I received a call a couple of hours ago. Bill said that the team did move up to Camp 1, at the bottom of the northernmost ridge dropping down off the Vinson Massif to the Branscomb Glacier. It was a long day, and took the team about 7 hours to make the trip. they have taken a rest/acclimatization day today, in order to be more prepared to tackle the tricky climbing up the ridge.
In a previous post I mentioned that we used to climb around the aforementioned ridge and through a basin threatened by hanging ice cliffs. Apparently the recent storms have made that area hospitable than usual, so our climbers will climb up the ridge east of camp to gain a High Camp at the north end of a big plateau that stretches north from the summit of Mount Vinson.
The climbing up the ridge is tricky and fixed ropes have been set to provide climbers with self belays through the steeper sections.
Tomorrow will probably be another long day getting up to High Camp. The weather looks good, and Bill reports that it has been quite mild by Antarctic standards. The forecast is for continued good weather, so hopefully the team can get situated at High Camp and make a summit bid in the not-too-distant future.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Sunday, December 28, 2008
The route out of Base Camp
A view of Vinson Base Camp from a ridge to the south. Note the group of tents at center left and the trail heading right, out of the frame at about center height. (The more prominent trail heading down and right is our ski track from when I took the image.)
This image shows the next section of trail heading across the frame, ascending slightly. This shows about 1.5 miles of the Branscomb Glacier as it flows down from the massif.
This image shows the trail (at left) as it heads east up the Branscomb Glacier. The Vinson massif is the prominent rocky ridge line with the steep glacier descending from below the summit of Mount Vinson. Mount Shinn is the snow covered, conical peak at the upper left. you can see how the Branscomb makes a sharp turn northward (up and left in the image). Sometimes we camp right before the icefall at the corner before it breaks north, and sometimes we camp farther up the Branscomb.They made it to Base Camp!
Bill called minutes ago to report that everyone has made it to Base Camp! Finally, the waiting game is over, and they can get down to business.
Apparently, there was enough of a break in the clouds to sneak in two flights with our climbers on them. Clouds won't stop them from being able to climb, it is wind which is the challenge on Mount Vinson. They will get some sleep tonight and head up glacier in the morning.
Vinson Base Camp is located on a relatively gentle glacier called the Branscomb. The route to the summit follows the Branscomb Glacier east for about four miles. Some teams put a camp in at this point, where the glacier makes a sharp turn to the north. Others will push another three miles to a camp just south and east of a ridge which descends from the summit plateau.
Historically, beyond this camp, climbers have moved quickly east, through a basin flanked by rather active ice cliffs on two sides and with a moderately steep glacier headwall at the eastern head of the basin. They would climb up the headwall, which is challenging, but never steeper than 40 degrees, to a broad saddle between Vinson and Mount Shinn. High Camp has traditionally been located off to the Vinson (south) side of this saddle.
Recently, climbers have opted to not go into the basin due to the objective hazards from falling seracs or ice cliffs. They have been climbing up the ridge to the east of Camp to gain the summit plateau, just above the aforementioned saddle and a bit higher than the old High Camp. Current conditions will dictate which option our teams will choose.
I have posted a link to a nice topographical map of the area, which should help make sense of the descriptions I just gave. To locate Mount Vinson, begin in the lower left (southwest) quadrant. Count three "squares" to the left (east) and one up (north). Click on this quadrant and you will find the Branscomb Glacier in the upper left corner.
Here the link.
Apparently, there was enough of a break in the clouds to sneak in two flights with our climbers on them. Clouds won't stop them from being able to climb, it is wind which is the challenge on Mount Vinson. They will get some sleep tonight and head up glacier in the morning.
Vinson Base Camp is located on a relatively gentle glacier called the Branscomb. The route to the summit follows the Branscomb Glacier east for about four miles. Some teams put a camp in at this point, where the glacier makes a sharp turn to the north. Others will push another three miles to a camp just south and east of a ridge which descends from the summit plateau.
Historically, beyond this camp, climbers have moved quickly east, through a basin flanked by rather active ice cliffs on two sides and with a moderately steep glacier headwall at the eastern head of the basin. They would climb up the headwall, which is challenging, but never steeper than 40 degrees, to a broad saddle between Vinson and Mount Shinn. High Camp has traditionally been located off to the Vinson (south) side of this saddle.
Recently, climbers have opted to not go into the basin due to the objective hazards from falling seracs or ice cliffs. They have been climbing up the ridge to the east of Camp to gain the summit plateau, just above the aforementioned saddle and a bit higher than the old High Camp. Current conditions will dictate which option our teams will choose.
I have posted a link to a nice topographical map of the area, which should help make sense of the descriptions I just gave. To locate Mount Vinson, begin in the lower left (southwest) quadrant. Count three "squares" to the left (east) and one up (north). Click on this quadrant and you will find the Branscomb Glacier in the upper left corner.
Here the link.
Still at Patriot Hills
Bill called to say that despite clear skies at Patriot hills, Vinson Base is reporting thick cloud cover, which is preventing the planes from launching. There appears to be some amount of movement in the clouds, so there is still a chance that they will get the opportunity to launch.
The base camp manager at Vinson base takes hourly weather observations, in which he or she looks up at the sky, which they visually divide into 8 sections. These observations are radioed to the pilots at Patriot hills, detailing how many sections of the sky are clear or cloudy, with what types of clouds and at what elevations. Wind speed and any precipitation details are also reported. The pilots use this information to make a judgment call as to whether they are willing to fly or not. They need to be conservative, as there is not much of a safety net when you are flying in Antarctica.
The base camp manager at Vinson base takes hourly weather observations, in which he or she looks up at the sky, which they visually divide into 8 sections. These observations are radioed to the pilots at Patriot hills, detailing how many sections of the sky are clear or cloudy, with what types of clouds and at what elevations. Wind speed and any precipitation details are also reported. The pilots use this information to make a judgment call as to whether they are willing to fly or not. They need to be conservative, as there is not much of a safety net when you are flying in Antarctica.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
ON THE ICE!!!
Well, the seemingly interminable wait is over! The team flew to Patriot Hills last night at about 7:30. The arrived at midnight, as the winds began to pick up. The weather closed in and they were unable to continue on to Vinson Base Camp, but at least they are on the Ice.
The flight is a memorable one, as all the climbers were seated in jump seats along the walls of the IL-76 Russian cargo jet. Huge piles of gear filled the middle of the aircraft, all held in place by cargo nest. As they neared the Antarctic Peninsula, the blue sea gave way to massive sheets of ice. The white landscape began to be punctuated by the peaks of the Peninsula as they continued down toward Patriot Hills.
Patriot Hills is an impressive operation located along one of two areas of blue ice on the continent suitable for landing heavy aircraft. The runway, while not quite as smooth as an ice skating rink, is very slick and climbers eager to rush off to the side to snatch that perfect photo often find themselves flat on their backs.
ALE, the logistics providers for this expedition, maintain a number of Weatherport tents and a good deal of heavy machinery needed to keep the runway open when strong winds off the Antarctic Plateau cover it in snow. Our climbers have such a tent to cook, dine and generally hang out in, which provides for a relative amount of comfort in a most uncomfortable place.
The next step in their journey will involve flying 1.5 hours to Vinson Base Camp in ski-equipped Twin otter aircrafts. They hope to see the winds die off over the next few hours, but due to the
regulations governing when pilots can and cannot fly, it is not too likely that they will make it to Vinson Base today.
Everyone is thrilled to be on the Ice and spirits are high. They are doing their best to temper their eagreness to get climbing with a healthy dose of respect for the fact that safety is always #1, especially in such a remote and inhospitable environment.
The flight is a memorable one, as all the climbers were seated in jump seats along the walls of the IL-76 Russian cargo jet. Huge piles of gear filled the middle of the aircraft, all held in place by cargo nest. As they neared the Antarctic Peninsula, the blue sea gave way to massive sheets of ice. The white landscape began to be punctuated by the peaks of the Peninsula as they continued down toward Patriot Hills.
Patriot Hills is an impressive operation located along one of two areas of blue ice on the continent suitable for landing heavy aircraft. The runway, while not quite as smooth as an ice skating rink, is very slick and climbers eager to rush off to the side to snatch that perfect photo often find themselves flat on their backs.
ALE, the logistics providers for this expedition, maintain a number of Weatherport tents and a good deal of heavy machinery needed to keep the runway open when strong winds off the Antarctic Plateau cover it in snow. Our climbers have such a tent to cook, dine and generally hang out in, which provides for a relative amount of comfort in a most uncomfortable place.
The next step in their journey will involve flying 1.5 hours to Vinson Base Camp in ski-equipped Twin otter aircrafts. They hope to see the winds die off over the next few hours, but due to the
regulations governing when pilots can and cannot fly, it is not too likely that they will make it to Vinson Base today.
Everyone is thrilled to be on the Ice and spirits are high. They are doing their best to temper their eagreness to get climbing with a healthy dose of respect for the fact that safety is always #1, especially in such a remote and inhospitable environment.
Friday, December 26, 2008
It was a Merry Christmas
This is Drew with a holiday update.
Santa has appeared to bring us a weather window. It is the day after Christmas, and we are currently standing by for a 12:30 update from ALE that could prove to fulfill all of our Christmas wishes. It is looking positive, and we are crossing our fingers and packing our bags hoping for the best. We will know more around 1pm Punta Arenas time.
Our Christmas Eve was spent with each other and there was plenty of laughter to go around. It was nice to forget about our frustrations, and enjoy each other's company. There were too many toasts to count, noise making toys to confuse the other restaurant patrons and even a Danish Christmas game to entertain our gathering. We finished the evening with a screening of "Seven Years in Tibet" and then all settled down for a long winter's . . . summer's nap.
We hope you all had a special holiday and please keep checking in with the blog, for we should be in Antarctica before this year is up.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Watch the weather with us
Here's a link to a weather station that sit's at the end of the runway at Patriot Hills in Antarctica. The runway is blue ice, so it's a bit slippery, and it has no instrument approach like a typical airport runway would, so we can only land when the pilots can see. We are looking for winds of less than 15 knots, and max gusts less than 20 knots. We have been in a particularly long stretch of bad weather, and there hasn't been flyable weather since we have been here. While it is totally normal to have some delays in flying to and from Antarctica, this has been an exceptionally long delay.
You can watch the weather yourself at http://thistle.org/wx7/index.shtml
You can watch the weather yourself at http://thistle.org/wx7/index.shtml
Merry Christmas to Everyone!!!!
Hello everyone,
Merry Christmas to everyone who is following our adventure on this blog.
Last night we had a 6 pm meeting with ALE to discuss our current situation. The outcome of this meeting is that we have been put on another weather hold, this time for 56 hours. For anyone else besides me, who has lost all track of time here, this current hold will last until the morning of the 26th of December. This was both a bit of good news in the respect that we will not spend Christmas waiting to fly to Antarctica, but also bad news in that we won´t be flying to Antarctic for Christmas. If that makes any sense¿
Yesterday and the day before we had a whirl wind tour up to the Chilean National Park called Torres del Paine. It is truly an incredible place. Our trip started at 1 pm on Monday, as we packed ourselves into a van for the 6 hour road trip. Once there the team diverged into two different locations within the park. We did a bit of hiking, lots of sightseeing, some eating, and we actually managed to cram what takes everyone else two days to do, into the space of a mere 16 hours. An impressive act of tourism for sure, performed by the entire team. It was a bit frustrating to come back to Punta Arenas to news that we will not fly for another 2 days, but everyone was happy to have at least gotten a small taste of another part of Patagonia. I can honestly say that in the last nine days, we have done a great job of keeping ourselves busy; this has taken some of the edge off of the wait.
Our hotel has become our home of sorts for now, and we pretty much have taken the joint over. As I write this update, a few other folks are nearby and they have added some personal messages below.
--Hi, this is Stina. I wish you all - my family, friends and good colleagues - a very Merry Christmas. I am looking forward to seeing you all in 2009.
--This is Turkish and I would like to send my love to my beloved wife to be ¨Vika¨, who is waiting for me in California.
--And Heidi would also like to send my love and best wishes for this holiday season to my family and friends back in Colorado. We have heard that the snow is deep, and the ice is in! Enjoy.
Merry Christmas to everyone, and if anyone has any extra Santa wishes that they are not calling in tonight, please ask him for a break in the weather down here. We could use it.
Merry Christmas to everyone who is following our adventure on this blog.
Last night we had a 6 pm meeting with ALE to discuss our current situation. The outcome of this meeting is that we have been put on another weather hold, this time for 56 hours. For anyone else besides me, who has lost all track of time here, this current hold will last until the morning of the 26th of December. This was both a bit of good news in the respect that we will not spend Christmas waiting to fly to Antarctica, but also bad news in that we won´t be flying to Antarctic for Christmas. If that makes any sense¿
Yesterday and the day before we had a whirl wind tour up to the Chilean National Park called Torres del Paine. It is truly an incredible place. Our trip started at 1 pm on Monday, as we packed ourselves into a van for the 6 hour road trip. Once there the team diverged into two different locations within the park. We did a bit of hiking, lots of sightseeing, some eating, and we actually managed to cram what takes everyone else two days to do, into the space of a mere 16 hours. An impressive act of tourism for sure, performed by the entire team. It was a bit frustrating to come back to Punta Arenas to news that we will not fly for another 2 days, but everyone was happy to have at least gotten a small taste of another part of Patagonia. I can honestly say that in the last nine days, we have done a great job of keeping ourselves busy; this has taken some of the edge off of the wait.
Our hotel has become our home of sorts for now, and we pretty much have taken the joint over. As I write this update, a few other folks are nearby and they have added some personal messages below.
--Hi, this is Stina. I wish you all - my family, friends and good colleagues - a very Merry Christmas. I am looking forward to seeing you all in 2009.
--This is Turkish and I would like to send my love to my beloved wife to be ¨Vika¨, who is waiting for me in California.
--And Heidi would also like to send my love and best wishes for this holiday season to my family and friends back in Colorado. We have heard that the snow is deep, and the ice is in! Enjoy.
Merry Christmas to everyone, and if anyone has any extra Santa wishes that they are not calling in tonight, please ask him for a break in the weather down here. We could use it.
Torres del Paine
This is Drew with an update.
It is officially Christmas eve, and I heard that a few of our team members have gone to Blockbuster in search of a film called Ground Hog Day. If you are not familiar with this film, I would suggest picking it up as it thoroughly addresses our current plight. We will all be gathering around the holiday fire of cinema to forget our woes and escape to a land that resembles our own. Maybe we should pick a movie about mountains to truly escape?
On a more active note, we have just returned from Torres del Paine for a whirlwind tour of the national park. I have included some photos of the park and some moments along the trail. We had a 2:45 am wake up call to fit in the 22 kilometer hike before our 9:30am shuttle. After an exhausting bus ride home (Punta Arenas), we learned from ALE that our travels have been put on hold for another few days. The weather report has projected incliment weather until the morning of the 26th. The good news is that we have the next few days off for the holidays and the bad news is that we have the next few days off.
It is Christmas eve and we are planning on a nice dinner together followed by a movie and maybe even a game or two. I hear Stina has been brainstorming an activity for us all, and I imagine there will be plenty of merry making to go around. We all wish our families and friends could be here to join us, but we will be home soon enough with one or two stories to share. Happy Holidays.
Monday, December 22, 2008
paine . . . here we come
This is Drew checking in to give you all the latest. As many of you have started to notice, our trip has turned into a bit of a waiting game. We have sat on Santa's lap, met with local police men and watched a British ship sink all while waiting at the tip of South America.
We have just received word that our travels to Antarctica will be put on hold for another 33 hours. We will reconvene in Punta Arenas at 6 pm tomorrow for a meeting with ALE. The weather is looking exceedingly bad until that time tomorrow so ALE has been kind enough to not keep us on stand by. Our group has chartered a van to take us north to see the Torres del Paine mountain range. I will have new photos of our group by tomorrow. We will see what kind of trouble we can find up North.
We have just received word that our travels to Antarctica will be put on hold for another 33 hours. We will reconvene in Punta Arenas at 6 pm tomorrow for a meeting with ALE. The weather is looking exceedingly bad until that time tomorrow so ALE has been kind enough to not keep us on stand by. Our group has chartered a van to take us north to see the Torres del Paine mountain range. I will have new photos of our group by tomorrow. We will see what kind of trouble we can find up North.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Still Waiting...
Hello all. It is now 2 pm on Sunday afternoon. Yes, we are still here in Chile waiting for the weather in Antarctica to cooperate with our climbing plans.
We are on hold again till 7 pm this evening when we will receive our next weather update. We realize that this waiting game is trying for everyone involved. Unfortunately, it has become a part of this particular expedition. The waiting game means we never really know whether or not this will be our last night in the hotel, or to go out to dinner, or to do some laundry, or to say our last goodbyes and well-wishes to our families and friends. It is frustrating for everyone for sure.
The important thing for us all to remember is that our safe arrival in Antarctica is the most important thing. Therefore, any delay done in that spirit is both necessary and a good thing in the big picture. Our pilot will have the final say on whether we take off or not. If we were to take off, and then not be able to land at Patriot Hills, it would just mean a long flight right back here for more waiting.
So our thought for today is this. At least we are not stuck on the ice at Patriot Hills waiting for the weather to clear. Right now, there is a plane load of climbers and adventurers whom are also waiting for our plane to fly. We´re pretty sure that they are not as comfortable as we are right now....
We are on hold again till 7 pm this evening when we will receive our next weather update. We realize that this waiting game is trying for everyone involved. Unfortunately, it has become a part of this particular expedition. The waiting game means we never really know whether or not this will be our last night in the hotel, or to go out to dinner, or to do some laundry, or to say our last goodbyes and well-wishes to our families and friends. It is frustrating for everyone for sure.
The important thing for us all to remember is that our safe arrival in Antarctica is the most important thing. Therefore, any delay done in that spirit is both necessary and a good thing in the big picture. Our pilot will have the final say on whether we take off or not. If we were to take off, and then not be able to land at Patriot Hills, it would just mean a long flight right back here for more waiting.
So our thought for today is this. At least we are not stuck on the ice at Patriot Hills waiting for the weather to clear. Right now, there is a plane load of climbers and adventurers whom are also waiting for our plane to fly. We´re pretty sure that they are not as comfortable as we are right now....
This is Drew checking in with the Blog.
Yesterday morning we received word that the flight to Antarctica was a go. Well that was partially true. Everything from checking out of our very familiar rooms, to passing through security at the Punta Arenas International airport went according to plan. Everything except the flight. This is where our realities started to stray from our plans.
We hung out at the airport for about 5 hours entertaining ourselves with Antarctic maps and the occasional stretching session. The other travelers in the airport seemed to enjoy some of the more interesting outfits amongst the 45 Antarctic bound travelers. There was a gigantic fox hat, see-through long underwear, boots that look like something out of a David Bowie video, and a few pairs of fluffy pants. We were quite the site.
We eventually received word that our travels to Antarctica would once again be put on hold. I heard from another group that they may take matters into their own hands and go for a swim in the Straights of Magellan tonight. Apparently the last group of Vinson climbers to have a prolonged stay in Punta Arenas, changed their luck with a simple dip in the ocean. I don't know if I buy it, but I may be changing my tune after a few more days of waiting. It is not the cold water but the sewer pipes that have me a little concerned?
We are now back in the hotel trying to find creative ways to pass the time. We had movie night in the conference room two nights ago so maybe a trip to the pool hall will be in order this afternoon. Thanks for checking in with Mountain Trip.
ALE will be checking in with us around 12:30pm to give us an update.
Yesterday morning we received word that the flight to Antarctica was a go. Well that was partially true. Everything from checking out of our very familiar rooms, to passing through security at the Punta Arenas International airport went according to plan. Everything except the flight. This is where our realities started to stray from our plans.
We hung out at the airport for about 5 hours entertaining ourselves with Antarctic maps and the occasional stretching session. The other travelers in the airport seemed to enjoy some of the more interesting outfits amongst the 45 Antarctic bound travelers. There was a gigantic fox hat, see-through long underwear, boots that look like something out of a David Bowie video, and a few pairs of fluffy pants. We were quite the site.
We eventually received word that our travels to Antarctica would once again be put on hold. I heard from another group that they may take matters into their own hands and go for a swim in the Straights of Magellan tonight. Apparently the last group of Vinson climbers to have a prolonged stay in Punta Arenas, changed their luck with a simple dip in the ocean. I don't know if I buy it, but I may be changing my tune after a few more days of waiting. It is not the cold water but the sewer pipes that have me a little concerned?
We are now back in the hotel trying to find creative ways to pass the time. We had movie night in the conference room two nights ago so maybe a trip to the pool hall will be in order this afternoon. Thanks for checking in with Mountain Trip.
ALE will be checking in with us around 12:30pm to give us an update.
Friday, December 19, 2008
What to do?
What to do seems to be the question floating around our breakfast tables. If we are not flying to Antarctica and we have met the elusive penguins, what do we do with our time? Some have chosen an equestrian adventure while others have left the animals behind for some one on one time with their books. It appears everyone is maintaining their sanity and continuing to hope for our inevitable departure. As Bill said this morning, every second we spend enjoying Punta Arenas is a second closer to Antarctica.
Other options to pass the time have included Skype phone calls to family and friends and even some video chats with our K-9 companions. I know Heidi got to see her dog named Minky via the world wide web last night and I even told my dog Ruth to sit during a video chat. After trying to lick the screen, she finally sat down like the good girl that she is.
It is now 2:30 pm and the next check in with ALE is at 6:30pm. The current word from them is that there may be a weather window opening tomorrow morning. We should have more to report as of 7:00pm our time, but the reality is we won't know if we are flying to Antarctica until we are flying to Antarctica.
Other options to pass the time have included Skype phone calls to family and friends and even some video chats with our K-9 companions. I know Heidi got to see her dog named Minky via the world wide web last night and I even told my dog Ruth to sit during a video chat. After trying to lick the screen, she finally sat down like the good girl that she is.
It is now 2:30 pm and the next check in with ALE is at 6:30pm. The current word from them is that there may be a weather window opening tomorrow morning. We should have more to report as of 7:00pm our time, but the reality is we won't know if we are flying to Antarctica until we are flying to Antarctica.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Success....at least for seeing the Penguins
This morning our team received news that our flight to Antarctica would be put on hold for another 24 hours. The team is remaining in good spirits despite the delay. Last night our trip to see the penguins was canceled due to high winds and rough seas, but this morning we were able to make it into the Straits of Magellan to see both penguins and sea lions. The trip was a great adventure. The penguin colony reportedly has 140 thousand adults, and most couples currently have two chicks in their nest. Drew did his best to count and confirm these numbers. Our second destination was a smaller island with hundreds of sea lions basking in the sun. We are kind of a roudy group of climbers, but those sea lions definitely put us to shame. We finished the day with a futbal match. Chile hosted Argentina. We were impressed by the talent of the 16 to 17 year old players representing their countries. Tomorrow we hope for better flying weather in Antarctica. Keep your fingers crossed!
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Elusive Penguins
The elusive penguins have yet again thwarted our introduction. Last night we drove an hour on a dirt road to find the gate to the penguin preserve locked and today the Straights of Magellan were closed to tourist traffic. I fancy we will have our day with the penguins.
Waiting.....
Hi, this report is coming from Heidi, the third guide on this expedition. Our 9 am weather check from our local outfitter, Antarctic Logistics and Expeditions, did not bring us the news that we were waiting to hear.
The weather forecast for both the route we will be flying, as well as the landing conditions at Patriot Hills, our destination, is not good enough for us to continue our journey at this time. We have been given a 24 hour weather delay, which means that we will not be looking to fly again until 6 am Thursday morning.
As some of you may know, for the next leg of our journey, we will be landing on a blue ice runway. This runway is formed by adiabatic winds that blow off of the nearby Patriot Hills. It is these winds that enable us to land a wheeled plane there on ice in the first place. However if the visibility is poor, or the crosswinds are too strong, or there is too much snow falling, then we will not be able to land and we will have to return to Punta Arenas. Needless to say we are anxious to get moving, however we will patiently wait for the weather to allow us to continue onward.
So right now we are waiting for a forecasted weather window that will allow us enough time to get to out of the hotel, board the plane, fly 4.5 hours to Antarctica, and then land safely at Patriot Hills, I'm guessing that is about 8 or so hours total.
In the meantime we are planning a trip out to see the penguins on Magdalena Island. We will go later in the day once the winds have died down for the ferry crossing and also because there will be more penguins to see later in the day, as they tend to go out hunting for food more during the morning hours.
So keep your fingers crossed that the winds will turn in our favor, and that by this time tomorrow we will be on the ice!!!!
The weather forecast for both the route we will be flying, as well as the landing conditions at Patriot Hills, our destination, is not good enough for us to continue our journey at this time. We have been given a 24 hour weather delay, which means that we will not be looking to fly again until 6 am Thursday morning.
As some of you may know, for the next leg of our journey, we will be landing on a blue ice runway. This runway is formed by adiabatic winds that blow off of the nearby Patriot Hills. It is these winds that enable us to land a wheeled plane there on ice in the first place. However if the visibility is poor, or the crosswinds are too strong, or there is too much snow falling, then we will not be able to land and we will have to return to Punta Arenas. Needless to say we are anxious to get moving, however we will patiently wait for the weather to allow us to continue onward.
So right now we are waiting for a forecasted weather window that will allow us enough time to get to out of the hotel, board the plane, fly 4.5 hours to Antarctica, and then land safely at Patriot Hills, I'm guessing that is about 8 or so hours total.
In the meantime we are planning a trip out to see the penguins on Magdalena Island. We will go later in the day once the winds have died down for the ferry crossing and also because there will be more penguins to see later in the day, as they tend to go out hunting for food more during the morning hours.
So keep your fingers crossed that the winds will turn in our favor, and that by this time tomorrow we will be on the ice!!!!
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Greetings from a windy Punta Arenas. Our flight to the ice has been put on hold, but we are still trying to make the most of the day.Some members of the team have ventured out for a long walk and others have chosen to wonder amongst the local vendors. We managed to grab a group photo this morning.
I have included a few photos for everyone's perusal. Enjoy and keep looking for more smiling faces.
I will be updating the blog as much as possible while we are in a holding pattern in Punta Arenas.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Drew Ludwig here . . . one of the guides for the Vinson trip, and I wanted to welcome everyone to our blog.
Bill Heidi and I have just finished up the last of the expedition packing and now all 35 of our bags are probably being loaded into a very large white plane. The bags weighed in at 645.15 kilos. Not too bad considering we are allowed 780 kilos for a group of 15. That was roughly 12 grocery store food buys and an endless amount of packing and repacking. Nothing to do
now but jog and blog.
I have included a series of photos from our trip. There is no particular rhyme or reason to the photos, but I hope some of the excitement of this trip manages to jump out of the photos. We are in an amazing place amongst great friends.
Ready To Go (RTG)
We finally have a bit of down time this evening as everything is RTG. We've done all of the last minute shopping that we can stand, and everything is now loaded on the plane and we are just waiting for the weather at the Patriot Hills base in Antarctica to clear for us to fly. We had a briefing with ALE (the operator of the plane and base facilities) this morning, and we were standing by this evening to potentially fly. The weather needs to be pretty nice for us to land on the blue ice runway at Patriot hills, and the visibility today just isn't good enough. We'll await a call as early as 6am tomorrow morning to get our next chance to fly down to the ice. From now on we are on standby, and can't roam too far from the telephone as we could get the call at just about any time. We are all excited to get down there now...
Catching up from the last few days in Punta Arenas. We are staying in a nice new hotel right down on the waterfront here called the Diego del Almagro. We can see the Straights of Magellan right out our window. Last night we finally had the whole team together and enjoyed a great dinner at one of our favorite local spots, Brocollino's. The chef at Brocollino's is very entertaining and the food is delicious.
That's it for now, hopefully we'll be flying early in the morning and I won't have another opportunity to post myself. When we do fly out I'll be in contact with Todd back at the Mt Trip home in Ophir via Sat phone and he'll be updating the blogs.
Ciao, Bill
Catching up from the last few days in Punta Arenas. We are staying in a nice new hotel right down on the waterfront here called the Diego del Almagro. We can see the Straights of Magellan right out our window. Last night we finally had the whole team together and enjoyed a great dinner at one of our favorite local spots, Brocollino's. The chef at Brocollino's is very entertaining and the food is delicious.
That's it for now, hopefully we'll be flying early in the morning and I won't have another opportunity to post myself. When we do fly out I'll be in contact with Todd back at the Mt Trip home in Ophir via Sat phone and he'll be updating the blogs.
Ciao, Bill
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Everyone arrived in Punta Arenas
The whole team is here for the official beginning of Mountain Trip's 2008 Vinson Massif expedition. Amazingly all of our equipment is here, and nobody lost any luggage on their travels from around the world to our meeting spot on the southern tip of Chile. We will spend the next 2 days checking our equipment, packing the last bits of food, and preparing to head down to Antarctica.
We'll post some more this afternoon.
We'll post some more this afternoon.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Welcome to our 2008 Vinson Expedition
Vinson Massif, Antarctica's highest peak, lies within the Ellsworth mountain range a mere 600 miles from the South Pole. Antarctica is a land of extremes, with night-time low temperatures often reaching negative 40F and a sun that never sets.
In mid-December, 2008, a group of climbers from around the world will converge on Punta Arenas, at the southern tip of Tierra del Fuego. From this blustery port city, they will fly to Antarctica in a Russian cargo jet and attempt to climb to the summit of Vinson Massif.
The climbers will split into three teams for this ascent, each accompanied by a guide from Mountain Trip. The expedition members include:
Guides:
Bill Allen, co-owner of Mountain Trip, from Ophir, CO, USA
Heidi Kloos from Ridgway, CO, USA
Drew Ludwig from Ophir, CO, USA
Climbers:
Ania Lichota from Poland, by way of the UK
Ulrich Goerlach from France
Stefano Biffi from Italy
Cristina Piolini from Italy
Ahmet Ergenc from Turkey, by way of CA, USA
Michitaka Onishi from Japan
Yasushi Yamauchi from Japan
Stina Glavnid Pedersen from Denmark
Jens Trolle Neilsen from Denmark
Ken Larsen from the UK
Greg Linsdell from Australia
Vivian James Rigney from Ireland
We will do our best to post daily updates while the team is in Antarctica, however, even with modern communication devices, weather and the vagaries of big mountains can conspire to prevent our guides from phoning in dispatches. Please keep in mind the adage, "No news is GOOD news."
Good luck to all the climbers!
In mid-December, 2008, a group of climbers from around the world will converge on Punta Arenas, at the southern tip of Tierra del Fuego. From this blustery port city, they will fly to Antarctica in a Russian cargo jet and attempt to climb to the summit of Vinson Massif.
The climbers will split into three teams for this ascent, each accompanied by a guide from Mountain Trip. The expedition members include:
Guides:
Bill Allen, co-owner of Mountain Trip, from Ophir, CO, USA
Heidi Kloos from Ridgway, CO, USA
Drew Ludwig from Ophir, CO, USA
Climbers:
Ania Lichota from Poland, by way of the UK
Ulrich Goerlach from France
Stefano Biffi from Italy
Cristina Piolini from Italy
Ahmet Ergenc from Turkey, by way of CA, USA
Michitaka Onishi from Japan
Yasushi Yamauchi from Japan
Stina Glavnid Pedersen from Denmark
Jens Trolle Neilsen from Denmark
Ken Larsen from the UK
Greg Linsdell from Australia
Vivian James Rigney from Ireland
We will do our best to post daily updates while the team is in Antarctica, however, even with modern communication devices, weather and the vagaries of big mountains can conspire to prevent our guides from phoning in dispatches. Please keep in mind the adage, "No news is GOOD news."
Good luck to all the climbers!
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