ANTARCTICA · ANTARCTIC PENINSULA · 64.83°S 62.55°W · WINTER · NOV–DEC
Antarctic Peninsula Basecamp
The seventh continent on foot: a ship-supported basecamp on the Peninsula with five snowshoe-and-crampon mountain days among nunataks, penguin colonies commuting past the tents, and silence with a texture you will never forget.
THE ROUTE, CHARTED
The elevation profile
GPS-logged. Camps and key points marked; the shape of the route is the honest version of the brochure.
THE SHAPE OF THE TRIP · 12 DAYS
The itinerary
Ushuaia and the Drake
Kit checks in Ushuaia (everything laid out, everything weighed), then the two-day Drake Passage crossing — albatross school off the stern, lectures below, horizon management for the unsteady — to the first ice and the anchorage reconnaissance.
Basecamp and the mountain days
Camp established on snow above a gentoo highway: five guided days of snowshoe ridges, crampon slopes and roped glacier plateaus to nunatak summits between 700m and 1,120m, each chosen morning-of by weather and sea ice. One storm day is budgeted; it is usually spent listening, happily.
The bay and the return
A final zodiac-supported day among the bergs — seals hauled out like punctuation, whale fluke odds high — then camp struck to expedition standard (nothing stays, nothing ever stays) and the Drake home, which always feels shorter, followed by the loudest quiet dinner in Ushuaia.
WHY THIS ROUTE
The expedition
This is the trip we spent four years learning how to run honestly. A small expedition vessel crosses the Drake from Ushuaia and puts our basecamp ashore on the Peninsula: mountain tents on snow, a week of guided travel — snowshoes, crampons, roped glacier ground — up ridgelines and nunatak summits to 1,120m, where the view is icebergs to the curve of the earth and the loudest sound is your own blood. Gentoo colonies conduct their commute through camp with total indifference; whales work the bay most evenings; the light at midnight does things photography cannot forward. Group of six, two guides, polar-certified everything. Honest note: grade 5 for environment and commitment — winter camping skills are prerequisite (our Cairngorms course is the standard feeder), the Drake crossing is real, and weather rewrites the plan daily; what is guaranteed is the continent, not any given summit. Price excludes flights to Ushuaia; everything south of it is included.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Camping on the continent itself — not ship-based tourism
- Five mountain days: snowshoe, crampon, roped glacier travel
- Nunatak summits to 1,120m above iceberg bays
- Gentoo commuter traffic through camp
- Whales at dinner, most nights
- Six places, two polar guides, four-year waiting list energy
STRAIGHT ANSWER
Is this for you?
You should be able to say yes — honestly — to all of these:
- You are at the hard end of what we run: sustained, committing days with genuine consequence. We vet every booking for this trip by phone.
- You are ready for full winter conditions: cold that must be managed, and axe-and-crampon ground (we teach or refresh the skills).
- You are happy in a tent, in weather, with no shower and an early kettle.
- You are comfortable moving as part of a rope team on glacier ground (no prior technique required — briefed and practised on trip).
Grade 5 means grade 5. If you're not sure, ring us — we'd rather lose a booking than carry a struggle.
THE LEDGER
What £4,850 covers
INCLUDED
- Wildtrace guide (Jonas Iversen) at a max ratio of 1:6
- Tents, group camp kit and all meals on trek
- Technical winter kit: axe, crampons and helmet
- Rope, harness and glacier safety kit
- Group safety kit: inReach satellite comms and expedition first aid
- Pre-trip video call, training plan and the real kit list
NOT INCLUDED
- International travel to the start point
- Personal travel insurance covering trekking to 1,120m — required, checked before departure
- Visas and permits payable on entry, where applicable
- Tips for local crew (we publish a guideline per trip)
- Sleeping bag — bring your own or hire ours (£30/trip)
- Lunches and drinks on travel days
PACK THIS, NOT EVERYTHING
Kit, previewed
The items that matter most on this route. The full list — with honest notes on what not to buy — lives in the kit room and is sent on booking.
Broken-in boots matched to the terrain. Broken-in is the load-bearing phrase.
Waterproof jacket and trousers you actually trust.
A day pack that fits — 30–35L covers almost every trip.
Headtorch plus spare batteries. Early starts are a feature.
B2/B3 boots, goggles and insulated gloves ×2. Axe and crampons are provided.
Harness-compatible layers; the technical hardware is all provided.
Sleeping bag and mat rated for the trip's coldest night (hire available, £30).
2L capacity plus purification where the trip notes say so.
WHO'S TAKING YOU
Your guide
Jonas Iversen
IML · POLAR & NORDIC LEADTromsø-born, polar-certified, measures distances in coffee stops. Has crossed the Hardangervidda in every month of the year and still calls August 'the easy one'.
HOW WE RUN IT
Max 6 walkers. inReach satellite comms carried and checked daily. Escape routes planned before we sell a single place. And the weather rule that built this company: we turn back. That's the deal. Full detail on our safety page.
NO PAYMENT AT THIS STAGE
Ask about this trip
Send this and a guide rings you back — Tuesday or Thursday evening, usually. Fifteen minutes, honest questions both ways, no hard sell.
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