We are absolutely thrilled and privileged to start another season of helping climbers pursue their dreams of climbing to the highest point on the continent of Antarctica.  Mount Vinson soars to a height of 16,066 feet (4897m) in the Ellsworth Range.  Located at 78 degrees south latitude, the mountain is shrouded in glacier and regularly sees temperatures plunge to -30F or colder, even during the summer climbing season.  This is one of our favorite expeditions, as there are few places on our planet that can rival the raw wildness of Antarctica!

Joining us for our first expedition of the 2015/2016 season are three climbers who have traveled from around the world to begin this journey:

Joao de Almeida and Francisca de Almeida are joining us from beautiful Lisbon, Portugal; and

A third climber who wished to remain anonymous is also on the team.

The guide for the expedition is Jacob Schmitz.

The team met today in Punta Arenas, Chile where they will spend two days finalizing their preparations before boarding a Russian cargo jet for the four hour flight to Antarctica.  On December 7th, they will make the flight to the Union Glacier, a massive, blue ice glacier, where they will unload and board a smaller, ski equipped Otter for the short flight to Base Camp.

The team plans to call in and give us updates on a daily basis, but communicating from near the South Pole can be challenging, as the satellite connections can be rather short at times.  We encourage you to follow their adventure, but please understand that there could be some lapses in posts.

Enjoy!!