Sun 26 Nov '06 - VBC 2200mts

I would love to say that I awoke to the sound of summer birds twittering in the sunshine but the reality is that we, the visitors here to this most hostile of the planet’s environments are the only living things about. Nothing else exists or lives here & apart from ourselves & our equipment there is nothing else here that represents modern life. No wildlife, no plants, not even the vapour trails of distant aircraft that one can see even in the remotest parts of Siberia or outer Mongolia as travellers are transported around the globe. Even the biggest & best aircraft available dare not fly across the vast emptiness that is Antarctica, for there is nothing but hopelessness for them here should they have to land. Antarctica is also surrounded by the great oceans of the world & the Capes of the great continents that do stretch towards this ice world do so in a timid & wary manner. Safe in the knowledge that they are somewhat protected & divided from this forbidding land by the great oceans, South America, South Africa, Australia & New Zealand are a vast distance away.

I awake to the sound of my companions shuffling uncomfortably in their sleeping bags in the increasing heat that is building up in our 3 man tent. The sun is truly warming us up & by 10.00am it’s time to rise. We have a breakfast of hot porridge with granola & honey followed by countless mugs of tea. After each morning & evening meal there is the endless melting of snow & boiling of water to provide the hydration required each day & night. Each of needs to be taking on board about 4-5 litres of pure fluid each day in order to maintain hydrated in what is a very dry environment.

Today we’re going to do a food’n’fuel carry & stash to a half camp midway between VBC & Camp 1. Here we will bury the stash & then pick it up on the way through to Camp 1 tomorrow. Doing this enables us to stretch our legs, acclimatise & takes some of the effort out of the next day. We load up 3 sleds with food & fuel for 8 days & head off on the 4 hr journey in what can only be described as picture perfect conditions. With no wind, clear skies & temperature probably only about -5c. this is a very pleasant but I note in my journal that night that Vinson’s nature has yet to show it’s nasty side which it surely will do at some stage in the week ahead. Little did we know what Mother Nature was planning for us as she kept her watchful eye on us as we slept & dreamt easily in our beds at night.

There are already 3 teams of 2 persons each gone for an early summit in separate bids to be the first in a number of races going on. There is Dan, a Canadian striking out on his final of the 7 Summits Series which he’s hoping to complete within a record period of 6 months. He’s teamed up with Rex a 25 yr old Australian who is also on the 7 S’s circuit & they headed out as soon as they landed at VBC. Then there is a team of 2 Swedes, Martin & Olaf, of whom we shall hear a great deal more of, as this adventure unfolds. They are attempting to climb / ski up all of the 7 Summits & then ski down. Having successfully done so on 6 so far including Everest, Vinson is the final target in their quest to be the first Swedes to accomplish this remarkable feat. For Everest they decided to drive from Stockholm all the way to Tibet & then climb Everest. They are followed by a team of 2 Slovenians who are attempting to do the same & likewise are on their final summit. So big stakes for some of these guys who have serious sponsorship behind them & hence coming second may count for nothing. Our team has Fredrik Strang also from Sweden who is just 23 hrs ahead of Dan in the bid to be the fastest person ever to complete the 7 Summits Series. Dan summited Everest last May, 23 hrs ahead of Dan & the countdown began then. But Fredrik has already accepted that he cannot beat Dan to the summit because as a qualified guide Dan is allowed to strike out on his own with one other person, whereas Fredrik has to either stay with our team or find another guide to go alone with. He has been unable to get another guide at short notice & as a team we are not going to be moving as fast as he can & he has therefore had to accept the situation & just get on with it. These guys are seriously talented, strong, world class & professional athletes & are in a different league to the rest of us who let’s remember, are here on holiday!!