Tag Archive for: Punta Arenas

Hello from Antarctica!

Guides, Garrett and Benny with Mount Vinson climber, Thais after landing on the ice!

The first of the 2023 / 2024 Madison Mountaineering teams have arrived in Antarctica for Mount Vinson, ski the last degree, and Mount Sidley expeditions! We are more excited than ever to be back on the ice and look forward to a great season ahead. Expedition guide, Benny Lieber checks in with this dispatch from Union Glacier Camp:

Today we made the flight from Punta Arenas (34m/112ft) to Antarctica. Flying across the frozen continent and into the mountains, landing in the Boeing 757 on the blue ice runway was a surreal experience.

It’s a beautiful evening here. No wind. We had a big dinner – uniting with Art & Kevin who are back from skiing the last degree to the South Pole. We are all so excited for the mission ahead on Mount Vinson (4892m/16,050ft)!

Flying over the frozen continent on the way to Union Glacier Camp (Photo: Benny Lieber)

Flying over the frozen continent on the way to Union Glacier Camp (Photo: Benny Lieber)

Expedition leader, Garrett Madison in Union Glacier Camp under clear blue skies!

Expedition leader, Garrett Madison in Union Glacier Camp under clear blue skies!

Guide, Benny Lieber is all smiles after arriving on the ice!

Guide, Benny Lieber is all smiles after arriving on the ice!

In addition to these expedition dispatches, you can also follow our teams as they make their attempts on the world’s most formidable mountains on:

– Amazon Alexa devices with the Madison Mountaineering Flash Briefing skill:

  • Enable the skill and add to your flash briefing to hear our daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

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See You Soon, Vinson!

Photo pulled from Madison Mountaineering Archive.

The Madison Mountaineering Antarctica season has come to a close after another safe and successful season on the ice! Expedition leader, Garrett Madison, checks in with one final dispatch from Antarctica:

Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the Mount Vinson (4892m/16,050ft) expedition team.

Welp, the teams have all concluded their expeditions on Vinson, reaching the summit in great weather! I am back at Union Glacier Camp (700m/2,297ft) just waiting for the next flight out to Punta Arenas, Chile (34m/112ft) on the 757 scheduled for January 14.

It’s nice to be here and wrap up our season! It was a great season here in Antarctica – thanks so much to ALE for all the support. We’re looking forward to returning next year!

In addition to these expedition dispatches, you can also follow our teams as they make their attempts on the world’s most formidable mountains on:

– Amazon Alexa devices with the Madison Mountaineering Flash Briefing skill:

  • Enable the skill and add to your flash briefing to hear our daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

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Departure from Antarctica

Photo pulled from Madison Mountaineering Archive.

After another successful expedition, our team has packed their bags, loaded the plane, and said their ‘farewells’ to Antarctica! The team had a great time experiencing the remote and pristine nature that comes with this special place, all in while creating lasting memories that we will not soon forget! We couldn’t think of a better way to kick off 2023 than on the ice with friends, new and old. The excitement for the next Antarctica season has already started to build! Expedition leader, Garrett Madison, checks in with this departing dispatch from Mount Vinson:

Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the second Mount Vinson (4892m/16,050ft) team with Conrad Anker – today is Wednesday, January 11th.

The team got down from Mount Vinson High Camp (3536m/11,600ft) yesterday all the way back down to Base Camp (2140m/7,020ft), flew from Base Camp to Union Glacier (700m/2,297ft), and then flew from Union Glacier back to Chile (34m/112ft) – all the way home! So, it was a big day for the team after having summited Mount Vinson the day before, coming all the way down and heading out all in one day!

I’m back at Union Glacier Camp here for a few days sorting gear and equipment, and wrapping up our season here in Antarctica! It’s been a great season and looking forward to coming back to Antarctica next year.

In addition to these expedition dispatches, you can also follow our teams as they make their attempts on the world’s most formidable mountains on:

– Amazon Alexa devices with the Madison Mountaineering Flash Briefing skill:

  • Enable the skill and add to your flash briefing to hear our daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

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Pre-Departure Day!

Photo pulled from Madison Mountaineering Archive.

Our bags are packed and we’re jonesing to get this expedition going! With good weather tomorrow, our team expects to depart from Chile en route to Union Glacier, Antarctica. The team plans to spend the rest of the day relaxing and enjoying a nice dinner this evening, before their expedition begins on the ice! Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with todays pre-departure dispatch from Punta Arenas:

Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson (4892m/16,050ft) expedition. We are in Punta Arenas (34m/112ft); just got all of our luggage checked in for our flight to Antarctica and fingers crossed we’ll be flying out tomorrow morning from Chile to Antarctica! So, we’re really excited to go out and have a nice dinner tonight and the expectation of a flight tomorrow.

So, we’re ready to go! Can’t wait to get down there and start our climb soon!

In addition to these expedition dispatches, you can also follow our teams as they make their attempts on the world’s most formidable mountains on:

– Amazon Alexa devices with the Madison Mountaineering Flash Briefing skill:

  • Enable the skill and add to your flash briefing to hear our daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

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Mount Vinson Expedition Kickoff!

Photo pulled from Madison Mountaineering Archive.

The 2022 / 2023 Mount Vinson season is underway for the first of two, Madison Mountaineering teams! Our team has arrived in Chile where they’ll spend the coming days preparing to depart on their expedition to one of the most remote and pristine places on Earth. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with todays dispatch from Punta Arenas, Chile:

Hello, this is Garrett checking in for the Mount Vinson (4892m/16,050ft) expedition team! We are in Punta Arenas (34m/112ft), Chile and we are preparing to head to Antarctica the day after tomorrow. We’ve been doing our gear checks, packing up last minute items, and I’m very excited! Fingers crossed for good weather. Hopefully we will get to fly to Antarctica on Thursday, and start our expedition to the highest peak in an Antarctica!

Please follow along on the dispatch page, I’ll check in soon. Thanks!

In addition to these expedition dispatches, you can also follow our teams as they make their attempts on the world’s most formidable mountains on:

– Amazon Alexa devices with the Madison Mountaineering Flash Briefing skill:

  • Enable the skill and add to your flash briefing to hear our daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

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Vinson: 3rd Expedition Recap

Ed Viesturs and Garrett Madison on the summit of Mount Vinson, Antarctica

We were honored to have Ed Viesturs co-guiding our third successful Mount Vinson expedition of the season!  And here, from Punta Arenas, is Ed with an expedition recap:

Hi, this is Ed Viesturs reporting from Punta Arenas, Chile.  It’s Sunday (January 23rd).

Yesterday, very early in the morning, at around 4 AM we managed to leave Union Glacier on the 757 which flew us here to Punta Arenas.  It was the end of a pretty interesting expedition and in the end we made the summit of Vinson!

After arriving at High Camp on January 12th, the next day in a window of weather, we made an attempt for the summit which failed due to high winds and very challenging conditions.  We came back to High Camp and made the decision to wait several more days for another opportunity period.

Our patience paid off after five nights of waiting in quite a challenging storm – high winds and snow.  Eventually, we reached the summit on January 18th.  So all-in-all our patience paid off.

It was a great trip, we had a lot of fun, and I look forward to doing more guided expeditions alongside Garrett Madison and Madison Mountaineering.

Ed Viesturs signing out from Punta Arenas.

2022.01.05 Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson expedition team

2022.01.05 Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson expedition team

In addition to these expedition dispatches, you can also follow our teams as they make their attempts on the world’s most formidable mountains on:

– Amazon Alexa devices with the Madison Mountaineering Flash Briefing skill:

  • Enable the skill and add to your flash briefing to hear our guide’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions

– Instagram:

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Celebration at Vinson Base Camp

Clients Sarah Brittain and Thomas Moore move from Low Camp to High Camp with guide Garrett Madison on a Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson expedition in the Sentinel Range of Antarctica’s Ellsworth Mountains on January 1, 2021. (📸: @terray_s)

With the full team down to Vinson Base Camp, expedition leader Garrett Madison checks in with today’s dispatch recapping summit day and the journey down to base camp where everyone is celebrating:

Hello, this is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson expedition team. Today is January 19th.

Our team came down from High Camp today after reaching the summit of Mount Vinson yesterday on January 18th. We had a good summit day and a nice trek down from High Camp. We arrived in base camp this evening and had a fun, celebratory dinner with our team – everyone was present. We enjoyed some champagne and burgers and had a good finish to our expedition here on Vinson.

We might be here another day or so at Vinson Base Camp. We’re not sure when the Twin Otters will be able to arrive to fly us out – hopefully in a day or two. But everyone’s in good spirits; we’re happy to be down safe and had a great summit yesterday, especially being up there with Ed Viesturs on the highest point in Antarctica was really special.

It was a wonderful expedition, and we’re just going to be here in Vinson Base Camp, hanging out, enjoying Antarctica until our flight back to Union Glacier and Punta Arenas, Chile.

(📸: @terray_s – Team Two climbers Sarah B. and Thomas M. moving up to high camp with guide Garrett Madison earlier this month)

In addition to these expedition dispatches, you can also follow our teams as they make their attempts on the world’s most formidable mountains on:

– Amazon Alexa devices with the Madison Mountaineering Flash Briefing skill:

  • Enable the skill and add to your flash briefing to hear our guide’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions

– Instagram:

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Perseverance Pays Off – Vinson Summits!

Happy New Year 2022 from Antarctica!

After persevering through five nights at Mount Vinson‘s High Camp, our Team Three’s patience and tactics paid off and they were successful today in making it to the highest point in Antarctica, the summit of Vinson Massif.  Guide Terray Sylvester provided this text message from the mountain:

Good news from Antarctica! Most of our climbers summited Mount Vinson today in excellent weather.

The rest of the team is already in base camp relaxing and enjoying some good meals: pancakes, eggs and bacon for breakfast today, and hamburgers and french fries for dinner.

Tomorrow our summit team, led by Garrett and Ed Viesturs, plans to descend to base camp to await flights back to Union Glacier and Punta Arenas. We’ll be in touch!

In addition to these expedition dispatches, you can also follow our teams as they make their attempts on the world’s most formidable mountains on:

– Amazon Alexa devices with the Madison Mountaineering Flash Briefing skill:

  • Enable the skill and add to your flash briefing to hear our guide’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions

– Instagram:

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Waiting out the weather at High Camp

Clients Sarah Brittain and Thomas Moore move from Low Camp to High Camp with guide Garrett Madison on a Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson expedition in the Sentinel Range of Antarctica’s Ellsworth Mountains on January 1, 2022. (📸: @terray_s)

Checking in from Mount Vinson, guide Terray Sylvester provides an update on Team Three’s status and plans for another summit attempt:

Hello, this is Terray calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson expedition here in Antarctica. It’s our third climb of the season.

Our climbing team is currently up in High Camp, with Garrett and Ed Viesturs waiting on a weather window to go to the summit. It’s been stormy. Two fronts have come through this weekend, and right now, it’s windy and snowy up at High Camp. But it looks like the precipitation and the wind are going to taper off tomorrow for favorable conditions on top of Antarctica‘s highest peak.

So the team is in good shape, and we’ll be in touch!

(📸: @terray_s – Team Two climbers Sarah B. and Thomas M. moving up to high camp with guide Garrett Madison earlier this month)

In addition to these expedition dispatches, you can also follow our teams as they make their attempts on the world’s most formidable mountains on:

– Amazon Alexa devices with the Madison Mountaineering Flash Briefing skill:

  • Enable the skill and add to your flash briefing to hear our guide’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions

– Instagram:

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Vinson Team Three Update

Quick update on our third Mount Vinson expedition team:

On Friday (Jan 14th) made an attempt at the summit but were unfortunately forced to turn around due to wind and cold.  Some other teams turned around as well.  Yesterday (Jan 15th) was another stormy day, so the team hung tight at High Camp.  Conditions are expected to improve on Monday, so they are hoping for another shot then.

Everyone is doing good and all’s well at Mount Vinson High Camp.

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