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Mt. Vinson Day 1: Departure in the morning from Punta Arenas in Chile to Patriot Hills with an Ilusjin 76. The plane takes 55 passengers and incredible amounts of cargo. The flight takes about 4.5 hours, depending on the wind over Cape Horn and the Drake Strait. The base in Patriot hills consists of a tent camp that is set up each year. During wintertime all this equipment is stored under the snow in caves. Patriot is located 950 meters above sea level and its runway consists of blue ice, naturally formed after the wind has swept down from the mountains for thousands of years. During the stay in Antarctica we use our own tents and eat our own expedition food  Day 2: Transport to Mt. Vinson base camp where we set up our tent. This day is used to sort the equipment, adjust sacks, sledges, crampons etc. Furthermore, we review procedures, camp layout, burners, food, routines, etc. A real "fixe" day so that everyone is prepared for the next few days. We arrange some easy climbing / walking during the day to practice the routines and acclimatize. Day 3: Acclimatization and further training with the procedures walking in ropes, walk with crampons and preparation for tomorrow. Day 4: We typically leave base camp in the early afternoon to take advantage of the sun and warmest part of the day. Although we have 24 hour daylight and the sun never sets, temperatures plummet whenever we are in the shadow of the mountain. Depending on conditions, we may overnight at Low Camp or cache equipment and return to Vinson Base  Day 5: We acclimatize in low camp, eating, drinking, and slowly walking getting used to the altitude of 2,880 meters. Day 6: We travel up to High Camp at 4,000 meters above sea level. If all participants are happy with the altitude spend the night here, or we return to the low camp. This is a great day moving in fixed ropes on snow, ice and rocks. Day 7 and 8: We acclimatize in high camp. If all participants are happy with the altitude we spend the nights here. These two days we acclimatize and prepare for summit day by drinking a lot, eating , sleeping and walking. |
