Continent – Antarctica
Country – International Territory / Antarctica
Gateway City – Punta Arenas, Chile
Cost: $42,000
Peak Season: (Dec/Jan)
Climb Duration: 17 days
Anticipated Summit Date: December 2020
Elevation – 16,050 feet (4,892 m)
The highest point in Antarctica, what Vinson lacks in height it makes up for in cold and storms. To get to Vinson’s Massif you are required to use the services of the globally contracted, monopoly operation named Antarctic Logistics and Expeditions (ALE).
Antarctica is a rugged and remote frontier. The cold alone makes temperature management, gear selection, and self-reliance skills necessary for survival. Even small injuries can cause major challenges, and cause a several day rescue situation in this desolate continent.
Like Denali, the remote nature and lack of support staff requires climbers to pull heavy loads both on their backs and on sleds pulled behind them. While a successful summit of Vinson’s Massif is possible in 2 weeks, due to storm, travel and logistic delays a successful expedition to the highest reach of Antarctica can take up to 4 weeks.
In Erin’s Words:
“I have a curiosity and fearful apprehension envisioning the cold unpopulated expanses of Antarctica. I’ve traveled to the tip of South America, and even then didn’t come close to the harsh conditions I’ll face here. The wind-swept, high altitude and desolate expanses within Antarctica will provide the harshest environment I’ll ever face. Even having spent a large amount of my life mountaineering high peaks in Colorado, and having seen those peaks in the dead of winter, I have never experienced any temperature challenge near those posed by Vinson. I only imagine it will be the closest to visiting another planet that I will ever face.”