Scott called from the summit to tell us that he made it safely to the top of the bottom of the world! They successfully reached the peak of Vinson Massif, the highest point on Antarctica. He said the weather has been phenomenal - it has been sunny with low winds, so it has been unexpectedly warm compared to the anticipated conditions. Great news!
Just last night we were watching videos of Antarctica (there are some good ones available on the National Geographic and Discover channel websites) and looking at the breathtaking views of Antarctica and its wildlife (penguins, seals, whales, and birds). Em is hoping that her Daddy is taking pictures of penguins for us!
Surprisingly Antarctica is actually a desert climate, and they get the least amount of precipitation of anywhere in the world with only 2" annually on average. (That's really hard to imagine since we live in the Pacific Northwest, the home of precipitation!) Besides being the driest continent, it's also known to be the coldest, windiest, and the highest (average elevation of Antarctica is 8,194 ft.).
Nearly completely (98%) covered in ice, Antarctica has about 70% of the world's freshwater supply (in frozen form!). The mean thickness of the ice surface is 6,000 ft., though the average is only ~4K ft. thick in West Antarctica where Mt. Vinson is located.
Stay tuned as we hope to hear from Scott again after they safely descend to High Camp, Low Camp (Camp I) and back to Vinson Base Camp! We appreciate everyone's support.
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2 comments:
right on, bro, another one down!
Scott, I am so-o proud of you, I do Bragg a little. Love you.
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