Today we’re staying at base camp due to incoming storms higher up the mountain – the 39 knot winds don’t sound pleasant. We had a relaxed day in camp, practicing some rope work and carving out some ice blocks. The camp is on a glacier that is moving downhill around 15-20m a year and, as we’re the first team on Vinson this year, they’ve only just built it. Because the camp is constantly on the move, setting up base camp included spending time digging out the tents and moving them back up the hill, leaving holes like mini swimming pools lower down the glacier which we spent the day filling. Nobody made us do it, but it was surprisingly fun and got us all moving – and in this cold, you want to keep moving.
The team we’re climbing with are a great group of people and it’s fun getting to know them all. Hearing the stories of their own adventures is always a highlight of the day, huddled round in the tents.
We all enjoyed a bottle of MUMM champagne (thank you MUMM for sending it over!) to celebrate Matt’s 36th birthday and our honeymoon. As nobody wants frozen champagne, we all agreed that it was best to consume it before ascending any higher…
We’re all keeping our fingers crossed for better weather tomorrow so we can get going and head up to Low Camp.
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Happy birthday Matt. Thinking of you guys lots xxx