Touchdown at Vinson Base Camp

Scott called to tell me that they arrived safely at Vinson Base Camp as planned on Saturday (12/29) and that they're planning an acclimation climb up to Low Camp on Sunday (12/30).

It's important to allow your body time to adjust to altitude slowly, which is what acclimation is all about.  Proceeding too quickly without allowing your body to adapt to higher elevations can result in altitude sickness and even life-threatening illness such as high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) or high altitude cerebral edema (HACE).  Unrelated to physical fitness or demographics (like age or gender), some people are simply more susceptible to altitude sickness than others, but at extreme altitudes, the risk is higher.

One important way that mountain climbers help their bodies adjust to the elevation is to "climb high and sleep low."  That means that they climb up to a higher elevation during the day and then descend to a lower elevation to sleep.  This is why Scott and his fellow climbers will climb up to (or near) Low Camp and then climb back down to Vinson Base Camp to sleep on Sunday.

The Polar Express 2012/13: Mt. Vinson Expedition

Scott is climbing the 5th of the Seven Summits (highest point on each continent) over the next 2 1/2 weeks, and I will be updating news about his expedition here.  He arrived safely in Chile late on the 26th after a few delays state-side.  During the past couple days in Punta Arenas, Chile, he attended a briefing on Antarctica and the polar conditions, including information about environmental and safety procedures. He is traveling with a guided group for this expedition due to the costs involved for the logistics (private plane to the glacier and specialized 4x4 shuttle to Vinson Base Camp).  Since his arrival in Punta Arenas, the team has been through extensive gear checks to ensure they have the appropriate polar clothing and also a bio-security check to ensure that the pristine environment of Antarctica will not be compromised.  Due to strict limits on the weight of their baggage on the charter flight, there is also a luggage weigh-in.  Flight conditions are very unstable due to the weather, so once everyone has completed the necessary steps, they are on "standby" for the flight to Antarctica.  They are expected to depart on Saturday, December 29.  (Note: only 4 hours ahead of Pacific Time Zone.)

More information to come but for now here is a map that gives you a sense of Mt. Vinson's location in relation to the continent.  The Ellsworth mountain range where the Vinson Massif is located is within West Antarctica.