SleepMonsters Adventure Racing

The Last Desert (Antarctica) 2014

Seven Days, 250Km across the driest continent on Earth

Clare Morin / 12.11.2014

The Last Desert 2014 came to a triumphant close on Saturday 8th, with the last of five stages taking place on Deception Island at Telefon Bay.

Jose Manuel “Chema” Martinez of Spain, and Isis Breiter of Mexico emerged as race champions. This marks Chema’s win as the overall champion of the 4 Deserts Series in 2014.

The Old Misfits won the team category, comprising Michael Gilgen from Switzerladn, Stefan Danis from Canada and Anastasios (Ernie) Votis from Greece.

Friday (7th) had been an unexpected day of rest for competitors due to very strong winds. Overnight, the expedition ship M/V Plancius had sailed to a new location on Deception Island through rough seas—and this morning, they awoke to calm weather in the caldera of the horseshoe shaped island.

Breakfast was served at 07:00 and an hour later, competitors were boarding zodiacs and being transported to the black sandy beach of this volcanic island.

The stage began at 08:50 after a short briefing, and was held in a large snowy valley surrounded by volcanoes. The course was on snowy ground but due to the cold temperatures of approximately -3 degrees Celsius, and cold winds that were being channeled over the snowy peaks, competitors had to deal with a crusty, hard footing for much of the route. It was fairly flat and runnable but also included some more moderate climbs with softer snow.

Highlights during the day were the Weddell seals including a small, white Weddell seal cub that was resting on the shore with its mother as the stage began. There were also many albatross flying all around the course and penguins seemingly cheering on from the shoreline. The day was the perfect finishing stage. It was, however, the coldest of the race so far due to strong winds, still around 20 knots, which made the temperatures feel like -18 degrees Celsius at times.

The stage concluded at approximately 13:00, with race leaders Jose Manuel “Chema” Martinez Fernandez of Spain and Mexico’s Isis Brieter winning the race. America’s Ralph Crowley was second-placed overall followed by Andrzej Gondek of Poland in third place. The second-placed woman was Monique Muhlen, with Spanish competitor Beatriz Garcia Berche coming in third.

Kevin Murray, the expedition leader of the M/V Plancius and his expedition staff, Alison Liddle and Paul Donovan, awarded the 69 competitors with The Last Desert finisher medals as they completed the stage.

“I loved today,” said Japan’s Tomotaka Kamei. “The course was very runnable and I could have just kept going. I’m so happy to have completed this race.”

Miki Komaba, also from Japan, said: “I have had a great time in Antarctica and it’s such a beautiful place. I could come back another time.”

The atmosphere at the finish line had it all: tears, warm hugs, loud cheers, photo taking and more. Adding to the celebrations was the fact that it was Grand Slammer (and new 4 Deserts Club member) Atul Patki’s birthday. After celebrations on shore, competitors had to say goodbye to Antarctica and boarded Plancius for the return trip.

French competitor Gregory Lafitte said, “I feel great, although with the two day journey back the event is still not quite finished so it’s a little hard to realize just yet what I have achieved.”

He has completed three 4 Deserts Race Series races in the past few months together with fellow Frenchman Frederik Asseline who added that this race with its luxurious meals onboard has been somewhat different: “I’m feeling happy but I have actually gained weight during this trip,” he said with a laugh. “Which was not the case in Madagascar 2014 and the Atacama Crossing!”

The M/V Plancius is now making its way past the last islands and back out to the Drake’s Passage for a two and a half day journey back to Argentina.