In Antarctica, this Slovenian mountaineer finally found a job that will keep him coming back
Aleš Česen is a celebrated mountaineer but stresses that no special training is required to work in Antarctica. All you need is reliability and a willingness to sometimes work in “miserable conditions”.
Aleš Česen has a degree in physics and a PhD in civil engineering. He has worked as a competition climber, a mountaineer, and a mountain guide. And twice, he has been awarded with a Piolets d’Or award, known as an “Oscar of mountaineering”.
But through all these experiences he was always on the move, always looking for his next big experience.
It was only in 2018, when he first flew into Antarctica and first saw the vast expanses of the White Continent that he found a place he could not get enough of. Since then, he has returned each season to his job as an expedition guide at Wolf’s Fang, an independent station operated by a tourism company.
“Some mountaineers climb the same mountain or even the same route 90 per cent of the time. I never liked that. I always wanted something new. But this season I will go back to Antartica for the sixth time and, for now, I am still really looking forward to going,” Aleš Česen told Polar Journal AG.
Mountaineering as a side gig
Aleš Česen grew up in Slovenia. It was there that he developed a love for mountains and the extreme environments that they offer. He recalls that after he grew tired of competitive climbing at the age of 16 or 17, he found himself more and more often just exploring the mountains.
Before long, this exploration took him to the Himalayas where he climbed some of the world’s highest peaks. At the age of 21, for instance, he climbed the 7000 meter peak Khan Tengri, and since then he has amassed a long list of mountaineering achievements, including the two Piolets d’Or awards in 2015 and 2019.
But through his 20s, the climbing was only a side gig. His main occupation was in academia where he managed to build a successful career. That changed when at around age 30, as soon as he had defended his PhD, he left it all behind to focus solely on his exploits as an alpinist.
His time was now split between being a mountain guide and a semi-professional mountaineer, and with this division, he avoided the pressure from sponsors to climb specific, dangerous mountains. He gained freedom. Freedom to say yes to any offer that excited him.
And it was through just such an offer that he ended up in Antarctica.
“It started through word of mouth. A company was looking for new guides and some of the people working there already knew me,” Aleš Česen said.
“When I got the opportunity to work in Antarctica, I didn’t question how much the pay was; I just said yes. Anyone who gets to go there is quite privileged in one way or another. It is such a beautiful place,” he said.
His excitement, though, would have to be curbed for a little while longer.
A melted runway
In late 2016, Aleš Česen was on his way to the airport in Slovenia. His bags were packed, he had his visa for South Africa all worked out, and he was ready to fly as far south as south goes. But on his way to the airport he received a frustrating phone call.
His colleagues on the phone told him: ‘Sorry, it’s been too hot. The runway in Antarctica has melted away and we cannot land’. So he turned his car around and drove home.
“This was something I had never expected. It was a big disappointment but showed me also something about climate change and about how unpredictable life can be there,” Aleš Česen said.
The next year his trip was canceled again, this time due to an injury.
In 2018, thankfully, he finally managed to get all the way to Antartica. And what he saw did not disappoint.
“I am used to glaciers and I am used to ice but Antartica is something different. It was very exciting to be on such a vast plane of ice. Ice that is several kilometers thick and with the sun that never sets,” he said.
“It’s not what most people mention but with my background in physics and astronomy, it was also exciting to see the night sky from a different angle and with no light pollution.”
“To me, visiting new places is always exciting but this was like visiting a new planet.”
Antarctica offers better pay
At the Wolf’s Fang base in Queen Maud Land, Aleš Česen works as a guide for tourists. Sometimes, they fly around the continent, to the South Pole for instance, but on most days they engage in activities around the base.
A typical day could be two to three hours of ice climbing, then back to the base for lunch, before going hiking, skiing, or more climbing in the afternoon. And sometimes, when the weather is bad, no activities are possible and everyone is forced to stay back at the base.
While these activities are exciting for the tourists, for Aleš Česen they constitute an easier and more stable workday than what he is used to in the Alps or in the Himalayas.
“There are dangers like hidden crevasses and loose rocks, of course, but physically and mentally it is not on the same level as what I usually do,” he said.
Aleš Česen stays in Antarctica for two months each season, and when there are no tourists, his job also involves safety training other staff at the base. There is usually work to do every day, and even when there is not, he still gets paid.
This, too, is a security he is not used to as a mountain guide in other continents. There, bad weather and cancellations can suddenly mean days of no payment.
“I work for the same rates in the Alps but it’s impossible to be paid seven days of the week for five consecutive weeks. In Antarctica, I can earn a bit more money in a shorter amount of time. Not that I do it for the money, but unfortunately that’s the only way to pay the bills,” he said.
Prepare for miserable conditions
Aleš Česen has a very specialized background but many of his colleagues did not. And while many people in Antartica are scientists, Aleš Česen does not believe you need a special educational background to get a job there.
All you need, he stressed, is to really want it.
In touristic and scientific operations, Aleš Česen mentioned, there are many people who are just there as what is referred to as ‘general hands’: workers who perform menial but important tasks around the base.
Specialists like mechanics and carpenters are also highly sought after.
“These people are good at their job, but the most important thing is that they are prepared to work in miserable conditions. They have to go out into snowstorms to fix things; not just sometimes but all the time.”
“I have particular respect for mechanics who work with metal. There are some things they can’t do with gloves on so they are often forced to work outside in the cold with bare hands. And a lot of the ones I worked with were from South Africa and probably not used to the cold. I quite admired them,” Aleš Česen said.
“If you are not excited, don’t go”
Daily life in Antarctica can be quite stressful. You are often locked in small spaces with lots of strangers. This leads to tension and irritation that sometimes boil over. Therefore, Aleš Česen believes that one of the most important skills for people working in Antarctica is the ability to do teamwork in stressful situations.
“You should be aware that there will be days when you will feel like crap and you will be angry at everyone. People who are able to handle this will do well in Antarctica,” he said.
For Aleš Česen himself the importance of the social aspect of work in Antarctica has been the biggest realization. The work itself is “not so extreme” compared to what he’s used to, but having to be around people for months with no way to escape was new.
However, the positive aspects far outweighed the negative ones. So much so that Aleš Česen almost did not feel it was necessary to explain them.
“First of all, if you are not already excited to go to Antarctica, you shouldn’t go. That should be the first filter,” he said.
“But Antarctica offers a very different world to the one we are all used to. That is the most exciting thing for me,” Aleš Česen.
Ole Ellekrog, Polar Journal AG
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