Ice Camping in Antarctica: When Hell Froze Over

First of all, I don’t know why the hell I thought Ice Camping in Antarctica was going to be a great idea. 

Wait, I do know. Because I watched a YouTube video of a super happy, cheerful couple doing it, with great weather, and having a great night of sleep, and thoughtl, “Oh yeah! That looks kind of nice!”

I should have known better that not only is the weather in Antarctica highly unstable, but many things you see online are not as they seem.

In short; we slept in what seemed like camping-body-bags, and we were blasted by a blizzard all night. Most of us thought that we were getting buried alive by snow, some had minor panic attacks, and not a single one of us (out of ten) slept.

But! I will admit that the hours leading up to the sleeping part of Ice Camping in Antarctica were pretty epic. Here’s what went down, in video format for visuals, and written format of my full experience!

BTW the lowest temperature it reached was 10 degrees F, but the extreme wind made it feel like -10!

Watch the Video Below for the Full Visual Effect

6PM: Announcement of Ice Camping

Ice camping is one of the most high in-demand activities to do in Antarctica, but it rarely happens due to weather. It never happened on my first two voyages, so I wasn’t expecting it to happen again.

At 6pm on the first day of our landings in Antarctica, the Expedition Team Leaders announced that they had found a spot on land where we could camp, and to go eat dinner, then be ready to go by 8:30pm.

Naturally, we all slightly freaked out, especially me who had just finished sea kayaking and was still thawing. We all also immediately ordered more glasses of wine and shots of whiskey.

8:30pm: Getting Ready to Go Ice Camping in Antarctica

After rushing to eat dinner and pack for the night, we were called down to the mud room to gear up and head out. We put on our regular gear of two layers of thermals, and an outer layer either of snowpants and the jacket they give you, or what we prefer to wear, which is a metallic snowsuit.

Check out my full Antarctica Packing Guide here!

I was in a rush/panic to pack an overnight bag, since it’s not exactly clear what to expect, but ended up with:

• GoPro & DJI Pocket
• External extra battery charger
• Hand and Foot Warmers
• Extra wool socks, gloves, and hat
• My Antarctica Flag for Photos
• My extra long gown for photos (we asked permission first)
• A full liter bottle of water
• A small flask of Whiskey I bought at Port Lockroy (shh)

You put on your landing-boots (they rent to you for free), life vest, and whatever bag you packed, then they give you your “sushi roll” which is what you sleep on/in.

The “Sushi Roll” consists of a sleeping pad, a thermal sleeping bag, and then a tent-fabric “body bag” that you sleep inside of and zip yourself into. 

9:00pm: Arriving at the Camping Spot

As our zodiac approached the area they had designated for us to go ice camping in Antarctica, the first thing I noticed was that it had looked like they had dug a pathway through ten feet of snow. Even the nearby rescue hut was covered up to the top of the windows with snow.

Wanting to get a prime camping area for my group with the best view, I attempted bounding off through the pathless snow, which continuously dropped me down to my knees.

When I finally got there, I looked around and noticed some people digging in the snow where they wanted to put their sleeping bags. I attempted this but it was too much work without a shovel. I also didn’t like the feeling like I was digging a grave.

The point of digging a hole is techically to avoid any wind gusts. But if there’s snow, you’re also more likely to get burried!

If you’re wondering about how we went to the bathroom, it was basically in a half-igloo that the expedition team built! Inside the half-igloo-hole was a toilet-bucket that you squat over, and they had dug little nooks in the side of the half-igloo for toilet paper and hand sanitizer.

We purposely didn’t drink much (besides whiskey) once we got there to avoid having to pee in the middle of the night.

9:30pm: Photos!

After we had all rolled out our “Sushi Rolls” and set up inside of them the best we could, we attempted taking some photos.

The view was stunning, with a circular bay that overlooked a snowy mountain and colony of Gentoo penguins that didn’t bother coming anywere near us. From our frozen perch, we could even spot a seal swimming amongst the penguins!

We asked permission to put our dresses on over our thermals for photos (since anything that touches the floor has to be approved by the team), and quickly slid off the metallic snow suits and slipped on the dresses. 

It was a beautiful scene until the sudden blizzard hit us.

10pm-4am: Attack of the Blizzard During Ice Camping

We all made it inside of our coccoon/bodybags just as the blizzard became intense. It was nearly impossible to get organized since the wind and snow were slapping against my bag like the Drake Passage slams against the ship.

I managed to shove the gown, my snowsuit, and my overnight bag with cameras down into the sleeping bag with me, in an attempt to keep them warm to wear in the morning. We were told the sleeping bag and bodybag would keep us warm since it’s meant for sub zero camping, but I kept feeling the ice through it against my legs which really worried me.

After several attempts to convince myself it was normal, and that it would be over soon, I had a minor panic attack.

This was mostly from feeling the snow pile up around me and on top of my head, making me think I was getting buried by it. I would try to open the zipper by my head, but the snow would infiltrate the top of the bag immediately, making me even more cold.

Luckily my mom had given me an emergency Xanex for the trip, which I had to take half of to calm down and try to sleep. Somehow I managed to find it, and then proceeded to try to find whatever I could to put around myself to stay warm.

Although we were told we would stay warm the most with just our thermals, I was so cold, and put the thermal jacket on, then surrounded and covered myself with my snow suit and the extra long dress.

To relieve my fear of being buried, I used my selfie-stick/tripod to prop up the head of the body bag (which could have been done with my boots but I didn’t think about it), and then attached a small battery-powered ring light to the zipper in case I started panicking and couldn’t find it.

Then, all I could do was lay there, curled in a ball for warmth, as the pebble-sized snow balls continued to blast and pile up on top of me.

4:30am: Waking up to a Snowy Tomb

We were told that the zodiacs were going to start picking us up around 5am to go back to the ship. So after a night from hell freezing over, most of us were already awake and getting ready before that.

I was one of the first ones up, and with great relief, I sat up in my bag, yet just to feel the most miserable I have felt in a long time. The first thing I noticed was how buried most people were, including my own legs. My boots, which I accidentally left outside, were complely covered in a foot of snow, and my life vest device was no where to be seen.

But I could barely move to try to find them. I was so cold, hadn’t slept, and the snow was still falling but now down into my bag. A few others sat up, also speechless, and we just stared out into the distance. We could see our ship, but there were no zodiacs.

One of our girls who had had a full on panic attack was up and walking around, waiting anxiously to leave. She had asked when the zodiacs were coming and was told the water conditions were too bad and that they’d have to wait until 6am.

So we continued to just sit there in silence, trying to enjoy the view as our bodies and brained demanded to know WTF we had just gone through.

5:45am: The Ice Camping “Rescue”

When we saw the first zodiacs being dispatched from the ship in the distance, we all sprung into action. It was like a legitimate race to get on the first boats, and I would have been at the front had my mandatory flotation device not gotten buried under several feet of snow.

The expedition team had to bring shovels over to dig for it, and even they thought it was so far gone that they radio-ed for someone to bring a back up.

When we finally found it, I tredged through the snow as fast as possible, not bothering to neatly put my “Sushi Roll” back into formation, and instead just slinging the whole thing over my shoulder like a Santa Claus bag.

Althought the ship wasn’t super far away, it felt like the longest zodiac ride of all three of my Antarctica expeditions.

6:00am: Back On Board the Ship

Right as I was making my way back on board and up to the mud room, I ran into one of my guests who had not been ice camping with us. He said something along the lines of “How was it”, and all I could do was shake my head and say, “Nope.”

I still had to take my gear off, and then they told us to climb up to the sixth floor of the ship to return our body bags. All I wanted to do was shower and get in bed, but I got up there, emptied and sorted the bag, and beelined for my cabin.

As I was getting ready for a gloriously hot shower, I glimpsed in the mirror and saw my face completely swollen and red from the cold and lack of sleep. That would explain the looks of concerns I was getting on my way to my room.

After a long defrosting shower, I finally got into my warm cozy bed, and passed out for a solid four hours when…

10am: The Crew Announced it Was Time to do the Polar Plunge…

Please don’t forget! I work extremely hard to produce these free travel guides and posts! If it helped you, or you enjoyed it, PLEASE give it a share on social media, and follow me to keep up with more posts! You’re two minutes of effort truly helps keep my business running! Thank ya!

xx, Alyssa