Could you pull an 80-kilogram sled 1000 kilometres across Antarctica?

Thursday, 26 May 2022

Antarctic Heritage Trust is taking a group of New Zealand and Norwegian explorers on an epic trip to the South Pole in late 2022/early 2023.

Have you ever dreamed of following in the footsteps of Antarctic explorers Amundsen, Scott and Shackleton?

Applications are now open to be part of a once in a lifetime trek to the South Pole, skiing more than 900 kilometres across the frozen continent.

The expedition has been organised by New Zealand’s Antarctic Heritage Trust to celebrate 150 years since the birth of Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and will set off later this year or early next year.

The team will be made up of Kiwis and Norwegians – ideally aged 35 or under – and applications close on June 13. Three “inspiring explorers will be chosen”.

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This could be your chance to see emperor penguins on the frozen Ross Sea.

The team will undergo rigorous training, which will be essential for pulling an 80-kilogram sled for 40 days straight in temperatures ranging from -25C to -40C.

Nigel Watson, Antarctic Heritage Trust executive director and expedition leader, said the gruelling journey would test the team to its limits.

“We want to create a team of Kiwis and Norwegians who embody the spirit of explorers like Amundsen who would be excited to be part of this incredible journey and share it with others,” he said.

“Overall, we’re looking for people who can demonstrate explorer qualities like resilience, teamwork and curiosity to work through the challenges we’ll encounter.”

It will be the trust’s sixth Inspiring Explorers Expedition. Previous journeys have included a crossing of South Georgia Island in 2015 and the summit of Mt Scott in Antarctica in 2017.

The next Antarctic journey would be “one of the most challenging yet rewarding expeditions” the trust had ever undertaken, he said.

“For those few people who are lucky to experience the beauty and vastness of Antarctica, they have the responsibility to return home and to share their stories with their communities to highlight the importance and fragility of Antarctica to the world.”

The journey, in partnership with Ousland Expeditions and organised by Antarctic Logistics and Expeditions, will be guided by Norwegian polar guide Bengt Rotmo.

Watson said he was confident they would find the right applicants to undertake the South Pole mission.

“This is an opportunity of a lifetime for explorers,” he said.

“We have an incredible network of young explorers from previous expeditions, who were all handpicked from hundreds of applicants.”

Applicants will be selected by late June, before completing several months of rigorous training to prepare for the journey. Explorers can find out more and apply online at nzaht.org.

The Antarctic Heritage Trust is a New Zealand-based not-for-profit, which cares for the expedition base huts and 20,000 artefacts left behind by early Antarctic explorers including Captain Robert Scott, Sir Ernest Shackleton, Sir Edmund Hillary and Carsten Borchgrevink.