Vinson, Antarctica,

Antarctica – what’s life on the ice really like? Is it really that cold?

As I climbed along the summit ridge towards the top of Antarctica last season, a new guide on the mountain who had just completed Everest leaned over and shouted into the wind “you are right Robert, it is colder than Everest.”

Summit Ridge, Vinson Massif. 

 

The wind had come up and it wasn’t just cold, it was brutally cold. Our summit photos were fast and furious and we practically ran down the ridge and out of the wind.

What is it really like to live and work in Antarctica – to walk amongst the penguins, to climb to the top of the ice continent and to visit the South Pole?

 

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At Vinson Base Camp, Antarctica, some days too beautiful to comprehend. Then there is another one. 

From November 2019 through January, 2020 I lived in Antarctica, not so subtly described as the coldest, driest, windiest and highest continent on earth.

My fingers will occasionally be too cold to write for long. I won’t be doing much editing, so the stories may be just a bit brittle. And the plans, the destinations, the climbs and the teams will change. Antarctica does dictate it’s own rules.

Perhaps though, the stories will ring true and the experience on the ice will be all the more real for the challenges found there.

Flying out from Vinson Base Camp, the Rolex Ridge under the wing tip. 

And as much as Antarctica is cold, with this being my sixth journey south, I know it is also a place that attracts some very warm hearted and unique individuals.

Let’s see what this adventure brings as the journey unfolds.

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Vinson, Antarctica,
Topping out on the SW Face off Vinson on the first ascent.

 

One thought on “Antarctica – what’s life on the ice really like? Is it really that cold?

  1. Hi Robert
    I hope you get the mail I just sent you – enjoy life. Looking forward to follow your adventures

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