Project Iceberg...Antarctica: The Last Marathon!

The Itinerary

January 28 - Depart U.S. for overnight flights to Buenos Aires.

January 29 - Arrive Buenos Aires. Light training run in late afternoon. Evening Cocktail reception and welcome banquet.

January 30 - Day free for optional sightseeing tours.

January 31 - Transfer to domestic airport for flight to Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, the world's southernmost city. Day free to explore the town or to book optional sightseeing excursions into the National Forest. Board Lyubov Orlova at about 3:30pm for departure to Antarctica. Welcome reception and briefing on shipboard safety. Evening film, Ice Birds.

February 1-2 - Two-three days at sea crossing the Beagle Channel and Drake Passage (the roughest seas on the globe, where the two Oceans meet, waves can be 30-60 feet high depending on reports you're reading), depending on weather. The open bridge policy invites everyone to get a bird's eye view of the navigational activity alongside the Captain and his crew. Videos and lectures will introduce visitors to the wildlife, climate and history of Antarctica.

February 3-4 - Land Ho! We reach Deception Island in late afternoon. The weather will be our master as we spend a couple of days cruising in and among the bays and channels of the Shetland Islands and Antarctic Peninsula. The ship's Zodiacs will carry us to shore wherever possible, weaving safely among the icebergs and floes to visit with seals and penguins.

February 5 - Race Day! The course has been prepared with flags and mileage markers. Hopefully, Mother Nature will be kind with the weather. The race will start about 9:00. Post-Race Party and celebration during the evening.

The marathon and half marathon take place on King George Island, the largest of the Shetland Islands, off the coast of the Antarctica Peninsula. Someone will have marked the course with flags on the previous day. Marathoners compete a 2 loop course & half-marathoners do one loop, which includes climbing a 2-mile stretch on a glacier, crossing glacial streams, hopping over river rocks & traversing sharp rolling hills.

The start is at Artigas, the Uruguayan base & runs through Russian, Chilean and Chinese bases on each loop.  Aid stations every 3 miles.  Temps are said to range between 15-35F, as it is summer there.  Winds range from 0-40 mph, creating wind chills of 5 to -20F. They say to hope for sub-freezing temps; otherwise we'll be running in muck.  If Mother Nature is kind & the weather allows, the race will start at 9am. Post race celebration & party on ship.

February 6-7 - We head south toward the eastern side of the Peninsula, cruising among the fjords and islands. Weaving among the icebergs, our desination is Paradise Bay, one of the most beautiful places on Earth. A sunny afternoon will permit us to have a barbecue on deck. The zodiacs will bring us to shore for a visit to the nine person Argentinian base nestled at the base of a hill where visitors are welcome to climb to the peak for a bird's eye view of the area.

February 8 - We leave the "White Continent" to recross the Drake Passage.

February 9  - We first sight land at Cape Horn, Chile where we will approach our return port at Ushuaia.

February 10 - The morning will find us in Ushuaia at about 8:00am when we disembark and check in for our return flights to Buenos Aires and then transferring from the domestic airport to the international airport for overnight flights returning to the U.S. Optional stopovers commence.

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