Clients on their way.

Today we awoke to clear skies and calm conditions. Although this is typical
for VBC it is the first time this season we have had such stable weather.
The forecast is calling for a stable weather pattern for at least 3 or 4
more days! We received news from Patriot Hills this morning that the IL-76
was to be launched this afternoon and we should prepare to have clients
arrive this evening. We are all excited to get this show on the road. On
this first rotation Pachi and myself and guiding two clients each. Namgya
will serve as a ranger and possibly help with either of our teams or an
additional American team that will be on the mountain at the same time. We
spent the remainder of the morning preparing for their arrival. Prepping
sleds, putting up tents, and preparing the runway for the Twin Otter to
land. Tonight we will all eat together here at VBC and do final
preparations to head up the mountain tomorrow. If all goes well the plan
will be to set off tomorrow early afternoon to low camp. We will either
take a rest day there or continue up to high camp via the fixed lines the
following day. If we have not had a rest day at the point we will rest at
high camp and prepare for the summit the following day. The conflict with
this plan is that Mark (the weather man at Patriot Hills) is calling for
20-30 knot winds on December 1st and 2nd. If that is the case things might
get difficult up high. So hopefully we will either move fast enough to be
up and down by then, or be in good position to hunker down and wait for a
good weather window to summit. My hope is that we can be up in down in 5 or
6 days, but it will all be weather dependent. Also as usual I will try and
convince them to climb something else, like Shinn (the 3rd tallest in
Antarctica), but it always seems like a difficult sell. The next Twin Otter
flight is scheduled for December 3rd, so if we move fast enough, they could
be out on that flight potentially, but not likely. So until I get back
down, hopefully with one more Vinson summit under my belt, I will be out of
touch. Happy December!!!

Thanks for reading!
Chris

Vinson Base Camp
Antarctic Logistics and Expeditions