All Antarctica expedition dispatches

Celebrating Christmas at Vinson Low Camp!

Mount Vinson Low Camp

Today our Mount Vinson team one moved into their Christmas location of Low Camp on Mount Vinson.  Meanwhile, in Punta Arenas, Chile, our Mount Vinson team two arrived and will spend the next few days preparing for their flight to Union Glacier, Antarctica.  Here’s Garrett via sat phone with the recap of the day on Mount Vinson:

Hello, this is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson expedition team.  It’s Christmas Eve, December 24th here and we climbed up from Vinson Base Camp to Low Camp today on Mount Vinson.

We left base camp mid-day after packing up and caching our gear.  We climbed about eight hours up to Low Camp (or Camp 1) on Vinson.  We had nice weather, it was a little blustery and snowy starting out for the first few hours and then the wind let up a little bit and we actually got a little sun up here at Low Camp and had a Christmas Eve dinner.  We had some salmon, some mixed vegetables, some empanadas, and some mangos and chocolates for dessert.  It was a fun evening.  We’re glad to be up here at Low Camp.  It was a long and tiring day but we’re feeling good and we’re looking forward to a rest day tomorrow on Christmas Day.

All’s well here at Low Camp on Mount Vinson.  We’ll check in soon and happy Christmas Eve to everyone out there!

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 Base Camp and Carry Completed

Base camp at the Antarctica expedition

Our first Mount Vinson team of the season has flown from Union Glacier Camp to Mount Vinson Base Camp and made their carry towards Low Camp.  Expedition leader Garrett Madison provides the day’s dispatch via satellite phone:

Hello. This is Garrett calling for the Mount Vinson expedition team.  Today is Wednesday, December 22nd and we are in Vinson base camp.

We arrived late last night just before midnight on our flight from Union Glacier Camp and we set up tents and moved in.  Today we got up, had breakfast, and did a carry up halfway to Camp 1. We carried up food and fuel and some other gear and cached it about halfway from base camp to Camp 1.  We got back to base camp, had dinner, and are just getting tucked in for bed.

We’re doing well here.  A little marginal weather at the moment, a bit stormy.  But we’re hoping it will clear out in the next day or two and we can resume heading back up the mountain – hopefully, get up to low camp and focus on getting to high camp.

All’s well here at Vinson base camp and we’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 guide’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions

– Instagram:

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Still Hanging at Union Glacier

Our first Mount Vinson expedition team is waiting out the Mount Vinson base camp weather at Union Glacier camp.  Here’s Garrett with the details:

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

Today is Monday December 20th and we are still at Union Glacier camp.  No one is flying out of Union Glacier camp for a few days to Vinson because of the bad weather at Vinson base camp, but we’re doing well here.  We’re eating lots of good food and resting and getting organized.  Excited to fly over there to start climbing Vinson when the weather cooperates.  But until then will just keep hanging out here eating well.

All is well and we’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 guide’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions

– Instagram:

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Ski the Last Degree

– Antarctica

Ski the last degree of latitude (111 km / 60 nautical miles) to reach the South Pole and experience the challenge and sense of discovery that the first explorers faced to reach the furthest point south. During this polar expedition, you will be immersed in the vast beauty and tranquility of the high polar plateau, and share the camaraderie of your team as you haul sleds and build camps on your way to the Pole. Antarctica’s interior is very dry, cold, and windy, with average temperatures around 17F (-8C) when the wind is not blowing the days can feel warm. With the ‘physiological’ altitude approaching 3350m/11,000ft, we build acclimatization during the week of skiing to the Pole.

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Vinson Team One at Union Glacier, Antarctica

Aerial View of Union Glacier Camp in Southern Ellsworth Mountains

The team for our first Mount Vinson expedition of the season has arrived at Union Glacier camp in Antarctica and is getting things ready for the flight to Mount Vinson base camp.  Here’s Garrett with the details:

Hello. This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson expedition. This is the first expedition on Mount Vinson for our season here in Antarctica and yesterday we flew in from Punta Arenas, Chile to Union Glacier camp in Antarctica.

Right now we are in Union Glacier camp, just had a nice dinner. Good day here organizing our gear, and we’re hoping to fly to Mount Vinson tomorrow if the weather is good.  But we’re not quite sure.  It’s a little foggy and cloudy over at Mount Vinson base camp.  So not flying at the moment.

We’re hoping we’ll get an opportunity here in the next few days and be able to get over there and start climbing.  We’re really happy to be here in Antarctica and having a good time here, just relaxing and enjoying the sites at Union Glacier camp and all is well.

So we’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 guide’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions

– Instagram:

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Next Stop Antarctica!

Boarding the Boeing 757 in Punta Arenas. Bound for Union Glacier, Antarctica!

Our first Mount Vinson expedition of the season is just boarding their flight to Antarctica from Punta Arenas, Chile.  Here’s expedition leader Garrett Madison with the details:

Hey!  This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Vinson expedition – our first one of the season.  We are flight to Antarctica!  We just getting ready to board the Boeing 757 jet here in Punta Arenas.  We are taking off in about a half an hour and we’ll fly for four and a half hours over the Drake Passage to Union Glacier camp in Antarctica, where we’ll spend a couple of nights and then fly over to Vinson base camp and start our climb.

So, we’re very excited that everything’s on schedule here – we’ve got good weather and we’re looking forward to getting to Vinson!  All’s well here and we’ll check-in 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 guide’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions

– Instagram:

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Mount Vinson Season Begins!

Our Mount Vinson season has kicked off with our first wave of climbers arriving in the historic jump-off city of Punta Arenas, Chile – the largest city south of 46 degrees south.  Here’s expedition leader Garrett Madison with today’s expedition dispatch:

Hello, this is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson expedition season.  Today’s Wednesday, December 15th and our first team of Vinson climbers is here in Punta Arenas, Chile.

We’re getting ready for our flight on Saturday to Union Glacier Camp in Antarctica.  After that, we’ve two more Mount Vinson expedition teams.  Hoping for a great season with lots of good weather and great views of the Antarctic continent and Ellsworth mountain range.

Just looking forward to getting down to Antarctica after last year not being able to travel here due to the pandemic, so we’re very thankful and fortunate that we can be here and soon heading to Antarctica.  So, we’ve been enjoying Punta Arenas, seeing the sites here in town, having some great meals, and looking forward to getting our expedition underway.

All’s well here in Punta Arenas, Chile.  We’ll check in soon.  Thanks!

Checking out the Mount Vinson route!

Checking out the Mount Vinson route!

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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Antarctica Season Wrap-up

Garrett posing on Mount Vinson

Hi!  This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Antarctica season wrap-up.

 

Well, we had a great season in Antarctica this past month.  We did two Madison Mountaineering Vinson expedition climbs that were successful:  one in late December and one in early January along with co-guide Conrad Anker.  And then I stayed down with Conrad and some of his friends came in and we climbed Vinson in a day via a variation of a new route that Conrad had actually climbed 20 years ago:  The Central Ice Stream on Mount Vinson.

 

After that one day ascent, we skied down most of the mountain and then flew over to Mount Tyree, the second-highest mountain in Antarctica.  Beautiful location — the valley next to Mount Tyree, which has only been climbed a handful of times.  We spent six nights there attempting climb Mount Tyree but did not summit due to very unusual heavy snow conditions and very high avalanche risk up near the summit of Tyree.  We got up fairly high but turned around on our summit day due to the unsafe, unstable snow conditions.

 

Everybody had a great trip.  It was a wonderful season in Antarctica, and we just feel so lucky to have been down there with so many great people and very beautiful and surreal natural beauty surrounding.

 

So, great season and we are looking forward to going back next year.  Please contact us if you would like to consider joining one of our Antarctic programs!

Garrett, Conrad Anker, and Jimmy Chin on the summit of Mount Vinson


By the way, it’s not too early to start making your plans to join us on Mount Vinson for the 2020/2021 season next December!  Contact our office for details.

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 Garrett Madison’s daily audio expedition updates

– Instagram:

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Team returns to Union Glacier and back to Punta Arenas soon

Union Glacier Camp

Here’s Conrad with the final dispatch for the second of our two successful Mount Vinson expeditions for 2019/2020:

Greetings folks, this is Conrad Anker with the final dispatch from Vinson 2020 with Madison Mountaineering. It’s a beautiful sunny day here at Vinson base camp and all the team is safely back at Union Glacier camp. They are awaiting the Ilyushin to fly home.

 

We’ve had a successful expedition. It wasn’t the best of weather, but, as we well know, the strictest teachers are the best teachers. So, we all came away with knowledge, experience, and newfound friends.

 

Thanks for listening in. Stay tuned. Talk to you soon. Bye!

(photo:  Madison Mountaineering archives)

By the way, it’s not too early to start making your plans to join us on Mount Vinson for the 2020/2021 season next December!  Contact our office for details.

In addition to these expedition dispatches, you can also follow the teams as they make their attempts to summit the highest mountain in Antarctica on:

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

  • Enable the skill and add to your flash briefing to hear Garrett Madison’s daily audio expedition updates

– Instagram:

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Another day at Vinson base camp

Twin Otter aircraft at Vinson Base Camp

Another day at Vinson base camp where the team is keeping themselves entertained while waiting out a change in the weather that will allow the planes to fly:

Hello, this is Garrett calling in for the Mount Vinson climb with Conrad Anker.

 

Well, we had another nice rest day in Mount Vinson base camp and the weather wasn’t good enough for the Twin Otters to fly from Union Glacier camp.  So, we just rested and relaxed here in Vinson base camp.

 

We had a nice, leisurely pancake breakfast this morning and lounged around this afternoon and had a nice salmon, chicken, asparagus, and risotto dinner here in camp, played some music, and then a few members of our team went off to make a few laps on the ski hill here next to Vinson base camp.

 

Everyone’s doing well.  We’re still savoring our summit success and looking forward to hopefully some good weather tomorrow and getting the team back to Union Glacier and onward back to Punta Arenas, Chile and on to home to family and loved ones.

 

So, it’s been a great expedition and we’ll keep our fingers crossed for good weather tomorrow.  All’s well here at Vinson base camp.  We’ll check in soon.  Thanks!

(photo:  Madison Mountaineering archives)

By the way, it’s not too early to start making your plans to join us on Mount Vinson for the 2020/2021 season next December!  Contact our office for details.

In addition to these expedition dispatches, you can also follow the teams as they make their attempts to summit the highest mountain in Antarctica on:

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

  • Enable the skill and add to your flash briefing to hear Garrett Madison’s daily audio expedition updates

– Instagram:

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