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Vinson summits
11:39 a.m. EST Dec 17, 2003
Yesterday Wally Berg’s team summited, and today the Adventure Consultant’s team, lead by Luis Benitez is going for it.
Wally and the crew are now back down in Camp, safe and sound, “We stepped on to the summit just before 9 pm local time. That’s based on Punta Arenas and Patriot Hills. I believe that’s something like 24 hrs GMT and also it’s 7 pm in Grand Cayman and Pittsburgh.
I’m honestly at a lost for words right now. The view is inspiring and it really commands and demands only silence. But I should report to you that there’s not a breath of wind up here. And we have the beauty of the frozen continent here before us, we have the warmth of being together. We also have the grandeur of the Ellsworth Mountains. I’m looking at Gardner, Tyree, Shear and the other giants of the Ellsworth Mountains with just the three of us alone here.
It’s best said probably by Will a couple of days ago. We have a great team here, we appreciate folks at home. I’m proud of this entire crew.”
You can listen to Wally’s voice dispatch from the summit here...
One down, one up
If all goes well, Luis and the guys left at 10 AM local time and planned to summit around 4.30 in the PM, being back down to Camp III by 8 in the evening.
Last night Luis sent through a dispatch from Camp III, all tucked in before the big day today, “So we are wrapping up dinner now, then off to bed! Send good thoughts our way as everyone here is excited and ready to go!
Till then, goodnight from the highest human presence in the whole of antartica....”
Good luck guys!
Luis Benitez, three time Everest summiter, is leading the Adventure Consultant’s Vinson expedition this fall/winter season. Wally Berg is a four-time Everest summiter and the owner/operator of Berg Adventures. Diabetic adventurer, Will Cross, is climbing on the Berg Adventures team.
Mount Vinson, located in the Ellsworth Mountains, is 4897m and is the largest mountain in Antarctica.
Image of the ascent up towards Camp III courtesy of AdventureConsultants.co.nz.
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