Located only about 750 miles (1200 km) from the South Pole, Mount Vinson is the highest peak on the continent of Antarctica and one of the iconic Seven Summits. Part of a 13 mile (21 km) long block of adjacent mountains in the Ellsworth Range called Vinson Massif, the highest point is now generally accepted to be 16,050 feet (4892m) above sea level.
Mountain Trip has been leading Mount Vinson expeditions since 2005 as a natural progression from 30 years of guiding Denali expeditions in Alaska. We absolutely love sharing the wild and wonder of Antarctica with fellow adventurers and hope that the friends and families of our 2010 Vinson Expedition team will feel somewhat more connected through this blog.
On December 1, a team of climbers from around the globe will converge on the small city of Punta Arenas at the southern tip of Chile. Two days of preparation, equipment checks are necessary before the group can board an Ilyushin IL-76 cargo jet and take off on the 4.5 hour flight to Antarctica.
Unloading the IL-76 on the almost hockey rink smooth blue ice.The jet lands on an immense blue-ice runway on the massive Union Glacier. This season will be the first time this runway has been used for accessing Mount Vinson, and the hope is that it should allow flights to proceed with more regular service than did the historic runway at Patriot Hills. The piles of food, clothing and equipment will be ferried from the Union Glacier to Vinson Base Camp by two ski-equipped Twin Otter aircraft and the climb will then commence.
Loading one of the Twin Otters, en route to Base Camp.
Base Camp below the Vinson Massif. The summit is roughly behind the high point toward the right end of the ridge line.Guides:
Bill Allen, co-owner of Mountain Trip from Ophir, CO
Kevin Koprek from Ouray, CO
Jacob Schmitz from Bend OR
Climbers:
Roman Hought from Boulder, CO
Patrick Weidman from Boulder, CO
Terry Kelleher from Dublin, Ireland
Albert Connaughton from Dublin, Ireland
Chuck Raper from Oceanside, CA
Ephi Gildor from Aspen, CO
Neil Beidleman from Aspen, CO
We will make every effort to update this blog from the time the climbers arrive in the bustling port of Punta Arenas on December 1st until they fly from "The Ice" and land back in Chile. We will post photos and an expedition post-trip and encourage our climbers to add their photos, thoughts and stories as well. Friends, family and fans are all encouraged to post comments on the blog entries, and we will do our best to pass these along to the team in Antarctica, but please realize that this is not always possible and that the primary purpose of these dispatches are to keep you, the reader, informed as to the team's progress. If you would like to contact a team member, please feel free to call or email our Colorado office at:
info@mountaintrip.com
+1-970-369-1153 (GMT -6)
Our team is equipped with satellite phones, which work quite well at such southern latitudes, but on any expedition, circumstances could easily arise to prevent the team from calling in on any given day. We are firm believers in "No News Is Good News!" Our Colorado office is staffed to provide you with any additional information so please feel free to contact us with any and all questions, thoughts or concerns.
Enjoy the posts!
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