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Omega High Antarctic GPS Expedition 2004 to measure peaks of Vinson Massif
Oct 5, 2004 12: 10 EST
Last December, Damien Gildea, 34, of Australia, and his team of Chilean Rodrigo Fica, 36, an Australian GIS specialist John Bath, 33, and a Chilean student, Osvaldo Usaj successfully measured the heights of Mt Bowles along with their main objective, Mount Friesland.
Now, it's that time again!
The primary objective of the Omega High Antarctic GPS Expedition 2004 is to accurately locate and measure all the high peaks of Vinson Massif. Once this is completed the team will attempt to climb and measure Antarctica’s fourth-highest mountain, Mt. Craddock (4650m) and possibly some of the other high mountains in the area.
As the name suggests, Vinson Massif is a large bulk of a mountain, with several peaks, rising from a high summit plateau. The highest of these peaks is generally considered to be 4897m – the summit of Vinson, the highest mountain in Antarctica - but there are at least three others that are supposedly around 4800m or higher.
This work refining the height-order of Antarctica’s highest mountains is a natural progression from the Foundation’s work on Mt. Shinn in 2002 and an important contribution to Antarctic geography. Collecting GPS data on many of the high peaks of the Vinson Massif will give a topographical depiction of Antarctica’s highest mountain that is much more accurate than that which currently exists.
Check in tomorrow for the expedition plan.
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 looking east along the tip of Livingston Island, over the sea toward Greenwich Island, from the flight back to King George Island on last December's expedition, courtesy Damien Gildea.
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