Antarctica · the peninsula · ski and sail
Fifteen days of Antarctica skiing aboard our sailing boat: Cape Horn and the Drake Passage under sail, then ten days along the peninsula, where each morning the Zodiac lands you at the foot of untracked slopes, among icebergs and penguins.
PriceOn requestper person, excluding international flights
Ski and sail in Antarcticaprice on request
Austral summer · November – December, dates on request
You’ll enjoy
We take you on a fifteen-day voyage from Punta Arenas to the Antarctic Peninsula, aboard our sailing boat: three days at sea by way of Cape Horn and the Drake Passage, then ten days of Antarctica skiing, from bay to bay. For your own group, the expedition can also be chartered privately, with a programme and dates shaped around you.
November – December · on request
On requestper person, excluding international flights
A private expedition for your group, a few nights in Punta Arenas before or after, a stay in Santiago de Chile or Buenos Aires, your flights from Paris: we arrange it all on request.
Ski and sail also takes you north, with Svalbard skiing at the end of May, or Greenland skiing. A question about Antarctica skiing? We’ll reply within 24 hours.
In Antarctica, every line reveals itself day by day. Each morning at dawn, your guides read the terrain from the deck of the boat (couloirs, bowls, north-east faces catching the sun) and choose the day’s spot for the snow, the wind and the stability of the snowpack.
The Zodiac lands you on beaches of ice, and the skin up begins, 600 to 1,000 m, towards summits that are still untracked.
On the peninsula, the snow of the austral summer is dense and supportive, polar snow of rare quality. Slopes run up to 35°, on varied aspects, and your runs flow between icebergs grounded in the bays, facing blue glaciers that calve into the sea.
There are sixteen to twenty skiers, in four groups of four to five, each with its own PowderWeGo guide for the whole trip. Weather and avalanche briefings take place every day, and the snowpack assessment guides every choice, on terrain you discover together.
In December, the wildlife is at its liveliest: tens of thousands of penguins nest below the slopes you ski, and watch you pass from the shore.
The ski days
Each morning, the day’s spot is chosen from the deck. The Zodiac lands you on the beach, you skin up, and at the top the slope opens out below you. Your runs pass between icebergs, watched by the Adélie penguins on the shore, before you return on board.
At anchor, humpback whales often blow a few metres from the boat; in the bays, orcas hunt in pods and leopard seals keep watch from the floating ice. In the evening, dinner on board and a debrief with the guides, in December light that lasts twenty hours or more. Overnight the boat moves on to the next spots, and each morning brings a new landscape: that is the rhythm of an Antarctica ski cruise with us.
Set our trips side by side, or let us suggest three to suit what you have in mind.
The voyage begins in Punta Arenas, on the Strait of Magellan. Then Cape Horn comes into view, the rock sailors held in awe for centuries: you round it under sail, beneath wandering albatrosses with a three-metre wingspan. Next comes the Drake Passage, 800 km of Southern Ocean between South America and Antarctica, two to three days on a sea that can run high and always makes a deep impression.
On board, avalanche briefings on deck, kit preparation, giant petrels to watch. On arrival at King George Island, the first Antarctic land, the light changes, colder and whiter. The peninsula lies before you.
For fifteen days, our sailing boat is your floating base: double cabins, full board, varied breakfasts, picnics prepared for the outings and three-course dinners cooked by the crew, with a self-service bar. Each night she moves on to give you new terrain when you wake.
Between two runs, the peninsula also holds its blue ice caves, its icebergs and its glacier cliffs.
The programme
Meeting in Punta Arenas, on the Strait of Magellan. Boarding our sailing boat in the town’s harbour, a welcome briefing with the crew and the guides, dinner on board and a night at anchor.
Setting sail southwards, rounding Cape Horn under sail, then crossing the Drake Passage: avalanche briefings on deck, ski kit preparation, albatrosses and giant petrels to watch. Arrival at King George Island, the first Antarctic land.
Ten days of skiing and coastal sailing along the peninsula: Zodiac landings, skinning up 600 to 1,000 m, runs between the icebergs, back on board for dinner. Overnight the boat moves on to the next spots.
The expedition ends at King George Island, from where one of the first commercial flights of the season takes you back to Punta Arenas.
The programme may change with the sea, the weather and snowpack stability, and the guide has the final word. The boat may change too: if need be, she can be replaced by a boat of equivalent comfort and capacity.
Payment: 60% deposit on booking, balance no later than three months before departure, by bank transfer or card; the share of the payment that goes to the boat is non-refundable. PowderWeGo designs and guides this expedition; Aéreau Voyages organises and sells it. Full details are in our terms and conditions.
The peninsula, its ice and its wildlife.
You round Cape Horn under sail and cross the Drake Passage, then spend ten days along the peninsula, where the Zodiac lands you each morning below untracked slopes. Penguins gather at the foot of the lines and whales and orcas come round the boat, under a December light that lasts twenty hours a day. Made for experienced ski tourers who dream of life on board at the end of the world.
Boris Malesset, ski instructor since 1996, off-piste professional since 2001, based in Val d'Isère since 2005, holder of the French BEES, the Swiss Level 3 ski instructor patent and the Austrian Schiführer diploma
« Séjour magique ! … A vivre au moins une fois dans sa vie. Neige incroyable, dépaysement total. »
Translated from French: A magical stay! … Something to experience at least once in your life. Incredible snow, a complete change of scene.
« Une expérience unique avec un équipage chaleureux, dans des lieux spectaculaires et un encadrement impeccable. »
Translated from French: A unique experience with a warm crew, in spectacular places, and impeccable guiding.
You ski with one PowderWeGo guide for every four to five skiers, weather and avalanche briefings every day, lines chosen each morning from the deck, and avalanche airbag pack, transceiver, shovel and probe provided. We plan every one of our trips from Val d’Isère, home to our founder Boris Malesset, an off-piste professional since 2001, and we’ll reply within 24 hours.
November and December, at the start of the austral summer. In December the days of light last twenty hours or more, the wildlife is at its liveliest and the peninsula snow is dense and supportive. The dates of the next departure are available on request.
The expedition is for experienced ski tourers: at ease off-piste in all snow, with experience of deep snow, technical level 3/5 and fitness level 3/5. Climbs on skins run from 600 to 1,000 m a day, on slopes of up to 35°. To check where you stand: your off-piste skiing level and your ski touring fitness level.
The price is given on request, per person, excluding international flights, for fifteen days including ten days of skiing. It covers fourteen nights on board with full board, guiding, the passage of Cape Horn and the Drake, the Zodiac landings and the safety kit (avalanche airbag pack, transceiver, shovel and probe).
Fly from Paris with a connection in Santiago de Chile. We recommend a night in Punta Arenas before boarding. At the end of the expedition, the flight from King George Island to Punta Arenas is included in the trip. International flights are at your own expense, and we can arrange all your travel on request.
Sixteen to twenty skiers, in four groups of four to five, each with its own PowderWeGo guide.
In December, temperatures range from 0 to -15 °C depending on conditions. Bring expedition-grade thermal base layers, suitable gloves and a balaclava, warm ski boots, and touring skis around 100 mm underfoot. We send you a detailed kit list on booking. Our article on the Antarctic ski expedition, skiing Antarctica by sea tells you more about the voyage.
Write to us by email or on WhatsApp and we’ll reply within 24 hours. The booking is confirmed with a 60% deposit, with the balance due no later than three months before departure.
Useful before you go: IAATO, the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators · the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat.
Tell us when you’re coming and how many of you there are, and we’ll reply within 24 hours.
Or email us at infoskitravels@powderwego.com
You can also write to us from our Contact page.
