Bestard Top Extreme Lite to Antarctica, by Luis Miguel López Soriano

Bestard Top Extreme Lite to Antarctica, by Luis Miguel López Soriano

On this occasion I had the opportunity to wear the Bestard Top Extreme Lite boots, a double boot that offers a high level of protection against low temperatures, while maintaining a very light and technical design. Its removable liner system seemed very practical. Effective for keeping the foot warmer, as well as facilitating perspiration and drying the footwear better.

As always, in the work that I develop with my camera in the high mountains, in addition to doing the alpine activity, I have to concentrate on doing my professional work with the greatest sensitivity and efficiency possible. One of the key pieces in my material is footwear. Being of vital importance to protect the feet safe from any injury and keep them with the maximum possible comfort.

In short, the Bestard Top Extreme Lite has seemed to me to be a warm, light and technical boot, highly recommended for use in very cold environments and adverse weather conditions.

HEADING TO ANTARCTICA

The beginning of the new year 2022 could not have started in a better way. Once again I have had the privilege of being able to work with my camera on the project: “In the last frontiers of the planet”. A series of documentaries linked to the 5th Centenary of the Magellan-Elcano trip around the world, carried out by the production company Salomba Ventures, led by Sebastián Álvaro. This work started in the year 2020 with the filming of a first documentary in Patagonia, with Cerro Torre as the protagonist. After almost two years, marked by the pandemic, it has continued in the confines of Tierra del Fuego and Antarctica.

At the beginning of January we left Puerto Williams, at the southern end of the American continent, heading for Antarctica. An extraordinary journey through the Drake Passage, or Hoces Sea, aboard the Ypake II, a sailboat captained by the Argentine Ezequiel Sundblad. Once in the Antarctic Peninsula, the plan was to travel with the boat to some impressive places such as: the Berlache Strait, Lemaire Channel, Cuverville and Pléneau to capture with our cameras the wonderful natural environment of this beautiful and unique place.

In addition to sailing, we would disembark at different points to make some ascents to the beautiful peaks that cut out the horizon of the white continent. Mountain massifs that have very few ascents and that offer a terrain marked by great glacial activity, steep slopes and very steep contours that have little to envy the great mountain ranges of the Earth. If, in addition to these characteristics, we add to the alpine landscape the marine component, dotted with drifting ice blocks, a diversity of exceptional fauna, and place it in the most remote corner of the world, we have before us one of the most exceptional places on the planet.

The southern summer allowed us to enjoy an endless light with long twilights that gave way, in a few moments, to beautiful sunrises. We also suffered the rigors of the weather, with some days of snow. But the temperatures were not as low as at other times of the year, although the thermal oscillation and the frigid wind from the south frequently reminded us where we were. During the incursions to land and ascents, the humidity of the sea and the great amount of accumulated snow, without transforming, put to the test the material that we had to count on.

During our journey we had the opportunity to climb Melchior Island and Spigot Peak, a steep promontory of ice and rock that rises above Orne Harbour. But without a doubt, the route that left the best taste in our mouths was the one we took to the top of Mount Bancke, a beautiful mountain located on the Ferguson Canal.

In all cases, the amount of snow was abundant and untransformed, forcing us to open a very deep track along all the ascents.

Choosing the most suitable companions for each trip is always the best guarantee for successfully carrying out the desired activity. Once again I have to be grateful to Bestard Mountain Boots for his great collaboration with my work. Many thanks friends!!!

Luis Miguel Lopez Soriano, Photographer & Filmmaker