December 6, 2015
The first Mountain Trip Vinson expedition of the 2015/16 season is underway as the team flew to Antarctica this afternoon. They flew from Punta Arenas, Chile down to the big Antarctic base at Union Glacier where the Illyushin jet landed them on the blue ice runway. This is always a
December 6, 2015
Dennis Fernald called in from about 16,400' after the team moved up to Camp 1 today. They moved steadily up close to 3000', but fortunately they could take advantage of the trail they put in a couple days earlier. We mentioned in an previous post that there is much more
December 6, 2015
Patrick, Francisca and Joao are about to board the IL-76 cargo jet for the incredible flight south to Antarctica. The flight was scheduled for tomorrow, but the forecast for Union Glacier is looking like the winds might prevent the scheduled flight, so the plane is flying NOW! They spent the
December 4, 2015
Our lead guide Pablo Puruncajas called in after he, Alan and Phil all descended from the top of the third highest volcano in Ecuador! They had a tough day, with a moist wind covering them in rime ice as they climbed the last portion of the route, but they pushed
December 4, 2015
Jack Strickland called in after a tough day, battling wind and snow to carry loads up to 16,400'! There is a LOT of snow on Aconcagua at the moment, which is somewhat unusual for this time of year. The team shouldered their packs after a hearty breakfast at the Plaza
December 4, 2015
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
December 4, 2015
The Ecuador team summited Cayambe early this morning! Cayambe is a beautiful (5.790 m/18,996 ft) peak in the Northern Ecuadorian Andes. They awoke early and left the hut in the dark climbing by headlamp this morning. We'll post an audio dispatch when they check in this evening!
December 3, 2015
Dennis called to check in from the Nov. 28 Mountain Trip Aconcagua team. It sounds like everything is going great and we need to give our head guide for the Aconcagua program, Fermin, a big raise! They are in base camp today, and will climb up to Camp 1 tomorrow
December 2, 2015
Our first Aconcagua team of the climbing season arrived at the Plaza Argentina Base Camp today, but unfortunately, the satellite phone connection was very poor and Jack Strickland's message was largely unintelligible. They crossed the chilly Vacas River early in the morning and then hiked up the tributary Relinchos Valley.
December 2, 2015
A very poor connection prevented a lot of information from being relayed, but our Ecuador Volcanoes team of Alan Frankl and Phil McDonald just climbed two extinct volcanoes, Fuya Fuya (4.263 m/13,986 ft) and Imbabura(4.630 m/15,190 ft) as they acclimatize for an attempt on the third highest peak in the country,
