by Robert Frohlich “Every man has his White South.” – Ernest Shackleton [Cape Horn, Drake Passage 60 degrees S/60 degrees W] The Antarctic Peninsula is home to the continent’s greatest wildlife diversity within some of the most spectacular scenery on the planet. However, one mammal not found in Antarctica associated with Polar Regions is the Polar … Continued
by Robert Frohlich [Aitcho Islands, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica 62.22′ degrees S/59.47′ degrees west]: On a perfect day the cold atmosphere is clearer than glass and the distant vistas lie within a lively imagination’s immediate grasp. From the bridge looking north to northwest the glaciers fed into Aitcho Bay, turning bluish sea into milky turquoise with meltwater. Above … Continued
by Robert Frohlich It hit me about the 14th bite of my spinach and cheese strudel. During the Ice Axe Antarctica 09 Expedition, many wondered why its international guides, made up of 18 of the planet’s most notable skiers, snowboarders and mountaineers, appeared so sluggish on the mountain. Why couldn’t we get to the really … Continued
by Robert Frohlich “Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in where Nature may heal and cheer and give strength to body and soul alike.” – John Muir [Escura Inlet, Admiralty Bay, King George Island 62. Degrees 09 South/58degrees 32.6 West] I ascend Escura Inlet’s steep hills. It … Continued
by Robert Frohlich I’ve asked notable Ice Axe adventurers and other ski industry notables if fatherhood has affected their outlook towards the heightened, but dangerous experiences found on mountain peaks. Doug Stoup, 46 – (8 times to both the geographic North and South Poles): Having children makes it harder to leave home, but I wouldn’t … Continued
By Robert Frohlich “You cannot be a good mountaineer, however great your ability, unless you are cheerful and have the spirit of comradeship. Friends are as important as achievement. Another is that teamwork is the one key to success and that selfishness only makes a man small. Still another is that no man, on a … Continued
by Robert Frohlich “The world was so recent that many things lacked names, and to indicate them it was necessary to point.” Gabriel Garcia Marquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude [Cerva Harbor – Antarctic Peninsula] The walls are singing. Small twangs and moans interrupt the early afternoon light and pulse up from the brash ice … Continued
by Robert Frolich “O let my keel burst! Let me go to the sea.” – Arthur Rimbaud The sea continued to run high, south/southwest, and with swift yawning, opened a vial of wrath that forced our ship the Clipper Adventurer to lurch heavily in the deep rollers of the Southern Ocean. By dinner, glimpses of … Continued
The light is flat. High fast clouds scrub the blue out of the wide Patagonia sky. Keoki, Tim and I consider carving ego, swan-like turns down the lower coral-horned ridge of the big south-facing wall of terrain above the Glaciar Martial within the Provincia de Tierra del Fuego. Poles tapping their Braille dance, the breath … Continued
by Robert Frohlich The sun, pale and without rays, pounded down leaden heat in an indecisive light. It made me squirm as if I’d been prodded under the fifth rib. Hanging in Plaza de Dorrego, a spacious functioning outdoor market within the rakish barrio of San Telmo, I gathered why this section of the city … Continued
