Ice Axe Expeditions » News

The Squaw Valley Institute Welcomes Home the South Pole Push Expedition

iceaxe — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 20:20:08 +0000

The Squaw Valley Institute is set to hold a Welcome Home Event for the South Pole Push Expedition tomorrow, January 31st. The Tahoe-based team, led by adaptive athlete Grant Korgan made history on January 17th with the very first team of adaptive athletes trekking to the South Pole. The event begins on Tuesday, January 31st from 6pm to 9pm at Squaw’s Bar One…

Read the entire article on the Ski Channel

Paralyzed athlete Grant Korgan achieves polar goal

iceaxe — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 20:23:13 +0000

This past summer, with Stoup, the world’s most traveled polar explorer, and Fletcher, a world-class helicopter ski guide, plans for an expedition to the South Pole began to take shape. Training for Antarctica became a mission. The expedition team called it “The Push.” In July, with another adaptive athlete, John Davis, a two-time Paralympics gold medalist, Korgan paddled his kayak 50 miles in four days on the Lake Tahoe Water Trail. The team set out on a series of mini expeditions that included treks in Alaska, the Arctic, Lake Tahoe and Patagonia…

Read the entire article by the San Francisco Chronicle

A Fjord-Hopping Ski Tour in the Arctic

iceaxe — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 20:26:07 +0000

The Arctic.

For centuries, it has called some of history’s greatest explorers—guys with names like Svavarsson, Peary and Amundsen—many of whom never made it back alive.

Some froze, others starved. Which is why when you go, you should really bring a private chef…

Introducing the Arctic Ski Cruise 2012, a nine-day sailing voyage through a remote cluster of Arctic islands situated halfway between Norway and the North Pole, taking reservations now for group expeditions departing this May…

Read the entire article on urbandaddy.com

Sports Illustrated: Man paralyzed in snowmobile accident reaches South Pole

iceaxe — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 20:34:50 +0000

RENO, Nev. (AP) — A Nevada man paralyzed in a 2010 snowmobiling accident has reached the South Pole, traveling about 75 miles in sub-zero temperatures over two weeks to complete the trip on the 100th anniversary of Capt. Robert Falcon Scott’s trek there with the Terra Nova Expedition.
Grant Korgan, who is paralyzed from the waist down, used a device called a sit-ski to reach the pole 100 years to the day after the British explorer completed the journey on Jan. 17, 1912…

Read the entire article at Sports Illustrated

WSJ: Fresh in Powder, Epic in the Arctic

iceaxe — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 20:28:31 +0000

Ice Axe Expeditions’s latest adventure takes skiers to a region known more for lost explorers and polar bears than carving. Its Arctic ski cruise in May 2012 heads to Norway’s Svalbard archipelago, just 600 miles from the North Pole, for riding pristine peaks. Guests can also explore mountainous Spitsbergen Island via snowmobile and skis on customized expeditions. From $7,600 per person for a nine-day trip, iceaxe.tv…

Read the entire article at the Wall Street Journal

Doug featured in Australian Geographic

iceaxe — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 18:09:27 +0000

At World’s End

Climbing up and skiing down the world’s most remote peaks isn’t enough for ski mountaineer and polar guide Doug Stoup. He wants to share his adventures with the world.

by Joanna Egan

For polar pioneer Doug Stoup, the white caps at the ends of the Earth are the world’s last frontiers. Lured by their remote expanses of ice and powder, Doug has ventured to both extremes more than anybody else on the planet, but it’s not adventure that drives him. Sure he was the first American man to ski from the Antarctic coast to the South Pole; the first person to embark on a long-distance cycle across Antarctica on an ‘icebike’; and the first to ski and snowboard down Vinson Massif, Antarctica’s highest mountain. But, for Doug, adventures like these are driven by scientific research, environmental causes and a very active social conscience.

…

View a PDF here, or visit Australian Geographic’s web site here.

Skiing Svalbard (with Photos)

iceaxe — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 01:20:25 +0000

What can I say, this trip has been everything I had hoped for. This dream trip was the brainchild of Iceaxe founder, Doug Stoup. For the past decade he had been basing out of Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen for his North Pole expeditions. After years of staring at the amazing snow covered peaks that few — if any — had ever skied, he chartered a sailboat and brought his dream to fruition.

The Spalberg archipelago is located within the arctic circle, only 500 miles from the North Pole. Blanketed with snow year round, it is home to seals, walruses, whales, reindeer, the elusive polar bear and a few thousand humans. For the past week we have sailed up and down the fjords laying anchor to slay a few peaks and lay tracks back down to the water.

The light, the land, the views — everything is so surreal, inspiration abounds. Kind of helps that we have 24 hours of day light to play. Our watch and phones were soon left behind . Best light comes out after midnight. For the most part, we choose to stick to the late night hours for our touring. Something about putting on sun tan lotion at 11 pm. Our motis operati is fun, flexible and unpredictable — the stuff dreams are made of.

One moment we are skiing down to the water at midnight; the next we are watching reindeer bounding by. Sure you have to earn your turns. Sometimes it is 3-5 hrs of up with a long approach, but can you think of a better way to enjoy the journey?

For me, the pace was relatively slow. After all, the camera gear has a way of adding quick pounds to the typical gear list of crampons, ice axe, shovel, probe, skins, harness, back up layers, water and food…. Lucky for us only the two guides have to carry the token gun. That’s right: nothing like climbing mountains with a World War II rifle in tote just in case you have an encounter with a hungry bear.

The crew was all-star. Andrew McLean was Doug’s right hand man. With a lifetime of skiing seven continents under his belt, it is hard not to feel safe with him leading the charge. Then there was my good friend and fellow camera man, Tom Day. This time he was on vacation, no assignment or heavy glass and medal to haul. Luckily for me he still skis as well as anyone I know and was always willing to hike for the camera. The girl power on board was the surprise addition. Between last year’s World Free-Ride Champion, Norwegian Ane Enderud, and Telluride ripping Telluride mama, Kim Havell, the boy testosterone was kept in check and we had many a good laugh.

The week went by way too fast. I looked across the ten blissful but tired goggled, tanned faces toasting over our departure dinner, realizing yet again that this was another modern day serendipitous adventure for the record books….

Norway Ski Cruise 2011 Photos (Itinerary 1)

iceaxe — Wed, 25 May 2011 08:33:49 +0000

Norway Ski Cruise 2011

iceaxe — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 18:37:33 +0000

Intimate ski mountaineering trip aboard a 10 passenger 65 ft sailing vessel. Spend your days exploring untouched terrain — what ski mountaineers who have traveled the world say is some of the best they have ever experienced.

Choose from 2 different 8 day itineraries:

May 21 – 28, 2011 // May 28 – June 4, 2011

Cost: $7600 per person *

Flights to Longyearbyen, Norway not included

All photos by Will Wissman // www.willwissman.com

Storm Adventures Offers Summer Norway Cruises

iceaxe — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 18:10:13 +0000

Storm Adventures offers Summer Norway Cruises

This August, Ice Axe partners with Storm adventures and invites you to experience the beauty and contrasts of Svalbard, Norway aboard an ice-class Swedish Search and Rescue boat. Participate in the action packed itineraries or simply indulge in some much needed time-out against a backdrop of breath-taking scenery.

Spend your week fishing, trekking, diving or kayaking. Aboard the boat will be a gourmet chef and trained guides always available to tell you anything you wish to learn about the fascinating land you are exploring.