Entries By 12/2016

Hard day of climbing today for our team. The day began (at eleven AM) with great weather but some uncertainty anyway. The forecast was calling for marginal weather again a couple of days out and so teams were struggling to decide whether to commit to the ascent. We committed and left Low Camp at 3:40 PM. The previous carry up the fixed ropes, plus a day of rest in between, both seemed to have done the trick. We were moving well and the day was staying good. We reached our previous high point (about 11,200) and then suffered a mishap. We dropped an essential piece of gear down the hill. The loaded backpack cruised on down our of sight. There was no choice but to descend, retrieve the gear, regroup and recoup at Low Camp. We've now accomplished a good chunk of that. We are thankful that nobody was hurt, that we've still got our gear and that we've got the resources and fortitude to try again when conditions allow. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

Today was our much deserved rest day, but we'd have been hanging here at 9200 ft even if we weren't deserving.  It was a storm day on Vinson.  Not so bad where we are, but pretty obviously bad up above.  The upside of having all of the cloud cover was that temperatures were moderate this morning.  We had our traditional noon breakfast followed by naps, books, daydreaming, water drinking and snow block stacking.   The forecasts aren't so positive for the next few days, so fortifying our tents is in order.  Otherwise, we're staying positive and enjoying a typical day at altitude in the interior of Antarctica.  Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn