South Pole
Landing on Sea Ice
Exploring Antarctica can't get more fancy than landing on sea ice by private jet!
When we flew over the Antarctic circle, I felt so at home... although it was more like a dream. So surrealistic to be back in just eleven months after my first trip!
Antarctica is like a drug. Once you have it, you always want it again and again. So addictive that you might end up breaking your bank account in order to see it again... It might sound like a joke, but somehow it is very true.
Polar Dome
Our campsite sits on the shores of one of the freshwater lakes of the ice-free Schirmacher Oasis. In this heated polar dome, we could sleep on a "real" bed with mattress and enjoy other civilized necessities like a regular hotel.
I was very impressed by this well-equipped facility in such a remote and extremely cold climate. Taking a normal hot shower was truly luxurious on this side of world.
Ice Waves
The furious movement of these ice waves look like big ocean waves that froze in a split second.
Hiking on Ice Waves
Hiking on these gigantic ice waves made me feel fragile and humble. Their shear beauty and danger were truly breathtaking.
Even with ice hiking spikes and trek poles, it was still frightening when there was a deep drop or the surface was slippery.
How to transfer this form and texture, especially the glowing blue backlight behind the ice on my canvas? I was just in awe of this unimaginable masterpiece of creation.
Ice Wave Close Up
I dared to imitate this misty turquoise light in one of my paintings. It was very frustrating... In my humble experience, I think no man made media can ever recreate such color and texture.
Iridescent Ice Tunnels
These ice tunnels were sculpted by melted water. They appeared at different spots, waiting to be discovered by expeditioners every year. To access these tunnels, we had to hike through crevasses between those giant waves.
The sunlight traveled through the sculpted ice, creating this dramatic translucent neon blue. In person, this blue color is much more intense and insanely beautiful!
No man made blue colors are close to what I saw in this tunnel. Period.
Fly to South Pole
This old Russian airplane flew us to the South Pole. We needed to fly with polar gear because there was no heat on this plane.
All our bags were piled up on one corner, next to our seats. Although it was cold and uncomfortable, I got to taste a little bite of the roughness of extreme travel, which was very memorable.
South Pole Expedition Gear
Walking from the geographic south pole back to the airplane in the extremely cold and thin air with heavy expedition gear was a real challenge.
My legs felt like they were tied to big rocks and I could hardly breathe... just a 100 ft journey felt like 2 miles long.
It is hard to comprehend how the early pioneering explorers, Amundsen and Scott, arrived here on foot.
The End of Earth
Here is the most remote destination on earth, the Geographic South Pole.
It only took us several hours of flight to get here, but many months of hardship to achieve for the early explorers.
History comes alive as you stand at 90° South, the ultimate goal of Amundsen and Scott, who crossed this frozen continent more than 100 years ago...
I could feel the spirit of determination and discovery that has inspired a century of Antarctic exploration and scientific research.