Tag Archive for: Vinson Low Camp

Made it to High Camp!

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive (Photo by Ted Hesser)

The Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson expedition team has reached their high camp, putting them one camp closer to reaching the summit of Antarctica’s highest peak! While the day started out nice, a bit of a storm rolled in as the team was coming into camp. But, the team quickly worked together to set up their temporary home and then sat down for hot water, a warm meal, and to reflect on another good day in Antarctica! Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from high camp:

Hey, this is Garrett and Benny up here at high camp (3536m/11,600ft) on Mount Vinson (4892m/16,050ft)! We climbed from low camp (2774m/9,100ft) today with our team up to high camp.

It started off a beautiful day, but then the winds picked up and some clouds rolled in, so it was pretty stormy getting into high camp! We had to set up our tents in a bit of a blizzard, but got all of our tents set up and every person moved into their tents. We melted some snow for hot water, had dinner, filled hot water bottles, and now we’re getting ready to go to bed. We’re going to take a rest day tomorrow – it’s supposed to be very windy tomorrow and then hopefully a nice day after that. Fingers crossed it’s a good day coming up for the summit day!

Everyone’s doing well, we’re happy to be up here, had some great views on the way up, and looking forward to a rest day tomorrow! 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 daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

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Mount Vinson Low Camp

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive (Photo by Ted Hesser)

The Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson expedition team spent another day in low camp while they await good weather for their move up to high camp and then the summit. Good company, food, and the anticipation for what’s still to come is keeping the team excited and ready for their move up the mountain. Fingers crossed for good weather in the coming days! Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from low camp:

Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson (4892m/16,050ft) expedition team. We are still in low camp (2774m/9,100ft) – decided to take one more rest day here. Hopefully, if the weather is good, we’ll keep moving up to high camp (3536m/11,600ft) tomorrow! The forecast was calling for high winds today so we decided to stay put, as well as a few other teams here. We’re thinking hopefully the weather forecast will be good tomorrow, clear skies, calm winds, and we’ll move up!

Everyone’s doing well. We spent the day building some snow walls around our tents to fortify our camp and had a couple of good meals. So, everyone’s doing well here, enjoying the views and our time in Antarctica! We’re looking forward to what lies ahead. 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 daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

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Active Rest on Mount Vinson

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive (Photo by Ted Hesser)

The Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson expedition team stayed put in low camp after their ascent on the previous day. Some good rest and a tasty breakfast fueled a technical skills review for the team where they practiced the skills needed for the coming days as their expedition continues on Antarctica’s highest peak! The team had great weather today and will see what tomorrow brings. With good weather, the team plans to make the move up to high camp. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from low camp:

Hey! This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson (4892m/16,050ft) expedition number three of our season. We are up here at low camp (2774m/9,100ft). We had a great rest day today, slept in, had a nice long breakfast: pancakes, eggs, and bacon. Then we did some training! We reviewed fixed line climbing technique, ascending and descending. We actually had a pretty nice afternoon – nice weather, great views of the mountains, it wasn’t windy at all. We just enjoyed our rest day, had a nice dinner, and now we are heading to bed.

We are going to see what tomorrow brings! If the winds die down up high, we might move up to high camp (3536m/11,600ft) tomorrow. Otherwise, if it looks like high wind, we will probably stay here and rest another day. The team’s doing great and we are really enjoying our time here in Antarctica. We will 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 daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

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Mount Vinson Low Camp

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive (Photo by Ted Hesser)

Despite clouds in the sky, the Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson expedition team’s spirits did not waver! The team left the comforts of their base camp today and set forth up the Branscomb Glacier to their low camp. After setting up camp and eating a warm dinner, the team crawled into their tents for the night and are looking forward to a day of rest and training tomorrow! Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from Antarctica:

Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the Mount Vinson (4892m/16,050ft) expedition team. We made it up to low camp (2774m/9,100ft) today! We set off from base camp (2140m/7,020ft) around noon and climbed up. It was a cloudy day, but nice and cool. We got into low camp this evening, pitched our tents, and made some dinner. Now we’re tucking in for bed! It’s a little stormy up here – windy and cloudy with some snowfall. But it’s nice, it’s a good mountain storm.

We’re doing well! We’re just tucked in, we’re going to take a rest day tomorrow and do some training. The team’s doing well and we’re really excited to be here on Mount Vinson. We’re looking forward to the next few days. 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 daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

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Another Vinson Expedition Underway!

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive (Photo by Ted Hesser)

The final Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson expedition of the season is off in Antarctica! The team has arrived in Vinson base camp after several days spent in Union Glacier Camp. When the skies cleared and allowed them to fly to their next camp, the team was gifted with spectacular views looking down on Antarctica below and the many mountains in all directions. With good weather ahead, the team plans to start their ascent on Antarctica’s highest peak! Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from Antarctica:

Hey! This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson (4892m/16,050ft) expedition number three – last one of the season! Today we arrived in Mount Vinson base camp (2140m/7,020ft) after a couple of days delay at Union Glacier Camp (700m/2,297ft). We finally had good weather to fly in by twin otter with the team and arrived at Mount Vinson. It was a beautiful flight over, clear views, great views of mountains all around Antarctica, and now we’re reunited with my colleague/co-guide, Benny Lieber. So, happy to have the team together.

We got our camp set up and did some training today, some review, and organized our group loads. We’re getting ready to move up to low camp (2774m/9,100ft) tomorrow assuming it’s good weather. (There’s) a little bit of wind in the forecast the next few days, but hopefully not enough to prevent us from moving up!

Everyone’s doing great! We’re really happy and excited to be here, and looking forward to getting our final expedition here of the season in Antarctica underway! All is well 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 daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

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In position for the summit push!

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive (Photo by Ted Hesser)

The Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson expedition team has crawled into their tents at their High Camp and are ready to make a summit push! The team had excellent weather and climbing conditions as they ascended the fixed lines up several thousand feet of elevation gain towards their next camp. A much-deserved day of rest is in the plans until they once again emerge from their tents, only this time going for the summit. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from Mount Vinson:

Hello! This is Garrett and Benny calling in for the Mount Vinson (4892m/16,050ft) expedition team. We are in High Camp (3536m/11,600ft)!

We had a great day climbing up from Low Camp (2774m/9,100ft) to High Camp on the fixed lines. Everyone on the team did well today. We had a beautiful day, great views all around looking out around the surrounding peaks here in Antarctica – Mount Epperly (4359m/14,301ft), Mount Shinn (4661m/15,292ft). We rolled into High Camp, set up our tents, had dinner, got some hot water bottles, now we’re looking forward to a good night’s rest.

Our plan is to take a rest day and maybe go for the summit on January 8th. All is well here up at Mount Vinson High Camp! 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 daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

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Up to Low Camp!

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive (Photo by Ted Hesser)

After arriving in base camp the day prior, the team wasted no time on their move up Mount Vinson! From their base camp, the team heads up the Branscomb Glacier, having to navigate some crevassing along the way before reaching low camp. After assembling camp, the team refueled with a nice dinner all together. With more good weather in the coming days, the team will continue their ascent of Antarctica’s highest peak. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from Mount Vinson:

Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the Mount Vinson (4892m/16,050ft) expedition team. We are up at low camp (2774m/9,100ft). We had a great day climbing from Vinson Base Camp (2140m/7,020ft) up to low camp. We were in the clouds part of the day, but then the clouds parted! So we got some nice views of Mount Vinson and the surrounding peaks: Mount Shinn (4661m/15,292ft) and Mount Epperly (4359m/14,301ft).

We made  good time getting up here to low camp and then built our camp, set up our own kitchen tent. We had a nice dinner: some sausages, mashed potatoes, and broccoli, and a little chocolate and pineapple for dessert.

So everyone is doing great. There’s good weather here, very calm and (garbled).

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 #2

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

The Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson expedition team arrived in base camp after a few days of anticipation while they waited out the weather in Union Glacier Camp! After touching down in the Ellsworth Mountain Range, the team excitedly got settled into their camp, ate dinner, and prepared for the move up to Low Camp. The team is in high spirits and ready to get the climb underway! Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from Mount Vinson Base Camp:

Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson (4892m/16,050ft) expedition number two of the season.

Today, our team arrived at Vinson Base Camp (2140m/7,020ft) and we got settled in, built our camp, had some dinner, and checked some of our gear, our equipment for the climb, and now we are off to bed. We had a beautiful flight over from Union Glacier Camp (700m/2,297ft), got to see lots of peaks on the way!

Everyone is in good spirits, feeling strong, happy to be here after a delay of a couple of days. But all is well here and we are really excited to get our expedition, our climb underway here. So hopefully we will be moving up to Low Camp (2774m/9,100ft) tomorrow. All is well here and we’ll check in soon from Mount Vinson!

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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In position for the summit push!

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive (Photo by Ted Hesser)

The Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson expedition team has reached their high camp and crawled into their sleeping bags for the night. Today, they climbed under a beautiful, Antarctic sky making for near-perfect climbing conditions. The team is moving well together and will look to make their push for the summit in the coming days! Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from Mount Vinson:

Hey, this is Garrett calling in from high camp (3536m/11,600ft) on Mount Vinson (4892m/16,050ft), here with Benny! Our first Mount Vinson expedition of the season, we’re up here with Art, Kevin, and Sanjeev.

We had a good day climbing from low camp (2774m/9,100ft) up to high camp – beautiful, sunny weather, calm winds, great views all around! It was a long day with heavy packs, but we got up here in good style, set up camp, had some dinner, and now we are off to bed. We’re going to see how conditions look tomorrow. We might go for the summit or we might take a rest day, so to be determined.

But, all as well. Everybody is doing good up here at high camp and we are excited to see what tomorrow brings! 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 daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

/0 Comments/by

Cozied up in Low Camp!

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive (Photo by Ted Hesser)

The Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson expedition team has left their base camp and settled into their temporary home at low camp! Here, they’ll spend another day resting and reviewing technical skills that they’ll need higher on the mountain. With great weather so far, the team hopes for more sunny skies as they continue to ascend Antarctica’s highest peak. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from Mount Vinson:

Hello! This is Garrett calling in from Low Camp (2774m/9,100ft) on Mount Vinson (4892m/16,050ft) with our first expedition team of the season. We had a great day coming up from base camp (2140m/7,020ft) – myself, Benny with Art, Kevin, and Sanjeev. It was nice, sunny weather, and then clouds came in for a little bit and cooled off. By the time we got to camp, the skies parted and the sun came back out! So we had a nice evening here getting camp set up, digging out our cache, cooking dinner, and now we are off to bed a little after midnight.

So, we are excited to take a rest day tomorrow, which is really today, and review some fixed-climb climbing techniques, check the weather forecast, and see if we can move up the following day if everything looks good.

So everyone is doing great and we are excited to be here! We are enjoying some fabulous views and lots of other nice teams and climbers on the mountain. So we are having a great time here! We’ll check in soon.

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive (Photo by Ted Hesser)

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive (Photo by Ted Hesser)

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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