Day 11 - High Camp

As with yesterday I really can't sleep at all and probably only get 3 or 4 hours sleep despite feeling pretty tired all night - can't really explain that one. Still I feel pretty ok in the am and it is a lovely morning - no wind no clouds in the sky - so it is pretty disappointing when the decision is made later on to postpone our summit bid for tomorrow. The weather forecast has improved but there is always a risk in turning down a potential summit bid and especially one with such good weather - let's see what tomorrow brings.

The rest of the day is just relaxing - taking in the surroundings, chatting and eating - to make sure that the group is in the best state for tomorrow's bid. 

We are heading off at about 8am tomorrow so it is an early night and I will just have to see if I can get some sleep. 

Food:

Bacon and pancakes

Pasta

Day 10 - Move to High Camp (3,800 mtrs)

Luckily the weather is as expected and at 11:45 we decide to head up. This means a quick breakfast, pack and strike camp all by our ETD of 2pm. 

Despite the fact we had a good walk yesterday, the lack of activity overall has dented my appetite and I don't eat much for breakfast. This is not advisable and I am a bit concerned that I might struggle later on in the move having run out of energy - but at the same time it should not be that big a day so losing a bit of weight (as well as that I have already lost by eating so little for the past few days) will help for the summit photos! But from now on food becomes your friend (in fact it is crucial) so I will have to eat quite a bit once we get to High Camp. 

Today's trek is about 40mins along the valley that we are in then a few hours up the steep slope to the ridge and then about an hour back along the ridge to the camp.

Coming up to the steep slope on the right to the top of the ridge

 

The slope is in fact much steeper than it looks and my pack (for some reason) is very full and heavy which makes it harder going than I had anticipated - still this is good to get both my acclimatisation and metabolism kicked into gear for the next day or so in preparation for our summit bid. It is also really hot which means that yet again, dealing with the heat rather than the cold is the order of the next few hours at least.

Rather sizeable pack!

Even at rest covering is to protect from the sun rather than against the cold

 

The views are superb and I manage to get a couple of photos in the breaks.

Back along the valley

View out over Antarctica

Before long we get to the top:

Crest of the steep slope



Even better view from higher up - and out over Antarctica

At the top of the slope we hit much colder air as well as wind whistling along the ridge and I get really quite cold (especially my hands) as I am not generating much heat at the speed the group is going at - good lesson for summit day which is likely to be pretty similar.

From the top of the steep slope we have about another hour walk along the ridge continually climbing up to the top of the ridge with a final steep curve back to the high camp plateau. Most others are pretty cold as well by the time we get to camp so it is not the most efficient camp set up ever but soon enough the tents are up and we are out of the cold and the wind - obviously now that we are no longer suffering, the wind loses interest in us and dies away.

After that it is supper and planning for the next couple of days. Tomorrow is meant to be clear and calm and the day after calm but with cloud. However today's trek has taken its toll on some people and so a rest day would be good for them. The plan is to see the updated weather forecast in the morning and see how people feel after a good night's rest. Let's see what tomorrow brings!

Annoyingly and despite little sleep last night and some good exercise today I can't seem to get to sleep. Unlike on previous trips when I have just not been tired and been fine with little sleep, I feel pretty tired and would like a good nights sleep in preparation for a potential summit day tomorrow. 

Food:

Scrambled egg and a sausage

Tortellini with tomato and salami sauce. I then have a rehydrated beef stroganoff as well as I need to catch up on my food debt over the past few days.

Day 9 - Low Camp

It was a pretty chilly night and there is little movement in the am as everyone is waiting for the sun to come out from behind the mountain and warm the place up. There hasn't been much wind overnight but it will be interesting to see what conditions are like higher up. 

In fact there does not seem to be much happening up on the ridge but the weather forecast is for strong wind today dropping tomorrow and more so the day after. It is a pretty easy decision not to go today and so after a quick breakfast we head for a trek up a close mountain to help with our acclimatisation and to actually do something - this is a bit of a relief as it wasn't really looking forward to just walking around the camp for a couple of hours!

Shortly after we start trekking, the wind picks up and we quickly layer up and get to try out our face protection systems for the first time - ie something which covers the whole face apart from eyewear. I have a tough neoprene mask which works well but it is probably more than is required unless circumstances have got really bad and so I am trying to fashion a rather lighter one out of a buff. However, I really struggle as I naturally breathe out through my nose a lot and I tend to exhale quite a lot of moisture. This releases warm, damp air onto whatever glasses or goggles that I am wearing which then fog and freeze. When I concentrate, I can breathe out through my mouth only but in tricky situations my concentration will shift and I will then be left with fogged glasses just when I need to be able to see clearly. Hopefully with practice I can make exhaling through my mouth alone more natural.

Starting up the incline



High plateau 

Starting on the ridge

Summit - with a view out over Antarctica 

Starting back down

The trek itself is pretty good as we have some excellent views and a variety of terrain - a decent ridge, hard ice, deep snow and crevasse evasion (with varied success in the group) which make for a great day out. We spend the rest of the evening in the mess tent chatting / supper until bed at about 11pm. 

The weather forecasts is improving with lighter winds expected tomorrow and so we may head up to High Camp. The weather gets updated at 11am so if that sounds good and what we can see looks right we will make the decision to head up. 

I have not slept this much in a long time and unsurprisingly can't get to sleep for quite a long time. Whilst we certainly get treated a lot better than on the Denali trip, it is still frustrating and a bit boring to be treated so much as guests rather than as part of a team. I am also probably developing some bad habits and will need to watch them to ensure that they don't cause problems on Everest!

Food:

Pancakes and jam

Soup and a spicy pork stew.

Day 8 - Low Camp

I wake up to the remarkably odd sight and sound of snow sliding off the tent. Antarctica is one of the driest places in the world with about 10 inches of precipitation per year and we seem to have had about 3 of those in one night!

As we aren't moving today there is no movement in the camp for some time and we don't end up having breakfast until about 1pm. There is nothing planned for the day so I decide to make the mess tent a little more comfy (especially for the taller people) by installing a raised bench.



Build up with blocks of compact snow and then cover with a thermarest

Test it!

Use it with friends!

Inside the upgraded mess tent.

Otherwise, we just hang about until supper at 7pm and then invite the other group (of 5 people) over afterwards - it is always good to break up the monotony of camp life and meeting new people is a great way to do that. 

Just before we head to bed, the clouds clear up. This will give us a last blast of warmth but also probably mean a very cold night when all the heat escapes when we hit the shade. Apparently, the heavy winds are meant to arrive tonight but since we are in the valley it is not clear how that will impact us. We will get another weather update tomorrow am which will guide us for the next few days. 

The main problem here is that we are surrounded by crevasses and the camp is pretty small so you can't get much exercise. I think I will have to put on my iPod and walk in circles for a while to stop my body seizing up from all the time in bed and sitting in the mess tent.  

Day 7 - Low Camp Rest Day

Pretty slow morning with a late breakfast before a bit of rope training and then heading off for an acclimatisation walk at about 14:30.

Good start to the day!

We head up a nearby hill that takes us to the route that people used to use for climbing Vinson.

 It is quite a bit windier today so we are wearing a lot more protection (generally a buff or light face mask) to shield us from the wind as well as the continuingly powerful sun. The shoulder into the next valley is particularly windy so we don't stay long and after about 10 mins we head back down

Shoulder where the old route joins the new one

Heading back to camp - you can see the wind blowing along the crest of the ridge

Spindrift being blown off the ridge

When we get back we have a late lunch at about 5pm.Despite being a bit hungry, we don't eat that quickly and only finish at about half six and then have (a light) supper at about 8pm followed by chatting and press ups until bed at about 11pm having enjoyed some dramatic views as the cloud keeps coming in.

The bad weather seems to be arriving now as the wind picks up late in the evening which makes the short trips outside pretty chilly! There is quite a bit of cloud cover coming in but this should mean a more consistent night. Ie cold but not too bad all the way through as the clouds should trap in the heat that usually vanishes when the sun goes behind the mountain.
 

The forecast is for a few more days of high wind so it is very unlikely that we will be going anywhere for a few days. Whilst it is pretty annoying to be stuck in the same place for some time, we have plenty of contingency days so there is no time pressure as yet. 

Day 6 - Move to Low Camp (2,850 mtrs)

Unusually for an expedition, but as usual for here, we have a rather lazy morning packing our gear for the mountain. We are taking sleds only as far as Low Camp which seems a little strange but in fact you tend to spend time there waiting for good weather so it is nice to have more of your gear there which you then leave behind when you head up the mountain and only have your backpack. 

Getting our equipment ready at VBC

Waking up towards the main ridge

Rest stop

The trek is pretty gentle but it is pretty hot although given the slower speed I am wearing two layers this time but again zipped a long way down. There are some great views as we start to gain some altitude and can see more of the terrain around us.

 

Whilst most of the day is spent dealing with the blazing sun, we get a reminder of how quick the weather can change here when in a matter of minutes low clouds fill the valley for a while and then clear up again in a few minutes.

Back to a clear sky with camp just up ahead

We make camp in just under 5 hours at about 7pm and spend the next hour setting things up - clearing space, erecting tents etc. The rest of the evening is in the mess tent chatting, dinner etc. 

We go to bed and sleep late as we are not getting up until about 11am tomorrow as that is when the sun comes out from round the mountain. 

Food:

Pancakes

Bread, cheese, salami and avocado
Meatballs and pasta

Day 5 - Vinson Base Camp (2,200 mtrs)

It turns out that this is really quite a luxurious trip - well at least in terms of the logisitics. There are tents in place at the various camp sites already, much of the food is pre-prepared at UG and then just needs re-heating on the mountain. This plus fuel is already stashed at the various camps.

There are two implications from this - firstly that apart from the weather this is going to be a very easy trip and secondly it is probable that there will be very little for us to do on the expedition. Whilst some people like this, you don't really learn much on such trips and nor do you get so much out of them as it can feel much more like a tour than an expedition. This feels a lot like Denali and a number of the guides are Denali guides which is a bit of a worry as I don't really like that style. We will have to see how it goes...

 

After breakfast we organise our gear and get our various systems in place for pulling sleds and climbing the mountain. In fact, there are only three camps on the mountain - base, low and high. Since we won't be caching any gear that means we will only have four walking days so it could be a pretty short trip if the weather stays good but we also have plenty of contingency in case of bad weather. From a look at the local map of the route, none of the days are tough or long either. This expedition is pretty much driven by the weather and your ability to deal with it. So far we have had blue skies and strong sun so dealing with heat whilst walking and avoiding sun burn seem like the key skills for the next few days - unfortunately I get too hot too quickly and usually burn so this will be good practice!

After lunch we go for a short walk on a nearby mountain - to stretch our legs, help acclimatise and get used to the walking conditions here. The scenery is stunning as usual but it is really hot as we are protected from the wind and I am soon down to one layer on top and bottom and my top is unzipped most of the way to my waist causing the guide to worry about me getting a sunburnt chest! This isn't helped when I take it off completely at one of the stops to try and cool down!

This is also used as a ski slope

Approaching the top

View back down

VBC as seen from above

View out over Antarctica

View out over Antarctica

Heading back down

 

We are walking at a decent pace but it soon turns out that this is to gauge our fitness and unfortunately we will be going slower on the mountain. We come out into the wind at the top (2,800 mtrs approx) and layer up rapidly before heading back to VBC. It's been a pretty good first trek here and certainly the guides are so far leaving us to our own devices quite a bit which is a good sign. 

We are heading off to Low Camp tomorrow but not until after lunch so we have a very relaxed afternoon as we can pack in the morning. Amusingly, we decide to play the 'mine' game - if you are heard saying the word 'mine' you have to do 10 press ups regardless of where you are. In extreme circumstances you have 5 minutes in which to complete the press ups. It is good fun and helps a new group bond quite quickly. 

Food:

Bacon and eggs
Bread with salami and cheese
Steak in a mushroom sauce