Omega High Antarctic GPS Expedition 2004 - Beyond Vinson
Oct 7, 2004 10: 55 EST
The primary objective of the Omega High Antarctic GPS Expedition 2004 is to accurately locate and measure all the high peaks of Vinson Massif. Here is the final part of the ExWeb Omega series; stage 3 of the expedition plan:
Stage 3 - Beyond Vinson
In the event that the work on Vinson and Craddock is completed successfully and in good time, the team will then move north to Mt. Gardner, currently considered Antarctica’s fifth-highest mountain at 4587m.
The team plan to ascend Gardner via the original 1966 route on the north-west flank of the mountain. Base Camp for this is on the wide, flat expanse of ice above the head of the Nimitz Glacier and will be reached by reversing the old route used for Vinson.
This old route, first used in 1966 for Vinson’s first ascent, started out on the flat ice west of the range, then crossed a small col low down on the south-west ridge of Mt. Shinn, putting the climbers into the upper Branscombe Glacier, just west of the current Vinson Camp 2.
This route was used until 1992, before the current Vinson Base Camp was located in the lower section of the Branscombe Glacier. The slope from the col down onto the flat ice is around 40° and will be descended by the Omega team, possibly lowering sleds down in stages if necessary. There is reportedly old fixed ropes on this slope, left from the early 1990s and Omega has agreed to remove these if possible and fly them off the continent for disposal.
Access & Logistics
The Omega team will be using the services of Antarctic Logistics & Expeditions (ALE) to fly to Antarctica at the beginning of November.
ALE operate an Ilyushin-76 aircraft to fly from Punta Arenas, Chile to a blue-ice runway at their Patriot Hills camp, from which two Twin Otters transport people to further destinations.
The Omega team will be the first team at Vinson Base Camp and will be alone on the mountain for the first month.
This will be Damien’s sixth expedition to Antarctica. He led the successful Omega Foundation projects on Mt. Shinn (2002) and Livingston Island (2003) and previously summited Vinson Massif on an Omega expedition in 2001. He is the author of The Antarctic Mountaineering Chronology (1998), the only reference book on mountaineering in Antarctica and is currently working on a second book due out in 2005.
In 1998 Rodrigo Fica and some friends made the first complete north to south crossing of the Southern Patagonian Icecap, a gruelling journey recounted in his upcoming book Bajo la Marca de la Ira. Since then he has been on successful Omega Foundation Antarctic expeditions to Mt. Shinn (2002) and Livingston Island (2003). A computer engineer by training, he now makes his living in the mountains, in addition to writing and photography and often climbs with his wife Patricia Sotos, the first Chilean woman to climb Mt. Everest.
Camilo Rada studies astronomy at Universidad Catolica in Santiago. On recent expeditions with friends he has made the coveted first winter ascent of San Lorenzo, the second-highest peak in Patagonia and before that, the second winter ascent of San Valentin, the highest mountain in Patagonia. Camilo has made other expeditions in Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, including the first ascent of Volcan Melimoyu. This will be his first trip to Antarctica.
The Omega Foundation is a Non-Profit Organization dedicated to supporting scientific, environmental, educational and literary endeavor in the Antarctic region.
Image Mt Epperly (l) and Mt Shinn (r) from the west shot by Damien in 2001, courtesy Damien Gildea.
|
|
Feature Stories |
|
Latest News |
more news |
 |
North Pole Russia: Borneo Base up and running
Full Story
|
 |
North Pole Russia: It's over - all teams evacuated!
Full Story
|
 |
Russian Polar Borneo Station status update
Full Story
|
 |
The rules of Adventure
Full Story
|
 |
Russian frontier department angered by Cerpolex
Full Story
|
 |
North Pole teams on the ice - no rescue agreement with Borneo
Full Story
|
|
|
The battle for the North Pole - full story
Full Story
|
|
|
| OneWorld expedition: It's over Jun 3, 2005 | | Vancouver to Moscow - 1 year anniversary! Jun 2, 2005 | | Arctic wrap-up: The Single ski Weight Watchers Greenland program Jun 1, 2005 | | Arctic wrap-up: Rain and world record May 31, 2005 | | ExplorersWeb Week in Review May 30, 2005 | | 12 year old doing well on Greenland ice cap crossing May 27, 2005 | | Vagabond update - Polar bears, 200 candles and ice melting in Inglefieldbukta May 26, 2005 | | Arctic wrap-up: Polar hygiene, and Napoleon on ice May 26, 2005 | | Contact GEO hits Greenland May 25, 2005 | | Iridium: "Invalid battery - matches found, 0" May 24, 2005 |
| | Arctic wrap-up: Adventure family kites 162 km, reaches halfway point May 23, 2005 |
|
|
