The Antarctic Heritage Trust is offering an opportunity of a lifetime this October for three young people to participate in a fully sponsored ski-touring trip, attempting to repeat Shackleton’s crossing of South Georgia from King Haakon Bay to Stromness to mark the centenary of the original crossing.

The young people selected will need to identify with Britain, New Zealand or Ireland. They will nominally represent the nationalities of Shackleton, Worsley and Crean who famously undertook the expedition a century ago in May 1916. 

This expedition aims to encourage:

• young people to explore the physical world to educate and inspire them
• those participating to inspire others to explore

What does the expedition involve? 
The Antarctic Heritage Trust Inspiring Explorers Expedition 2015 will be part of an existing scheduled commercial tour to South Georgia from 17-30 October 2015 from South America with the experienced Antarctic tour company, One Ocean Expeditions aboard Akademik Sergey Vavilov, a 117m vessel which caters for up to 92 guests. Whilst aboard the ship, members will effectively be ambassadors for the Antarctic Heritage Trust.

It will involve flying to Port Stanley, Falkands and then travelling aboard Vavilov to King Haakon Bay, South Georgia. From there the plan is for the expedition team to disembark and cross South Georgia to Stromness, on skis where possible, before re-joining the ship.

After circumnavigating South Georgia, the ship will return to Ushuaia, Argentina.

The crossing will be a multi-day traverse of the island from South to North on skis across glaciated country. The crossing party will be self-sufficient for that time. The party will also include the Trust’s Executive Director, Nigel Watson, and will be led by two professional, internationally qualified One Ocean Expeditions mountain guides.

The crossing of South Georgia itself is highly dependent on weather conditions and can be demanding. The success rate given the extreme weather is approximately 60%.

Am I eligible?
Please check the Eligibility Criteria and Expedition Member Obligations before applying.

How to apply?
Applications are now open. Application form for Expedition Members 
Only online applications are being considered.

When do applications close? 
Applications close midnight New Zealand on 2 August 2015.

When do interviews take place? 
Skype interviews will take place on Friday 7 August 2015 New Zealand time (which is Thursday evening 6 August for UK and Ireland).

Expedition updates will be posted on the Trust’s Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/Antarctic.Heritage.Trust

I don’t qualify. How can I participate? 
Consider joining One Ocean Expeditions small-ship expedition to this seldom visited corner of the world and support the Trust’s aim of inspiring explorers.

One Ocean Expeditions is inviting members, supporters and friends of the Antarctic Heritage Trust and the expedition team to participate in the expedition by joining the scheduled commercial trip. Travel would be at participants own cost. One Ocean will donate a percentage of the cost of the trip to the Trust for any bookings made in connection with the Antarctic Heritage Trust’s Inspiring Explorers Expedition 2015.

The Falkland Islands has a rich history while South Georgia has been called ‘the most staggering wildlife show on earth’. The timing of the trip coincides with the arrival of spring and marks the beginning of the wildlife migration and start of the breeding cycle for many species including elephant seals, albatross and penguins.

The One Ocean itinerary for South Georgia In-Depth 

The One Ocean fact sheet for the ship Akademik Sergey Vavilov

Follow the expedition
If you are not able to join the Antarctic Heritage Trust’s Inspiring Explorers Expedition 2015, follow online at www.facebook.com/Antarctic.Heritage.Trust

What is Antarctic Heritage Trust?
Antarctic Heritage Trust is a New Zealand based charity with a vision of inspiring explorers. The Trust cares on behalf of the international community for the only Antarctic exploration bases left by the famous explorers Sir Ernest Shackleton and Robert Falcon Scott together with the first building on the Antarctic continent at remote Cape Adare and Sir Ed Hillary's Trans-Antarctic Expedition base, the foundation of New Zealand's presence and modern Scott Base on Ross Island.
www.nzaht.org

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