A Cold Descent to Base Camp After summiting Vinson on Tuesday we descended and stayed at High Camp overnight. That night was probably the coldest I had been the entire trip. Even wrapped up in my -40degC sleeping bag I was shivering nonstop. For some reason I just couldn’t warm up. At some point during the night, frustrated at not …
Vinson 6 of 7: Summit Day
Trying To Delay The Summit It’s counterintuitive when doing a speed record attempt but I’ve actually been trying to delay our summit attempt on Vinson. We could have gone yesterday and possibly even the day before but I’ve been actively trying to encourage our team to wait. Fortunately the weather has been playing into my hands with forecasts predicting improving …
Vinson 5 of 7: Side Trip to Mt Shinn
A Good Way To Spend A Rest Day Today was planned to be a rest / acclimatisation day at High Camp. Thankfully one of our guides agreed to take myself and one other guy from our group on a side trip across to Mt Shinn. The views from High Camp are spectacular but it’s not the sort of place you …
Vinson 4 of 7: Low Camp to High Camp
Getting Higher. Getting Colder. Today we climbed from Low Camp to High Camp. The route started out once more along the Branscomb Glacier. Relatively flat easy walking for the first hour. From there we headed up a steepish ridge, approx. 40 to 45deg to a plateau at High Camp. It was pretty easy climbing with hard packed snow underfoot. There …
Vinson 3 of 7: Base Camp to Low Camp
What Time Is It? The first thing to get use to down here in Antarctica (or maybe the second, after the cold) is the sun. At this time of year it doesn’t set, it just does circles above your head. With 24hr daylight it really doesn’t matter what time zone you work off. All time zones merge at the South …
Vinson 2 of 7: Welcome to Antarctica
The Flight South Last night for some reason in the hotel I barely slept. Probably a combination of still adjusting to the new time zone plus anticipation for the day ahead (and my roommate snoring). Lying in bed awake at 06:00 I decided it was pointless trying to get any more sleep so got up and went to the hotel …
Vinson 1 of 7: Antarctica Pre-Departure Briefing
Pisco Sours on Antarctic Ice. This afternoon we attended Antarctic Logistics & Expedition’s (ALE) pre-departure flight briefing covering everything from boarding procedures to weather to not feeding the penguins. It was very comprehensive and topped off with light canapés and pisco sours served on antarctic ice. From Punta Arenas we’ll be taking an Ilyushin 76 to Union Glacier …
Project 7in4: And So It Begins!
Well…. This Is It. No Turning Back Now! After a hectic lead up, Project 7in4 is finally underway. Last night I arrived in Punta Arenas, our departure port for Antarctica. Today we’re going though final preparations and gear check before flying to Union Glacier, Antarctica, early tomorrow morning (weather permitting). Despite months of planning and preparing it was still …