Vinson Massif - Equipment Update

It is all about the gear.

Finally decided on a sleeping bag. Details of the bag can be found here. The down pants arrived today, yipee. Caroline thinks I look pretty silly walking around in my down pants.

So now I pretty much have all the body wear, including Thermal underwear (2 pairs), fleece jacket, midweight fleece top, fleece pants, down jacket, down pants and windsuit on order. Maybe missing midweight fleece pants, will have to think about this last piece of gear. Got quite a bit of work to do on head wear and hand wear. Foot wear is going well, what with a large array of socks, climbing boots, newly purchased snow gaiters, overboots on order and bivvy boots. I have pretty much all the climbing and camping gear from previous trips.

I think Caroline is just as excited as I am now that I have all the major items. Her excitment comes from the fact I will not be spending hours on the internet researching various products and technologies.

Vinson Massif - Equipment Update

So the expedition preparations for Vinson Massif are now underway. I have completed all the paperwork, including medical forms, liability waivers, airline tickets, hotel reservations, medical evacuation insurance, travel insurance, etc. The fun bit begins, which involves researching and purchasing additional equipment. It is all about the gear.

The theory is that Antartica is cold and windy. So the major purchase for this trip is a wind-suit, which is basically a one piece goretex outfit. I opted for a kiwi brand and this product. Yes, it is a lot of money to look like a dork. But hopefully it will help reduce the chance of getting frost-bite. On the colder days, under the wind suit I will wear feathered friends down pants and this down jacket (sorry about the spanish). I already have the jacket from my trip up Mt Aconcagua, but the down pants and wind-suit are additions for this trip. And I am assured these new items are suitable for Mt McKinley, should I attempt that fiercely cold mountain.

Next on my list is special cold weather liners by Intuition for my ice boots and these weird neoprene overboots. And for the hands I am thinking of these gloves. All this to avoid geting cold feet and hands.

Mount Vinson - The Preparations Begin

This post is for the folks interested in my upcoming trip to Antarctica. So the wheels are in motion now, and I am definitely heading South to attempt Vinson Massif, the highest point in Antarctica and thus one of the seven summits. I have been thinking about this trip on and off over the last few years. Now I feel I have the skills to attempt the climb, and with a lot of training over the next 3-4 months, I should also have the fitness. For anyone who wants to know why (on god's green earth) I would want to spend my entire yearly allowance of vacation on a single trip, you will just have to read 'The Home of the Blizzard' which is Mawson's thrilling account of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition (link to amazon for more details).

So if you want to find out what is involved, here are a series of links with more details

- A good overview from one of the expedition companies.
- Bio information on the proposed guide. Luis sounds like he knows what he is doing.
- Details of the trip I am going on from the expedition company I am going with.
- A map showing the flight routes.