Finding Singletrack At The Bottom Of The World - Literally

Dan Schieffelin rides his Surly Pugsley beside the pressure ridges at Scott Base, the New Zealand base located 2 miles away from the USA base McMurdo.

When the decision to live and work in Antarctica has been made, you’ve already gone through the pros and cons of making such a big life decision. The first con is the pure fact that you are going to be living on the coldest and driest continent on earth. But coming in close behind is the idea of not being able to recreate outdoors. Tossing and turning days before the flight, visions of being indoor 24/7 began to haunt my utter existence and second guess my decision to move here.

View downhill on Hut Point Ridge trail

I had become an avid mountain bike enthusiast over the 2013 summer due to a newly acquired, full squish, Cannondale Jekyll. I had been riding the same Gary Fisher hardtail with trashed front forks for the past 7 years due to being stubborn and well, let’s be honest, cheap. I had convinced myself that riding the thrashed bike would make me a stronger rider in the long run, which turned out to be the case once the beautiful Jekyll entered my life. Walking away from a new bike and the beautiful brown powder trails of the Pacific Northwest was going to be quite the challenge.

Observation Hill Loop

Observation Hill Loop

McMurdo is the USA base on Ross Island located off the southern tip of Antarctica. The whole town (average population 800) is employed by the National Science Foundation and are all working in support of research and science. I was of the understanding that it would be minus zero temperatures, blustery winds and the chance for frostbite daily. What the season turned into on the other hand was quite the opposite. Above 25 degrees Fahrenheit for more than a month, in combination with very little wind and even a few 40 degree days. Warmer than most of the USA!

Observation Hill Loop

Observation Hill

Little did I know there were trails surrounding the town of McMurdo and once the snow began to melt, they were more than shreddable. As it turns out, there are also a plethora of bicycles here on station. A majority of them are crappy, been ridden too many times, pieces of junk, but intermixed between them were a few Specialized 29ers that still had a bit of life in them. Really? 29ers in Antarctica? Is this for real?

Brothers Jared and Mark Fortner (Jared in the photo) checking out the view after a downhill section on Hut Point Ridge Trail

Jared Fortner - Hut Point Ridge.

Hut Point at sunset. Photo courtesy of Kathleen DeWahl.

A majority of the island was formed by volcanic eruptions of nearby Mt. Erebus, the most southerly active volcano in the world. The trails consist of small to medium sized volcanic rock granules resulting in loose turns, but solid downhill runs that meander along scenic but very windy ridge lines. Once the warmer weather arrived it was common to see Adelie penguins and Weddell seals catching rays and Orca & Minke whales swimming within a stone's throw distance away. Looming beyond the horizon of the shelf ice, beautiful snow and crevassed saturated mountains would shine brightly in the 24 hour summer sunlight.

A view from Observation Hill Loop. An adelie penguin hanging out on an Iceberg. Photo courtesy of Kathleen DeWahl.

An adelie penguin waits for a cup of joe outside the McMurdo coffee shop. Photo courtesy of Kathleen DeWahl.

How to ride here? Come and work here. It’s as simple as that. The question is, is it worth it? The bragging rights are enough themselves, but being able to mountain bike while at the bottom of the world on legit trail was priceless.

Antarctica's first bicycle. It was brought over on Scott's Terra Nova expedition and first used in 1911 by geologist Thomas Griffith Taylor. Thomas rode the bicycle from Cape Evans all the way to Erebus Glacier Tongue doing a survey. He got so tired he walked back carrying the bike and it is now on display at Scott's hut, Cape Evans - Antarctica. Photo courtesy of Dacre Dunn.

Everyone that visits the South Pole always takes a hero photo. I decided to do it while on a bike...and in costume.