Greetings from Chile,
RMI's third Vinson Massif Expedition of the season has arrived in Punta Arenas. While the team arrived as scheduled, two bags failed to make a connection somewhere along the way. Fortunately, after a few phone calls and some patience, they showed up at the hotel late this afternoon.
There was not a lot on the itinerary today except to get our gear ready for the flight on Sunday. It will be picked up tomorrow morning and taken to the plane and loaded ahead of time. So we went through the equipment list one last time making sure nothing was forgotten. We then went shopping to round out our lunch food for the expedition. The team is ready to fly south!
The rest of the afternoon was free to enjoy the sights of a new city and to just relax after the many miles travelled to get here.
We finished the day at La Marmita, one of the best restaurants in town.
Best regards,
RMI Guide Jeff Martin
To David and Kriss with IMG: I am so proud of both of you for your endurance, courage, and adventuresome spirits. You and all the teams are in my prayers for a safe trek, safe and successful summit, and safe trip back to Chile and then home. Many thanks and blessings to all the guides for their skill and safety measures. God’s blessings on all of you. Love, Mom Buchwald
Posted by: April Buchwald on 12/6/2014 at 2:17 pm
Glad both duffles made it to lower stress levels. Everyone stay safe and well. Folk back home have you in our prayers. Keep us posted.
Posted by: Bob Sullivan, Sr. on 12/6/2014 at 7:06 am
We went for it today. The weather was greatly improved. The clouds were gone, but there were still dust devils of snow twisting off the ridges as we watched from high camp. Obviously, we hoped for a calming trend as the day went on. One of our climbers stayed in camp, satisfied with yesterday's effort. This worked out as there were two ALE "rangers" also in camp along with a guided group taking a rest day. The rest of us set out at 10:37 AM. We were in still air for the first hour, but then we went through a few gusty portions of the route for several hours. The fact that the winds weren't sustained didn't mean they were any warmer. We bundled up pretty good in down coats and pants and tried hard to keep our faces from freezing. By about 15,000 ft, we'd reached a calm area, which was a great relief as the mountain was getting tough to climb even without a distracting wind. Most were working quite hard to compensate for the lack of oxygen and the steepening snow and ice. As we worked our way out the 16,000 ft summit ridge, we found the wind again. This made it tough to enjoy the view of the Ellsworth Mountains spread for two hundred miles around and below us. We walked onto the mountain top at 10 minutes to 6 PM. Excited, but also very much on our guard against frostbite. We took a bare minimum of pictures, did quick but heartfelt hugs, handshakes and high fives, and then beat feet out of there. We were safely back in high camp by 8:45 PM.
Best,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
We were fresh out of good weather today. Ran out sometime during the night. By morning, the high peaks were capped with wind-sculpted clouds and things had a decidedly unstable look. We procrastinated...ate breakfast and watched the progression of cloud formations. We got a weather forecast from Vinson Basecamp around noon, and decided to go for a walk. The thinking was that we'd be climbing in relative calm for several hours, in which time the day could turn sparkly and fine. That isn't what happened though. After a couple of hours and perhaps 1,300 feet of vertical gain, we were in wind and cloud... The times when we were granted better visibility, we could see more wind and cloud up higher. Ultimately, the decision was made that -with the "normal" cold temperatures (-15 to -20 F) we were enjoying, we couldn't fight against very much wind. We turned back to high camp, intent on waiting out this non-storm. The gang cut snow blocks to beef up the tent walls and we dug in just in case a real storm shows up. We are hopeful that morning will bring better things.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
G. Barber, to think all this time Bruce has been carrying your stuff. What?!?! Cute chics, rum, penguins - craziness (I thought it was the intrinsic value of climbing that allured you.) Enjoying the trip reports and comments from loved ones. Remember: when in doubt, build snow blocks. Patience. Hang in there team!
Posted by: Kerry on 12/5/2014 at 7:59 pm
Hi Greg, sounded like a tough day, but the team made a good call. You have good time - stay safe, buddy.
All the best,
Bruce and Joyce
Our luck with the weather continues. It was another perfectly calm, blue-sky, sunny day on Mount Vinson. We took full advantage, moving up from Low Camp to High Camp. It is plenty of work to break camp and hit the trail in this cold environment. This "morning" it took us about 2.5 hours. We were walking by 1:45 PM. We had the advantage today that we were all familiar with the route and the fixed ropes -thanks to our carry on the same terrain two days ago. This time we shaved about forty five minutes off, reaching 12,150 ft High Camp in five hours and fifteen minutes. We set to building camp and digging in, which took a few more hours of hard work, but eventually we were all sitting face to face in a freshly excavated dining room. We talked over exactly how summit day might work out for tomorrow. After dinner, the team pitched in to build some snow-block walls, just in case the wind comes up. Then folks wandered about a hundred feet west to look over the edge. It is a stunning view, peering over this dramatic and abrupt escarpment to see almost every footstep we've made to date. In the distance, the Nimitz Glacier is prominent and beyond that it seems that we can see forever on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. The team went to bed ready to go for the top, we'll see if our weather luck holds.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
We knew it was going to be a cold morning here at Low Camp, the sun doesn't make it around the mountain until 11:15 AM, but it was still somewhat shockingly cold. True, we are in 24-hour daylight, but any shadow reminds you very quickly what the actual air temperature is. We ate breakfast and put our crampons on for a day of carrying loads as we warmed up in the sun. Before too long, we'd begun the fixed rope section of climbing on the way to high camp. This section of steep and continuously firm snow meant that the day would be about vertical gain and not a great deal about distance covered. It took six hours to make it the 3,500 ft to high camp, which sits at 12,500 ft. Since it was perfect, cloudless weather, we could see forever as we got higher. But what we could see was ice, ice and more ice. Our timing was perfect, pulling into high camp just as Linden Mallory and his small team were getting there after their summit. Todd Passey, ALE's guide, was in camp with his team as well and very generously shared cups of hot water with the gang. We cached food and fuel there and then got moving back toward Low Camp, which we reached at 11 PM. It was a big day, finished off with a midnight supper in the POSH tent. Our climbers were excited for the new vistas, but also for the great sense of accomplishment in getting such a tough day under our belts. We'll rest tomorrow, and hope to move up the following day.
Best,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Proud of you guys - Tom, Haldis, and Chris!!! Have fun tomorrow reaching your goal and enjoying the views. Look forward to hearing all about it when you get back.
Hello RMI!! I have to tell ya...it is so nice to be reunited with the team! No one at Union Glacier camp would let me put my head on their shoulders and cry. However, when my team saw me at Vinson Base Camp they all gave me big bear hugs!
Today we packed up camp and started our climb to Low Camp, close to 10,000 feet. Everyone had a fun day and we worked well getting camp set up. The usual happened with hots and dinner and more hots. Dave is currently buttoning up the kitchen as I write.
Tomorrow the team plans on carrying gear towards high camp. We get to travel some fixed line as the terrain steepens. Stay tuned! AND GO PACKERS!!!
RMI Guide JJ Justman
Peter and J.J. —To my Elbrus teammates…. I am thinking of you and I know you can do it…. Blessings to the entire team
Posted by: john baker on 12/2/2014 at 1:21 pm
Can’t believe you are already primed for the summit. Seems like you just got there. Hope the climb is all you dreamed it would be. Good luck to the team and to my love.
Bonny
It was an eventful day, by our standards. Conditions still were not flyable when we crawled out of the tents at 9:15 (not too much use getting up before that time in this camp as it is pretty cold). But ALE, our logistical partner, offered one of their guides for the day so that we could accomplish a carry of food and gear to "Low Camp". We were excited for the chance to get on the move and for the opportunity to work with Lakpa Gelu. Lakpa has climbed Mount Everest 15 times and holds the speed record there. We were honored to rope up on Vinson with him. We left camp at 2:30 PM hauling a few sleds and carrying full packs. Snow conditions were perfect, we weren't sinking in much and the sleds dragged without much resistance. Despite the persistent cloud parked on the landing strip, a few hundred feet higher up we were walking in bright sunshine with blue skies and big views. We made great time, gaining two thousand feet of vertical and covering 5.6 miles (one way) in 4.5 hours. It felt great to pull into Low Camp, cache the load, and turn for base with light packs. The scenery for the day was spectacular, with views of the third and fourth highest mountains in Antarctica as well as a very close up view of a very big wall on Antarctica's highest mountain. The day was made perfect when, just as we crested the final hill and could see basecamp again, a Twin Otter aircraft, found a way through the clouds. JJ Justman made it into Vinson. We enjoyed our first dinner together on the mountain.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Hi Greg, How are you and the team doing? As well as expected without the Tochers right? Bruce is recovering well and even went to the Texans game today and guess what??? They won, hallelujah!! We are still in shorts and t-shirts here in Houston makes you sick doesn’t it?? But I am missing the snow and cold December weather. Anyway take care y’all and stay safe!! Love from me and Bruce xxx
Posted by: Joyce Tocher on 11/30/2014 at 3:42 pm
Hi Greg hope you were one of the lucky ones that got to go on the first climb as we know you can’t sit still for long. bet you enjoyed meeting up with friends from previous climbs again. It’s -10; clear blue skies here. Good that JJ is with you and all you need now is for the weather to cooperate then you can start to climb. Stay safe. Mom & Dad
Another no-fly day at Vinson Base. We were at the edge of a thick sea of clouds for much of the day and from what we heard, weather wasn't very nice at Union Glacier either. Temperatures were low again today, reportedly -23 C but most of the team felt more comfortable with the conditions today, perhaps we are acclimating. It was a little tough to be anchored down in VBC today as a couple of our neighbors and friends pulled out and moved up to "Low Camp" but we'd very much like JJ Justman to be along for that journey. So we did a bit more training and preparing. Tomorrow, perhaps, we'll have the whole team in one place... the way we like it. And we'll go climbing.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Climbing…always testing the patience. Training, preparing and having the whole team in one place sounds like a good idea. Soon. Hang in there GB and team! Hopefully, you have some good reading material : )
Posted by: kerry on 11/28/2014 at 9:55 pm
Well, sit tight, wait for JJ and better weather! That’s my advice from my seat in front of my computer in my house warmed by a wood fire!
Hi Haldis! *waves*. Saw you in the picture where you were weighing in your gear! :)
Hi to Tom too!
Your loving sister/in-law.
Posted by: Monica Glasenapp on 11/28/2014 at 8:04 pm
The team spent Thanksgiving Day at 7,000 ft above sea level on the Branscomb Glacier. "VBC" at the foot of Mount Vinson. Most took it on faith that Vinson was towering over us, since we couldn't see it, or much of anything today. We were clagged in with cloud and light snow throughout the day. All were thankful to have come so far yesterday, via buses, two exotic airplanes, and a big wheeled van at Union Glacier. The team would have been even more grateful if JJ Justman had been able to fly into VBC with us. He was scheduled for the next flight, due to lack of space on our ski-equipped Twin Otter, but that next flight didn't go when the weather deteriorated. We muddled on without him today, reviewing some safety procedures with climbing harnesses and Avalanche beacons, and generally getting set for glacier travel. It was quite cold for most of the day, with many of the team choosing to wear the big puffy down garments brought more specifically for the summit. We enjoyed a visit and briefing given by David Hamilton, ALE's basecamp manager. In late afternoon, our gang took a little time to rest and to consider how all the football games back home might be going. We then assembled on the snow benches of our dining tent for a five course meal.
Happy Thanksgiving to all those back home sitting on real furniture.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Hi Guys! Wish I was down there on the ice with you. Say hello to the ALE folks for me. Have a safe climb.
-Larry Seaton
Posted by: Larry Seaton on 11/28/2014 at 12:04 pm
Wishing Greg Barber and the RMI team a Happy Thanksgiving. It’s going to be cold here in Vancouver Greg, going down to -2C. Brrrrr…. Stay warm and safe buddy!
Hey – this is Dave Hahn calling from Vinson Base Camp. Yeah – I know, we started the day at the tip of South America, but we have made it all the way through Union Glacier and up to Vinson Base Camp. It’s 1:30 in the morning, we got the day going a long time ago. We were picked up from our hotel this morning a little after 7 in the morning so we have been on the go all day. The weather was a little iffy at Union for getting out to Vinson and it took a little time but we got out, or most of us got out. Jeff Justman, JJ, my other guide on this trip is still back there at Union Glacier. But we took the opportunity to get all the climbers out, but my co-leader, JJ, is back there at Union. So we will hope to have him to join us tomorrow. That would be nice if that works out. We will see what the weather does.
We have our Base Camp built and conditions aren’t too bad here right now. We are pretty optimistic and pretty pleased with our selves getting all the way in, two big important flights done and we can start concentrating on the mountain.
Thank you,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
RMI Guide Dave Hahn checks in upon arrival at Vinson Base Camp.
Yahoo! You’re there! Continued safety and good fortune! See you next update!
Posted by: Kristin H. on 11/27/2014 at 4:31 pm
Wonderful!!! Great news and hope the weather holds. Happy Thanksgiving and my alarm is set for 7:30 am daily to especially think of you then. Blessings to all. Love to Chris. Mom
Posted by: Carol Colleran on 11/27/2014 at 11:43 am
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To David and Kriss with IMG: I am so proud of both of you for your endurance, courage, and adventuresome spirits. You and all the teams are in my prayers for a safe trek, safe and successful summit, and safe trip back to Chile and then home. Many thanks and blessings to all the guides for their skill and safety measures. God’s blessings on all of you. Love, Mom Buchwald
Posted by: April Buchwald on 12/6/2014 at 2:17 pm
Glad both duffles made it to lower stress levels. Everyone stay safe and well. Folk back home have you in our prayers. Keep us posted.
Posted by: Bob Sullivan, Sr. on 12/6/2014 at 7:06 am
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