Vinson Dec. 14 Team – Vanessa Checks In From Low Camp

Vanessa Blasic called in today from the first of two camps that the team will establish as they make their way up towards the top of Antarctica.  The crew left the comfort of Base Camp, and the shelter of our huge Mountain Hardwear Space Station dome tent, and hauled sleds full of supplies up the broad Branscomb Glacier earlier today.  The glacier rises gently from Base Camp and then steps up a little as it makes a hard, right hand turn.  More gently rising terrain saw the team arrive at their goal.

Despite the gradual nature of the ascent, this is still a hard day, as the team had the biggest loads of the trip.  They established camp at what is called “Low Camp,” at the base of a long ridge/headwall that climbs up to the long summit plateau, which extends behind the entire length of the ridge (at left) in the image above.

The next stage of their climb will be to ascend that steep ridge and carry some food and fuel up to the site of their high Camp.  If the weather permits, they might attempt this on the Summer Solstice (in Antarctica!).

The team is trying out a new GPS tracking device that should work down at such a southern latitude.  You can follow their progress via the following link:

https://share.delorme.com/8c58e3c23bf54b27bf27190c42901a56

Here is Vanessa!

recording

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