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Did I say Antarctica wasn't cold? Well, I was just kidding. Antarctica, especially high up with a stiff wind, is really, really, really cold.
Our day today started reasonably enough, with a bright sun high in the sky and reasonable temperatures for walking. The team moved well out of High Camp along the seemingly endless glacial valley leading toward Vinson's summit.
About 2 hours into the journey, Vinson decided to give us a little test. The wind began to pick up, and suddenly we could all feel the frigid cold biting at any exposed skin and dropping our core temperatures degree by degree. Time to layer up. In moments, we all donned our custom Peak XV Antarctica down jackets and pants, shutting the wind and cold out, at least somewhat.
But, it gets tricky in situations like this. The thick down insulates well, and keeps you warm and toasty. But, you still have to move uphill, and that generates heat. Too much heat, and you start to sweat. Sweat out your baselayers, and you're going to get cold sooner or later. So, climbing in these situations is an exercise in zipper running, hat pulling, and sleeve pushing; it is a constant battle to maintain that thermal equilibrium, right on the line between too cold and too hot.
With that obstacle added to our climb, we kept moving, everyone doing well and chugging right along. Before long, the route made a sharp right-hand turn, and began climbing steeply toward the summit ridge. And, now, Vinson decided to show us what she could do. The temperature had dropped as we ascended, to about -30 degrees C on the summit ridge, and then the wind really picked up. We estimate about 30 miles per hour fairly consistently...In other words, enough wind and cold to make it the coldest day I've ever experienced on any mountain, anywhere. And, Ed Viesturs, who's got a handful of cold mountains under his belt, agreed that it was the coldest summit day in his memory. That's cold.
We were close now, though, and kept pushing onward, trying to check cheeks, noses, ears, etc., for frostnip - which can come on quickly in such conditions. Along with the wind, Vinson's final curveball was the largely-moderate terrain of the lower mountain finally transitioned to a steeper, more exposed ridge for the final push. But, it was manageable, and soon we were all celebrating and shivering on top of Antarctica.
I've been fortunate enough to travel to some unique places and mountains over the years, but must admit that Antarctica, and Mount Vinson, is one of the most spectacular. To gaze out from the summit at the jagged peaks of the Ellsworth Mountains, which eventually yield and give way to a vast sea of glacier, is simply beyond words.
We spent a few minutes on top, taking pictures, congratulating one another, and of course pulling out the 1966 Alaska Flag for it's final foray on the summit of Vinson. And, then, it was time to go. It's too easy to linger on such summits, and in the abusive cold and wind, we needed to get down fast. Everyone moved well downhill, and we're all now in our tents, enjoying the warmth of a sunny tent and a full belly. Sleep will come quickly tonight, and will be well earned by all.
Tomorrow...well, there's still work to be done. All our gear needs to somehow make its way from High Camp down the fixed lines and all the way to Vinson Basecamp. We'll sleep well, and work hard tomorrow.
And, yes, in case I ever forget, Antarctica is COLD!!
-Jake Norton
Our Camp 2 staycation continues with a weather day. The winds are blowing above with lots of snow transport. We went for a walk and are enjoying warm tents with some Pink Floyd playing in the background. The appetites are still strong and team is getting restless. The 14th looks like the best summit day when considering wind speed and trail breaking.
Thanks for following along.
RMI Guide Mike King
We spent the day on the airstrip with high hopes of flying out in the afternoon. While waiting we took advantage of the free time to start practicing technical skills. After brushing up on knots and anchors we learned how to ascend a rope with the anticipation of ascending out of a crevasse on the Ruth Glacier. Unfortunately the weather never broke today. However, with the pilots optimistic about tomorrow morning, we loaded up all our gear on a plane hoping to fly out first thing tomorrow!
RMI Guide Avery Parrinello
The Kautz Seminar June 23 - 28 made their summit attempt today, they climbed the crux of the route and reached 14,000' between Point Success and the true summit before weather turned them around. RMI Guide Tyler Jones reported a thick cloud cap with snow and cold temperatures. The team will descend to camp and continue their training on the mountain for the next few days.
Hello!
And we are going up! After another rest day at
Ama Dablam Base Camp, all is packed and ready and we are starting our summit bid.
We know that the winds are forecasted to be strong, so it is going to be a toss up. But we continue to see blue skies every day, so we're going to do what's common in these cases, "prepare for the worst and hope for the best."
Stay tuned for our progress up high!
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
Hello,
After two great nights at Basecamp, it was time to move out and establish a new camp higher up on Mt. Elbrus.
We were really lucky again today with the weather. It was still raining when we first woke up, but just about the time we were taking down the tents, it stopped and has been dry ever since.
The trail was still challenging today, but everybody did great. We made good time all the way back up to our cache site at 11,200'. We grabbed a few items from the cache that we would need for the night, and continued on our way. The last stretch into camp climbs up a very rocky moraine and is some of the most trickiest walking on the whole mountain, especially with some heavy packs. We worked our way up the faint climber's trail, dealing with lots of loose scree and some very awkward steps, but finally being rewarded as we crested over the top of the ridge and arrived at
Camp 1.
The weather has not been that good the last several days, and as a result, there is a fair amount of climbers still waiting at Camp 1 for their summit attempt. Tent sites were at a premium, but after a little searching, we found some good spots and started building our camp. We are now all settled into what will be our home for the next three nights.
We have been in the clouds most of the day, but the upper mountain has made a few brief appearances this afternoon. Our hope is that this improving weather trend will continue for us.
Right now there are many climbers in camp getting ready to climb tonight. We, on the other hand, are going to bed and looking forward to sleeping in the morning.
All the best,
RMI Guides Jeff Martin, Pete Van Deventer and the team
On The Map
Well, after three days of hard work on the approach to our climb, we are finally taking some deserved time off. This is the first of our "rest days" which we are using to relax, refuel, and acclimatize. The team is loving it.
We started the morning with some sleeping in and a leisurely breakfast of loaded egg quesadillas, while watching a few flurries drift off of the upper mountain. After the sun started to heat our base camp weather-port and some digesting had taken place the team prepared their gear for our carry to
Camp 1 tomorrow at 16,200'. The packs are heavy but the spirits are high as the mountain looms above.
For the rest of the evening the name of the game is chilling.....playing cards, eating snacks, taking in the sights, and trying to guess what our dinner could be by the delicious smell coming from the kitchen. Stay tuned as we continue our ascent tomorrow!
RMI Guides,
Garret,
Ben, and
Nick
On The Map
Hi Everyone,
It's been a fun, if slightly soggy, day in
Moscow. The day started with thunder and lightning at sunrise but as we all met up over breakfast the light show subsided. After breakfast we took a nice walk around Red Square and met up with a local tour guide. She took us into the Kremlin and showed us all around the old cathedrals inside. While we were in the Kremlin the skies opened up and it started to rain. We gave everyone the option to bail out and return to the hotel but this crew is tough and all of the stuck it out.
After touring the Kremlin some folks wanted to do their own thing for a bit so we split into 3 groups for lunch time. After that we met back in the hotel and reviewed the gear necessary for the climb. Pete and I split up after that and checked out everyone's gears individually. Everyone seems very well prepared with top-notch gear and plenty of mountain food.
Everything is lining up nicely for our departure for Mineralnye Vody and Kisklovodsk tomorrow.
RMI Guides Seth Waterfall, Pete Van Deventer and Team
Our team slept in this morning and got some much needed rest for our upcoming summit bid. Tomorrow we plan to wake early, pack up camp, and move to our
high camp at 17,200'. The weather is perfect, and so is the forecast. We hope the meteorologists in Fairbanks are correct, as they are predicting good weather for the next few days. But, as always, we're focusing on one day at a time. And if the weather is good tomorrow, that focus will be climbing efficiently from our current camp at 14,200' up to high camp at 17,200', and establishing ourselves up high for a summit bid. Stay tuned and wish us luck...
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
Hello Everyone,
After a severe spanking on our first climbing objective, expedition skills seminar Ecuador has settled into a well deserved day of rest. Here at
Chilcabamba, a beautiful rustic Eco lodge located ten miles north west of Cotopaxi, Ecuador's most famous mountain, we have been treated like royalty. Luckily, whatever crazy wind dance some angry jungle tribe did to irritate the mountain climbers has seemed to run its course. So, by this afternoon many of the dark clouds and biting wind gusts seemed to have subsided which by dinner time treated the team to spectacular views of the mountain we are to attempt next.
Because Cayambe was such a struggle, we opened today up to doing anything, within reason, each person wanted to do. Armed with the the Spanish speaking skills of a two year old, I did my best to arrange a car to drive five willing folks to Machachi, the nearest town. When a pickup arrived with seating enough for four, shoulders were shrugged, the back seat was packed sardine style and twenty minutes later Ginger's legs were numb. But so goes travel. After a few hours in town the team returned and a quality debrief of our Cayambe experience hopefully prepared us better for what's to come on Cotopaxi. By 5 p.m. more training ensued and Clark was imitating self arrest in the front yard peppered with llama poop while Albert attempted to mock rescue Ginger out of the imaginary grass crevasse. Who needs a glacier? This segued perfectly into dinned and eventually into Jan and Gary kicking the guide's tails in a heated game of cribbage.
The team is growing closer every day and can't wait to attempt another climb. Stay tuned.
RMI Guides
Adam Knoff &
Casey Grom
_on_top_of_Mount_Vinson,_cold_but_happy._From_left_to_right-_Seth,_David,_Cindy,_Caroline,_Peter,_Ben_Ed_.JPG)
We’re sorry to hear about the summit delay, but are very happy you are with guides that care so much about safety!
Hoping you packed in enough food so that you aren’t sizing up your teammates for BBQ options, haha!
Bitter cold here this am, folks had -4. We’re expecting 10 inches of snow, followed by rain, so I guess the weather people don’t know.
You’ll love this: ALL of the US airlines were shut down for hours this morning because the centralized air traffic control program went haywire!
Yesterday I saw two owls! They were huge, one on the way home from work and the other at the peak of our lone Maple tree on the road in front of our yard.
Sending you all hugs. Keep your spirits up, this is a once in a lifetime climb! XOXOXO Momma & Dad
Posted by: Momma & Dad on 1/11/2023 at 11:56 am
I can only imagine how hard it is to wait. Sending all of our positive vibes and love.
Posted by: Emily on 1/11/2023 at 11:09 am
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