Trip Reports

Vinson Team Expedition Dispatch from Antarctica

The Mountain Trip Vinson expedition team is at the Union Glacier base waiting for the weather to improve a bit so they can continue their journey to Vinson base camp.  The weather has prevented them from flying for another day, but they’ve spent that time preparing for the climb, practicing some mountain skills, and catching…

ACONCAGUA NOV 28TH TEAM CARRIES TO CAMP 2

It was a cold and windy day today, high on Aconcagua, but the skies were clear and the scenery (always) beautiful. The climbers moved a load of equipment and supplies up to Camp 2, at 17,600 ft. This “ferrying” of equipment helps a climber’s acclimatization and allows the team to move all of the necessary…

Vinson Team in Antarctica

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 challenging flight as the weather…

Aconcagua Nov 28 Team – Moved to Camp 1

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 snow than is typically found…

Vinson Expedition – Time to Fly!!

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 morning attending an orientation, before…

Aconcagua Team Carried to Camp 1

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 Argentina Base Camp and started…

MEET THE DECEMBER 4TH VINSON TEAM

  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…