Entries from Vinson Massif
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It was a long day, although with perpetual daylight and a lot of excitement, we hardly noticed.
Starting at 4:30 AM, we were off to Punta Arenas airport to board our Ilyushin flight to Union Glacier Camp in Antarctica. The Ilyushin is a remarkable plane, capable of carrying huge payload long distances in tough conditions. But, luxury is not its forte. To get an idea, imagine 3 railroad freight cars tied together and sent aloft. Luxury aside, the Ilyushin is an experience of Antarctica not to be missed, and is quite a plane. The pilots dropped us on the 3 mile, blue ice runway as if it were a strip of cotton, and we all excitedly stepped off onto the ice.
The new Union Glacier camp - Antarctica headquarters of ALE - is as nice as it gets in every aspect. The ALE staff, who spend months here on the ice helping people fulfill their Antarctic dreams, do great work making sure every need is attended to. It all started with a gourmet lunch in the toasty dining tent, filling our bellies and putting smiles on our faces. We were all pretty comfy at Union Glacier, and not too opposed to the idea of staying a night there. But, then word came we would continue our journey, flying in an hour on to Vinson Basecamp (VBC).
It is rare to NOT have a delay at some point in the transition from Punta Arenas to Basecamp. Delays of a week or more are actually quite common. So, we weren't going to complain at getting all the way to Vinson Basecamp in one day - especially a warm, sunny one like we had.
Yet again we were off, in a two-part journey to VBC. A larger plane ferried us to the Nimmitz Glacier, where a Twin Otter took us the final 10 minutes to VBC. Kent Harvey and I went first in order to get good imagery of the Otter landing on the snow at VBC and the team's arrival. Unfortunately, after dropping us off, the Otter pilot fell and broke his wrist. Fortunately he'll be OK, but that incident added another 4 hours to the rest of the team arriving.
But, arrive they finally did, and we got camp set up in the stunning cirque of VBC. Jagged peaks soar above us, clad in massive glaciers under a never-setting sun. Seth made a great dinner of Dinty Moore meals, and sent us all to bed. It was 12:10 AM when I finally turned in, sunglasses still on. Welcome to Antarctica.
Just got off the phone with our outfitter ALE. There will be no flight tonight. We are to dress in our gear, boot up, and be “wheels up” in the lobby at 4:30 am tomorrow morning. I have mixed feelings…glad to get another night in a bed after the enduro flights to get here, but I’m anxious to get on the ice and start.
This will be my third trip to Vinson and I am stoked to go back. Viesturs and I have been planning this trip for years. First Ascent is our primary sponsor, and the team consists of Ed Viesturs, Seth Waterfall, Caroline George, and Jake Norton, who are all First Ascent team members. Also coming along is Kent Harvey, one of the best high altitude cinematographers in the business. Rounding out our team are clients Cindy Outlaw, Ben Dimock, and David Pritchett. This team will climb Vinson, celebrating the 45th Anniversary of the first ascent done in 1966 by Americans, who were wearing…you got it, Eddie Bauer expedition clothing. We have the original flag from that expedition and plan to place it on top to commemorate their climb. After Vinson, the guides and production team will fly to an unexplored area and ski several first descents. Throughout the trip the entire team will be testing 2011 and 2012 First Ascent prototypes.
Just another day in the office…
Stay tuned for more updates,
Peter Whittaker
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The RMI Expedition to Vinson Massif began January 1, 2011 as the team members and guides departed the U.S. in route to Punta Arenas, Chile. The team is led by led by RMI Guides Peter Whittaker, Ed Viesturs, Seth Waterfall and Caroline George.
Today they met with staff from Antarctic Logistics & Expeditions for an orientation about life on the ice. The itinerary is for the group to fly to Antarctica tomorrow but it looks like the weather is good and thus the team is readying for a departure as early as this evening (10 pm Chilean time).
The big Ilyushin 76 has been loaded with gear, food and supplies. Everything the team will need for their ascent of Vinson Massif.
If the weather remains good down on the ice, the team may be in the air in just a few hours!
RMI Guide Ed Viesturs discusses the preparation for this January's Vinson Massif expedition with First Ascent.
The Ilyusion landed safely and smoothly a few minutes ago, but it will be another hour or two before we board her for the flight northward. This will be the last time that Patriot Hills acts as the main portal to the continent for climbers. The ALE staff are busily working to relocate the operation to the Union Glacier, some 40 miles away. When we -the last of this season's tourists- get on the jet and roar off the ice, the move will be made in a matter of days... Tents will come down and a few overland trains of sno-cats and various ice vehicles will drag everything to the Union. But by then we will all be back in the Northern Hemisphere. For now, we should get back to Punta Arenas in the middle of the night... In utter darkness, we hope- it will be our first look at the stars in two weeks.
We are starting to talk about dinner reservations in South America. But realistically speaking, those would be for tomorrow night, since there is a good chance we will be flying back to Punta Arenas during prime dining hours tonight.
Yesterday was spent quietly sitting in the "Guide Tent" with the 25 Vinson climbers, chatting, reading, eating and passing time. The weather wasn't horrible, but neither was it any good for flying, with low cloud and poor contrast prevailing. Today is a different story, which actually defies the forecasts... It is sunny and calm and the ALE folk have "called the flight" Meaning that the Illyusion 76 is being put through its final preparations and it may be off deck and headed our way within the next two hours.
I'll let you know of our progress.
We bailed out of high camp this morning without too much difficulty. It stayed calm and wasn't even all that cold as we got up, but then snow clouds formed up and blotted out the sun and we felt the true temperatures. We got moving downward at 11:15 AM. The fixed-rope section was strenuous with our heavy packs but conditions were good and so we made fine progress. We were on the last hill overlooking basecamp at 4 PM when we saw and heard a Twin Otter flying out of VBC. This was a good thing, but it was also a little surprising as there was a good deal of cloud and fog hanging around the lower glacier. When we marched in to camp, it was great to see John and the other climbers again. We were told that the Twin Otter crew was intent on flying out to Vinson two more times in the evening and that we were slated for the second of those flights... But as that would be four or five hours off in good conditions -and conditions were deteriorating, we simply built camp again (we are getting fast) and had a pleasant dinner. Sure enough, it socked in and there were no more flights, but we didn't mind much. We are happy to be down safe and happy that the biggest part of our hard work is finished. We'll see what tomorrow brings but now things are largely out of our control.
Up to the top of the Massif today. We had an easy time getting out of camp this morning as conditions were perfect, no wind and no clouds above (although there was an ocean of cloud below). We pulled out of camp a little before 9 AM. For the first hour or two, temperatures were mild and most of the team was wondering if all the down gear was necessary, then we caught a minor but persistent breeze and hoods went up and zippers got shut. The cooler conditions were ideal for walking. Vinson summit day is a long, moderate incline (on glacial ice, of course) up a broad valley until you hit the final rock and ice peak atop the broad summit plateau. Then things steepen and tend to get more interesting. Throughout the climb we were treated to increasingly magnificent views of the sharp and lofty peaks to the North. Eventually we were sheltered from wind as we came along our summit peak, but then caught enough of it on the 16,000 ft final ridge that we had to be very much on the lookout for frostbite on each others faces. We walked onto the highest point in Antarctica at 4:15 PM. I've had more relaxing times up there -the steady cold breezes needed to be paid attention to this time as one couldn't take gloves off for picture taking or snacking. But it was stunning and beautiful to see the mountains up and down the Ellsworth chain sticking out of the endless cloud sea.
We got off the ridge without frosting anyone and had a smooth and easy walk down to high camp, which we reached around 7:45 PM. Strength returned as we sat around for hot drinks and dinner. Inevitably, with the relief of having made the top, folks started talking about airplanes, but I tried to keep people focused on the need to climb down safely first. We'll do that tomorrow, high camp to basecamp, with some heavy loads. And from what we heard, none of the other teams did any flying yet and don't expect to tomorrow -that sea of clouds envelopes both Vinson Base and Patriot Hills. So perhaps we'll catch up to all the other climbers soon. My team is looking forward to a good sleep first... It is supposed to reach -30 C at high camp tonight.
It was plenty cold at low camp last night. Namgya bravely got out of the tent at 11 AM to fire up the stoves, even though we were still in the cold shadow. The weather held, with little cloud cover getting in our way. We watched a blanket of thick cloud fill the valley below and we could see wind tearing at the mountaintops, but we lucked out with calm and sunny conditions for our five hour and ten minute climb up to high camp.
Willie Benegas and Vern Tejas managed to get their teams to the summit deespite the winds and both were back just after we got our tents built and kitchen dug out, around 8:30 PM. Vern is the new world's record holder for Vinson ascents, with 27. I have a chance to tie him tomorrow if the weather cooperates and if my climbers are feeling fine. They seem to be. Leif Whittaker, who turned 25 the day we flew out of Punta Arenas, is cruising along as if he did this sort of thing all the time. One can't help just assuming that it is in his blood, since his Dad is Big Jim Whittaker -the first American up Everest. Sashko Kedev, our cardiologist from Macedonia was thrilled with the day on the ropes today and obviously can't wait for tomorrow. Tim Amos, our producer from New York City, has been strong and steady all along. Brent Huntsman is the team geologist from Ohio and when we slow down enough to permit conversation (not often), he explains the wild "chevron" folds in the rock we are seeing.
It is calm now (12:30 AM) at high camp, we want it to stay that way.
We paused for a rest today. It turned out that our hard work of the past few days had acted to bring back a chest cold that poor John thought he was done with. While he didn't seem greatly incapacitated by it, we decided that it was the sort of thing that would get worse by going higher and colder. We chose instead to get John lower and warmer. Namgya and I brought him down to bascamp where ALE's staff graciously agreed to look after him until we get down from our summit bid. Meanwhile, Leif, Sashko, Tim and Brent rested and rehydrated at low camp, enjoying a lunch of quesadillas and aji sauce. Namgya and I cruised back up in a businesslike 2 hrs, rejoining the gang in time for a late dinner in the strong sunshine. It was still brilliantly clear except for some sculpted wave clouds forming and fading on the high peaks. The word from up above was that it was cold and windy. Even so, Scott made the summit with his climbers. Vern and Willie chose to rest their teams at high camp for the day. We are hoping for a drop in winds tomorrow and a green light for moving up.
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