Entries from Expedition Dispatches
Good things come to those who wait. We waited until 7 AM to start the stoves this morning. There were puffy clouds about, but no wind in the neighborhood. It seemed like we should go climbing.
We left highcamp at 9:20 AM, loaded for bear... or more correctly, covered in goose feathers. The clouds came and went during our march up valley. When they came it was too cold, when they went it was too hot. But eventually, we got high enough that it was just plain cold anyway. But the wind never really developed and so we didn't feel the cold as intensely as we might have. True to the forecast we'd received, the day got cloudier, but we were still surprised to get some stunning views of the sharp peaks to our north. And when we reached the beautiful and fun summit ridge, we were treated to endless views to the South and East, so that we could see a hundred miles worth of the Ellsworth Mountains in that direction. The final ridge was magical today. There was new snow sparkling on all the rock and not a breath of wind, so it was quiet, calm and inviting as we pulled onto the top of Vinson at 5 minutes after 4 PM. We took a million pictures of each other, made a few important phone and radio connections and smiled a lot. We left the top at 4:45 and made good time down to high camp in a cool and gradually thickening cloud. We were home by 7:05 PM and happily eating dinner in our POSH tent not very long afterward.
The day worked out well and we hope for one more good hard climbing day tomorrow, descending to Basecamp.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Audio Transcription:
Hey this is Dave Hahn calling from the summit of Vinson Massif, the highest point in Antarctica! I am up here with the whole crew - five of us on top today. It is a beautiful Day. We are in the strong sunshine. It is a little after 4:00 in the afternoon for us, and everybody is taking pictures on top and enjoying this place. We have a big view of the Ellsworth Mountains. It is a really enjoyable day up here, Boxing Day – the day after Christmas. Nicole, Bart, Brian, Joe and Dave all send you their best wishes from 16,067’.
Bye for now!
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Dave Hahn calling from the Summit of Vinson Massif
On The Map
We spent the night listening to a wind play through high camp. It wasn't a strong wind, but it was persistent and if anybody got out of the tent to feel it, it was a cold wind. It had eased considerably by morning and so there was hope that our Christmas gift from the universe would be a nice calm summit day. But no. One look at the summits of surrounding peaks (we can't see Vinson summit from high camp) revealed wind driven and sleekly sculpted cloud caps on everything. It could not be a summit day, but it turned out to be a pretty great holiday. We took it very easy and slow; resting, reading, taking pictures, eating and drinking. No parades, no football, no turkey and no tree. But also no complaints. The weather (in camp and up high) got quite nice as the day went on. We each took walks a couple hundred feet to the west to peer over the edge... a thousand meters straight down to Low Camp, and to see where Vinson Basecamp might be hiding under a carpet of low cloud, and to gaze out at the endless ice cap.
We have high hopes for tomorrow.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
Hey Jake and Team #2. Merry X-Mas.I hope that crazy wind carms down for a good chance at your summit bid. Looking forward to our trek with Bill Nugent in Feb. Ken Young
Posted by: Ken Young on 12/26/2012 at 8:02 am
Posted by: Jake Beren, Leon Davis, Zeb Blais
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 13,800'
Holiday greetings to all our friends around the world! Down/up here on Aconcagua it has been a Christmas to remember. We went on an acclimatization hike towards C1, enjoyed a favorite mountain holiday tradition of quesadillas a la Leon, and generally enjoyed each other's company. Tomorrow we will ride the (hopefully) improving trend of decreasing winds and try to carry up to Camp 1. Our time spent at BC prepares us for strength on the upper mountain and we look forward to making the most of it.
Here are a few shout outs from the team:
"Feeling great! Love you all. MUAT baby."
"Merry Christmas family and friends. Love from 14,000 feet."
"Love you family! #2, wish you were here! Love you, #1"
"Jeanne, Love you."
"Merry Christmas Fam!"
"Adi, having a great time. See you soon. Do your homework-love, Dad"
"Vien, all I want for X-mad is you."
A few of us might have been napping, but rest assure we all miss our people and can't wait to share this adventure when we return.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
On The Map
#1, thanks for the shout out! Thinking of your every day and wish I could be there. Be safe. Love you. #2
Posted by: Jonny Boy on 12/27/2012 at 8:34 am
Hi Michael, I miss you and I love you! Be safe and have fun.
Posted by: Vien Vail on 12/27/2012 at 1:33 am
We made the big move up from Low Camp to High Camp today. The team climbed well and strong... getting the job done in a little over five hours. But it wasn't easy, by any means. A cold wind hit us just above the top of the fixed ropes and then harassed us all the way into camp. That made for some cold campers, initially, but we got a few tents and a kitchen built and life got better, the way it always does when such things are around. The teams that we flew onto the mountain with managed to summit today -the storm hit some of them on their way back into camp but they coped well, for all we could tell. Of course our hope is that wind and clouds will flee in time for us to enjoy a Christmas summit of Mount Vinson, but we shall see. If we have to give the storm a day or two to pass through, we can do that as well. A Christmas spent napping in a warm sleeping bag alongside friends is not a terrible thing. We just hope Santa will find his way into the chimney on these tents without too much difficulty.
Merry Christmas from the Ellsworth Mountains, Sentinel Range, 12,600 ft up on the Vinson Massif, deep in the heart of Antarctica.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
Merry Christmas!
Posted by: michelle on 12/25/2012 at 2:11 am
Posted by: Jake Beren, Leon Davis, Zeb Blais
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 13,800'
Greetings from Basecamp! Our team battled a bit of wind getting here, but here we are safe and sound. Our morning began with the more sensible members of the team riding mules across the Vacas River, while the rest of us "tough" (ie ridiculous) members waded across the icy stream. Once our icy feet had boots on, we hiked up the Relinchos Valley underneath a towering view of Aconcagua. It definitely looked windy up there, with spindrift ripping off the peak. Basecamp is somewhat better and after a good session of camp building in the elements, the team is ready for some well earned R&R. Tomorrow we rest and prepare ourselves for that break in the weather.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
On The Map
CV & TP, merry christmas and good luck (don’t look down)... our thoughts are with you the whole lavado family…
Posted by: Lavado's on 12/26/2012 at 7:26 am
Kim and Scata families wish Dawn and the entire team an exciting climb. Keep warm and happy heart! —Mom—
Posted by: Hye Kim on 12/25/2012 at 5:00 pm
That storm finally eased, now for the next one. Actually, we hope the next one is a long way off. We enjoyed a fine and quiet rest day at Low Camp. Long meals, long naps, lots of drinking water, some books, some music... an altogether great day in the mountains of Antarctica. We had good strong sunshine for much of the day, but as we ate our dinner (at around 9 PM) things began to cloud up again. There isn't any wind forecast to go along with the clouds so our fingers are crossed for a good moving up day tomorrow.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
Hey to Mark and Chris. Way to go! Thinking of you. Tomas
Posted by: Tom on 12/24/2012 at 12:57 pm
Merry Christmas!!
Posted by: Vanessa Block on 12/24/2012 at 6:47 am
We made pretty good use out of today. The weather wasn't perfect, it still seems like the long, slow storm is lingering, but it wasn't all that bad either. There was still a ton of cloud hanging around when we got out of the tents at Low Camp this morning. We'd done the traditional sleep in until 11 AM so as to avoid the cold cold Vinson shadow that haunts Low Camp, but the surprise turned out to be that it really wasn't all that cold. The clouds had kept some heat in for us. Everybody was feeling good and well-rested, so we grabbed some supplies, shoved them in our packs and headed for high camp. The goal was to do a carry, to bring food up for our eventual move to high camp. But moving that food up wasn't nearly as important as getting everyone familiar with the climbing route and getting in some good exercise at altitude. We did all of that. The "meat" of the day was toiling for about three hours on the steep and continuous "fixed rope" section of the hill. By the top of the ropes, the weather had taken a slight turn for the worse, with a slight, but persistent breeze blowing new falling snow, We carried on the extra hour and a half to high camp anyway, since it seemed we were getting such good experience in and everyone was climbing strong. We were up to high camp by about 7:25 PM, meaning we were spot on the expected six hours. We just took a few minutes to cache the gear and food and then we were off down the hill. We got warmer as we descended and made pretty good time with light packs. It was 9 PM when we reached the base of the ropes and just another fifteen minutes or so brought us into camp. The sun came out while we were eating dinner and getting ready for bed, making all of that just a little bit easier.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
Posted by: Jake Beren, Leon Davis, Zeb Blais
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 10,550'
Today we left camp to the sound of our herreros singing as they packed up the mules for Casa de Piedra, today was again hot, but as the temps rose, our tailwind turned into a headwind and kept us cool.
The team did great today, handling day two of our approach and just before camp we were treated to a spectacular view of Aconcagua and Cerro Amenghino. We even saw two guanacos loping down valley as we pulled into camp! Nice to see our objective at last and tomorrow we all look forward to making our basecamp on the mountain.
PS is it the end of the world as we know it? We feel fine.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
On The Map
Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays to all of you
Watch out for the reindeer.
Bud
Posted by: Bud on 12/24/2012 at 9:21 am
Madhu, Take care of your health and have a great time with your team.
Posted by: mommy & daddy on 12/23/2012 at 5:58 pm
The longest day of the year is a little redundant in a place where the sun doesn't set... we'll take it anyway. Summer has come to Antarctica. But that doesn't mean the living is easy. We still have the tail end of that storm to contend with. At least we hope it is the tail end. There is still a lot of cloud stuck on Mount Vinson, but it did seem a bit better than yesterday, on the whole. So we packed up the camp and moved up the mountain. We left Vinson Basecamp at 2:10 PM, which is not too late to be starting out (in case you are wondering). Our plan revolved around using the late evening sunshine that Low Camp is famous for. It only took us until 6:40 PM to pull in to the camp at 9,000 ft. Conditions on the route were calm, cloudy, and not exactly cold. We each did a bit of sweating, which can get problematic in a place that is perhaps -10 F but everyone took good care and we sailed through without difficulty. On the way, we picked up our cache of supplies where the Branscomb makes the big ninety degree turn from South to West, and that pretty much completed the sled hauling "approach" portion of this climb. Camp went up fast as we ran stoves for dinner and melted snow for drinking water. It is just after midnight now, and all are in bed. There is a thin layer of cloud still blocking our sun... but it isn't like it is the end of the world or anything.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
Go Nikita!!! I can see you in your blue jacket. Cheering for you and stay safe. XOXO.
Posted by: Nicole on 12/23/2012 at 1:38 pm
wow! beautiful pics, especially that first one. thanks for diligently posting. such an adventure! love following your dispatches.
Posted by: michelle on 12/22/2012 at 7:10 am
Posted by: Jake Beren, Leon Davis, Zeb Blais
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 9,000'
Buenos tardes from Pampa de Llenas,
Our first camp on the way to Basecamp. After a somewhat leisurely morning at the hotel, we registered with the Federales and hit the trail. The walk was pleasant, warm but manageable with just enough of a breeze to keep the team from bursting into a fuego.
Now at camp we have reviewed tent building, a super important step for the rest of the trip, and are tending to a little relaxed maintenance. Resting in the tent we can hear only the wind and occasional braying of mules, the sounds of "civilization" soon to be no more than a memory. No more wheeled contraptions for us, just our feet and the hooves of our new friends.
Our adventure has truly begun.
RMI Guide Jake Beren & Team
hey bro,,,gud going,,TC
Posted by: jp n reenu on 12/22/2012 at 8:06 pm
Wishing you all an amazing and safe adventure. Dawn, we are checking in regularly and watching you in awe. Be safe and have fun!
Posted by: Ann Swank on 12/21/2012 at 7:10 pm
Congratulations Nicole and the entire team! Enjoy your New Year! We will celebrate when you get back.
Posted by: Lisa on 12/30/2012 at 7:35 am
Congrats to all. Well Done.
Posted by: Jack on 12/26/2012 at 3:08 pm
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