1-12-2010

After nearly a week of sitting in Punta Arenes, Chile, we have finally arrived on the last continent of my journey, Antarctica. Punta Arenes is a city on the southernmost tip is South America with no paved roads leading out. This meant it was hard to get fat while I was there, with Coca-Cola being 20 bucks, and a hot dog being 40. Well, pretty much that expensive.

            But now that is all over. Last night at 7:00 PM we got the call from ALE (Antarctic Logistics & Exploration) that the weather was clear to fly. We boarded our Russian cargo plane along with the other climbing teams. Our Mountain Madness group consists of Willie, myself, Shawn from Canada, Enrique from Cali, and Suzanne from Dubai. There are two more teams, Alpine Ascents and RMI, both have several clients each.

            For the flight here we had a stony mustached man watching to make sure we didn’t move. The plane had no window, and about 30 seats, and just enough surrounding insulation to keep the birds out. After four hours we put on out down clothes and landed in Patriot Hills, Antarctica on the blue ice runway. Antarctica is incredible, it was 2 AM and I was getting a sunburn. Rugged peaks looked at us from beyond the horizon across the glaring snow and ice. We arrived in the Patriot Hills camp after a couple kilometers of walking, and were welcomed by a huge pot of potatoes & stew. We get one meal in the big ALE tent then we are on our own.

This morning I woke up, and couldn’t believe I even fell asleep at all. I poked my head out of the tent, yep, still the same light. Now, after Willie’s awesome breakfast we will wait for our turn to fly on the little plane to VBC (Vinson Base Camp).

Made it to VBC, set up with incredible views all around. The best part? We get them 24 hours a day. We went through our 4^th debriefing on peeing only in designated areas, and keeping every piece of garbage to ourselves. ALE really stresses cleanliness here, and it shows. The place is spotless, probably the cleanest of the 7 summits.

1-13-2010

Woke up just around noon as usual (we figure it’s always noon here) and stepped out into the wind. These winds don’t bode well for moving to Camp I, and Willie confirmed my suspicion. After wrestling my boots on, and glancing at the view I won’t get tired of, I sat down in our kitchen tent with Willie. The tent in question is a tee-pee type shape with not much room for all five of us and the cook ware. After a quick breakfast, the team retired to their tents, and Willie & I set about fixing our kitchen. A few hours later we were rewarded with a cave/kitchen that Batman & Superman would be proud of.

            After that, as to not get lazy, we strolled about 4 kilometers to half camp. Once we gained a little elevation, the view behind us grew even more spectacular. It was if the Sahara was hit by a snowstorm, the giant plain of snow beyond the mountains stretched as far as the eye could see. It was an odd feeling, to think of being in Antarctica. I’ve always thought only the toughest people go there, and now here I am, walking through it on my last climb to complete the 7 summits.

1-14-2010

Just a move camp today. A really long move camp. The trail just keeps on going. You look at an ice chunk, and figure it will take about 10 minutes to reach, and 30 minutes later you still aren’t there. Quite deceiving. After we arrived in camp, we were rewarded with awesome views. Sawtooth ridges give perceptions in front of huge striated alpine walls, everything checker boarded with snow. The high camp is pretty much right above our low camp position. About 1 mile straight up. So tomorrow we will climb the around to a ridge, then up a huge amount of vertical fixed ropes, and then follow the ridge to camp. Everyone did well today, worked well in the heat. We ate our last non-freeze dried meal, which everyone appreciated. Going to bed, the sun is high over head, and it is midnight.

1-15-2010

Its funny, no matter how serious I am when going to write these entries, the Spongebob notebook from Punta Arenes never fails to cheer me up. The day started early. When the sun dropped behind the mountain last night it got cold, anything wet froze immediately. Then, around 11:00 AM, we got up to the bright sunshine again, like it never got cold at all. (Not like it was ever really “warm”). My special mocha’s were in high demand this morning, always glad to brew some up for the team! Then, we decided to just do a little jaunt up the fixed lines, see how we all work with ropes and packs. So we started off, and before we knew it, were at the top of the ropes. Guess we do it pretty well! Behind us as we climbed, the landscape unfolded, the beauty growing with each step. Miles of ice & snow sparkling in the distance blended with far off clouds, all of it rushing in to clash with the dark beauty of the mountains. Jagged peaks spiking up through the crust, a sort of terrible beauty. As we were at the top, it was time to go down. The rest started down while I prepared my skis. He heart was racing as if it knew what was coming up. The skiing was… less than favorable. Patches of crust softened the blue ice. I guess my skis didn’t like it, so, on one of my first turns, one decided it had had enough, and came off. I think more thoughts went through my head in those seconds than could fit into a movie. Free falling with one ski down an icy glacier, steep enough for fixed ropes, in Antarctica almost made me change my undies. I knew Willie, watching from below, already went through a few pairs. But, I kept it OK, and somehow managed to self arrest with my Whippet on my wrist even though the basket was stuck under my one remaining ski. I flew across toward the ropes. I hit them, tried to grab on, and 20 feet later, the double effort of ropes and self-arrest I stopped. Now for my ski. I expected to see it cruising to the South pole, but instead it had self arrested as well, hanging turned over 30 feet up. Dang. The rest of the descent? I fixed the equipment and finished the ski. A bit slower, but I reached the bottom. Always worth it.

1-16-2010

Woke up, pretty sure it was noon… maybe it was two… anyways. We packed up camp, the intention for the day was to move to camp 2. Big loads up the fixed lines, sounds good. We tried to fit all the equipment in our packs. Equipment that made it here in packs and on the sleds we dragged. So, while the other guys packed, Willie & I worked on getting all the group equipment into/onto ours. Then, as I strapped my skis on the very outside, and worked at getting my pack on, I commented to Willie how glad I was that North Face had given me a new pack, hence, new buckles. Next thing you know, I cinch the waist band, and the main buckle breaks. Sweet, now I get 20 kgs straight onto my shoulders.

            As we continued up the fixed lines, my pack seemed to get heavier & heavier. Willie had taken one of the clients packs onto his, then given me the weight. Its ok, not too bad. We go higher, and I strap on the food and fuel we cached yesterday. Another 8-9 kgs. It will be a little bit worse now… then the shoulder strap broke. Shwing!! We moved on, a little bit uncomfortable now. So, this just made pulling into camp feel that much better. Finally there. Except for the growing wind, and the sun about to duck behind the mountain, we were feeling good. But, we weren’t quite there. Still have to set up camp! Finish with that, the clients get in and cozy, Willie gets in, I bend over to crawl in,

“Johnny, you can build a wall around the tents?”

“Sure thing Willie”

So, finally, I get to fall into the tent. Sore, cold, hungry, tired, and a little bit cranky. Take off my boots, and lurking under the sock was a dirty bloody blister. 4 of them actually. So, after dinner, I slept pretty well.

1-17-2010

            Rest day today. We pretty much stayed in the tent except for bathroom breaks. This kind of activity makes plenty of time for thinking. Of course, a lot of thinking is about the summit. The last peak of my goal. Then what? What does my future hold? No more big trips planned, what will I do? Will we summit? All I can think about now is what my experiences have brought me, and how I can use them to bring it full circle, and influence youth and teens to get out and share the outdoors. All the things I have learned, what I have shared with people, and the friends I have made, its all because of a passion for the outdoors. Its also not only about what I learned about the world, but also about home; what my home means to me, and what others homes mean to them. My eyes have defiantly been opened at 17.

1-18-2010 summit day

            Wake up, and try to get deeper into the sleeping bag. But not too far, cold air kinda lurks at the bottom. So after a few seconds of trying to convince myself it wasn’t time to get up, I got up. A quick “breakfast” of freeze-dried lasagna and get outside. The cold sun offers a bright but not exactly warm side to the cutting wind. Seems like a usual Antarctic day. Alpine Ascents set off a few minutes before us, then we roped up and started. We are traveling in a rope line, Willie-Suzanne-me-Shawn-Kike. This means I can’t pull a speed-record here. We all move together. So, over six hours later we were approaching the summit ridge. It was a long trip through a valley where wind was funneled into our faces. We had all our gear on, and I think it was only excitement and endorphins keeping my toes alive at all. I was bouncing everywhere, with the prospect of my final summit. It’s almost sad, the end of my quest, but I feel so lucky to have climbed and traveled so much this year. Hopefully, finishing the seven will only open more doors. So, upon the summit ridge, we were un-roped, and even the -38 degree Celsius with 50 knot winds blowing couldn’t suppress my energy. It’s cold up here? I didn’t notice. Willie did. One summit photo with the team and out we went. Quick and easy. Reality set in once I was trying to get my skis on. Everyone was descending, and I was alone, just below the summit fighting my overboots off, and my skis wanted to start the descent, and my pack wanted to re-summit with the prevailing wind. Trying to go five directions at once ended with more than a little snow in my mittens. Finally, my patience paid off, and once hour later, after a beautiful icy ski descent, I arrived at camp. Finally no wind and some sun. The team pulled in a bit later, cheers were made, and we passed out, smiles all around.

1-19-2010

A nice sleep-in today, well deserved by all I must say. We packed all out gear leisurely, and started down. Out plan was to make it down to low camp, re-organize gear there, then out to VBC, and maybe catch a flight to Patriot Hills. The team headed down, and I finished with my thanks and goodbyes to the mountain, and started skiing down. Skiing variable snow (icy crust with sugary crusty patches) with a full loaded backpack on Dynafit bindings down a 45 degree headwall is relatively new to me. I passed the group early on, wished them a safe trip down the lines. The deal was that I had to get the sleds and duffels ready to go in low camp. This done, I had about an hour to hang out. A large topic of my brain was to my toes. Since the day we camp to low camp, they haven’t really been warm. By the way, we had the warmest recorded day at Patriot Hills on the 14^th,, a thermometer breaking .05 degrees above zero. But now my toes were suffering. Its ok, just a couple more days….

We pulled into VBC at about 7:00 PM. I guess the team was as ready to go as Willie & I. besides a depressing cloud layer settled over our camp (and airstrip) we were worry-free. A non freeze dried meal, life looks good.

1-20-2010

Woke up under the same depressing blanket of clouds. Looks like the waiting game has begun. One flight came in to pick up Alpine Ascents, and when the pilots got out I was surprised to not see them kiss the ground. Somehow I’m glad we didn’t fly… But, no sign of a good forecast, so the words to live by now… Just because we finished with the mountain doesn’t mean it finished it us.

            Its hard to let reality sink in on my recent accomplishment. I try to imagine the magnitude, but then all I can think about is flying out. We’ll see what happens.

1-21-2010

More waiting. My mind is trying to trick me into believing the weather is improving, but I don’t think it is. Besides the bad weather, the temperature has dropped. Things are freezing instantly, and my toes are less than happy with this situation. We are running a bit low on food, so being hungry doesn’t help.

            Now I have complained for 2 days, so time to talk about the good stuff. Toilets. I am pretty sure I haven’t talked about them, so I shall start. Here at VBC is pretty standard, but no mixing 1 & 2. Strictly. They fly out all waste, and I guess it works better separate. The upper mountain we use WAG bags. Pretty neat little guys, but, again no mixing, plus we have to carry it all out. Along the route are marked pee holes, so if you want to pee on the go, it’s in your bottle, the dump it at the next hole. It definitely pays off though, the mountain is so clean. No garbage anywhere, & everyone tries to keep in that way.

1-22-2010

So, my toes stood the test and passed. This morning/last night there was the lowest recorded temperature at VBC. First the warmest, now the coldest. This place should make up its mind. But, apart from the cold, things have cleared up around camp. And only around camp. There are ominous clouds about 200 meters in every direction. This looks nasty for flights out.

1-23-2010

Well, we actually flew to Patriot Hills yesterday. We stayed there, the weather keeping us from Punta Arenes. Its nice here though, a big communal mess tent with a heater. Living large. We spent about eight hours playing cards, ending with a game called “spoons” at 2:00 AM. This game is based on speed and reaction speed. So give 6 tired guys 5 metal spoons, cards, and basically you get an all out fight. Last man to not get a spoon is out, or Willie figured the loser could stick his tongue to the Twin Otter plane. This was until he tragically lost. That was last night. Then today we woke up late, looked outside, and wished to sleep later. No flights today. So, more cards. During the 12 hours of playtime, I realized something. I think the more days you spend in Patriot Hills, the lower you head gets. Yesterday everyone’s heads were slumped into their hands, and today all the heads are directly on the table. (Another sign of too much down time was shown by Alpine Ascents and their eagerness for a human sacrifice to appease the weather & plane gods. This doesn’t work out in my favor as they thought it should be the youngest.)

1-24-2010

Finally some better weather. I think the weather gods were worried for my safety and decided to let up a little. We spent a long time waiting, then finally got the call that the plane was in the air. You could visibly see the tension release in the tent. Funny, we’ve only been waiting a little bit, but when you are forced to be cooped up it seems like a lot longer. I know I was relieved to be started on the way home, it feels good.