Friday, January 16, 2009
Home feels good
Life is good above the equator, and I imagine everyone is happy to be home. We had an amazing expedition with many adventures along the way, and I would like to thank everyone who has been following our progress, for it was nice to know there were loved ones watching over us.
I know there are many members of our group already planning their next climb, so I thought I would include a few images from the trip to remind everyone of the good times along the way.
I am currently editing and getting all the images from the trip ready for a CD that I can mail out to anyone interested. Please email me at drewludwig@hotmail.com if you would like a copy of my images.
Thanks for the great trip and I hope to see you all soon. Drew
Friday, January 9, 2009
Back in Chile!!
We've just arrived back in Punta Arenas after an early morning flight, and another sleepless night. Everyone is checked in to the Diego de Almagro Hotel again, and taking long hot showers. We'll get together for a celebratory dinner tonight, and then everyone begins to go their own way back to lives around the world.
We'll post more pictures and trip details after a bit of sleep.
We'll post more pictures and trip details after a bit of sleep.
Monday, January 5, 2009
SUCCESS!!!
Sorry for the delay of the long-awaited news, but the team reached the summit of Mount Vinson yesterday! The previous night was horribly windy, but with the dawn came a lessening of the wind. By about mid-day, the wind had died enough to warrant an attempt. By the time the crew reached the summit, the day had transformed into what Bill called, "the most beautiful day I've ever seen down here."
The plan is for the team to descend to Base Camp today and hopefully fly back to Patriot Hills as soon as possible. As we've seen earlier in the expedition, who knows when they'll be back in Punta Arenas...
I'm en route to Argentina, so there might be some additional delays in posting updates, but I will post as often as possible.
The plan is for the team to descend to Base Camp today and hopefully fly back to Patriot Hills as soon as possible. As we've seen earlier in the expedition, who knows when they'll be back in Punta Arenas...
I'm en route to Argentina, so there might be some additional delays in posting updates, but I will post as often as possible.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Windy Day At high Camp
Bill called and I could just hear him over the noise of the tent flapping in the gusts. He said the last 24 hours have been a challenge with very high winds buffeting their camp. They all got out of the tents today and fortified their snow walls. The forecast is for the winds to relent a bit tonight, so they might have a summit chance tomorrow.
The snow walls i mentioned are made from blocks of snow that they climbers cut from the snow packed ground using specialized snow saws. There is a definite art to constructing solid walls that will not topple over under a particularly strong gust. We get lots of practice with this on Denali, and the same techniques help make for efficient work down in Antarctica.
We are using two types of tents on this expedition. Our Hilleberg tents are made in Sweden and are of the "tunnel" variety. they have four hooped poles that form a tunnel, with the climbers sleeping lengthwise under the tunnel. They are very strong and quite spacious for their relatively light weight. Our other tent of choice for Arctic and Antarctic expeditions is the venerable Trango 3.1 from Mountain Hardwear. These are somewhat more traditional "dome" tents that are very strong in high winds and are able to withstand heavy snow loads without collapsing.
Though the winds have been high, the temperatures have been relatively mild. Nighttime lows have not gone much below -20 Fahrenheit, and last night a thick cloud cover, associated with the current storm, kept temps even warmer.
The snow walls i mentioned are made from blocks of snow that they climbers cut from the snow packed ground using specialized snow saws. There is a definite art to constructing solid walls that will not topple over under a particularly strong gust. We get lots of practice with this on Denali, and the same techniques help make for efficient work down in Antarctica.
We are using two types of tents on this expedition. Our Hilleberg tents are made in Sweden and are of the "tunnel" variety. they have four hooped poles that form a tunnel, with the climbers sleeping lengthwise under the tunnel. They are very strong and quite spacious for their relatively light weight. Our other tent of choice for Arctic and Antarctic expeditions is the venerable Trango 3.1 from Mountain Hardwear. These are somewhat more traditional "dome" tents that are very strong in high winds and are able to withstand heavy snow loads without collapsing.
Though the winds have been high, the temperatures have been relatively mild. Nighttime lows have not gone much below -20 Fahrenheit, and last night a thick cloud cover, associated with the current storm, kept temps even warmer.
Friday, January 2, 2009
The Team is at High Camp!!!
Bill called today and reported that they all made the move up to High Camp today. It was a long, hard day of climbing through fairly tricky terrain, so they will probably take a rest day tomorrow. The forecast is for windy weather, which is factoring into their decision making. I expect they will still get up and poke their heads out to see what the weather is like, before they make a final decision tomorrow.
High camp is tucked in next to the ridge dropping off the summit plateau and bordered to the east by a large drift of snow, so it is a bit more protected from the wind than the old camp in the saddle between Mounts Vinson and Shinn. Everyone did well and they have a well fortified camp.
Weather forecasting is relatively new for Vinson climbers. In the past we just poked our heads out of the tent and looked around to gauge what the weather might do. The forecasting has been really quite accurate and while we won't let it determine our decision making, it will definitely factor into it.
The climb up to the summit starts out with a long hike across the summit plateau. This takes two or more hours and while the climbers can see the top of the mountain in the distance, it seems as if it does not get much closer during the course of the hike.
Finally, they get to a point below the summit where it finally feels attainable and they can regroup together and take a break on some wind scoured rocks. There is a moderate climb up some 25 degree snow fields which leads to the summit ridge. A couple of exposed, tricky moves gain the ridge proper, and then it is a spectacular walk with 1,000 feet of exposure to your right and a gradual slope off to your left until you are standing on the highest point in Antarctica.
Hopefully, the crew will have this experience tomorrow or the next day! Stay warm down there, and best of luck.
High camp is tucked in next to the ridge dropping off the summit plateau and bordered to the east by a large drift of snow, so it is a bit more protected from the wind than the old camp in the saddle between Mounts Vinson and Shinn. Everyone did well and they have a well fortified camp.
Weather forecasting is relatively new for Vinson climbers. In the past we just poked our heads out of the tent and looked around to gauge what the weather might do. The forecasting has been really quite accurate and while we won't let it determine our decision making, it will definitely factor into it.
The climb up to the summit starts out with a long hike across the summit plateau. This takes two or more hours and while the climbers can see the top of the mountain in the distance, it seems as if it does not get much closer during the course of the hike.
Finally, they get to a point below the summit where it finally feels attainable and they can regroup together and take a break on some wind scoured rocks. There is a moderate climb up some 25 degree snow fields which leads to the summit ridge. A couple of exposed, tricky moves gain the ridge proper, and then it is a spectacular walk with 1,000 feet of exposure to your right and a gradual slope off to your left until you are standing on the highest point in Antarctica.
Hopefully, the crew will have this experience tomorrow or the next day! Stay warm down there, and best of luck.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Still At Camp 1
The team made a carry up the fixed lines that protect the ridge to the "new" High Camp, up on the north end of the summit plateau to finish up 2008 yesterday. Bill reported seeing lots of fresh avalanche debris in the basin, so although the new route up the ridge is a bit more technically difficult than the old route up through the basin to the north, it has significantly less objective hazards, making it the better option.
They spent the first day of 2009 watching the wind blow strong up at the top of the ridge, and as it did not abate, they did not have an opportunity to move up to High Camp. They will get up tomorrow morning and try again. Hopefully the winds will die down and allow them to make the move.
Everyone did really well on the carry up the ridge. They made it to the top of the 1200 meters of fixed line in just over four hours. One rope team continued on to High Camp and cached their supplies there.
They spent the first day of 2009 watching the wind blow strong up at the top of the ridge, and as it did not abate, they did not have an opportunity to move up to High Camp. They will get up tomorrow morning and try again. Hopefully the winds will die down and allow them to make the move.
Everyone did really well on the carry up the ridge. They made it to the top of the 1200 meters of fixed line in just over four hours. One rope team continued on to High Camp and cached their supplies there.
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