The 49-year-old Flemish explorer hopes to cover 6,000 kilometres in a hundred days together with a 26-year-old medicine student, Sam Deltour.
Expedition Antarctic ICE is being staged to mark the centenary of the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen’s trip. Dansercoer and Deltour will travel across the Antarctic Plateau in eastern Antarctica using kites and sledges. They will not make any use of motorised vehicles: “Wind will be our partner” said the explorer.
The two men also intend to carry out scientific research during their trip.
Dansercoer has undertaken several Antarctic journeys in the past. Together with Alain Hubert he travelled to the South Pole in 1997-98. In 99 days they covered nearly 4,000 kilometres. At this time this was the longest unassisted Antarctic trek.
If the present expedition is successful, they will break the record set by Rune Gjeldnes of Norway. Five years ago, in ninety days, he journeyed for 4,808 kilometres without receiving any new provisions.
The expedition starts on 4 November and can be followed via the Expedition Antarctic ICE website.
