2-Day Ushuaia Ski Tour — Antarctic Prep Clinic

Overview: Our 2-Day Ushuaia Ski Tour — Antarctic Prep Clinic is the perfect opportunity to make the most of your Antarctic adventure by brushing up on skiing, backcountry basics and glacier travel in Ushuaia before you head out. Led by experienced Ice Axe Expedition on the Martial Glacier in Ushuaia which features conditions very similar to what we might find in Antarctica. For those that would like some guidance on gear and skiing glaciated terrain you’ll have some workshop time with your guide — for those a bit more experienced you’ll focus purely on skiing! The class size is limited to four skiers/riders per guide and takes place on the Martial Glacier, which is a short ten minute taxi ride outside of downtown Ushuaia.

Day One: After meeting at the Hotel Albatros in the center of town, we will review gear and answer any questions before heading up to the glacier. From here, we’ll attach skis onto packs and walk a short distance up to the snowline before transitioning into ski mode where we will cover beacons, avalanche awareness, efficient skinning, kick turns, heel lifters, ski crampons, transitions, gear organizing and glacier skiing strategies.

Day Two: A similar format to day one, but with more technical information. Topics include roping up for glacier travel, using boot crampons and an ice axe, climbing steeper terrain on foot, short roping, lowering and rappelling and self-arrest. As time allows, we will also cover building anchors for crevasse rescue, how to set up a C drop loop, and how to rig a 3:1 pulley system for crevasse extraction.

Participants should bring all of the equipment on the Ice Axe Expeditions gear list to each day of the clinic and be prepared for 5-7 hours of skiing. Unless participants arrive with a preformed group of four or more, they will be broken into groups depending on experience. No prior backcountry skiing experience is required for these clinics. The clinics will go until approximately 4:00pm and people can expect to be back in Ushuaia by 5:00pm.

Gear List:

• Skis/splitboard
• Boots
• Skins
• Poles
• Beacon
• Shovel
• Probe
• 35 +/- liter backpack
• Ski straps
• Ski crampons
• Boot crampons
• Piolet/Ice Axe (50 +/- centimeters)
• Puffy/insulated jacket
• Glacier harness
• Locking carabiners 2x
• Sunscreen
• Sunglass and/or goggles
• Water & food