All entries under Day 10: 22nd Mar

This trip should be a life changing experience. I’m still figuring it out after several days of pristine landscapes, untouched glaciers, rocky cliffs, barnacles covered whales, curious penguins, see-through blue icebergs and big arctic birds all over the place. The beauty of the place is indeed fascinating. I remember staring with my mouth open at one hanging glacier, standing on upper deck stairs. Alvaro wanted to climb up and was patiently waiting for me to come out of my state of owe. “Completely understanding” he said when I finally noticed him. Somebody said that being here one forgets about many things back home, even family and kids… We camped at a snowy hill at Dorian Bay and I spotted a piece of wooden plank on the rocks on the way to camping site. This piece of wood, an obvious proof of human intervention, was so much out of place. There was a British and Argentinean emergency hut near by and that was a piece from one of those huts. Why was I so fortunate to witness the grandeur of this continent? Seeing it, smelling it, sensing it is a unique experience that should lead to something bigger the just pictures and stories around a dinner table. What is it that will not be the same in my life after this expedition? I will think about it for the next few days … and I’m sure that I will come up with an answer.

Last night, our team got the opportunity to camp out in Antarctica. It is, by far, the coolest thing that I have ever done. I had the chance to sleep outside, without a tent. There was a smorgasbord of nationalities lined up in a row, huddled behind a wall of snow and ice. It may be the only time in my life that I will probably sleep in between an Aussie and a Norwegian mountain man. I’m sure that I will recover one day. I’m kidding. It was such a blast. I loved absolutely every moment. We were relatively lucky with the weather; we only had two storms pass through the entire evening. Before the sun came up, we were awoken by the voices of the crew members on the walkie-talkie regarding the preparation of zodiacs for our retrieval. Overall the night was perfect. Although I did wake up with a form of frozen tears around my eyes. Given the chance to sleep outside and rough the elements again, I would do it in a heartbeat. I should also add that I may be the first person in history to have ever done ‘the worm’ on the Antarctic continent. Twice.

The key to this voyage is not going to visit the penguins and seals or to see whales coming almost completely out of the water, although all of those are unforgettable. Nor is it the scenery, which is truly fantastic, or the opportunity to spend a night camping on the Antarctic continent, out on the ice with the wind blowing and with the snow falling, in tents that we had to get up the side of the mountain and get set up before dark.

The key element is the educational program developed by Robert Swan and the 2041 team called “Leadership on the Edge.” The program, which we came to know as “LOTE” was conducted in one, or more frequently two sessions per day. After we picked up Robert and his team from the eBase at Bellingshausen Station on King George Island, he told his story of walking to the North and South Poles and of the programs he has run in the 20-something years since his first “Walk in the Footsteps of Scott”. The other parts of the program were designed to show how inspirational lessons can be extracted from Robert’s incredible experiences to teach the leaders of the future.

The program challenged each of us to apply the lessons of Robert´s experience to the challenges facing us in our companies and our private lives. Developing a vision for needed action, getting buy-in, and taking the actions needed to achieve success are not easy subjects, and resulted in a lot of discussions both for the company teams that are here, and between company teams as well. Each of us will try to apply the lessons learned for ourselves and our organizations. But we are also challenged to pass along the story of what Robert has done, and what we have done on this voyage and learned during this expedition, because Robert’s story has become our story, and as we pass along the knowledge, it becomes the story of our listeners as well. We have been inspired by what we have experienced and learned. Our challenge is to inspire others to excel. Leadership must be sustainable, and should challenge us, but it must also inspire the best in each of us.

I would be remiss if I did not mention that two of the LOTE sessions were conducted ashore, on Antarctic hilltops overlooking glaciers, amazing bays, and even penguin colonies. I challenge you to find a more incredible venue for a course.

I would be even more remiss if I did not take a moment to acknowledge my family, who understood how important it was for me personally to spend this time with my friend Robert and his team. I travel a lot for my work, and this time away was in addition to that travel. The support of my wife Linda, and my daughter Rachel was invaluable. And so too was the support from my colleagues at Kroll Ontrack, from our President, Kris Nimsger, to my close colleague and good friend Jason Paroff. Saying thank you seems insufficient, but each of you know what this time and this voyage meant to me, and I most humbly and sincerely thank you for your inspiration and your wholehearted support.

It doesn´t feel like we´ve spent a week out here, it feels like a year or more. Strange to think that such a short time in Antarctica can fundamentally change your view of the world.

I started the trip by reading about Shackleton´s adventures which may have prepared me for the journey to the most unpredictable and inhospitable continent in the world. But I think also spending 7 days and nights on a small boat with a team of inspirational people from over 24 countries in the world; small & large companies, students, teachers; all their experiences contribute to a fascinating melting pot of ideas on how each of us can each contribute to making a difference to the world we live in, and preserve this planet for future generations.

I´ve survived on surprisingly little sleep during this week. Every day of our expedition has been packed with adventure - up at 6am to see sunrise, land on Chilean and Argentinian Bases, share expertise in environmental initiatives, listen to Robert Swan´s amazing adventures and tireless endeavours to protect the planet, and so much more. The fact that the crew are also out on deck (with a minus 30 wind chill) taking pictures of Orcas, Whales, Seals, Pengiuns shows how rare some of these sitings actually are and also how blessed we are with such glorious sunshine and wild skies. Every time I lift up my new digital camera I think the results are brilliant, but even a video would not truly capture the beauty of this constant 360 degree panorama.

Over the last few nights we´ve been camping at Dorian Bay, a rare opportunity in the Antarctic. But a real challenge to remove every single thing we brought onto the ice cap in order to protect this environment! We survived the experience, managed to get some sleep and enjoyed the climb up to the ridge where we camped. This morning at 6.30am we headed off again on a RIB with10 of us, only visible with the full moon, to land again at Dorian Bay. I joined the ´extraction´ crew to climb to the ridge where the 2nd team had camped. With ´Jumper´ on board the Zoadiac I felt like a member of the SAS. It was a wet landing in the darkness, we scrambled ashore and climbed up the glacier to rescue our team who had spent the night camping in strong winds. The sight before us was a huddle of 8 or so tents which looked like Igloos. They had all built walls of ice round each tent to protect them from the wind and snow. When we had ´extracted´ them from their Igloos, the most beautiful sunrise I have ever seen signaled a new day from behind the mountain range. So in a few minutes we had melted from SAS adventurers, to be transfixed once more to our Antarctic expedition; determined to preserve the future of peace and science this continent so rightly deserves.