Brandon and Kristine made the most of a down day at Low Camp yesterday (Dec 21st). They went and climbed a nearby 13,000 foot peak, which only gets climbed about once a year. How cool is that? The peak had a nice little scramble and glacier climb that led up to the summit and a great view of Vinson.
They went to bed around 10:00pm in their -40F sleeping bags, and said it was “really really cold outside”. The forecast was calling for more high winds at High Camp today and they may choose to spend another day at Low Camp to let them die down. Fortunately their schedule gives them a full 10 days on the ice for exactly this reason.
Brandon and Kristine called to check in at 11:30pm Antarctica time last night. The climb from Base Camp to Low Camp at 9,500 feet took about 4 hours with sleds. It got surprisingly hot about half way into the climb, but was once again very cold by the time they made it to camp. Unfortunately, the weather service is calling for high winds today so they are planning on staying at Low Camp for the day. They may go out for a quick hike during the day, but they expect to spend most of their time in the tents. On Sunday they will push up to High Camp with a possible summit run on Monday.
They thank everyone for the text messages (yes, they have been receiving them), but wanted to remind everyone that they can’t respond without being charged a small fortune.
Brandon and Kristine made it to base camp yesterday. Brandon said the flight from Union Glacier to Mt. Vinson was pretty incredible. He took some video of the flight, so we can probably expect an upload when they get back. They slept fine, despite the fact the sun never sets, and got up in the late morning. It is so cold that they have to wait until it warms up in the late morning before getting out of their tent.
Today, they went for a short climb up Ski Peak, and then went back to camp for dinner. Tomorrow they will climb to the next camp.
Brandon and Kristine have made it safely to Antarctica! They flew from Punta Arenas to Union Glacier late last night, landing on the ice at about 3:30am. They had a quick dinner and were in bed by 4:00am. They woke up just before lunch, and will be making the 30 minute flight to Mt. Vinson base camp later this afternoon. Tomorrow they hope to move to Camp 1. Brandon said that the weather looks good and with any luck the round trip climb could be completed in just 3 to 5 days. So everyone keep your fingers crossed and wish these three a safe, fast, and amazing climb!
Well, its about that time we depart for the deep south! Kristine & I have laid all our gear & clothing out and still have a few items to pick up, but for the most part we’re ready to leave tomorrow, December 14. Our scheduled return to Denver is Sunday, January 5. If all goes well and weather allows for on-schedule flights, we arrive in Punta Arenas, Chile Sunday evening, December 15, fly on the Russian Ilyushin-76 to Union Glacier, Antarctica on Tuesday, December 17, and fly back to Punta Arenas, Chile on Monday, December 30. If that is the case, Kristine & I will have 4-5 days in southern Chile to tour around and hopefully do some hiking & backpacking in Chilean Patagania north of Punta Arenas. But, if we cannot fly back to Punta Arenas from Antarctica until later, that’s just how it is. Let’s just hope we make our Saturday, January 4 flight back to the USA!
I’m bringing my Santa hat and hopefully if weather allows and the stars align, we should be attempting the summit of Vinson sometime around Christmas! Christmas on the ice! I like the sound of that.
I don’t think Kristine & I have been on a guided trip in well over a decade, but as much as we didn’t like the idea at first, we’re pretty excited to be a part of an ALE/ANI guided trip up Vinson, especially since its just Kristine, myself, our friend Kevin Vann, and a guide for a team of four. ALE/ANI essentially runs the show in Antarctica and all I’ve heard is wonderful things about the company, the staff, their planes (including the Russian Ilyushin-76) and all of the provisions provided. I am sure it will be top-notch.
I just received our new satellite phone number. The number is 8816-3162-2840. Now, folks can text us as much as they would like for free and we encourage that! Just know that we cannot text you back without costing us an arm and a leg. But, know we are reading them! To text us, go to www.iridium.com and click “send a satellite message” at the top of the screen. Enter the satellite phone number, your email address, and the 160 character maximum text message. Its pretty easy.
OK, well, I think that’s about it. Our good friend Scott Hook who climbed Kilimanjaro with us in 2011 will be receiving our satellite phone calls and updating this blog hopefully fairly often so stay tuned for updates. Hopefully, Vinson is lucky #7 for Kristine, myself, and Kevin. Thanks for all the well wishes & positive vibes!
I’ll leave you with a really neat video of the Russian Ilyushin-76, which we will be flying, landing at Union Glacier, Antarctica:
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