Local geomorphologist Joe Labelle will host a presentation on his travels to Antarctica during a presentation at the Dolores Public Library on Feb. 25 at 6:30 p.m..
In 2005, Labelle and his wife boarded the Polar Star icebreaker, which took them from Tierra del Fuego, Argentina to Antarctica.
LaBelle is a geomorphologist, retired from an institute of the University of Alaska, where he was involved with practical research throughout Alaska. Previously, with the Arctic Institute of North America, he was involved with research in the Yukon Territory, the North Slope and Beaufort Sea of northern Alaska, and Baffin Bay west of Greenland. Joe and his wife, Suzi, are active hikers and mountaineers.
“After working for all those years, I retired and signed up for an expedition cruise,” he said. “Zodiac boats took us to shore and we did a lot of hiking and some mountain climbing.”
In spite of its icy, treeless desolation, Antarctica and its waters are home to an amazing variety of wildlife. During his expedition LaBelle encountered hundreds of glaciers, icebergs, exotic seabirds, many species of seals and whales, and hundreds of thousands of penguins.
“We saw fin whales and humpbacks,” he said. “It was fascinating to watch killer whales speeding along like submarines.”
During the two-week journey, the Polar Star made stops on the Antarctic mainland and surrounding islands. But first the icebreaker had negotiated the infamous rough seas of the Southern Ocean.
“It was quite a voyage, we encountered 100 percent sea ice where regular ships cant go but the icebreaker could,” he said. “Normally the Southern Ocean has the worst weather, but when we were there it was beautiful.”
They toured a Ukrainian research center, and attempted to climb Spigot Peak but were turned back by 80 MPH winds.
LaBelle captured the adventure in a voice-over slide-show presentation with video footage set to music.
The presentation is a part of the Dolores Public Library’s ongoing “Winter Tales” series, which features talks from Montezuma County locals on outdoor adventures in the Four Corners region and beyond. For a full schedule of “Winter Tales” talks and other happenings at the Dolores Public Library, visit DoloresLibrary.org.
jmimiaga@the-journal.com
