Back From Antarctica. Sigh.

After 30 hours of travel last Sunday and Monday, I made it from Ushuaia, Argentina all the way back to Park City, Utah, and as a bonus, arrived with both of my bags.  Between lack of sleep while traveling and the surreal experience of skiing in Antarctica, it seems like the whole thing could have been a dream, except I happen to have 1,200 photos, two stuffed penguins and a few mini movies that suggest otherwise.

There is something about this trip that reminds me of standing barefoot in a puddle and intentionally grabbing onto the positive and negative electrodes coming from a nuclear power station.  Exciting and thrilling don’t seem to do it justice, especially as the jolt lasts for two full weeks. More than any trip I’ve ever been on, the Antarctic Ski Cruise has some sort of crazy energy that is hard to explain.  Imagine the anticipation you feel when you join four close friends, pile into a car and head up to the hills for a day of killer skiing, except in this case it is 100+ friends, the car is a cruise ship, the road is the Drake Passage and the ski hill is like nothing you’ve ever seen or skied on before.  In a sense it is still “just” skiing, but in this case it is exponentially more.

A Chinstrap penguin with places to go and things to do.

In order to do justice to the trip, I’ll be posting photos and trip reports in the following days.  From what I remember, and from the many offers I’ve had to sell me compromising blackmail photos, a good time was had by all, although I personally may have had more than my fair share.  I hope it was all taken in fun, although I would like to apologize in advance to Oscar/Oskar for any incidents involving tennis racquets or any kindergarten teachers whose furry white boots I may have intimidated.

Details to follow, of course.  ;)

On the local front, even though some of the ski areas are opening in the next day or so, the Wasatch is in dire need of more snow.

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Category: Commentary