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Antarctica Aboard a Russian Ice Breaker

by Scott (of the Antarctic) Crawford

January is usually spent at the seaside but for the first time in 25 years Christmas was spent in Sydney rather than at the beach. I did spend January on the sea but the sea side I was near was ice covered and often just ice.

Prior to my departure I'd been running 90 kms per week so was fit. Great intentions of running daily on the ship's treadmill for 5 hard and fast (for me) Kms was my aim. The treadmill was useless and the Russians couldn't fix it so my intended strategy changed to a hard and fast (for me) static cycle. Have you tried to cycle when the ship is rocking ? The icebreaker was capable of rocking 57 degrees each side that meant that the bridge could move 27 metres from side to side. I didn't experience that but this icebreaker, the Kapitan Khlebnikov, would roll on a damp dishcloth.

After long flights to and around Argentina to visit Iguazu Falls Buenos Aries we arrived at Ushuia in Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip of South America and the Kapitan Khlebnikov.

On 2 January we sailed for the Antarctic Peninsula and its adjacent Islands. The crossing was very calm but the KK rocked & rolled all the way. The second day and the first iceberg was sighted so my prize of a bottle of the worst Russian 'champagne' was devoured that night at dinner. We were to see many more icebergs on the trip but I never ceased to enjoy their beauty, their shapes and their colours. It was as though Michelangelo had spent all of eternity in the Antarctic waters sculpting.

A zodiac was put over the side to collect ice for the bar each afternoon. How old the ice was is anybody's guess but I suspect it was often measured in centuries.

Cycling became a thing of the past as did running but the few opportunities to walk were taken. One walk was from Scott Base (NZ) to Observation Hill overlooking McMurdo Station (USA), and return, a walk of about 6 Kms with a climb to 750 feet above sea level. The temperature was below freezing with a strong cold wind but I strode out as a Strider should and my competitive spirit and residual fitness got me to the top of Ob. Hill first and back to Scott Base where I soon cooled down and became quite cold as I was wet with perspiration. The helicopters could not arrive soon enough to get me back to the KK and a hot shower.

The temperature of the water around Antarctica varies between about +1 and -1 degree Celsius during summer. It freezes at -1.5 degrees. There is an active volcano which forms Deception Island off the Antarctic Peninsular. It last erupted in 1969. There is a narrow entrance into the largely submerged crater which is a wonderfully protected harbour surrounded by the black and white crater walls, black from volcanic ash and white with snow.

Steam rises in places where hot water runs down the black beach. The hot is too hot to stand in at Pendulum Cove so I thought that a mixing of hot and cold water would make the ideal place to swim. What I didn't realise was that the hot does not mix with the cold it simply runs over the top of the cold and quickly loses its temperature. I very soon found out this fact as I dived into water at 1 degree. It fairly takes your breath away.

In preparation for my swim I'd had a warm-up run along the beach with the Adelie penguins. So warmed -up and dressed in swimmers with the Strider's cheetah on the front and SYDNEY STRIDERS emblazoned across my bum I took the plunge. What I should have taken was the pledge - not to swim in Antarctica but ever ready to spread the Strider's message in I went.

As quickly as I could I was mixing the hot with the cold to try and get some feeling back into my body. While all this activity was going on the Adelie penguins were wondering what all the fuss was about as they swim for hours per day in this water that is quite a normal temperature. It was also snowing. I was soon out, getting dry and into thermals, fleece and Gortex. Once these survival activities were complete a swig of vodka did the trick to warm the inner man. I can truly now say that "I swam in Antarctica."

From Deception Island we sailed further south and after more trips ashore we reached the Ross Ice Shelf which is 800 Kms wide and about 10 storeys high at the waters edge. We were helicoptered ashore and here was another opportunity to spread the Strider's message. I stripped to my Strider's running gear and again ran with some more bemused Adelie penguins. Nike running shoes are not snow and cold proof especially when you are sinking into the snow but one must dress in running gear if one is going for a run. It was a gloriously sunny day so my Oakleys were also part of the uniform.

I think I am the first Strider to visit Antarctica and while I did not reach the Pole like that other Scott I managed to live to tell the tale.

Antarctica is a beautiful place but it must be treated with respect as the weather can change very quickly. I was most fortunate to go on such a trip and to experience weather that was extremely kind to us. On Sunday the 21st January while you we running the Harbourside Hike I awoke to gale force winds off Cape Adare. It is not advisable to put helicopters up or zodiacs into the water in 75 mph winds. So we left the Antarctic mainland not able to go ashore and see some more of the history that was so fascinating and well preserved in the cold that persists.

We think events like the 6 Foot Track, Brindabella, the Forster Ironman and 24 hour runs are great feats to succeed at and they are but spare a thought for the likes of Scott and his 4 companions who walked to the pole, averaging 15 - 20 Km per day, only to find that Amundsen had beaten them to the prize by a month and with that disappointment had to trudge back with insufficient supplies ultimately to their deaths.