Welcome to the trip dispatches for the Mountain Trip Dec.13th Mount Vinson Expedition!

Our team met today in Punta Arenas Chile to make the final preparations, and last gear checks before heading to Antarctica for this 2 week expedition to climb the highest peak on the coldest continent.

We’ll be posting updates on their progress throughout the course of the trip,  and we’ll be able to post audio dispatches from satellite phone calls from the climbers on the trip.

Meet the team:

Scott Grischow:  Houston, TX

Don Grischow:  Keller, TX

Priya Singh:  Calgary, Canada

Adam Vidoni:  Orono, ME

David Woodman:  London, UK

Grant Ritchie:  Melbourne, Australia

Mary Scannell:  London, UK

Jacob Schmitz (Guide):  Bend, OR

Joe Butler (Guide):  Anchorage, AK

They are scheduled to fly to Antarctica on the 16th of December weather permitting.   Weather delays are pretty common when flying to Antarctica, the longest delay we’ve had was 12 days, waiting for the weather in Antarctica, luckily 1 or 2 days is more common.    The flight to Antarctica is operated by a company called Antarctica Logistics and Expeditions or ALE.  ALE operates a runway/airbase in Antarctica and contracts the planes to provide transportation for all of the expeditions to Mt Vinson.  The plane they use for the flight from Punta Arenas at the southern tip of Chile, to Union Glacier in the middle of Antarctica, is a Russian made Illyushin cargo jet.   It is a great adventure, and we’ll post regular updates along the way.