Deeper. Antarctica Trophy Line
Today was a fantasy.  I hopped in the zodiak to scope terrain and from that point on it was sensory over load.  On One side of the bay was a mountain called “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.”   On the other side one of the most outrages mountains scape’s I have ever seen towered over head.  Before my imagination got the best of me, Doug Stoup points to the peak in foreground and says, “that’s Mt Francois and it is 9600 ft high.”  My scale had never been so off.   Louri (Expedition leader) then tells me out of his 80+ trips down here he has only seen the mountain a few times and that today is a 1 and a thousand days.  It was clear to me that tod

Deeper. Day 1 Antarctica
Sixty two hours of rolling and rocking threw the Drake Passage are behind us and off the bow of the ship I see the first sign of land. It is amazing to think that one of earths seven continents did not feel the footsteps of humans until the 1820’s. Imagine something the size of North America hidden at the bottom of the earth, the last great unknown in our world. Up on the bridge there is an air of intensity and focus that has not been on the face of the captian all crossing. It is clear we are dealing with an ocean that is constantly on the move. Ice is the king down here and it leaves everyone on there toes.

Anatarctica 2009
After 40 hours of travel I have made it to the the tip of South America.  It reminds me of a Southern Hemi version of Alaska.  The mountains are big and the ocean is serious.  We got out to stretch our legs yesterday and are now headed for the boat to cross the Drake Passage.  It will take us about 50 hours to do the crossing and then it is game on.

Father Snowboarding Speaks
Father snowboarding goes by the name Celime. I met him two years ago in Turkey. (Read Post) Celime has been riding longer then anyone else in the world. He is a goofy footer. He has a certain sparkle in his eyes and content demeanor that can only be achieved from a life well spent in the mountains. He is a happy and peaceful man who has found his fountain of youth, riding everyday. He does not move like a seventy year old man, he is agile, and graceful.  I did a sit down interview with him and although we had a interpreter much

Welcome Back Winter
Winter came quick to the High Sierra this year thanks to a massive two day storm that dropped six inches of water in town and over 6 feet of snow up high.  The snow level was up around 8000 ft at which point the bare ground turned to mid winter snow depths in the matter of a couple hundred feet of elevation.  The approaches were long and brutal at spots but we were rewarded with a 2000 ft classic Sierra Coulior that was holding mid December snow depths.  What a treat it was to be back amongst the high peaks and gliding down mountains again.  For some reason no matter what I do in the summer I can not get the same joy I do in the winter.  A few days have passed since I took these pic