Snowboarding Antarctica With Xavier De Le Rue

While we're on the subject of Antarctica today, it seems the South Pole skiers and Vinson climbers aren't the only ones who are exploring the frozen continent right now. Snowboarder Xavier De Le Rue is also there and looking to ride some of the untouched slopes that abound throughout the region.

The expedition got underway back on November 21, but according to his Facebook page, Xavier and company are not yet on the Antarctic continent. Apparently they first sailed to the Falkland Islands before braving the Drake Passage at the end of last week. That was a turbulent crossing that left the snowboarder weak in the legs and hurling his stomach out on more than one occasion. They're expecting calmer seas now however and they should be on land shortly where they'll finally be climbing and riding fresh Antarctic powder.

Xavier first visited Antarctica four years ago and has been itching to return ever since. He'll be producing a snowboarding movie on the expedition, which he hopes will really capture the remoteness and rugged challenges of visiting the bottom of the world. Updates are coming via Facebook and Twitter under the hashtag #missionantarctica. The expedition is expected to last a month, ending on the 21st of December.

The video below will give you an idea of what this journey is all about and what conditions in the Antarctic are like for snowboarders.

mission antarctic from TimeLine Films on Vimeo.