{"id":1341,"date":"2021-03-23T15:01:49","date_gmt":"2021-03-23T15:01:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/?p=1341"},"modified":"2024-01-31T15:45:00","modified_gmt":"2024-01-31T15:45:00","slug":"antarctica-on-ice-guides-making-a-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/antarctica-on-ice-guides-making-a-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Antarctica on ice: Guides making a change"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

My name is Bob Gilmore, and I\u2019ve been working and guiding in the polar regions for over 20 years now. I first reached Antarctica in 1996 with the USAP (United States Antarctic Program) at McMurdo Station. I was instantly hooked, it was magic in all directions, and when I discovered the Polar tourism industry in 2002 it was a done deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what have Antarctic guides been up to since our careers have taken a face plant? Whilst there is no denying that we\u2019ve been dreaming of glaciers, whales<\/a>, penguins<\/a> and igneous rocks during the pandemic, we\u2019re overcoming the temporary loss in diverse ways. Some are exploring their local areas and getting acquainted with their artistic sides whilst others are leading mountain climbing missions, mastering the art of fly fishing in Patagonia or battling the cold in the northern hemisphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Whilst there is no denying that we\u2019ve been dreaming of glaciers, whales, penguins and igneous rocks during the pandemic, we\u2019re overcoming the temporary loss in diverse ways.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\"An<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Before I started guiding I was lucky enough to live near Aspen, Colorado. I dabbled in remodelling kitchens and bathrooms and finally built entire houses. With that feather in my cap, I moved halfway across the country to Anacortes, Washington some 20 years later and launched my own carpentry business. It keeps my mind challenged and provides a bit of income. I still get to play in the mountains, as I did in Colorado, but there are also glaciers nearby, and humpback whales and orcas in the San Juan Islands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One gift that Covid-19 has given us is time. I usually move at 100 km an hour this time of year, so I\u2019ve welcomed a chance to push the pause button. As one of the founding members of the Polar Citizen Science Collective<\/a>, this time has been a blessing. We\u2019re attempting to help the scientific community better understand changes in the Polar regions while allowing passengers to participate in real-time research and educational lectures through citizen science cruises<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve been developing our Standard Operating Procedures, we\u2019ve created a UK-based Charity and we\u2019re vetting new scientific programs – and we\u2019re not alone. There are many motivated individuals and scientific organizations taking on the task of cataloguing marine wildlife to get an idea of population numbers and habitat use across the Antarctic Peninsula<\/a> and the Southern Ocean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“One gift that Covid-19 has given us is time. I usually move at 100 km an hour this time of year, so I\u2019ve welcomed a chance to push the pause button.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Landing at Stromness Whaling Station, South Georgia, the site where Sir Ernest Shackleton finally found help after his arduous 800-mile journey across the Southern Ocean<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Alongside this, I work with a number of Polar operators who are preparing for when Antarctic travel re-opens. I\u2019m collaborating with one to orchestrate an in-house educational curriculum for their guides. We invite experts to host informal online lectures on topics such as ornithology, glaciology, history and marine mammals – the list goes on – enabling the guides to become better naturalists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The world is a challenging place these days, but the human will is resilient and we, together, are moving forward. I hope that wherever you are in this gorgeous place that we call home you are safe, happy and getting out there.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My name is Bob Gilmore, and I\u2019ve been working and guiding in the polar regions for over 20 years now. I first reached Antarctica in 1996 with the USAP (United States Antarctic Program) at McMurdo Station. I was instantly hooked, it was magic in all directions, and when I discovered the Polar tourism industry in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":1342,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[10,86],"class_list":["post-1341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories-and-inspiration","tag-antarctic-cruise","tag-guides"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAntarctica on ice: Guides making a change - Swoop Antarctica Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Hear from Bob Gilmore, Antarctica guide and founding member of the Polar Citizen Science Collective, on a quiet but productive pandemic year.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/antarctica-on-ice-guides-making-a-change\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Antarctica on ice: Guides making a change - Swoop Antarctica Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Hear from Bob Gilmore, Antarctica guide and founding member of the Polar Citizen Science Collective, on a quiet but productive pandemic year.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/antarctica-on-ice-guides-making-a-change\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Swoop Antarctica Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-03-23T15:01:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-01-31T15:45:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Bob-Gilmore-heading-into-Peterman-Island-just-south-of-the-Lemaire-Channel.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"700\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Paul\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Paul\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/antarctica-on-ice-guides-making-a-change\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/antarctica-on-ice-guides-making-a-change\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Paul\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2a8eebf1a7ae296308c6aa697699e569\"},\"headline\":\"Antarctica on ice: Guides making a change\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-03-23T15:01:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-01-31T15:45:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/antarctica-on-ice-guides-making-a-change\/\"},\"wordCount\":569,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Antarctic cruise\",\"guides\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Stories & Inspiration\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/antarctica-on-ice-guides-making-a-change\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/antarctica-on-ice-guides-making-a-change\/\",\"name\":\"Antarctica on ice: Guides making a change - Swoop Antarctica Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-03-23T15:01:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-01-31T15:45:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"Hear from Bob Gilmore, Antarctica guide and founding member of the Polar Citizen Science Collective, on a quiet but productive pandemic year.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/antarctica-on-ice-guides-making-a-change\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/antarctica-on-ice-guides-making-a-change\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/antarctica-on-ice-guides-making-a-change\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Antarctica on ice: Guides making a change\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Swoop Antarctica Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Swoop Antarctica Blog\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/swoop-antarctica-logo-blog.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/swoop-antarctica-logo-blog.svg\",\"width\":1240,\"height\":108,\"caption\":\"Swoop Antarctica Blog\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2a8eebf1a7ae296308c6aa697699e569\",\"name\":\"Paul\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Paul-Clammer-avatar-96x96.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Paul-Clammer-avatar-96x96.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Paul\"},\"description\":\"Paul came to Swoop after spending nearly 20 years researching and writing guidebooks for Lonely Planet. On his most recent trip for Swoop, he fell in love with the epic landscapes and uncountable wildlife of South Georgia.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/author\/paulswoop-adventures-com\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Antarctica on ice: Guides making a change - Swoop Antarctica Blog","description":"Hear from Bob Gilmore, Antarctica guide and founding member of the Polar Citizen Science Collective, on a quiet but productive pandemic year.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/antarctica-on-ice-guides-making-a-change\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Antarctica on ice: Guides making a change - Swoop Antarctica Blog","og_description":"Hear from Bob Gilmore, Antarctica guide and founding member of the Polar Citizen Science Collective, on a quiet but productive pandemic year.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/antarctica-on-ice-guides-making-a-change\/","og_site_name":"Swoop Antarctica Blog","article_published_time":"2021-03-23T15:01:49+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-01-31T15:45:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":700,"url":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/Bob-Gilmore-heading-into-Peterman-Island-just-south-of-the-Lemaire-Channel.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Paul","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Paul","Estimated reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/antarctica-on-ice-guides-making-a-change\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/antarctica-on-ice-guides-making-a-change\/"},"author":{"name":"Paul","@id":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2a8eebf1a7ae296308c6aa697699e569"},"headline":"Antarctica on ice: Guides making a change","datePublished":"2021-03-23T15:01:49+00:00","dateModified":"2024-01-31T15:45:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/antarctica-on-ice-guides-making-a-change\/"},"wordCount":569,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/#organization"},"keywords":["Antarctic cruise","guides"],"articleSection":["Stories & Inspiration"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/antarctica-on-ice-guides-making-a-change\/","url":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/antarctica-on-ice-guides-making-a-change\/","name":"Antarctica on ice: Guides making a change - Swoop Antarctica Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-03-23T15:01:49+00:00","dateModified":"2024-01-31T15:45:00+00:00","description":"Hear from Bob Gilmore, Antarctica guide and founding member of the Polar Citizen Science Collective, on a quiet but productive pandemic year.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/antarctica-on-ice-guides-making-a-change\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/antarctica-on-ice-guides-making-a-change\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/antarctica-on-ice-guides-making-a-change\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Antarctica on ice: Guides making a change"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/","name":"Swoop Antarctica Blog","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Swoop Antarctica Blog","url":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/swoop-antarctica-logo-blog.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/swoop-antarctica-logo-blog.svg","width":1240,"height":108,"caption":"Swoop Antarctica Blog"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2a8eebf1a7ae296308c6aa697699e569","name":"Paul","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Paul-Clammer-avatar-96x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Paul-Clammer-avatar-96x96.jpg","caption":"Paul"},"description":"Paul came to Swoop after spending nearly 20 years researching and writing guidebooks for Lonely Planet. On his most recent trip for Swoop, he fell in love with the epic landscapes and uncountable wildlife of South Georgia.","url":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/author\/paulswoop-adventures-com\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1341"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1341"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1341\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1347,"href":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1341\/revisions\/1347"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swoop-antarctica.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}