Crossing Antarctica By Kite Buggy

ExWeb has news of a new expedition planned for the 2011-2012 Antarctic Season, during which time Dutch adventurers Hans Wijnand and Jacob Slooff will attempt to traverse Antarctica through the use of kite buggies.

According to the story, the expedition will be made to celebrate the 100 anniversary of Roald Amundsen and Robert Falcon Scott's epic race to the South Pole, which ended with Amundsen victorious, and Scott dying in a tent, 11 miles from his next supply depot. The duo will set out in October of 2011 from Novo Base, and over the course of the next three months, they'll proceed on to the South Pole, and then over to Mt. Vinson, which they'll climb as well. When finished, they'll have covered more than 2000 miles, and scaled a 16,000 foot peak.

The team is still finalizing their buggy design, but hope to have it done soon, and they're working to attract sponsors for the trip as well. They will be working with National Geographic Junior magazine in some capacity, and they'll also be taking biometric readings throughout the journey to test stress levels, caloric consumption, and a host of other items to see how a trip of this kind can effect the body.

Should be another interesting expedition to follow, and I can't wait to see how their buddies work. With good winds, they should make excellent time, but when the wind falters, they'll have tough going. I'm sure by 2011 they'll have all the kinks worked out however.

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The Costs of Climbing The Seven Summits

The Outpost, the official blog of Outdoorzy.com, has an interesting post up today that examines the costs of climbing the Seven Summits, the highest peaks on all seven continents.

The article looks at several broad categories and gives a good estimate of what each of them costs. For instance, they say that it'll set you back roughly $1170 for training to ensure you know what you're doing on those mountains, and another $9200 in airfare just to fly to the various countries that is home to one of these mountains. Throw in another $1500 for "incidentals", which covers such things as visas and passports, and things start to add up quickly.

Of course, the largest category is for the guide services necessary to climb the 7 (+1) mountains. The Outpost says that you can expect to pay between $105,850 - $169,900 on guides depending on who you choose to go with. They do note that this is an area that can be highly customized, and that's why there is such a large variance in the cost. Guide services are not all created equal, and sometimes you get what you pay for. Besides, do you really want to go cut-rate on this kind of trip?

The one category that I might disagree with their estimate on is gear, which they say will cost you $2000. In my opinion that is on the very low side, as I've seen down suits and thermal boots for Everest that will cost you that much alone. But I suppose, that this is, once again, an area that can really vary greatly, and you do indeed get what you pay for here as well.

So what's the bottom line? Outdoorzy says that the grand total of making a Seven Summits bid is about $119,720 - $183,870. That doesn't include the time you'll need to get off work, as most of us aren't sponsored climbers either.

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17-Year Old Sets Record For Seven Summits

Backpacker Magazine is reporting in their Daily Dirt Blog that 17-year old Johnny Collinson of Utah has become the youngest person to climb the Seven Summits after reaching the top Mt. Vinson yesterday.

Collinson has yet to post anything to his own website, but he was climbing with a Mountain Madness team, and they have reported the teen's success. Johnny was part of a four person team that was guided up by North Face athlete Willie Benegas, who will be on his way to Aconcagua shortly.

A quick glance at Johnny's website tells us that he has climbed the Carstenz Pyramid version of the Seven Summits, which is of course the most challenging and technically demanding. There is no word on whether or not he'll head to Australia to nab Kosciusko, the tallest mountain on that continent. But considering that it is a simple walk up, it would only be a bump in the road for him after claiming these other peaks.

Congrats to Johnny on a job well done. Will he hold the record long though? Jordan Romero plans to head to Everest this spring and Vinson in the fall.

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Updates From Mt. Vinson

While the Antarctic trekking/skiing teams have, for the most part, completed their journeys, there is still some climbers at Mt. Vinson, taking on the highest peak on the continent and trying to claim the most remote of the Seven Summits.

First up, we have this report from Dave Hahn yesterday. He is currently in Vinson Base Camp, where over the next few weeks he'll be guiding a team for Rainier Mountaineering, Inc. Dave says that it has been a busy couple of days, culminating with ALE delivering him and his team, along with all of their gear and supplies, to Patriot Hills. After a brief rest, they hopped into a smaller Twin Otter aircraft and were flown to BC, where they went to work building camp, including setting up kitchen tent, sorting gear, and generally getting everyone settled in. From the sounds of thing, BC is still a pretty active place, and Dave says that the weather is great right now as well. (Thank for the tip on this one Alan!)

Alpine Ascents has stayed busy on Vinson this season, having three different teams tackle the mountain. According to their climb updates page, Team III arrived in BC yesterday along with the one from RMI. They also set up camp and began preparing for their climb, and note that there is a lot of snow on Vinson at the moment, and that it looks "intimidating". Team II was still in BC up until a few days ago, but having successfully completed their climb, they're now on their way home.

Also on their way home is the IMG Vinson Team, who reached the summit back on January 6th, and finally caught a ride out of Patriot Hills yesterday. They are all safely back in Punta Arenas and will soon be returning to their home countries, with a 100% success rate on the mountain. All ten climbers reached the top, and in an even more impressive stat, IMG remains 100% successful on all of their Vinson climbs dating back to 1988. Wow!

For those that aren't aware, Mt Vinson is the tallest peak in Antarctica, standing 16,050 feet in height. Because it is one of the Seven Summits, it continually sees the most traffic each climbing season. There are, of course, plenty of other peaks in the region, some of which remain unclimbed, but due to the remote nature of the continent, not many make the journey to challenge those mountains.

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Should Jordan Romero Climb Everest?

Backpacker Magazine has an interesting story and editorial asking the question Should 13-year-old Jordan Romero Climb Everest? This seems a fitting question, considering the young man is planning on making an attempt on the world's highest mountain next spring, which would cap his quest to become the youngest person to climb all the Seven Summits, assuming he knocks off Vinson on schedule later this year.

I've been following Jordan's climbs fairly closely these past couple of years, updating his progress every time he managed to summit another one of the seven, which consists of the tallest mountains on each of the continents. This story from Backpacker is great for introducing Jordan to anyone who hasn't been following him thus far however, and it talks about how he became captivated with the idea after seeing a mural of the Seven Summits at school. The article also emphasizes the parental support he has gotten from his dad, as well as other adults in his life too.

Backpacker also goes into the criticism that Jordan and his father, Paul, have had to endure. There are plenty of people who think it's just plain wrong for a child to be climbing these mountains, and that the teenager is at risk every time he goes up. They also accuse Paul of being the kind of dad that pushes his son into doing things that he doesn't necessarily want to do. Reading the story you can tell that the criticism has stung on more than one occasion.

The family has plenty of supporters as well however, and chief amongst them are mountaineers who have climbed with Jordan or spent time with him in camps on the five mountains he's already completed. Others say that if nothing else, the teenager has goals and aspirations, and he's not sitting on the couch playing video games like so many other kids.

All in all, this is a good story about a good kid, who happens to have very big dreams. Everything I've read or seen on Jordan seems to indicate that he is a level headed climber, wise beyond his years, with a great support system around him. You have to admire his determination and toughness, that much is certain.

And what do I think about a 13-year old climbing Everest? Personally, I don't think its a very good idea. The mountain is challenging enough at any age, and sending someone so young up there just seems like it's asking for trouble. The mountain is fraught with dangers, and a death on Everest is always tragic. It just seems like it would be even more so for a climber of this age.

That said, I feel like if anyone can do it at 13, it is probably Jordan. I also know that his family won't put him into a position where he'll be going up higher than he should. But, as I said when 13-year old Laura Dekker was planning on circumnavigating the globe solo, I'm against these kids doing these things to earn a "record" for being the youngest to accomplish something. And if it isn't about a record ,then why not wait a few years? The mountain will still be there when Jordan is 16 for instance, and that three years can make a big difference in his physical maturity.

Either way, I wish him the best of luck. To find out more about Jordan, check out his website at JordanRomero.com

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Book Review: Die Trying

In the world of mountaineering and adventure, the Seven Summits is one of the most sought after goals. In order to complete the challenge, a climber must successfully climb the tallest mountains on all seven continents. The list includes Kilimanjaro in Africa (19,340 feet), Aconcagua in South America (22,841 feet), Denali in North America (20,320 feet), Mt. Vinson in Antarctica (16,050 feet), Mt. Elbrus in Europe (18,442 feet), Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesia (16,024), Mount Kosciuszko in Australia (7,310 feet), and of course Mt. Everest in Asia, the tallest mountain on the planet at 29,029 feet. Sharp eyed readers will have already noted that that was eight mountains and not seven. When the original list was put together by Dick Bass, the first man to climb all of the Seven Summits, he included just the continental mountains, and thus Kosciuszko in Australia was on the list. Later, the list was amended by Reinhold Messner to to included all of "Oceania" which then added Carstensz Pyramid to the list. Most climbers do both just to cover their bases.

The Seven Summits are the the central theme for the book Die Trying by Bo Parfet and Richard Buskin, which was released earlier this year. The book follows Parfet's quest to climb each of those mountains, as he goes on a journey of self discovery along the way.

Parfet does a competent job of telling his own story, starting as a young man who struggled with a learning disability, but over came that to go on graduate college and get a lucrative job on Wall Street. But in the midst of working many long hours, while constantly eating takeout, and slowly getting out of shape, Parfet decided he needed to put a little excitement into his life. So, he planned a trip to Tanzania to make the trek up Kilimanjaro. While in college he had done some climbing, and caught the bug, but he had never been up as high as he was on Kili, and when he reached the summit, it gave him a sense of accomplishment that ended up changing his life.

From there, Bo decided that he would move on Aconcagua, which other climbers told him was a nice test to see if he could handle even higher altitudes. At that time, he wasn't even considering the Seven Summits, just going on a mountain adventure that would get him out away from his desk and out of his office. Parfet became creative with his approach, even using his corporate ties to do fund raising for a variety of charities that would help get him to the places he wanted to go climbing in. Not only was he getting to climb mountains, he was doing some good along the way too.

Eventually mountaineering began to become a more important part of his life, and by the time he left for Denali, his third peak in the Seven Summits, he was in better shape, carrying more appropriate equipment, and had experience level had risen dramatically. After topping out successfully on that mountain, which is often seen as a warm-up for Everest, he began to think about completing the Seven Summits in earnest.

Overall, I enjoyed Die Trying, as it is a good read to familiarize yourself with the mountains that make up the Seven Summits, and learn the basics of mountaineering. Parfet does a good job of describing the conditions that are faced on each of the Summits, and explains the various approaches to climbing each of them as well. He also mixes in plenty of his own personality, giving the story a more accessible, personal approach. He comes across as a likable guy that you wouldn't mind sharing a camp fire with, swapping stories into the night.

But make no mistake, this book isn't amongst the all time great mountaineering books. It is a fun, light read, and if you're looking for something new for your bookshelf, then by all means, give this one a go, just don't expect Into Thin Air or even Dick Bass' own Seven Summits, which I preferred to this book, although it is a bit dated now. For a fun adventure story though, you could do a lot worse.

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Climbing The Seven Summits: What's it Cost?

There is a very good post over at Stewart's Climbing Blog that lays out the costs of climbing the Seven Summits. The article is a bit of an eye opener for those who would love to pursue this goal, but aren't sure what it all entails nor how much it would hit them in the pocket book.

Stewart breaks down the costs in a very logical manner and into several categories. He takes a look at the guide fees, gear costs, training fees, airfare, and more. And when he tabulates the final bill what does it come to? A whopping $170,250.

As you might imagine, Everest makes up the bulk of that cost, although both Vinson, in Antarctica, and Carstensz Pyramid, in Indonesia, are not cheap either. Stewart estimates roughly $65,000 for Everest alone, and while that is a safe estimate, it is also a bit on the high end of the scale. You can find expeditions to the highest mountain on Earth at cheaper rates with some very good companies. The same can be said for Vinson and Carstensz, although the options are not as plentiful.

And the cheapest of the mountains to climb? Kilimanjaro clocks in at $3150 (My climb was considerably cheaper than that) and Aconcagua is second at $3700.

All in all though, it's a decent estimate and does put some things in perspective. Certainly an interesting read for armchair mountaineers and climbing enthusiasts alike.

Thanks to Jason over at The Adventurist, who is back off his hiatus and updating regularly again as well.

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Photo Gallery of the Seven Summits

Allie over at the Sierra Blogging Post came across a very cool gallery of photos from the Seven Summits, courtesy of Environmental Graffiti. The shots are purported to be from the summits, but in at least some of the cases that doesn't seem to be the true. None the less they are some stunning shots of these wonderfully iconic mountains.

The article that accompanies the photos does a solid job of explaining the concept of the Seven Summits, even though it calls them "the seven highest peaks on Earth" at the beginning of the article. We all know that's not the case, and the text further down the page corrects the error, and they do list the actual highest peaks at the very end. They also do an admirable job of laying out the whole Carstensz Pyramid vs. Kosciusko debate as well, but the bottom line is that it's just a nice gallery of photos that I though you might enjoy.

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Outside Interviews Jordan Romero

I'm not sure why Jordan Romero is suddenly getting a lot of press, but the kid seems to be everywhere in recent days. I first wrote about him way back in December of 2006 when he climbed Kilimanjaro, but now that he's got his sights firmly set on the Seven Summits, he seems to be on a press tour or something.

The latest blog to write on Jordan is over at Outside Online where they interview the 12-year old as he prepares to go for his final three mountains in his Seven Summits quest. Having already taken care of Denali, Elbrus, Aconcagua, and Kosciuszko, in addition to Kili, that leaves him with just Carstensz Pyramid, Vinson, and Everest.

The interview notes that Jordan still needs to raise about $180,000 to complete these last three climbs, the bulk of which will go to Everest and Vinson. In order to raise the money, Jordan sells t-shirts and was recently awarded a Polartec Grant to help him in his quest.

You've got to hand it to the kid, he's very dedicated to achieving his goal of becoming the youngest person to ever climb the Seven Summits, and he seems to really love being in the mountains. If he does indeed achieve his dream by the age of 14 as the interview suggests, how does he follow that up with an encore? More 8000m peaks? By the way, he has until he's 18 to actually break the current record, so six years to claim the three remaining mountains.

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Antarctic Update: New Years Eve in Antarctica

More news from the South Pole and Antarctica in general:

First up, Mark Langridge has indeed finished his journey to the South Pole, arriving yesterday after 49 days on the ice. He is now resting at the Pole and awaiting a pick-up flight to return him to Patriot Hills. Mark arrived at his destination with 10 days of food and fuel remaining, having consumed just 7 liters of fuel over the course of his entire journey.

The Shackleton Centenary Expedition spent their 48th day on the ice battling conditions on the Polar Plateau. They covered another 13.8 nautical miles in bitterly cold weather, and it was so bad in fact that team member Will Gow had to cut the balaclava off at the end of the day, as the cloth had stuck to his beard. The team is now projecting that they'll arrive at the Pole on the 9th of January.

The South Pole Quest Team continues their trek as well, having now crossed the 87th degree. Today they covered 18 nautical miles, but not without a few medical issues. One team member, Kevin Vallely, suffered altitude sickness throughout the day, but still pressed ahead with the other guys. Meanwhile, Ray Zahab had to perform emergency surgery, of a sort, on a nasty blister on his foot. The surgery was deemed a success, and it has improved Ray's outlook dramatically.

Mike Horn sends New Year's wishes back to the world from the 86th parallel. He reports that a massive storm is brewing, but that he thinks that the worst is probably behind him, and he's now looking forward to 2009 and continuing the Pangaea Expedition.

On a different note, ExWeb is reporting that Duncan Chessell, Jamie McGuiness and their team have put up a new route on Mt. Vinson, the highest peak in Antarctica. Bad weather had confined the team to their tents for a week, but when a break came at last they made their move, climbing up to high camp, before going to the summit over the course of a couple of days. Summit day was reportedly non-technical, but very demanding, with the ascent taking nearly 9 hours. With Vinson out of the way, the team intends to turn their attention on a few other peaks in the area before they head home. Good luck guys!

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Adventurer To Sail To Antarctica Then Ski to Vinson

Now this is a really cool adventure story brought to us once again by ExWeb. It's the tail of Tommy Eriksson from Sweden who has spent the past five years turning a 32-foot sailboat into his own personal icebreaker with the intent of sailing to Antarctica where he will eventually don skis and make his way to Mt. Vinson, which he'll of course climb.

Eriksson set out from Sweden a few weeks back and is currently in Brest, France. His plan is to sail along the European coastline to the Cannery Islands at which point he'll take a right and zip across the Atlantic to Brazil. Continuing down the South American coast, to Cape Horn, he'll then take the Drake Passage to Antarctica itself.

Once on the continent, he'll then kite-ski to Vinson, the tallest peak in Antarctica, and begin his climb. If everything goes according to schedule, he hopes to summit in January of next year.

Eriksson bought the 32-foot vessel, named the named Bölja III (or Wave III) several years back and began his conversion process, which included reinforcing the hull, installing bullet proof windows, and a fresh coat of paint. The ship was then christened as the SY Icebreaker before his departure. At the time, he didn't even know how to sail, so part of the past five years has been spent learning that all important skill.

Now, Tommy has set out on quite an adventure, and it'll be an epic journey before he even arrives in the Antarctic. This should be another fun expedition to follow.

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New Speed Record On Vinson!

ThePoles.com is reporting that Christian Stangl has set a new speed record on Vinson, topping out in 9 hours, 10 minutes, beating the old record of 19 hours quite soundly.

Stangl began his climb at BC located at about 2200 meters, and the temperature hovering around 5 degrees Fahrenheit (-15 C). He skied the 8km to the foot of the mountain, then switched into crampons and began the climb upwards. When he reached the summit, it remained 5 degrees F, but the sky was clear and calm and he stood on the highest peak in Antarctica at 4892m.

Stangl has now holds the speed record on all of the Seven Summits, having completed all of them in a combined time of 58 hours and 45 minutes, including a 16 hour, 42 minute ascent of Everest from the North Side. He also holds a speed record of 15 hours, 6 minutes on Cho Oyo as well, all with out supplemental oxygen.

Stangl carried his skis with him to the summit, hoping to make a ski descent of Vinson, however he discovered the terrain was too rocky so he had to descend a bit before putting his skis on. Christian attributes the new record to having a perfect weather window to make his "sky run".

Congrats on an amazing record, not just on Vinson, but the Seven Summits in general.

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Antarctic Update - Endless Ice

ThePoles.com has posted another Antarctic update just in time for the weekend. From the sounds of things, the traffic has picked up at Patriot Hills, with more South Pole and Vinson expeditions arriving regularly.

The Beyond Endurance Team is reporting bad weather and nasty winds making it tough going at the moment. Pulling their sleds across sastrugi has caused their pace to drop and their levels of exertion to rise.

Likewise, the Subzero Expedition says that their weather is no better. Six days out, and they report zero visibility as they struggle to make progress, moving up hill all day. However, the team is on a world record pace at the moment, averaging nearly 13.9 miles per day and having traveled more than 83 miles already.

Adrian Hayes continues his progress towards his "third pole" having already visited the North Pole and summitted Everest. He notes that being in the Antarctic is a lot like being on another planet, with "No trees, no plants, no mosses. No birds, no insects, no life form of any kind." The endless white monotony was broken when the team spotted the distant Thiel Mountains, which was enough to make them stop and stare, happy to have something to break the horizon.

Two unsupported teams have hit the ice, with the Interchange Shackleton Team attempting a new route, and experiencing morning temperatures in the -30 range. They've already had to divert their course to keep making progress. Meanwhile, the team from South Africa continue to make steady progress towards their goal. Going unsupported means taking everything you need with you and not getting any kind of supply drops. Hopefully these two teams will reach the Pole with their unsupported tags well intact.

Expect more reports from new teams to begin appearing soon. ALE is delivering new teams to the ice regularly, and I'd expect to hear some news on Vinson climbs soon as well.

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Antarctic Update - New Faces On The Ice!

Last week I mentioned that the weather has finally improved in Antarctica allowing for some of the teams backed up in Punta Arenas to finally head out to Patriot Hills. Today, ThePoles.com posted a new update to introduce us to some of the new faces heading out onto the ice.

First up, we have the Pou Brothers, Iker and Eneko, who are sailing from Usuahia to Antarctica as we speak with the intention of climbing the Cape Renart Towers. This will be the final leg of their "7Walls, 7Continents" tour in which they set out to free climb big walls on each of the seven continents. They recently completed a free climb of Fitz Roy in Patagonia to knock of the South American portion of their tour. They hope for this latest, and final leg, to get underway on the 5th of December. Their other big wall climbs include El Nino on El Cap in Yosemite, in North America. They followed that up with the 'Zumbelzt’ route on Naranjo de Bulnes, the huge limestone wall found in Northern Spain. Next the headed to Australia to climb the Totem Pole in Tasmania, a big wall pillar that rises from the ocean and stands 70 meters in height. After that it was off to Africa for ‘Bravo les Filles’ on the island of Madagascar. Finally, the went to Asia to climb ‘Eternal Flame’ on Nameless Tower, which they were forced to use aid climbing tools on two pitches thanks to an excess layer of ice.

Meanwhile, climbers are finally arriving on the continent to make their go at Mt. Vinson, one of the Seven Summits. Speed climber Chris Stangl of Austria hopes to finish his quest to climb all the Seven Summits in record time by completing a speed climb of the mountain. Stangl will be joined by Thomas Arnold and after the two finish with Vinson, they will ski back to Patriot Hills.

Finally, we also have Kevin Dempsey who is making a "Last Degree" skiing attempt at the Pole. Kevin was forced to withdraw last year thanks to minor frostbite and becoming exhausted following a few days of being stranded at a headwall due to inclement weather. Kevin his back to finish off his dream and hopefully he'll have better luck this time out.

Expect more new faces to arrive soon. It's going to be a busy Antarctic Season.

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2007 Antarctic Season Is On!!

The 2007 Antarctic exploration season is now officially underway. According to this article over at ThePoles.com the first teams touched down at Patriot Hills on Saturday, with more on the way soon. Over the next few days, Antarctic explorers will begin their long journey to the Pole, and in some cases beyond.

The weather at Patriot Hills is said to leave a lot to be desired at the moment though, as the harsh polar winds have already wreaked havoc with the tents, requiring some to be be reinforced, with snow walls to protect them from the elements. Max Chaya reports that some of the tents have even been shredded by the sustained 50-60 knot winds. Most of the teams will hold their position until the weather improves before setting out.

Over the next few days and weeks we'll hear a lot more about the various individuals and teams on the ice. Some will make for the Pole while others will be heading to Vinson to knock off one of the Seven Summits. A few brave explorers will even be attempting a traverse of the Antarctic continent itself. It should prove to be another interesting season on the frozen continent.

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Complete List of 2007 Antarctic Expeditions

ThePoles.com has published their complete list of the 2007/2008 Antarctic Expeditions. This is likely to be THE definitive list as explorers and teams finalize their preparations for heading out on the ice. You can read the entire list here.

Highlights of the 2007/2008 Antarctic season include Slovak Peter Valusiak attempt at a solo, unsupported 2800km crossing of the Antarctic starting from Berkner island, making his way to the Pole, and ending in McMurdo. An epic undertaking to be sure.

Rita Glenne and Ine-Lill Gabrielsen have pretty big ambitions of their own. They'll head to Mt. Vinson first where they'll have a go at the summit, and when they're done there, they'll set off for the South Pole on skies. Oh, and by the way, they'll be going by a new route!

Speaking of new routes, American Doug Stoup, along with Brits James Fox and Richard Dunwoody, plan to take a new route themselves when they leave from the Ronnie-Fleichner Ice Shelf for the South Pole. They'll also be going unsupported, just to make it that little extra of a challenge.

Of course, there are plenty of others heading out on the ice as well, and with the season opening soon, we'll have plenty of expeditions to follow. It looks like it should be another interesting year at the South Pole.

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