• 5013 km in total autonomy in 74 days: a new world record!
• Unique meteorological observations over the impact of katabatic winds
• New expedition route in unknown East Antarctica
• Wind as third teammate: 100% green expedition
• Teamwork between two generations on the ice
• Spectacular 3D Documentary Film
Brussels, 28 February 2012 – Completely satisfied with their groundbreaking Antarctic ICE Expedition, polar explorers Dixie Dansercoer and Sam Deltour are returning home to Belgium on February 28th. After an intense expedition of 74 days, 5013 km and almost 100 days on the ice, both polar travellers proudly reflect upon one of the most extreme Antarctic expeditions in the past 100 years.
On 4 November 2011 Dixie and Sam embarked upon the greatest challenge ever in Antarctica since the discovery of the South Pole: Antarctic ICE, the longest autonomous expedition in one of the last unexplored areas of our planet, East Antarctica. From the very beginning it became clear that this would evolve into an exceptional adventure. Hampered by unusually difficult terrain which was peppered with meters-high sastrugi (snow dunes) and combined with extreme weather conditions, both expeditioners made the difficult but lucid decision after 10 days into the official start of the expedition to stop their first attempt and to re-start from another location. That decision proved to be extremely wise and well-calculated. The second start on 22 November 2011 commenced flawlessly in a much more accessible terrain and gave both polar explorers the proverbial “wind in their sails” as they made their way into the unknown.
Throughout their Antarctic ICE Expedition, Dixie Dansercoer and Sam Deltour pushed past boundaries in every sense of the word. Exactly 100 years after Norwegian Roald Amundsen and his team became the first humans to reach the South Pole, both Belgians decided to undertake this phenomenal challenge. After a full century of exploration and adventure on the Antarctic continent, East Antarctica still remained largely undiscovered territory. Until recently no one has dared to accept the challenge to explore one of the last areas of our globe high on the barren Antarctic Plateau (where the average altitude rises 3000 meters above sea level and where the lowest temperature ever measured was -89.2°C). Dixie Dansercoer: “By pushing past these boundaries we hold not only our Belgian polar tradition as pioneers high, but we proudly display our spirit of entrepreneurship to the rest of the world.”
An integral component of their journey was the establishment of a completely new expedition route by both adventurers through an unexplored region of the Antarctic Plateau. This route brought them in unknown territory where they had to repeatedly give the best of themselves in order to survive: extremely cold temperatures (which dipped to a - 80° C windchill), snow & ice obstacles (sastrugi) that rose to 3 meters high, and unpredictable and unstable wind patterns. Sam Deltour: “We threw ourselves into unknown territory and wandered through terrain where literally no one before us had left footprints. Despite a totally thorough preparation we had to accept that in such an expedition the unknown and unexpected must be welcomed. Statistically impossibly long periods without wind, endless sastrugi zones, a human body that is not designed to endure such discomforts: these are the d-n-a components of a boundary-pushing expedition. I was repeatedly confronted with myself. As a child I dreamt of such expeditions, but the reality was much harder than my worst nightmare.”
During the meticulous expedition preparations, Dixie tried to imagine and took into consideration all possible scenarios, except the frequency and size of the “sastrugi,” dangerously sharp snow sculptures formed by the wind. Sooner or later every Antarctic expedition encounters sastrugi zones, but Dixie and Sam never calculated on the frequency and scope of these enormous fields along their route. The almost constant presence of the sastrugi determined the higher than normal degree of difficulty of this terrain and made kiting a complex and often treacherous activity. The knees of both polar explorers suffered greatly, as did their sleds and skis. “Trust, calm, and acceptance were our strongest weapons against these incessant obstacles,”, according to Sam Deltour.
After 70 intense days on the ice and a distance completed of 4829.4 km (position: 70° 14 ‘ 11 S – 97° 58 ‘ 28 E) Dixie Dansercoer and Sam Deltour broke the world record for the longest unassisted and non-motorized expedition ever in Antarctica. An amazing achievement! Until now this distance was never before completed without a resupply during an expedition. The former record of 4804 km stood in the name of Norwegian explorer Rune Gjeldnes and dated from February 2006. Just like Dixie & Sam, Gjeldnes made maximum use of kites and sleds to be able to cover this distance without a resupply.
Dixie Dansercoer: “To be able to complete the longest possible polar expedition in complete autonomy is the natural result of a combination of outstanding preparation, previous experience to fall upon, seamless teamwork between Sam and myself, and the dependability of a strong back office. Perseverance went hand-in-hand with our determined desire to make our dream a reality and to allow ourselves to overcome the most difficult terrain and each problem situation that initially appeared insurmountable.”
Unique to this expedition was the cooperation between experienced 49-year-old polar explorer Dixie Dansercoer and the 26-year-old ambitious medical student Sam Deltour. For Sam this was a first grand polar expedition, although he was not foreign to extreme adventures. In 2010 he was the first Belgian and youngest participant to reach the finish lines of both the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod in Alaka, the two most famous mythical sled dog races in the world, 1600 km long. Dixie Dansercoer has participated in many ambitious expeditions in the polar regions, including the memorable Antarctic traverse in 1997-1998 with his partner Alain Hubert. They completed the then record-breaking distance of 3924 kilometers in 99 days, which at the time was the longest autonomous kite expedition in Antarctica.
Only through intense cooperation for more than 70 days in often inhuman circumstances could Sam and Dixie accomplish this ambitious challenge. Sam Deltour over this powerful teamwork: “We were a well-oiled team, a strong team. Respect, understanding, motivation, hope, and power blended effortlessly together. There was room for humor in the tent but every action was completed with the utmost efficiency. This meticulous attitude manifested itself into a world record that we did not receive as a gift, but something that took hard work, which for Dixie began almost four years ago.”
This expedition was not only groundbreaking and adventurous on a personal level. There was also the development of new sleds, equipment which had to withstand the repeatedly hard blows of a difficult terrain. These sleds, designed and built by Acapulka, were composed of both Kevlar and carbon fibers. During the journey both explorers had to make various repairs to the beaten sleds, especially the runners which took harsh blows in the sastrugi fields. Each sled was loaded with various equipment: a tent, camping equipment, food, kites, clothes, and other assorted expedition material. Each sled weighed over 200 kg at the start of the expedition. At the finish, the weight of the sleds had reduced to about 100 kg.
Innovation was also the key approach to the food rations developed in close cooperation with Belgian chef Frank Fol. The famous top chef prepared a variety of nutritious meals together with an expert team of nutritionists and health specialists. Their approach was also groundbreaking: each day of the week had a variety of breakfasts, meals for during the daily progression, and evening meals. The delicious, nutritious, and balanced meals were an integral component of this successful expedition.
Dixie and Sam carried 13 different kites in their sleds, including various sizes of sails to catch the wind in both high and low altitudes. The largest kite has a surface of 50m2 and hangs on a line with a maximum length of 200 meters. These kites were specifically developed for this expedition. The progression kites (6m, 9m, 11m en 14m) from Ozone were specifically developed for kiting on ice and snow. Sam en Dixie reflect with total satisfaction over the kites’ performance: “Without the strong and reliable Ozone-kites we never could have achieved what we did. One of course needs wind to cover such a distance with kites, but too much wind can make kiting a dangerous operation. It was thus a constant adaptation to choose the appropriate kite for the specific wind conditions.”
During their journey Sam and Dixie made 100% use of the wind to advance. Their daily average of 68 km was accomplished at a consistent altitude of more 3000 meter, an average slightly higher than their planned 60 km per day. The daily weather predictions from weather4expeditions were invaluable to guide them on their daily route, taking into consideration factors such as wind direction, wind strength, precipitation, and possible white-out conditions.
”Based on theoretical wind circulation and in cooperation with scientists from the KU Leuven we determined a completely new route so that the majority of progress could be accomplished with kites. Only in this manner could we cover the hallucinating amount of distance in complete autonomy,” explains Dansercoer. But the reality of the carefully chosen route appeared very different than predicted in the crystal ball. More than once it was totally wind still, other times the wind blew from a completely unexpected direction which sent the duo off-course. “But that is of course the very definition of adventure. The act of testing theoretical models out in the field leaves one vulnerable to the unknown and of course to the extreme conditions, but we were able to see first-hand the dominant weather patterns and the unique factors which influence them,” said Dansercoer.
Dixie Dansercoer and Sam Deltour didn’t just go to Antarctica to set records, but hoped at the same time to assist scientists with data collection for their climate research. During regular intervals the polar explorers completed wind measurements, precipitation and humidity readings, and cloud formation observations. “This unique data collection in an area where no one has really been, is extremely valuable and will help us have more insight into atmospheric and climatological processes in East Antarctica,” explains meteorologist Marc De Keyser. The scientific research is taking place in cooperation with universities around the globe, among them at the Belgian Catholic University of Leuven. “With our expedition we can expose the global effects of the Antarctic ice mass as a climate regulator and even go a bit further,” says Deltour. “This data helps scientific researchers better understand the role of katabatic winds which circulate over the ice. These measurements occurred with special measuring stations which we hung from secured kite lines at a high altitude for one hour per session. On a regular basis we sent the readings via satellite connection to our expedition headquarters.”
Throughout their record-breaking expedition Dixie and Sam documented their activities with both an HD and a 3D camera. This is unique as we know of no one who has brought back 3D imagery from East Antarctica. These film images will be composed into a unique documentary film which is being produced in cooperation with and supported by AXA Belgium.
Mobistar is the exclusive partner of the Antarctic ICE Expedition. Mobistar confirms via this contribution their ambition to become a pioneering leader in sustainable development. Mobistar’s goal is to reduce its carbon footprint in the next 10 years by 50%. “This expedition perfectly aligns with our corporate values, our products, and our ambitions to be the best ICT-employer and to fulfill our social responsibilities,” says Olivier Ysewijn, Chief Strategy Officer at Mobistar. “It is a unique project on several levels: technological, human & scientific. And these are two Belgians on this gigantic adventure who have brought it to a successful finish. We may be proud of them.”
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