Mt Duseberg Buttr... -  ski skier

Mt Duseberg Buttress. Photographer Chris Davenport

The view of Mt. D... -  skis skiing

The view of Mt. Demaria Photographer Scott Simper.

Our boat. The Aus... -  andrea binning

Our boat. The Australis

A cool looking ic... -  women female

A cool looking iceberg. Photographer Stian Hagen

Photographer Scot... -  professional freeride

Photographer Scott Simper

Going for a Zodia... -  freestyle extreme

Going for a Zodiac Ride. Photographer Scott Simper.

Leaving the Hotel... -  big mountain

Leaving the Hotel in Ushuaia. Photographer: Chris Davenport

Check out the pen... -  antarctica film

Check out the penguins in front of the boat. Photographer Chris Davenport

Gentou penguin Ph... -  films filming

Gentou penguin Photo. Chris Davenport

At the airport. P... -  pro sponsored

At the airport. Photographer Stian Hagen

A gentou penguin ... -  sponsors red bull

A gentou penguin Photographer: Stian Hagen

The Australis moo... -  volkl international

The Australis moored. Photographer Scott Simper

The Australis Pho... -  team mt hotham

The Australis Photographer Doug Workman

Chris Davenport c... -  australia australian

Chris Davenport checking out the map. Photographer Doug Workman

In the tent on Mt... -  snow sport

In the tent on Mt. Shakelton. Photographer Chris Davenport

Hiking the Skye C... -  sports  sports woman

Hiking the Skye Colior Photographer Chris Davenport.

Getting on the zo... -  roxy quiksilver

Getting on the zodiac to go skiing. Photographer: Chris Davenport

Getting geared up... -  quiksilver gear

Getting geared up on Mt Mill Photographer Chris Davenport

Mt Mill. Photogra... -  hardcore Andrea Binning

Mt Mill. Photographer Chris Davenport

Taking a break on... -  ski skier

Taking a break on Mt. Mill Photographer Chris Davenport

Climbing Mt Duseb... -  skis skiing

Climbing Mt Duseberg Photographer Chris Davenport

Summit of Mt Duse... -  andrea binning

Summit of Mt Duseberg.Photographer Chris Davenport

Chris Davenport o... -  women female

Chris Davenport on the summit of Duseberg buttress

Doing some lifest... -  professional freeride

Doing some lifestyles. Photographer Chris Davenport

Mt. Shakelton att... -  freestyle extreme

Mt. Shakelton attempt in the tent. Photo: C. Davenport

Climbing Skye Col... -  big mountain

Climbing Skye Colior. Photographer Chris Davenport

Chris and I on th... -  antarctica film

Chris and I on the Australis. Photographer Stian Hagen

A penguin. Photog... -  films filming

A penguin. Photographer Scott Simper

The skis on the b... -  pro sponsored

The skis on the boat. Photographer Scott Simper

Driving the zodia... -  sponsors red bull

Driving the zodiac. Photographer Scott Simper

Chris and I on th... -  volkl international

Chris and I on the summit of Mt Mill. Photographer Scott Simper

At the bottom of ... -  team mt hotham

At the bottom of Mt. Mill Photographer Scott Simper

Chilling out on t... -  australia australian

Chilling out on the Duseberg buttress. Photographer Scott Simper

Hiking on Mt Mill... -  snow sport

Hiking on Mt Mill. Photographer Doug Workman

Hiking up Skye Co... -  sports  sports woman

Hiking up Skye Colior Photographer Doug Workman

Me Skiing the Sph... -  roxy quiksilver

Me Skiing the Sphyinx. Photographer Doug Workman

Down safe Sphyinx... -  quiksilver gear

Down safe Sphyinx Photo Doug Workman

ANARCTICA A TRIP OF A LIFE TIME

December 23, 2009

I just got off the plane after a long journey back to Chamonix from Argentina. I have started to look through some of the images and diary entries from my time down in Antarctica and it was truly a trip of a life time, my best trip ever! We had so much luck with the weather with the majority of our time down there was sunny so we got a lot of skiing in. The team was awesome, it was great to be in the mountains with Chris Davenport and Stian and we all worked really well with the camera crew, which have come back with so many awesome images from our time there.

Antarctica has so much going for it, it is so remote and far away that it remains a hidden gem, the beauty and uniqueness of this place is difficult to compare to anything I have seen before.  The mountain range on the Antarctic Peninsula is so extensive and vast it was not easy to choose where to go.  And we were able to find runs that allowed us to ski to the ocean floor.  We also saw lots of wildlife, whales, dolphins, penguins and seals.  And not to mention the icebergs, they were unlimited, even coming into hassel the boat while we were sleeping.  

I feel so lucky to have been able to travel down with such a great boat- the Australis which is skippered by two awesome hosts which made our trip very special. They took on almost all our requests and made them happen and to add to this Skye took great care of us and cooked outstanding meals every night.

I have come away from this trip with a new energy for skiing.  From the ski descents I have done down there I found myself challenged on some very steep and icy terrain and had such a great rush from being able to keep my head together and overcome my fear and get up and down safely on some really exposed terrain.  I found that all my years in the mountains were put to a test down in Antarctica.  As this place is so remote there was no room for error.

It has put me in a new frame of mind of want to ski in the future. I really enjoy the challenges that I faced both on the approach climbing up and with and the rush that you get from the accomplishments of getting down safely. I have to admit that my husband Stian took great care of me looking out for all the small details and his confidence in me helped me enormously.   And to be out there with Chris Davenport was awesome, we made a great team.  We have all walked away with so many incredible images- what a great way to begin the winter.  The film and magazine stories are going to be awesome.

I will be putting up my diary entries from the peaks we skied in the next days and have attached some of the amazing shots that we got from Antarctica.

My camera broke while I was down there so I would like to thank the crew of photographers: Chris Davenport, Doug Workman, Scott Simper, Stian Hagen…thanks for letting me use your shots for the blog update.