Trip Reports

Vinson - 29 Nov to 18 Dec '08

Written by Leader Neal Short, February 2009

Vinson 2008 Team members: Tore, Inger, Mike and James.

All members and leader summited Vinson on 14th December 2008.

The whole team assembled in the delightful Hotel Isla Rey Jorge in downtown Punta Arenas on the 1st December. Unfortunately Tore and Inger had experienced delays flying out from Heathrow and subsequently their baggage did not arrive on their final flight from Santiago to Punta. After some urgent phone calls we managed to locate the bags but where told that it could take three days for them to arrive. This was quite desperate news considering our Ilyushin flight to Antarctica was scheduled for two days time (3rd Dec). As they could not afford to miss the flight then they had to prepare for not receiving their kit in time. Fortunately Tore and Inger had wisely brought out their expedition boots and down jackets in their hand luggage but this still meant they had to re-equip themselves with everything else required for Vinson. Punta Arenas has a number of general outdoor shops and even a North Face and Mountain Hardwear shop so they where just about able to buy everything that they would need. Also some kit was generously lent by Tim Ralph, who summited Vinson the week before and was still in the Hotel before going trekking. All in all, after considerable effort and anxiety Tore and Inger got ready for the flight. On the morning of the scheduled Ilyushin flight we got the news to stand down due to cross winds on the Patriot Hills blue ice runway. Normally nobody would be happy for a delay but it fell just nicely for Tore and Inger who eventually managed to receive all their bags before the next possible departure. Ultimately we had a further 3 days delay before flying out at 8.45pm on the 6th December.

We spent one night camping at Patriot Hills before taking the breath-taking Twin Otter flight to Vinson base camp (VBC).

8th December: To Half Camp Like last year I again decided to split the sled-haul to Low Camp (LC) over 2 days. We left BC at around 3pm and took just over 3 hours to reach Half Camp (2550m).

9th December: To Low Camp (LC) (2750m) As the sun didn’t hit camp until 11am we had a leisurely start to the day and left for LC at 2.30pm. The route up the Branscomb glacier took us close to a number of ‘cracks’ (crevasses) and past impressive ice streams that flow down from the upper reaches of Vinson. We pulled into camp at 7pm.

10th December: Load carry to High Camp (HC) (3750m) As we still had good weather we made a carry up the fixed lines to HC. The fixed lines route has now become the normal way to ascend to HC rather than going up the objectively dangerous headwall route. It was a hard day with each member carrying at least 20kg and the round trip took 11hrs.

11th December: Rest day at LC We took a well deserved rest day at LC. It also served as good opportunity to refine and organise kit for the final push to HC.

12th December: Up to HC We still had big sacks for our second ascent of the fixed lines however the extra acclimatisation and rest along with familiarity of the terrain made it feel a lot easier than our previous load carry day. We managed to get into HC nearly 2 hours quicker and this was valuable time gained as it took a while to make camp and have dinner.

13th December: Acclimatisation day at HC Although it would be great to keep make a summit bid the day after arriving at HC I think it’s best to take a day off, firstly for acclimatisation and secondly that summit day is fairly demanding needing both good physical fitness and full awareness to the potentially serious conditions. Therefore we spent the day reinforcing our camp with snow block walls, keeping well fed and hydrated and being totally absorbed in our fabulous surroundings.

14th December: Summit day We awoke to misty but not threatening conditions and after some discussion made the decision to make a summit bid. We left camp shortly after mid day and made good time with all team members arriving on the summit at 8pm. We had started off in relatively warm conditions but eventually required all our down clothing by the summit ridge.

For Tore it was an even more special ascent as he completed his Seven Summit quest. We spent 45 minutes on the top celebrating and experiencing the magical vista.

15th December: Descent to VBC On our summit day we had received news from VBC that there was potentially an Ilyushin flight coming into Patriot Hill today so therefore we made every effort to get down to VBC as quick as possible. The descent to LC was swift but made with big sacks and it was with some relief that we eventually put the loads onto the sleds for the final section to VBC. Unfortunately as we got closer to VBC our hopes of going all the way out to Punta Arenas where dashed. The news from Patriot Hills was that the cross winds on the blue ice runway had started to increase and at VBC a thick bank of cloud was hanging over the Twin Otter runway. The decision not to fly was made quickly after we arrived at VBC so we made camp with the hope of flying out the following day to a shower and superb Chilean steak and red wine.

16th to 26th December: Stuck at VBC Far from our dreams of the previous day we eventually had one of the longest delays at VBC that the flight company had ever known. For both ourselves at VBC and teams stuck at Patriot Hills it was a very frustrating time especially when Christmas Day came and went and we where still on the ice. For 3 days we experienced very poor weather which made moving about camp quite difficult. Finally on the 26th we made it to Patriot Hills and then had a nail biting 4 hours until it was confirmed that the Ilyushin was on its way. The relief amongst the Vinson teams, South Pole teams, South Pole tourist groups and the Patriot Hills staff was very evident. Although exceptionally pleased to be on our way home the delay had at least given us more time than normal on Antarctica, we had experienced some pretty harsh conditions though in the relative safety of VBC and also as a team we had bonded even more than we had already. Not all of the team flew out as James stayed on to successfully complete the Last Degree to the South Pole. The rest of us enjoyed a few days in Punta and had a number of splendid celebratory meals before flying home.

Climbing Vinson is a wonderful experience in itself but due to the fantastic camaraderie between the members on this expedition it felt very special indeed. Thanks and well done to the team.

Neal Short, Expedition Leader

Further reading:

Lonely Planet Antarctica

Rocks and Hard Places by Alex Harris (A Seven Summits book): ISBN-10: 1868728714

Potential weather forecast from a Norwegian metrological service www.yr.no. Search for Vinson Massif. It has an option for English.   « | Next report »

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