After two days in the Drake (and one in waiting position) we finally made it into Antarctic waters. We passed through between Anvers and Brabant island and finally stopped around Orne Harbour.

We woke up early the next morning, gangway was at 05:00; being part of the mountaineering meant I was on the first zodiac. We set foot onto the Antarctic continent short time later. Our goal was to climb Spigot Peak, the mountain (elevation 285m) at the south side of the entrance to Orne Harbor (at 64° 38′ S, 62° 34′ W). After we got our equipment ready, we started with the ascent through the deepest snow, I ever experienced. We slowly climbed uphill towards a chinstrap penguin colony, made our way through the colony (of course with the necessary distance to the animals) and continued the ascent in less favorable conditions (it got windy with snow).

We made it to the top and got rewarded with some good views and a real sense of achievement (wonder – how many people have climbed this peak before … 100 … 200 … certainly not more).

On the way down our guides had to re-plan a bit – our original landing spot was packed by ice now, so we had to descent towards the other side of mountain. Halfway down we passed by the penguin colony again. On arrival at the new landing side our guides had to replan once more because of a Weddell seal lying, where our zodiac was planned to land. We finally made it back to the big boat around 11:00 – all without breakfast and without any snack while onshore (it is not allowed for tourists to bring food or drinks beyond water to Antarctica, the risk of leaving anything behind is just too high) – after a quick warmup, we continued with a zodiac tour – before finally getting the first meal of the day.