In November 2016 I embarked on a 3-week adventure to the Antarctic Peninsula. The goal was to combine a visit to this last pristine wilderness with the opportunity to climb and ski some of its mountains. 

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We set sail from Ushuaia, Argentina the southernmost port in the world, crossing the Drake Passage, known for some of the roughest seas on earth. In a relatively calm crossing, we encountered swells that were perhaps only 20-40 feet. 

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Our first landing was on Livingston Island where we encountered a large colony of Chinstrap penguins. The following day, we entered the sheltered Whalers' Bay on Deception Island, formed from the caldera of a volcano that last erupted in 1969. Climbing the caldera and skiing down to the black volcanic sand beach, and then exploring the abandoned whaling and research station, was perhaps the signature memory of the trip. But more adventures awaited, as these photos testify.