Just after breakfast we hauled our duffel bags down to the hotel lobby. ALE -our logistics company- weighed each bag and carted them away for packing on the Ilyushin 76 aircraft. Thus freed from the temptation to fiddle with our gear, the team went for a walk along the shore. We visited a few old square rigged ships beached and broken along the shore and looked for whales and/or dolphins out in the wind blown waves. In the evening, we attended ALE’s briefing/cocktail party to meet the other folks on our flight. There are people going to see the Emperor Penguins at the edge of the continent, some who are bound for the South Pole, in the middle of everything, and a handful of teams joining us on Vinson. Olivia, our contact at ALE, let us know that there was a chance we’d fly out just a few hours following the meeting, so we headed to dinner and crossed our fingers. Things didn’t come together for a fight this evening though, so we relaxed and lingered over our dinner table, telling mountain stories. We’re optimistic that the morning will be a different story and that we’ll soon be flying south. Best Regards RMI Guide Dave Hahn

As expected, today was an easy day of mountain climbing. We met in the hotel dining room for our introductory strategy session... outlining what steps need to be taken in preparing to fly four and a half hours in a Russian jet and to disembark and go climbing in the remote interior of a frozen continent. Next up were equipment checks to be sure each climber had the necessary gear for the journey. The afternoon was then spent either walking the windy sidewalks tracking down odds and ends in the shops of Punta Arenas, or in simply resting and recuperating from the long flights and time changes we endured. Patagonian weather is living up to its crazy reputation as we had a typical spring mix of rain showers, brilliant sunshine and then ferocious gusts of wind all in any given ten minute period. We braved the elements, going for an early (7PM) dinner in another fine and friendly downtown restaurant and came out to twilight and blissfully reduced winds at 9PM. Tomorrow we’ll submit our gear for packing on the plane and we’ll enjoy what should be our last day in South America before Vinson. Best Regards RMI Guide Dave Hahn

We kicked off our Antarctic mountaineering expedition with a walk around the windy streets of Punta Arenas in the far South of Chile.   Most of the gang came in on the afternoon flights from Santiago, so stretching legs was crucial following all those uncomfortable hours in the air, the airports and the airliners.  We had a nice dinner at La Luna, one of the friendly restaurants just a few blocks from our hotel on the shore of Magellan’s Strait.  Turkey wasn’t on the menu, nor was there any cranberry or gravy... and it was five unrelated strangers sitting down to get to know one another.  So not your typical Thanksgiving feast, but for that, it was quite nice.  It was still plenty light out at 8:30 pm when we walked from the restaurant, a pleasant reminder that we’d switched hemispheres and seasons.   Tomorrow we’ll get down to the business of packing and preparing to climb Vinson.  Tonight was just for relaxing with new climbing partners.  Best Regards RMI Guide Dave Hahn