Mount Vinson Massif Expedition -- January 1997
Hear the calls from Antarctica
|
Update #1 via FAX from Mount Vinson
Team Arrives at Patriot Hills Monday, January 6, 1997 -- 8am PST
 
You need the free RealAudioplayer to hear this audio.  The Alpine Ascents International Mount Vinson Expedition, lead by Todd
Burleson, had arrived safely at the Patriot Hills permanent camp on
Friday, January 3, 1997, said Gordon Janow, program director of Alpine
Ascents International in Seattle. The Patriot Hills base is located
approximately 120 km from the Vinson Massif. Burleson's on-scene report
described the landing as scary -- the ice runway at Patriot Hills makes for
terrible noises as the C-130 Hercules touches down after the six hour
flight from Punta Arenas Chile -- but safe. The weather was sunny and 15
degrees F at touchdown.
Burleson reports that all team members -- Wally Berg, Lee Meyers, Richard Harper, Paul Morrow, and Geoff Acolia -- are healthy and ready to climb. From the Patriot Hills base, the team will fly in a ski-equipped Twin Otter aircraft to a point near the mountain, then ski and snowshoe to base camp at approximately 7,000 feet on the Branscomb Glacier, using sleds to haul their gear.
Burleson reports that a climbing team from Slovenia will be attempting
the mountain at the same time as the Alpine Ascents International team.
Check this page frequently for live satellite-phone updates as Todd
Burleson checks in with The Mountain Zone as his team and the Slovenian
climbers move higher on Mount Vinson.
|
 Archived Updates Review past updates from the Mount Vinson Expedition by clicking on the links below.
|
