammed again and this time I hear what sounds like to be a human body thrown into the side of a wall in the hallway. I can’t sleep and am exhausted. This lack of sleep keeps me up till early breakfast. At breakfast, I struggled to walk up the stairs and through the halls and I could only take my steps when the waves allow me too, always holding onto a railing or taking an athletic stance to counter the waves. I arrived at the dining room and there are only a few others. Most are still struggling to sleep, some are passed out from medications, and others are hugging toilets back in their rooms. Some of the boat staff struggled to set up breakfast as the tables that weren’t bolted into the ship slide side

to side, knocking food off the table and silverware. About every 4 waves, we are hit by a big one, and glasses of orange juice or coffee slide across our tables. Some are caught, others are not and shatter on the floor. Plates are also falling to the ground and a lady flips back out of her chair onto the ground. It is going to be a long day for most of us.

Looking forward to getting on land,

Sean Busby

Antarctica Expedition 2009

50 hours of seas till Antarctica

"Sean Busby is a snowboard Olympic hopeful in the slalom, giant slalom disciplines and living with type 1 diabetes. He is currently on an Antarctic expedition finding first descents. Check in daily to see how his trip and story unfolds! Trust me, you don’t want to miss it! For more on Sean check out www.seanbusby.com " Brett Butcher, Sessions TM

Hi everyone,

I have been out backcountry touring everyday and just haven’t found the time to get an update out. Anyways, the snow is fantastic. The month is equivalent to about May down here and its been snowing everyday - even down at sea level. I have been riding the backcountry of the southern most city

in the world - Ushuaia and it is epic. These Patagonian mountains are gorgeous and the lines are plenty. I could live here year round and find a great new line each day. With a drive through town you will see some of the most perfect "U" shaped valleys between the mountains! Yesterday, my rope team and I met up to do one last glacier travel practice. We all seem to be dialed in which is very important. For those of you who don’t know much about rope teams - on a rope team, everyone holds each others life in their hands should anyone fall into a crevasse of get blown over and exposed peak, etc. Everyone must be in tune with each other and we move together as a team. It is one of closest teams required compared to other sports and you must put your full trust into others. We all have to take steps at the same time to keep the rope from getting tight or having slack. I am really looking forward to sharing these turns with these guys on the rope. They are a great group from Colorado, California, and Jackson Hole. Big Mountain Jeremy Jones is also now down here in route to Antarctica to film for his new movie Steeper. Everyone is pumped. We now all get to charge the roughest seas for 50 hours with our first stop off point being Deception Island. The sea forecast is for about 30 feet on Saturday along with 50 + mph winds.

Powder Lines,

Sean Busby