Alpine Ascents Vinson (16,067ft/4,897m) Antarctica: South Pole: Ski the Last Degree

January 27, 2006: Friends, family, and loved ones, Team Internationale FM with a no go today. We are still waiting , waiting for the weather to cooperate and waiting to come home. So please send your prayers and your best wishes to us and hopefully we will soon be on our way. The wind is dropping, but it has not yet reached the threshold so we can depart. So we are calling the Illuyshin when the wind is appropriate We are all psyched to see you soon. Ciao for now.

January 26, 2006: Hello there friends, family, and loved ones, this is Team Internationale FM checking in with our daily report. We would like to report today that the winds have finally dropped off so thank you very much for your best wishes. However, we still have enough gusting from time to time that we have not been able to call the Illuyshin in. We are all very excited in anticipation of the moment when it can come in. However, at this time it has not been called so please send your best wishes again for the Illuyshin, the big bird, to come and take us to South America. Today we spent most of our time eating and sleeping, reading and learning how to do a little kite sailing. So we are staying active and in good spirits and wishing that you were here, but since you are not we are going for second best and wish that we soon will be with you. So ciao for now from Patriot Hills Antarctica.

January 25, 2006: Hello there friends, family, and loved one, things are looking up for Team Internationale FM. Yes in deed, the weather finally cleared up enough that we could fly all the way from Vinson base camp to Patriot Hills. It was about a 125 mile flight and now we are in a position to catch the big bird, the Illuyshin 76, the Russian aircraft jet engine, four of them to be exact, which is going to land here at the blue-ice runway. So we are looking forward to the winds dieing down here so the plane can come down out of the clouds and into the wind. Hopefully, we’ll have calm enough weather in the near future so that we can come back home to you. So thank you for giving us all of your best wishes and energy and blowing those clouds away. Now all we need to do is stop the blowing and get it nice and calm. So keep leaning in the right direction and we will too. We will see you soon. From way down south in Antarctica at Patriot Hills this is Team FM saying, stand by for further adventures. Ciao for now and sweet dreams.

January 25, 2006: Hello there friends, family, and loved one, things are looking up for Team Internationale FM. Yes in deed, the weather finally cleared up enough that we could fly all the way from Vinson base camp to Patriot Hills. It was about a 125 mile flight and now we are in a position to catch the big bird, the Illuyshin 76, the Russian aircraft jet engine, four of them to be exact, which is going to land here at the blue-ice runway. So we are looking forward to the winds dieing down here so the plane can come down out of the clouds and into the wind. Hopefully, we’ll have calm enough weather in the near future so that we can come back home to you. So thank you for giving us all of your best wishes and energy and blowing those clouds away. Now all we need to do is stop the blowing and get it nice and calm. So keep leaning in the right direction and we will too. We will see you soon. From way down south in Antarctica at Patriot Hills this is Team FM saying, stand by for further adventures. Ciao for now and sweet dreams.

January 25, 2006: Hey there friends, family, and loved ones this is Vern Tejas reporting in for Team Internationale FM. Guess what, we are still here in Vinson base camp. The weather has just been cloudy, it’s not windy, its not cold been cold, it is just cloudy and because of that the planes don’t want to fly. So we are stuck here and trying to make the best of it, believe it or not, we are skiing, we’re playing cards, we’re reading books, we’re eating all sorts of good scrumptious tasting food and generally getting to know each other is ways we never thought we were going to. We even know the names of some the first-grade teachers of some of the folks here. We are getting to the point where we are quite knowledgeable about each other, but we enjoying it still. So keep your fingers crossed and hopefully we’ll be out of here as soon as the clouds blow out. So ciao for now from Vinson base camp.

January 23, 2006: Hello there friends family and loved ones, this is Vern Tejas reporting in for Team Internationale FM. We are still stranded in base camp on Vinson. The clouds are rolling in and out, beautiful sun dogs, lots of card playing, slack line practice, practicing our balance along a line strung over a hole we dug in the glacier. We’ve been keeping busy however our sprits have not been exactly high because all of us want to fly and hopefully it will be soon. We’ve also been getting out and doing a little bit of skiing and a bit of sledding and thinking a whole lot about you. So keep your fingers crossed and send your love, prayers and kisses our way because we need it right now. Hopefully we’ll be on our way soon. From all of us to all of you from Vinson base camp to the rest of the world sweet dreams and ciao for now.

January 23, 2006: Team Internationale FM checking in from Vinson base camp, just wanted to report that the clouds are hanging in there and so are we. We are hoping to soon be on our way to Patriot Hills. It is just not lifting enough for the twin-otter airplane to come in and pick us up so we are passing our time by playing cards, reading books, sledding and skiing. There is plenty of snow to track-up out here and we are in a paradise in some ways and purgatory in other ways. We want to get home to you but in the mean time we are trying to make the best of it. So stand by for further adventures and come on and pull for us just a little bit for this weather. Thank you much and goodnight.

January 22, 2006: Hello there cybernauts, this is Vern Tejas reporting in from base camp on Vinson. Team Internationale FM has come down and found it to be quite cloudy down here. So we have been on hold waiting for the weather. We have been on standby to fly as soon as possible however the clouds keep on coming in and because of that the planes cannot. So here we are waiting patiently to come back home to you. Keep those prayers and good wishes coming for better weather. So please cross those fingers and don’t touch that dial. This is Team Internationale having a great time at Vinson base camp. Wish we were there. Ciao for now.

January 20, 2006: Hello there friends family and loved ones, this is Team Internationale FM checking in and just giving you a status report. We are now in the process of down-climbing the mountain. We are descending with sleds and packs and loads are heavy, but the weather is good and we are headed toward Base Camp. We're probably an hour from there just as we're speaking. But just so you know we are thinking of you, and a big Happy Birthday to Don Pardio! (sp), ciao for now from Antarctica.

January 19, 2006: Friends, family, and loved ones this is Team Internationale FM checking in from high camp. We have now descended from the summit down to our high camp, quit safely, and everyone is now in bed, tired and pleasantly pleased with the outcome of the day. Once again, it did turn into a spectacular afternoon, lots of sun and clear vistas for miles and miles. So everyone has now accomplished their dream of standing on the top of Antarctica and they are now dreaming of new ones. Stay tuned. Ciao for now

January 19, 2006: Team Korebemocha here, we woke up this morning and the weather had cleared for us so we descended, and we are now back at Vinson base camp. It is a beautiful sunny evening here. We are having a little celebration here at base camp eating a good dinner and hoping that the plane comes tomorrow. The word is that the Illuyshin scheduled for the 15th still hasn’t flown so as soon as it comes in, if we can make it out of Vinson base camp, will make it on to the Otter. So a quick return home maybe for some of us, sooner than expected, so we will keep you informed on how that goes but you know the weather can always spoil a good plan here. Don’t get too excited. Talk to you later. Bye

January 19, 2006: Hello there friends family and loved ones this is Team Internationale FM broadcasting live from the top of Antarctica! Everybody is up here, the whole team made it, and we are having a great day. We can see for miles and miles, the whole Ellsworth range is spreading out to the North of us. We are just so lucky. The sun has come out, the clouds have dried up and blown away, and we are just having a great time up here taking photographs of flags and hugging each other and giving each other congratulations. The whole team is here and we are having fun. So thanks for joining us and stay tuned for the further adventures of Team Internationale. We love you

January 18, 2006: Hello there friends, family, and loved ones, this is Vern Tejas reporting in for Team Internationale FM. We though it was going to be summit day. We started bright and early at the streak of dawn and up the hill we went and got turned around by high winds, clouds, and white-out condition. It was blowing so fiercely that I could barely see my feet through the spin-drift. We turned it back after a couple of hours, back to the loving arms of our cook tent and hot drinks all around story telling, swapping lies, sharing all kinds of good things with one another, coming up with climbing (transmission break)

January 18, 2006: Team Korebemocha calling in from Vinson high camp, seems like our decision to go for the summit yesterday proved to be a good one because we woke up this morning to a raging storm, blowing winds, cloudy and even a little bit of snow. So we are going to stick here today. There is no reason to push on down through this storm to get back to base camp. We still have time, food, and fuel so we’re going to sit this one out today and rest and enjoy and our victory of yesterday and if the weather clears up tomorrow we’ll head on down. We’ll keep you posted. We are all safe, sound, and healthy. We’ll talk to you later. Bye

January 17, 2006: So here is the story, we woke up at 7:30 this morning, this is Team Korebemocha, it was clear skies and cold temperatures but windless so we decided to go for the summit. So we got out of here at about 9 o’clock and we started out, it was very cold, we measured it before we left at about 35 below Celsius and got going and it just kept getting colder the whole way and we made it! The whole team made it to the summit in record time, 14.5 hours round trip, it was great. We had a hard time, some of us, but we made it back safe and happy with enough energy to party it up a little bit back here. It is about 2 o’clock in the morning now and we are headed to bed to get some much deserved sleep. The plan is to move down tomorrow, but we’ll see how everyone is feeling tomorrow and how the weather is. So stay tuned for the further adventures of Team Korebemocha.

January 17, 2006: Hey everybody this is Molly for Team Internationale FM. We had a wonderful day hanging out at high camp resting, acclimatizing, eating good food, making an apple pie (transmission break) you know, on the gas can, doing a little bit of acclimatization hiking wandering around on the glacier up here. We are just heading to bed now, getting ready, keeping are fingers crossed for hopefully a good summit bid tomorrow morning big big love and hello to all friends and family and wish us luck tomorrow. Goodnight.

January 17, 2006: Hello there friends family and loved ones, this in Team Internationale FM checking in. We’re checking in from out high camp. We have now been able to move up in beautiful, clear, crisp, and calm weather. Everybody is quit excited of course as well as tired so we are looking around and asking ourselves, should we go for the summit in this excellent weather or should we wait for a day and rest up? (Transmission Break)

January 16, 2006: Hi this is Todd calling in for Team Korebemocha. Today was our rest day at Vinson high camp, but we didn’t sit around today we went for a hike out North across the plateau we made a first ascent of a little peak out there which gave us an incredible view of Shinn and the whole range out North there. It was incredible to see, and we got a good four hour walk out and back. We didn’t rest much but it was a great day of acclimatization, really it was just a mellow walk across there and I don’t think we missed that much energy so it will help us tomorrow. Our plan is still to summit tomorrow, and the weather is looking great right now. As long as it holds, we’ll have a great summit day tomorrow. So wish us luck and think of us tomorrow. We’ll let you know how it goes. Ciao for now.

January 16, 2006: Hey everybody this is Molly calling in for Team Internationale, we woke up yesterday morning to -35 degree temp. and warmed ourselves up with some delicious oatmeal. We had a great carry up to high camp yesterday in stellar weather, we could have been out on a Colorado ski slope for all we would have known, everyone is doing very well looking good, looking strong. There is already another party of folks waiting for us up at high camp, including Todd with the other Alpine Ascents team. We’re hoping it warms up a little more tomorrow morning. A big hello, and lots of love to everyone. Bill sends a big hello to his family and tells them not to worry about him because GG is watching. So goodbye everyone and we’ll talk to you soon.

January 15, 2006: Hey there cybernauts, this is Vern Tejas reporting in for Team Internationale SM. Well we had a great enjoyable day, bouncing around watching the spindrift blow off the ridge above us and in the relative calm and sun, a great to day to rest, recuperate and acclimatize, building red blood cells so that we may have a better summit push when we go up to Camp II. Everyone is in good spirits and eager to continue with the climb, but it just happened to look like it was going to be best to hold up await until we got a little more wind in our sails. So thanks for tuning in and come along and join us tomorrow as we climb up if the weather permits. Ciao for now from Mount Vinson.

January 14, 2006: Hi this is Todd calling in for Team Korebemocha. Today was a great day, we left here in sunny skies and made our carry up the steep headwall. As we topped out on the headwall, the winds started to pick up and it got very windy and we were able to push on through and cache what we needed to, food and fuel up at our camped and saved our spot so that we’ll have a prime spot tomorrow when we move up. One of our members here is very, very happy today, he has fallen in love, and he’s trying to figure out how to pursue that, so we’ll let you know how that all pans out. (transmission ends)

January 13, 2006: Hello there friends family and loved ones, this is Team Internationale SM, checking in from high on the flanks of Mount Vinson at Camp I, almost 10,000 feet in the sky and beautiful sky it is. It didn’t start off that way however. No this morning was a stormy, stormy morning with flowing drifts and lots of deep powder snow to break trail through, but that didn’t daunt our team, nosiree. We picked up our loads, clipped on our sleds and up the trial we went. It was about 8 and a half hours all the way from Base Camp and as we got higher, the weather improved and now we are looking out at a very sunny, blue sky evening, and everybody is very happy to be here. Of course Molly put together a great dinner and people have got hot water bottles ad are heading to bed with visions of pumpkins dancing through their heads. (I got a sneer on that from Molly) Anyway, you get the drift, we’re all doing fine and thinking of you and we’ll talk to you tomorrow, ciao for now.

January 13, 2006: Hi this is Todd calling in for Team Korebemocha, the Japanese team. We moved up from half camp to Camp I today under cloudy skies, but we made quick time of it about two and a half hours was all it took us today, which was great. W got camp set up, had a nice Japanese dinner, cooked by Hiro, a little sushi, wonderful and a little smoked salmon and sat around for a few hours, just talking and getting to know one another, getting acquainted with the team and then as we were finishing up dinner, the clouds blew away and the sun came out and right now it’s a beautiful day out and we’ve had lots of rest so I think we’re going to be well-prepared for tomorrow on our carry day, carrying up to Vinson High Camp, which is at 12,800 feet and if all goes well, that’s where we’re going to be tomorrow. We’ll let you know how it goes, later.

January 12, 2006: Hello friends, family and loved ones, this is Team Internationale calling in from Vinson basecamp we’d like to report today that we have had a learning and growing session, first we reviewed crevasse rescue technique and we brushed up on glacier travel technique and also selected our lunch food for the duration of the trip, yum. We also grew in ways in the fact that we are now building many red blood cells. We stayed in camp and acclimatized grew many many blood cells and learned a few things about glacier travel technique. Tomorrow we’re planning on moving up to camp one, right at the base of the massif itself. So please stay tuned for the further adventures of Team Internationale and remember David says, “Love to all you ladies –goodnight.”

January 12, 2006: Hi this is Todd calling in for the team from Japan. We have decided on a name, let me give you that, it is Korebemocha. Korebemocha means, “By all means.” We are calling in from camp .5. We missed the first couple cybercasts because these guys flew in late last night, and we were on the move early this morning. We missed the first couple cybercasts but we’ll be on it now. We left basecamp in marginal weather, lots of clouds, as we moved up higher it got sunnier and warmer. Right now, as I look out, the clouds are starting to move back in but we’re hoping for more sun tomorrow. So we’ll keep you posted on our progress. We’ll see you later.

January 11, 2006: Hello there friends family and loved ones this Vern Tejas reporting in for Team Internationale. We have not only arrived at Patriot Hills, but then after waiting out some weather, we have now progressed all the way on to Vinson Basecamp. The winds are blowing quit high today, there was some snow at basecamp and clouds so it hindered are departure until about 9:30 in the evening. We finally got set up and had some drinks and got everything arranged so we can now start the process of climbing Mt. Vinson the highest mountain in Antarctica. So Mt. Vinson is looming overhead as we speak, and we are going to bed. So thank you for following us and stay tuned for the further adventures of Team Internationale. Everyone is excited here. Ciao, ciao

January 10, 2006: Hello friends, family, and loved ones, this is Vern Tejas reporting in for Alpine Ascents Mt. Vinson groups, we have two new groups, just arrived here on the ice. The Illuyshin finally flew after the wind calmed down. We’ve had a wonderful welcoming dinner and settled into out tents for a good nights sleep because it is almost two o’clock in the morning, and everybody is bushed from a long day and all the waiting that we had to do. So we are now on the ice. We are at the place called Patriot Hills, and we’re now going to sleep. So please join us throughout our trip and climb of Mt. Vinson – the last one of our season. Stay tuned for the further adventures. Ciao for now

January 10, 2006: Hello there friends family and loved ones, this is Team Pro Mountain Father and Son calling in from Patriot Hills. We are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the big bird the Illuyshin is on its way. Guess what that means, soon we will on our way back to you winging our way back to the loving arms of our loved ones. So stand by for Team Pro Mountain leaving the ice (Transmission Break)

January 10, 2006: Hello there cybernauts, friends, family and loved ones this is team Pro Mountain Father and Son calling in from Patriot Hills. The weather has been good enough that we got out of basecamp and arrived here safely. We have been waiting for the wind to drop so that the big bird, the Illuyshin from Russia, can come in and pick us up, and we’re hoping that happens fairly soon. We want to get back to you so stay tuned and keep on listening so ciao for now from Patriot Hills in Antarctica.

January 10, 2006: Hi friends this Eric san calling in for the AG Sumo Team. It is 11 o’clock in the morning on Tuesday the 10th, and we are at Patriot Hills after a long but successful decent from high camp. We were then able to fly from Vinson basecamp to Patriot Hills. Unfortunately for this crew, the Illuyshin did not fly yesterday and right now we are unsure if it will fly today. At this time the winds are still pretty high. So in the mean time we a relaxing, eating, and enjoying ourselves. So thanks for tuning in. We look forward to getting this group out and getting the last crew in for Vinson #5. Ciao for now.

January 9, 2006: Hello friends this Eric san calling in for the AG Sumo Team. It is Monday morning about 9:45 and we are just waking up and getting ready to have some hot tea after a successful summit day. I stress that all members reached the summit. We got a fairly late start due to the previous storm and we were on the summit around 11 P.M. returning to high camp at about 2 in the morning. It was a late one, so right now we are just working on getting some hot tea and breakfast going. Everyone is doing well and feeling happy. The weather is pretty stable here so we are looking on getting down to Vinson base camp and to fly back out to Patriot Hills. If the Illyshin goes tonight we hope to be back in Punta Arenas. Stay tuned for more. Ciao for now.

January 9, 2006: Hello there friends, family, and loved ones this is Team Pro Mountain Father and Son reporting in. Well the weather has been good to us after three days of fairly inclement rather nasty stuff. We finally got some reasonable clearing and the wind has dropped. We were able to lower ourselves down descending the mountain from high camp all the way to camp one through half camp picking up extra gear and are now at base camp. (Transmission Break)

January 7, 2006: High friends this is Eric calling in for the AG Sumo Team. It is Saturday January 7 and we are in a big storm at high camp. We are hoping for a summit day today but travel is not possible. We are in a complete whiteout with 40 to 50 mile-an-hour winds and zero visibility so we are holding steady, having lots of hot drinks, and spending some good tent time. Everyone is doing well and we hope for better weather. So cross your fingers for us and hopefully we will see some better weather tomorrow, and we will be able to make a summit attempt. Stay tuned for more from the AG Sumo Team.

January 7, 2006: Hello there friends family and loved ones this is Team Pro Mountain Father and Son reporting in from high camp on Mt. Vinson in Antarctica. It has been a very very stormy day, whiteout conditions, snow, blowing winds that we think are getting up to thirty or forty knots - impossible for us to travel. So we are stuck here like rats on a sinking ship. We have been digging in all day and have actually worked out a nice camp site at this point, but we are concerned that the fuel is getting low. We would like to get on with our trip rather than be trapped here so keep your fingers crossed and send some prayers our way for some good weather. We would like to catch that flight home tonight. So please stay tuned for the further adventures of Team Pro Mountain Father and Son.

January 6, 2006: Hello there cybercats, this is Team Pro Mountain Father and Son reporting in from high camp, we have successfully negotiated our descent and now are eating what looks like fried glop with chicken. It’s very, very good however. Everybody is just raving about the quality and we’re very happy to be down here, no major frostbite, everybody is going to return with body parts, so rest assured we’re thinking about how to get out of here and get home soon. Stay tuned for our further adventures, ciao for now.

January 6, 2006: Hey there friends family and loved ones, this is Team Pro Mountain Father and Son and Michelle, and we’re just coming down of the summit, it was too windy to call from actually the top of Antarctica, but we’re checking in with you to tell you that we’re aok, we made it to the top, 16,077 feet above sea level. Everybody’s cold and tired but really happy and elated that we made it, now we’re going to head down before we get blown off this mountain. We’ve had some pretty high winds today, but it was a piece of cake. So here we go we’ll call you when we get down so you’ll know we made it and don’t have to worry about us. Ciao for now from the top of Antarctica!!

January 6, 2006: Hello there friends family and loved ones, this is Vern Tejas with Team Pro Mountain Father and Son. Well, it has been a wonderful day. We have just been resting, hoping that the wind dies down. We went on an acclimatization walk, took a nap, and everybody is just feeling good. All of this is in an effort to prepare for tomorrow if the weather cooperates, but right now we have had a nice walk and we can see the peak in the distance. Everybody is totally psyched to give it our best shot tomorrow. So stay tuned for the further adventures of climbing Mt. Vinson.

January 6, 2006: Hello friends, this is Eric calling in for the AG Sumo Team. Today is Friday. Yesterday, we moved to high camp. We are now located here at 12,800 feet above sea level at the Shinn Vinson Col and high camp and having a rest day eating, drinking and sleeping lots and getting ready for summit day tomorrow. Vern and Todd’s group were off to the summit today so we are wishing them a good warm and windless day. Everyone here is doing well. Eric would like to send his love to Christie, his mom, Dave, Diane, and dad down in Monaco - a big happy New Years. So stay tuned for more from the AG Sumo Team.

January 5, 2006: Hi, this is Todd calling in for Team Pro Mountain Father and Son. I’m laying here in my bag at 12,800 feet which is Vinson high camp. We moved up from camp one today in beautiful weather, clear blue skies and windless. It was spectacular and everyone did very well a lot better today after the carry yesterday. So we’ve moved on up. Yesterday we had already dug out the tent platforms, we moved in pretty quickly, set up the posh, and had dinner going in just over an hour after arriving. We hung out and Vern played his harmonica, and we talked and enjoyed our dinner and went to bed. Our plan for tomorrow is to have a rest and acclimatization day. We’re going to hang out here and maybe go for a little walk. We’ll see how things go and let you know what our exciting plans are tomorrow after we figure them out.

January 5, 2006: Friends, this Eric with AG Sumo Team. It is about two o’clock in the morning on Thursday and we are just getting into for bed. We have completed our carry to high camp. It was a beautiful day and we’re looking forward to high camp tomorrow and preparing for summit day. Everyone is doing well. Stay tuned for more. Ciao for now.

January 3, 2006: Hello cyber world this is Eric san calling in for AG Sumo Team. It is Tuesday and almost midnight. The sun is shinning and we are just getting happily ensconced into our tents here at camp one. We made the move today from half camp to camp one. We enjoyed a nice day down low, there were high winds aloft up above, but things have appeared to calm down and the weather is stabilizing. So we’ll hope that it holds. Everyone is doing well here and we just had a nice meal, a Japanese meal with rice, chicken, and soup. Stay tuned for more. Ciao for now.

January 2, 2006: Hi, this is Todd calling in for Team Pro Mountain Father and Son. We made quick work of our move today, from camp point five up to camp one, in just over two and a half hours. We woke up and it was a cloudy and pretty cold day. By the time we got into camp, got the gear set up and dinner going the clouds started to roll out, and right now it is a beautiful and clear sky and we are hoping for more of this tomorrow. It is windy up high we can see wind blowing off the ridges up high and that is a little concerning but at least the sun is shining bright so maybe we will get some more of that tomorrow. We’ll let you know tomorrow how we do. Tomorrow we are planning on doing a carry up the headwall to high camp so it is a big day for us. We are going to get to bed now and rest up for our carry. We’ll let you know how it goes.

January 1, 2006: Hey there cyboids, this is Vern Tejas for Team Pro Mountain Father and Son. We actually had a very fantastic break in the weather. We were able to fly out of Patriot Hills all the way to Vinson base camp and then loaded our sled full of goodies and moved up the hill to half camp which is close to nine thousand feet. We made good progress and people really enjoyed the sun today. We were marching in our long-johns for part of it, but now that the sun has gone behind the mountain, it is quit frosty, and everyone has gone to bed as I am getting ready to as well. So thank you for your interest in our adventure and stay tuned for the further adventures of Team Pro Mountain Father and Son.

January 1, 2006: Hi there friends family and loved ones, Happy New Year! We are having a great time down here at Patriot Hills whooping it up and we just wanted to wish you the best of the of the new year, may it be the best one yet. Ciao for now from down south in Party Town!

December 30, 2005: Hello there friends family and loved ones this is Team Pro Mountain Father and Son calling in from Patriot Hills and my it has been a wonderful day, total white-out, however that did not hold back the team. They almost made a near summit but had to abort for dinner. Todd cracked the whip and forced them back down. So now we are safely ensconced here and enjoying the best boxed wine in all of Antarctica I’m guessing. If there is any better please send it our way. Please stand by for our eminent launch to Vinson base camp where you’ll here Todd say, “Where are the penguins.” So ciao for now.

December 30, 2005, again later that day: Hello out there to friends, family and loved ones. This is Adventure Guides, Team Sumo. We are out in the snow at Patriot Hills in a whiteout. We can not fly today to basecamp so we are practicing our knots, anchors and right now the leaders of Team Sumo are showing us how to do Z-Pulleys, Crevasse Rescue and I am very impressed with the technique I see out here, these people know what they are doing. So it is a great pleasure to be out here in the snow practicing our Crevasse Rescue at Patriot Hills. So stay tuned for further adventures of Adventure Guides, Team Sumo.

December 30, 2005, later that day: Good morning cybernauts, this is Vern Tejas reporting in for our new team on Mt. Vinson. The team is John, Ryan, Ron, Harry, and Hans are all here on the ice, they flew in last night and landed at Patriot Hills in the big Illysion. They are all here and hopefully we are going to have a big day and fly all the way to Vinson basecamp, which is about 120 miles north of Patriot Hills. So please stay tuned for the further adventures of our new team. Ciao for now.

December 30, 2005: Hello there friends, family and loved ones. This is Vern Tejas reporting in from Team Glad to be here. Well we were certainly lucky, we got down to basecamp and we are flown out within hours and all the way back to Patriot Hills. And then at Patriot Hills the big bird came in and Laura, Maki, Armand and Bill are on their way to South America. So they are all flying home to you so be aware and be ready. Thank you very much for following our broadcast from Team Glad to be here. We are signing out. Ciao for now.

December 29, 2005: Hello friends, family and loved ones, this is Team Glad to be here and guess where we are. We are down at base camp and we had a nice, peaceful evacuation of the mountain in really nice weather. We have a few high clouds blowing in right now but everyone is really excited to be here because we believe we’ll be on a flight in about 30 minutes back to Patriot Hills and then from there hopefully we will get a plane in tonight and everyone will be on their way back to Punta Arenas and hopefully there will be some big flights to take people back all over the world and back home to you. So standby for the further adventures of Glad to be here.

December 28, 2005, later on: Hey Cybersurfers, this is Vern Tejas calling in from Team Glad to be here. We are just reporting in that we have descended from the summit and we are back at our high camp and all are accounted for, safe and sound in their sleeping bags. We just had a great dinner and lots of drink to rehydrate and we are currently anticipating going down tomorrow so we should be on schedule because our exit day is the 29 th and we want to be at least be at basecamp for that day. Stay tuned for our further adventures for the Glad to be heres. Ciao for now.

December 28, 2005: Hello friends, family and loved ones this is Team Glad to be here and we are glad to be here. We are on the roof of Antarctica and the very summit of Mt. Vinson at 16,042 ft above sea level and everybody is ecstatic. It’s snowing lightly and we have high overcast and whiteout conditions and we are glad to be here. We pushed up here in about 8 ½ hours from high camp and everybody is in great spirits. We are tired and exhausted but we are very happy and glad to be here. We don’t want to wear out that saying but we want you to know we are safe and we will be heading down here in short order. Please think about us on our descent and we will check-in when we get to high camp. That’s it for now, Ciao from the top of Antarctica.

December 27, 2005: Good evening cybercats, this is the Glad to be here’s, high on the flanks of Mt. Vinson at our high camp at 12,800 ft above sea-level. We had a very nice rest day, the clouds seem to be blowing over Mt. Shinn and on our mountain the weather seems to be consistent so we had a rest day and have been eating and sleeping and then sleeping and eating. Everybody is in very good spirits. We are feeling like we are ready and now are in the holding pattern waiting for the weather, so please keep your finger’s crossed and send us your prayers for some good weather that we may get to the top of Antarctica. Ciao for now.

December 26, 2005: Hello cyber world, ladies and gentlemen, friends and family, this is Eric for Team Glad To Be Here. It is December 26th, the day after Christmas, and we are at high camp. We successfully completed out move to high camp today in what you could call beautiful, astoundingly beautiful, amazing Antarctic summer weather especially after yesterday where we were in a white-out on our carry to high camp. Today was much much more enjoyable, everyone did quite well, took lots of pictures, enjoyed the warmth, and arrived here feeling strong. We’re currently finishing our dinner. We are having some curried chicken ramen and hot drinks. It is about midnight, the sun is about to go behind the ridge, and its going to get cold so we’re going to get to bed and tomorrow is another day and after a full nights rest or as close to it as we can provide ourselves with we will see what the weather provides us with tomorrow. For now the team sends their love back to family and friends and we will touch base later. Ciao

December 25, 2005: MERRY CHRISTMAS HO HO HO, We hope that Santa Claus has been good to you because it looked like he was going to be good to us too because, well the weather was good but, hey guess what, the day changed when the wind came up and our Christmas day turned to mush. We had quite a little ordeal taking our gear up to high camp but we did make it. Everybody held together and tried to cover every little bit of skin up with wind protection, but the wind seemed to have gotten through for some of us. I got a little pinkness on my face and several other people are reporting light numbness in finger tips and beautiful cheeks – kinda pink. So we’re sitting around commiserating over our Christmas dinner of pork chops and ramen - yeah! wish you were here - in wine sauce mind you. It has been a wonderful Christmas because we all survived it. To all those loved ones out there who are concerned, we are still in fairly good spirits. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night. Ciao for now from Vinson and the Glad To Be Heres.

December 25, 2005: Hello there friends family and loved ones, this is Team Glad To Be Here reporting in from Camp One. Yes, it was a beautiful day today, and we moved up to Camp One and everyone is really stoked to be here. We are now in position to actually go up the dangerous headwall around death alley. So that is what we are looking forward to doing tomorrow, but just want you to know that we are wishing you a Merry Christmas from the land down under. We are so far under we are always at the South Pole. We are the last people to get Santa Claus to arrive so we are staying up late tonight with our cookies and milk. So thank you for tuning in and just want you to know that we love you. Ciao for now from Antarctica.

December 23, 2005: Hello there friends family and loved ones, this is Team Glad To Be Here calling in from Camp One high on the flanks of Mt. Vinson in Antarctica. We hit the ground running today. We were able to throw back a great omelet that Eric rustled up in the kitchen and then quickly folded up our tents because the weather was excellent at Vinson base camp. So we boarded the twin-otter and flew for an hour back to the north up into the Sentinel range and it was clear and calm. We jumped out, reigned out sleds, grabbed our lunches and hit the trail. We were able to beat feet up about fifteen hundred feet to a place called half camp right at the base of the twin ice streams that are below the (Transmission Break). So we are in the mountains, on the road and we’re climbing. So stay tuned for the further adventures of Team Glad To Be Here.

December 23, 2005: Hi this is Todd with Team 7+2 calling in from Patriot Hills. The weather cooperated with us this morning. It was sunny and clear when we woke up this morning so the twin-otter came and picked us up and brought us back here to Patriot Hills. There is still some question whether the Illuyshin will fly or not. Right now it is a little too windy but they are keeping it on standby so we’ll keep you on standby and let you know if she shows up or if we are going to spend Christmas here at Patriot Hills. So until then, ciao.

December 22, 2005: Hello there friends family and loved ones, this is Vern Tejas and Eric Murphy with Team Glad To Be Here, and they are glad, and that includes Laura, Maki, Armand, and Bill. They just arrived today. Finally the weather turned beautiful and clear here at Patriot Hills. So they are here now on the continent of Antarctica and at the first destination on their way to Mt. Vinson. So please stay tuned so you can find out what happens to our adventurers on this frozen continent. The big plan is to get launched tomorrow to Vinson base camp and hopefully the weather there will clear up and quit snowing. We’ll be off in the morning. We are just tucking into bed now after a wonderful evening of getting orientated and discussing the plans for the trip. We are on a compressed schedule and everybody here seems to be flexible, that is a good quality here in Antarctica where the weather is very unpredictable. So stay tuned for the further adventures of Team Glad To Be Here. Ciao for now.

December 22, 2005: Hi this is Todd for Team 7+2, We made it back to Vinson base camp today. As we were coming down we saw a plane flying around so we thought that it was here to pick us up so we hurried on down thinking that we were going to fly from here over to Patriot Hills but as we were coming down clouds covered the Vinson base camp area, and we were not able to fly. So the Illuyshin came and went without us, but our hope is that we will be able to fly out on the Illuyshin scheduled for the day after tomorrow which is a scheduled fuel flight. We will be able to get on if we are able to fly out of Vinson base camp here. So that is our hope, but right now it is cloudy and foggy here at Vinson base so we’re hunkered down here and celebrating with some hot drinks and good food. We’ll let you know if we make it to Patriot Hills tomorrow. So may the weather gods be with us. Later

December 21, 2005: Hi this is Todd with Team 7+2. We just returned back to high camp after a great summit day. Not to be redundant but the weather was beautiful once again all day except right as we were getting back into camp the clouds started coming in so the party may be over. The good weather may turn in a little bit here. We got our summit we had a beautiful day. We plan to sleep in tomorrow and then head on back down to base camp and go from there. So we’ll talk to you later. Bye

December 20, 2005: Hi this is Todd calling for Team 7+2. we spent a relaxing day today here at Vinson high camp. We slept in till late our first real rest day in a long long time - much appreciated. It has been a beautiful day today. We really really hope that this weather holds for tomorrow because it is pretty spectacular right now. Our plan is to go for the summit tomorrow so we will let you know how it all goes. Wish us luck. Later

December 19, 2005: Hey there this is Todd with Team 7+2 calling in from high camp on Vinson. It was another very beautiful day today it is warm and windless and clear blue skies and we are all tired after a long day but we are doing well our plan tomorrow is to take a rest day so we have all of out energy to be in reserve for the summit day. So we will let you know how tomorrow goes tomorrow. Talk to you later.

December 18, 2005: Hey there friends family and loved ones, this is Vern Tejas calling in. This is the last cybercast from the 89ers. Well today is all clear and calm and everybody was very excited to hear that the plane had taken off from Punta Arenas flying in about midday. Once it landed, everybody with tears in their eyes said their good byes and we sent them back home to you so that they should be arriving in the next few days depending on how soon it takes them to get out of Punta Arenas. They have departed the ice a day early but with fifty people all hitting the streets at the same time in Punta Arenas all trying to get flights out it may take a couple of days. Believe it or not people are winging there way back home. Thank you very much for joining us for the adventures of the 89ers. We were very successful, no frost bite to speak of, very little discord in the group, we got along really well and even managed to eat breakfast bars for most of the trip, it was a great time. I just wanted to thank you for letting them all come down here and enjoy the South Pole. So signing off for the 89ers. Ciao for now.

December 18, 2005: Hello this is Todd with Team 7+2, we moved on up to camp one today on a beautiful sunny warm day. It was great, we had perfect weather we were more worried about sun burn than being cold. We got here to the camp that Vern and Eric had made from the previous camp so we moved in (Transmission Broken) Sorry we didn’t start until about 2:30 in the afternoon because we had organizing and that to do but we got out of there and got here in great time. So we’ll see how everybody feels in the morning. These guys think that they want to move on up. If people feel good in the morning and there is good weather we’ll give it a try. Stay tuned for tomorrow and see what happens. Later.

December 18, 2005: Hello cyberfans this Eric for Vinson and team Numero Dos. Well guys we have had what you would call a very busy last twenty-four hours we were able to summit Shinn, third highest in the Ellsworth range, yesterday from high camp after a rest day after our Vinson climb, and then we came all the way out to Vinson base camp last night getting in about one in the morning. A little bit of food a little bit of sleep and here we are at Patriot Hills. The Illuyshin is here on the ground and Vinson number two team Chris, Kurt and Lewis will be flying back to Punta Arenas this afternoon along with three folks that went to the pole with Vern. So all is well here, we’re getting a little bit of rest and a little bit more food. Things are rolling on. So everyone can hope to hear from friends and family here pretty soon and right now we’ll get some rest and get ready for Vinson number three. Cheers to all, ciao.

December 18, 2005: Hey there cybernauts, this is the 89ers checking in. The weather has improved so thank you for crossing your fingers, and we have a calm, beautiful, sunny day here and it sounds like the big aleutian is going to take off from South America and come pick us up. So we are really happy about that, so once again thank you. We would also like to thank Smiley and Cathy, Newie, and Steven for all their help with last minute acquisitions of necessary items for the South Pole. They all provided gloves, handi-wipes, and hand warmers and goggles and all sorts of good things, face masks, things that we really really appreciated and used while we were skiing to the South Pole, so thank you guys. We also would like to say thank you to Steven for coming up with the answers to those riddles, he gave the riddles to us and the answers and of course everybody guessed, or I’m sure, that most of the cards and letters that have been coming in, the phone calls, have indicated that most people knew that if you went north one hundred miles east one hundred miles south one hundred miles and ended up in the same place you had to be at the south pole. That is correct, however Steven took it to a level a little bit greater. In the Northern hemisphere if you take a spot with exactly a hundred miles circumference from the North Pole and then a hundred miles south of there to start, you could go a hundred miles north then a hundred miles east around the top of the world, going exactly a hundred miles and coming back to the beginning point, then going a hundred miles south and end up at the same point you started from and that of course is the answer for the Northern hemisphere. You can do that actually at several locations using different measurements, you can go twice around a fifty mile circumference and you can go four times around a twenty five mile circumference or ten times around a ten mile circumference so you can see the actual point of the northern hemisphere is infinite. You can start a hundred miles south of any one of those lines and complete that particular problem. So there is the solution for that particular problem, it is infinite in certain bands. Thank you very much for all your calls and letters and thanks for following the expedition of team numero uno and the 89ers. So hopefully the next thing you here from us is that everyone is homeward bound. Keep your fingers crossed that they don’t get turned back. The flight is in the air so stay tuned for further adventures from the 89ers.

December 18, 2005: Hey friends family and loved ones, of course we have made it back form the South Pole to Patriot Hills. However, the weather is a little too windy to fly right now, and we are hoping to get the big Russian bird, the Illuyshin-76, to come in but right now it is too windy so we are spending the day eating, sleeping, reading and doing a little kite skiing. It is really nice to get on your skis and go around and play around with the kite. We are just enjoying the beautiful paradise that this place can be here at Patriot Hills and praying that the big bird flies so stay tuned for the further adventures of the 89ers and keep your fingers crossed for better weather. Ciao for now.

December 17, 2005: Hi this is Todd calling in for Team 7+2 we are actually now, we should be called 8-2 because we are down to six people including myself. We arrived in base camp today, Vinson base camp, it is very nice to have a change of scenery, to have some mountains to look at instead of the bleak flatness that we experienced on the last degree tour. We got into base camp early this afternoon and we have been organizing gear and food and had a great dinner of salmon and rice and later we’re gonna head off to bed and get up early and head on up for camp one tomorrow, the weather is great right now as they say it has been that last couple of days here which is a change from what it was before if any of you have been following the other cybercast with Eric’s team, sounds like they had some brutal weather up here so we’re hoping for some more of what we have right now here at Vinson base camp. So put some good energy out there for us so that maybe we can get some of that. We’ll talk to you later.

December 17, 2005: Hello there friends family and loved ones. This is the 89ers, and guess what, we are back at 80. Yes indeed – we had a very beautiful and clear day at the south pole and we uh celebrated by sleeping in and having a big French toast breakfast and uh we called for the ride to pick us up and mother nature cooperated, if you can believe that we actually had a clear radiant sunny day and the plane flew in, a twin otter, picked us up and flew us all the way back to patriot hills which is where we just set up our tents and drank some champagne to celebrate our success and our adventure to the South Pole. So thank you very much for joining us for this portion of the broadcast and I like to say to the technical people out there that if they haven’t figured out the northern hemisphere answer to, where can you go one hundred miles north, a hundred miles east, and a hundred miles south and end up in the same place? I’m going to tell you tomorrow so stay tuned to the 89ers. Ciao for now.

December 16, 2005: Hi cyberworld, this is Eric for Team 2 on Mount Vinson. It is Friday and we’re here sitting pretty on our rest day the Shinn/Vinson Col. The rest of the teams have gone down, so high camp is very quiet and peaceful. (Transmission fails)

December 16, 2005: Hi cyberworld, this is Eric for Team 2 on Mount Vinson. It is Friday and we’re here sitting pretty on our rest day the Shinn/Vinson Col. The rest of the teams have gone down, so high camp is very quiet and peaceful. (Transmission fails)

December 15, 2005: Hello there cybernauts this is the 89ers at 90. Maybe we should change our name to the 90ers. Hey we’re camped right here by the South Pole stake, the bottom of the world or the top depending on your point of view. It’s quite a hub of activity here, we’ve got tractors going by, C-130 airplanes taking off and landing, snow machines and even the first vehicle, or van I should say, a 6x6, that drove here just three days ago, it’s the first time anybody has driven an ordinary looking vehicle, it’s been modified somewhat with wider tires, but all that is happening right here right at ground zero, or ground 90 in this case. And we’re right at the center of it taking pictures and thinking of you back home. And for all of you who have answered the riddle we really appreciate all your phone calls and cards, they keep coming in, a lot of people got it right, the place where you can go North for 100 miles, then East for 100 miles, and then back South for 100 miles and end up at the same spot, is the South Pole. However for those more technically minded, there is also an answer from the Northern Hemisphere. So think about it, and stay tuned for the further adventures of the 89ers, ciao for now.

December 15, 2005: Hey cyberfans this is Enrique and Team Numero Dos on the summit of Mount Vinson! Folks, one of the most spectacular days you could ever imagine here in Antarctica, one of the most remote places on Earth. It is sunny, warm no wind, you could be gloveless, you could be naked if you wanted to, it is beautiful here. Words cannot describe it. We’re about 7 hours up today after a move yesterday, which is not the typical scenario, but we had to take advantage of the beautiful, beautiful weather. So we’re all doing great, everyone sends their love back home to friends and family and pretty soon we’re going to be making our way safely and slowly back down to high camp, where we can have some dinner. We’ll give you guys a call tomorrow and let you know what’s going on, but tomorrow is probably a rest day and we may look at trying Shinn on Saturday, the third highest peak in the range. So for Team #2, Eric, Kurt, Chris and Louis at 16,002 feet and the highest point on the 7th continent, ciao.

December 15, 2005: Hi this is Todd with Team 7+2, here at the South Pole, we had a great day this morning, we got up early and made it here at a bright and early time, 1:00 in the afternoon, the South Pole is actually 16 hours ahead of Patriot Hills time, so it was early morning for them, they were just getting up. We got here and took a bunch of pictures and got a tour of the South Pole station, which was really neat and these guys all spent a lot of money at the store. So we’re now out back in our tents, cooking dinner and hopefully we fly out of here soon. Thanks for watching, see you later.

December 15, 2005: Hey there friends family and loved ones, this is the 89ers, Team 89, calling you direct from the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. We’ve just arrived and we are tuckered. We had a nice long pull this morning, the team powered together quite nicely and rolled in, we actually probably shortened our time for our arrival quite a bit. Lots of activity here, there’s graders out making our runway for the airplane, there’s buildings all over the place, there’s construction going on, it’s a sight to see, the southernmost civilization in the world, here it is Amundsen-Scott. And a big hip-hip hooray for the team, hip-hip hooraaay! So stay tuned for the further adventures of the 89ers.

December 14, 2005: Hello Cyberfans, this is Enrique calling in for Team Numero Dos on Mount Vinson. Well folks it’s 2 in the morning on Thursday and we are just tucked in and getting warm in our bags here at Camp II, high camp on the Shinn/Vinson Col at about 11,900 feet give or take. We had a great day today moving up from Camp I, about 6 hours moving up here to High Camp and then getting dug in took another 2 hours. Some macaroni and cheese and hot soup for dinner and we are tuckered. So we’re going to hit the sack. The weather is looking pretty good right now, we’ll hope that holds and we’ll see what happens tomorrow. Everyone is doing great and sends their love and thoughts back to family and friends and everyone following the cybercast. Stay tuned for more, thanks, bye.

December 14, 2005: 89ers: So another 7.something miles today which means we are something like 7.something miles from the Pole. We got our first view of the station this afternoon. So what’s the trip been like? Well it’s been a long mental and physical haul. Everything is driven by the weather. Toady was fine, but when it blows it gets tougher. You can’t leave any parts exposed. Stop for a break and your facemask is a rock within minutes. Actually you have lots of time to yourself, but it makes you appreciate what you have and understand what you need. Well frost-nip fingers crossed, we make our second summit tomorrow, thanks to Vern for his guiding which has got us this far, The Vinson team for loaning us gear, to all our support at home, have a drink on us tomorrow.

December 14, 2005: Hi this is Todd calling in for Team 7+2. We are about 6km from the South Pole right now. We’re very excited. We pushed through an extra few kilometers today, we did a big 20km, so we could have a short day tomorrow, so we can enjoy the South Pole once we get there, have time to look around and take some pictures and everything. We’re all very tired but we had a great meal tonight and we’re going to head off to bed here soon. But we’ve had a great time and thanks for tuning in, I’m sure we’ll do a couple more cybercasts here before all is said and done but we’re primed and ready to go to the South Pole tomorrow morning, so we’ll tell you more about that tomorrow, later.

December 13, 2005: Hey there friends family and loved ones, this is the 89ers reporting in on our trek to the South Pole. Today was a drab dreary one to begin with, and made finding the route a little difficult, due to the fact that we have no reference points in this vast sea of whiteness. However as the day wore on, the sun started working its way through the clouds and made the going somewhat easier. We seem to be pulling uphill now as we approach the South Pole, the loads should be getting lighter but still feel very heavy going over the sastrugi which has also increased in size. It’s about a foot and a half high, so every 20 or 30 feet your sled goes over this little bump and it makes for a lot of pulling and grunting and straining, but nothing to worry about too much. For the first time we (are about 15 miles out) we actually saw steam clouds coming form the South Pole direction, we believe that it’s from the South Pole station itself, so we are getting very close. And I want to just tell you that everyone is in good spirits now that the sun is out, our batteries are charged on the cell phone and we’re able to call in and the skies are clear, lots of photographs, wish you were here. And here’s a little riddle for you out there, the technical ones in the crowd: Where on Earth can you be where you can travel 100 miles North, and then 100 miles East, and then 100 Miles South and then end up at the same place. So stay tuned for the answer. If you know it just phone your calls in with your answer, send ‘em on a $100 bill, Alpine Ascents c/o Vern Tejas. Thanks you very much and we’ll see you tomorrow night, ciao for now.

December 13, 2005: Another beautiful day here in the Antarctic. This is Todd calling in from Team 7+2. Today we traveled all day in clouds and a little bit of wind, pretty cold, and we got to camp and set up and came out and the sky cleared up and it’s got to be definitely the most beautiful day we’ve had so far, completely blue skies right now and we are 2/3rds of the way, and I think tomorrow we will be on the outside boundary of the Amundsen-Scott station, and the following day, we will hopefully enter. So we’re looking forward to that, everybody is getting excited, because we’re tired, we’re getting tired, but we’re pushing through because we’re getting closer, so our excitement is pushing us through, we’ll talk to you later, bye.

December 13, 2005: Hello friends family, loved ones, this is Enrique calling in for Team Numero Dos on Vinson. Here at 9,800 feet at Camp I. Folks we’re still holding steady here, things are a little bit calmer here at Camp I today, but still plenty of wind and clouds up high. So we are still in a holding pattern, making some improvements to camp, to our bathroom, some social calls to other teams and just generally relaxing, eating hydrating and staying strong for our push once the weather gets better. Not much else to report, things are good here, everyone is doing well, Eric’s finger from his injury the other day is getting better, it’s not bloody anymore and everyone would like to send their well-wishes home, Louis would like to send his love to Priscilla, and the team, and everyone out there send us some good thoughts of low wind and sun this weekend, so we can move on up and finish this climb. This is Enrique out, ciao.

December 12, 2005: Hi this is Todd calling in with Team 7+2. We had our biggest day so far yet, we did almost 17km today. We’re getting closer and we’re expecting to, if all goes well, to arrive at the South Pole in 3 days. Today was a warm day actually. It’s been, we’ve had spectacular weather out here, we’re really lucky to have such great weather and not have to freeze like I’ve heard stories of so much. It’s also good because the lighting is good, you look out and in 360 degrees, it all looks the same and when you’re navigating out here, it’s very difficult, you don’t know which way you’re going, but if the light is just right, you can see just a little reflection off small pieces off snow and you can focus in on that and then you go straight. Today was very good for that. Other days when the light is flat, you wander a lot more and it’s a lot more difficult navigating, so we’re thankful for that, and that’s probably part of the reason we made 17km today. Anyhow, that’s just a little bit of what’s going on with us, we’re doing well and we’ll talk to you later.

December 12, 2005: Hi friends and family, it’s Horst, Vern Paul and Spunky. Today, day 6, started out by waking up to 80 degree temps in our tents. There was no wind and it seemed more like Miami than Antarctica. It only took a trip out to the loo to remind all of us where we were. Today was good. Vern and Horst remain our constant sight, for Paul and I sometimes fall behind and then play the catch-up game. Today starting temps were in the 20s with barely a breeze; it was very reminiscent of Fairbanks. However winds picked up throughout the day to 4km/hour, with temperatures dropping to 19F. But it was good, still more nice enough to go with lightweight gear, as long as we kept moving. Looking up from our marching line, our snowy world looked much more like the ocean, with horizon meeting sky, with the same milky hue. But spirits remain high as we get ever-closer to the South Pole. We accomplished 7.7 miles today. That makes it about 22 miles to destination. Trust me, you are all in our thoughts and hearts. All our love, the 89ers.

December 12, 2005: Good afternoon cyberfans, this is Eric calling in for Team Numero Dos at Camp I, 9,800 feet on Mount Vinson. Well guys we were able to move up from half camp after a day of storm and delay, on up to Camp I yesterday. We arrived after about a 3 and a half hour push to a very wind-blown camp. Most of the folks that were already here were sort of recovering and rebuilding from the wind storm that hit the day before, the same one we got lower, only they had more wind here, up to, some were saying, 100 miles an hour. One group lost a couple of tents, but fortunately they were able to go down to base camp and pick up a couple of others, so hopefully they will be able to finish their climb. We were up until about 2am, digging in and building walls, so that we could tolerate the wind and stay here as long as we needed to. Right now the weather is still very overcast and windy up high. We are in a holding pattern right now and we’re going to enjoy and nice protracted breakfast of hot cakes and bacon and hot drinks. So for now we are here at Camp I and we will be continuing on up as soon as the weather allows. Thanks for tuning in, everybody sends their well wishes home to friends and family, Eric sends his love to Mom and Christy. Ciao for now.

December 11, 2005: Hello there friends family and loved ones, this is the 89ers reporting in from about, oh about 30 miles away from the South Pole. We had a very good day today, even though the visual wasn’t all that hot this morning, the wind has dropped down, so that we were able to make a lot of miles and actually have conversations and take our gloves off and eat food and things like that; it was wonderful. The temperature is about minus 8 Celsius, with very little wind, it makes it quite pleasant. Had it up to 60 degrees in the tent, so we are getting things dried out after a long hard day of sledding in the traces, the harness pulling the sled needs to dry out. One of the things that make it really challenging for us is navigating in a white/gray-out type of situation where it’s very flat light and you can’t see any deposits and you can’t see any sastrugi in front of you and your eyes just go bonkers. A lot of eye strain and difficult navigating conditions. Had to stay on instruments, a compass and GPS, which at these particular latitudes are pretty fun to play with in the fact that there is a lot of variation, the wind is swirling around, making the GPS hard to get a good fix, so we jut kind of approximate, it’s more of an art than a science, and we just kind of approximate our way along, trying to go as straight as we can. But when the sun comes out, we can see little bits of landmark, if you will, and that makes life so much easier. So keep pulling for us, and we’ll keep pulling our sleds and talk to you later, ciao for now form the bottom of the world.

December 11, 2005: Hi this is Todd with team 7+2 calling in. Another spectacular day out here on the ice, one of the warmest days we have had so far, it was very nice walking today and we didn’t have to stay all bundled up and with everything covered, and we could enjoy the weather a bit more. It’s been very nice and we are getting closer, we are feeling like we are going to make it now, so we’re happy about that. We did another 15k today, so hopefully 4 or 5 more days and we’ll be there. So follow us and we’ll let you know how it goes, later.

December 10, 2005: Hi there this is Todd calling in from Team 7+2, we’re sitting out here on the high plateau with 8 people inside one tent here, having some dinner cooked up by John, the cook. He’s a very good cook, we’ve had a great Chinese meal here and we enjoyed it. We did another 13km today and we’re going to try to kick out another 10 or so tomorrow. So keep watching and stay tuned.

December 10, 2005: Hello from Vern, Horst, Paul and me. Today, day 4, we settled more comfortably into our traces and sleds. We are either lightening our loads, getting conditioned to our loads or Vern is hauling the biggest load. Whatever the case, we are moving together more as a team across the snowy terrain. This AM, we got out of our tents to mostly overcast skies. Temperatures, were very cold, with the ever-constant wind. However as we dutifully marched along, the sun occasionally peeked out from behind the clouds, to mark the time of day. I’ve already recognized, this chronological system by the position of my shadow upon the snow. This I have learned from the previous two days of marching, timing and observing. The wind was around 5-10 knots, but temps never reached sweating conditions. It’s Day 4 and I believe I have advanced in my water preparation, while Vern continues to churn out hot an delicious meals. Today was a first, 7.4 miles, Yahoo. Our love to all, Suzanne, aka Spunky.

December 10, 2005: Hello cyberfans, this is Eric calling in for Team Numero Dos on Vinson. It is Saturday, I believe the 10th, and folks we are dug in hard and heavy here at half camp. After a rather leisurely brunch of eggs and bacon and coffee and hot drinks, we got hit hard. We’re having sustained winds of 30-40 knots, gusts well over 50 and I imagine that it is blowing even harder up high. So we are not going anywhere, unfortunately, in the beginning of the wind storm, we lost our Posh, so we are hunkered down cooking in tents and nice and comfortable. So we’ll be in touch, hopefully tomorrow the weather will improve and we will be able to move on up to Camp I. But I seriously doubt anyone is moving anywhere today. So keep us in your thoughts, hope the weather changes and we’ll be in touch, ciao for now.

December 9, 2005: Hey this is Todd calling in for team 7+2 and it is a beautiful day here. The other day when I said it was always windy out here, well I’ve been proved wrong today, today was an incredible day, clear blue skies, almost no wind all day long. The cloud formations were also spectacular, we’ve been watching them all day, today, making different shapes, just clouds like I’ve never seen before, so they were pretty neat. But everybody is doing well, we did our biggest day so far, we did 15 kilometers today, so that’s a good sign and we’re hoping for more weather like today. We’re thinking about you all and are hoping that you guys are sending you prayers and wishes our way, see you later.

December 9, 2005: Hello there friends family and loved ones, this is Horst, Suzanne and Paul along with Vern Tejas, calling in to say we are okay. It was a hard day today, everybody is just getting used to the harness, and carrying that extra weight, pulling their sleds but it proved to be a productive one in the fact that we got another 6 miles today and it seems like everybody is doing okay. We think or at least we are hoping that we can eat up enough food, that the loads get a little bit lighter soon so that we can not have to strain quite so much to get down the road. The wind is our constant companion here about 10 or 15 knots is hitting us on our port side, it’s coupled with a 20 below wind chill, it’s very important that we keep everything covered all the time, otherwise we will definitely get some frostbite. All of us have nipped our fingers but, there’s nothing serious and we’re just telling you that we love you and we’re thinking of you. So stay tuned for the further adventures of the 89ers to the South Pole!

December 8, 2005: Hello there cybernauts this is Vern Tejas with the 89ers, that’s the group that’s going to the South Pole. And today was our first day of really pushing hard, and we did, we got really sweated up, which of course turned to frost inside of our clothes. But other than that it was an all out good day, we were able to make six miles south and six miles puts us at latitude 8908.643, so that’s a good pull for the team and that puts us in position for actually getting to the South Pole, if there’s no interruptions, of course that’s a very rare occasion when things go just as planned, but that puts us in line for getting there in about 10 days, so stay with us as we move south, looking for that big Pole down there on the bottom of the world, Ciao for now and have a good evening.

December 8, 2005: Hi this is Todd calling in for Team 7+2, the Chinese Team. We are somewhere between the 89th degree and the South Pole. Today was another very nice day for the area that we are in. Though nice day is very cold and a slight breeze, but we are all doing well, eating well and feeling well, excited to continue our journey. Every day seems to be quite a bit the same so far, the scenery is pretty much the same, it’s definitely an expedition of the mind as well as of the body, so we are gearing up for that. So wish us the best of luck and think of us often and we’ll report back into you tomorrow, later.

December 8, 2005: Hello cyberfans, this is Eric Murphy calling in for Alpine Ascents and Vinson Team Numero Dos. Well folks today as most people bolted out of camp and ran for a quick ascent o the mountain, we stayed at base camp and covered some basic skills, such as crevasse rescue, glacier travel rigs, and how to pack for a sleep, those types of things, so we are all on the same page. We are getting dialed, we’re going to have a nice dinner tonight and tomorrow we are going to be heading up the mountain. There’s about 7 teams on the mountain now, so it’s a little busier than the first trip and plenty of socializing going on. We are going to enjoy a nice dinner with the ALE folks tonight, Neil and Heather, who have just set up their new Weather Haven, they’re quite happy, and we’ll be getting ourselves down to bed for a good night’s rest and hard day’s work tomorrow. So stay tuned as we begin our ascent up the mountain starting with tomorrow. Thanks for tuning in, and stay in touch, keep in touch, thank you ciao.

December 7, 2005: Hello there cybernauts, this is Alpine Ascents South Pole Team known as the 89ers. We’re at Camp II on a clear beautiful evening, we’re all in our sleeping bags tucked in after a rather arduous but short day, we moved 3 miles south today and decided to call it early, because we want to let our bodies get used to the high altitude and the arduous pull of the sled that weighs over 100 pounds. We’re currently camped at 9,143 feet and a location of South latitude of 8902.634 on a western longitude of 85 degrees and 19 minutes, so you can see we’ve moved south a little bit. And I just want to apologize to all you technical people out there. Last night I said we were at 8959, that was supposed to be 8859, just testing you and seeing if you were awake. So thanks for joining us and stay tuned for the further adventures of the 89ers as we pole south to the pole, ciao.

December 7, 2005: Hello cyberworld, this is Eric Murphy calling in for Alpine Ascents and Vinson Numero Dos. Well folks the team made it to Vinson Base Camp today after one day of a weather delay. Vinson Base Camp was socked in yesterday so we weren’t able to fly, but today we are here and the weather is beautiful, sunny and warm. Or at least as warm as it gets here in Antarctica. So Kurt and Louis and Chris are here with me and we’re getting organized and sorted here at Vinson Base Camp and looking to cover some skills tomorrow and move on up the mountain. So stay tuned for further cybercasts and everyone send their well wishes and love to friends and family. Eric would like to send his love to Christy and Mom. Thanks for tuning in and we’ll talk to you later, ciao.

December 7, 2005: Hi this is Todd calling in for Team 7+2. By the way I didn’t explain why we’re called 7+2 the other day. This group of Chinese that I am working with are working on the 7 summits plus the 2 Poles, so that’s why they’re 7+2. We did our first day on the Last Degree ski trip today, and the weather is actually pretty good. The wind always blows down off the South Pole, the Katabatic winds, so there’s always some wind, so we did have to have full coverage with our faces and everything else, no skin showing, but we fared very well, and we’re in camp cozy and warm and getting ready to eat some dinner. So, to all our loved ones out there, we’re doing well and we’ll talk to you later.

December 6, 2005: Vern Tejas (South Pole Team)- Hello friends family and loved ones, It’s been a big day here at Patriot Hills. We’ve all gotten in and are waiting for the Illuyshin to come and are going to send half of our team off and half is going to stay here and go to the South Pole, so stay tuned for the further adventures of Uno South, that’s Sur de Uno. We’re sad to see our friends leave us and depart but for our friends and family, you’ll be happy to know that they are winging their way back to you. So be ready for that phone call and go to the airport. Ciao for now from down south at Patriot Hills.

Todd Passey (South Pole Team)- Hey this is Todd for Team 7 + 2, the Chinese group. We arrived here at Patriot Hills yesterday to a beautiful sunny day, making the horror stories we heard from Vern and his group seem untrue to us, but hopefully they will prove true and we will have a beautiful trip. So we are preparing right now getting skis ready and figuring out all the packs and everything and hopefully we’ll head off today or tomorrow, depending on the weather and conditions so we’ll talk to you then, later.

Eric Murphy (Vinson Team)- Hi folks this is Eric Murphy reporting in for Mount Vinson climb #2, yes that’s right Numero Dos. I’d like to introduce the team, we have with us Kurt Gusinde from the Phoenix area, Luis from Rhode Island area and Chris from Reno. We just had a nice breakfast and we are in the process of packing and getting ready to head out to Vinson Base Camp today, we’ll be on the first flight in preparation to climb the mountain. We’ll be ion touch form there, thanks for following along, we’ll talk to you later, ciao.

December 4, 2005: Hello there, friends family and loved ones, this is Vern Tejas with Team Uno. We have now descended the mountain, a very long day, three long ones in a row, and we are now down at base camp, or at least half the team is in base camp, the other half with Eric Murphy has now, actually flown to Patriot Hills. We are waiting to take off here in probably the next 30 minutes, we expect the twin otter to come in and whisk us away to Patriot Hills. I’ve got with me the team that we’re going to be skiing to the South Pole with, so stay tuned for the South Pole adventures of Team Uno. Everybody is in good shape and we all have our gear and it’s all in order and we are ready to rock and roll, heading down to the South Pole, the Last Degree, or the first if you are standing on your head. So think about it. Ciao for now, we’ll see you soon calling in from Patriot Hills, ciao.

December 3, 2005: Hello there cybernauts, this is Team Uno, back in high camp and we’ve a successful day off the summit and we’re now tucked into our beds, Eric has fed us a great meal of hot glop, that has satisfied us and filled us full of the goodness that we need. We are now going to sleep and rest because we had such a long two days of it. But, early tomorrow morning we’ll be back on the road and heading down to base camp and hopefully off to Patriot Hills, so keep your fingers crossed and stay with us, ciao for now.

December 3, 2005: Hello friends, family and loved ones, this is Team Uno reporting in from the top of Antarctica! Yes it’s a crystal clear, blue day, we can see for miles and miles and lots of smiles. The whole team is up here celebrating the fact that we have now climbed to the top of Mount Vinson, 16,002 (16,077) feet above sea level, it’s a miraculous place and everyone is stoked. This climb was done in honor of David (?). So thank you very much for tuning in and Eric wants to say, all his love to Christy and his mom. Thank you very much for your prayers, we appreciate those and now we have to see if we can get out of here, whoohooo!

December 2, 2005: Friends, Family and loved ones, this is Vern Tejas and Team Uno, and we’ve been trapped today, we tried to move up but we had high winds, so we stayed and made a good decision and hopefully we will not have to drop back down for a re-supply for more food and fuel. We’re going to try to push through with the oatmeal that we have here and the little bit of fuel that we have left and hopefully tomorrow the winds will drop and we’ll move to high camp. So keep those prayers coming, we love you all and happy birthday Smiley’s (That’s Dana’s) mother. Ciao for now.

December 1, 2005: Hello friends, family and loved ones, this is Vern Tejas reporting in for Team Uno on Mount Vinson in Antarctica. Today, at dawn, it seemed real reasonable. We got up, a great early start, big bowl of hot oatmeal, struck camp, headed out and (transmission fails) That soon changed when we got hit with a white wall of spindrift, at 30 knots and 30 degrees below Fahrenheit and that sent us running back to the relative oasis of our camp I for the second time. Even though we were much better prepared this time for being routed, we sure learned a lot and found out that it’s more tough psychologically to be so thoroughly overwhelmed by nature. The team is doing well, despite our setbacks and hopefully as we warm up a bit and the winds will die, and we’ll be able to soon get on with the climb. It’s been very challenging this season, but like I say everyone is hanging in there, and even Paul, who only has got half of his gear with him, all are set to climb. Please keep your prayers coming and best wishes for us and soon hopefully we’ll have some good news to report that we are actually making progress with our climb. Ciao for now from Mount Vinson Camp I.

November 30, 2005: Hi friends and family, this is Spunky from team N Uno. Today we arose to direct sunlight around noon. After breakfast of cheese and eggs, cereal and hot drinks, we sent a party of three scouts, Eric, Steven and Paul to hike up around the corner and stick their nose into the Valley of Death to check out the wind. In the meantime, the remaining team extended the wind wall around our tents in sunny, calm weather. After our scouting team returned, the decision was to have a rest day. Rest day included drying out our bags and gear and a little R&R. Paul and Eric headed down to base camp to pick up an extra crampon, returning late in the evening. There was visiting to other camp sites to observe snow sculptures. The day finished off by Smiley and Spunky cooking up a hearty meal of pasta and quesadilla, ciao.

November 29, 2005: Hey there friends, family and loved ones, this is Team Uno on Vinson, and we just had a spectacular day, we got our rear end handed to us on a platter. We tried moving up to our high camp but the wind came up and it was bitterly cold and everybody was feeling mighty like we wanted to go back down, so we did. After we broke a crampon we headed right back down to our second camp and re-pitched our tents and re-pitched the cook tent as well and set up out of the wind and are very happy to be back down here. It was brutally cold, most people ended up stinging their feet, face and parts of their body, and we’re just happy to be back down and hopefully tomorrow the wind will drop a little bit and we’ll try it again, so thank you for your concern and your best wishes and we are thinking of you, ciao for now.

November 27, 2005: What a fantastic Antarctic day, we carried up to Camp III. There was fog down below camp as we started but clear skies above. We traveled through boulders of snow that had fallen from mountainsides 20, 40 maybe 100 years ago, through a valley called The Valley of Death. We put crampons on to climb to the saddle that separates Mount Shinn, third highest in Antarctica, from Vinson. We climbed, avoiding crevasses as we went. The fog from below was following us and when we reached Camp III it, in layers, surrounded us. We went down through it and sometimes it even created a rainbow for us. We celebrated Horst’s birthday with cake and song and now we sit at 1:30am having dinner. Love to all and signing off from Team Numero Uno and smiling myself, bye.

November 26, 2005: Hey there cybernauts, this is Team Numero Uno moving in to our second camp. We are now at 3,001 meters above sea level, and it’s been a hot day, we’ve been oscillating between long johns and down coats, because as we move, we generate a lot of heat but as soon as we stop for a pit stop to change layers and eat something or drink something, we cool down quite quickly, so we throw the down jacket on right when we take a break and then take it off right when we start going because without any wind down here there’s a lot of solar input, it comes in through some very thin atmosphere to begin with and then it reflects off the snow and you can be actually fairly comfortable sometimes with lightweight gloves and sometimes even bare handed sitting down eating your lunch. Everybody is in good spirits, we’re all working hard, we single carried to our first camp and now a single carry to our second camp, but it made our distances quite a bit less, we’re 1/3 less distance by doing that and that seems to be working pretty well with the team. We’ve made a good camp here, we’ve got big walls, everybody chipped in and dug and sawed the snow so we got good blocks, and built a good wall and a good cook tent, so everybody is doing well and wishing you the very best, so ciao for now from Mount Vinson.

November 25, 2005: Good morning friends, family and loved ones. This is your Mount Vinson Team and we have now had a very big day to move up to Camp I, also known as ‘Half Camp’. It’s at that very base of the massif and I’m looking up at the twin ice streams that reach above us, almost two miles, up to the top of Mount Vinson. Pretty impressive place, but also rather cold, as we’re now parked in the shadows for the morning time, and that means we won’t be getting up until about noon. It was a very big load that we moved up to about 2,739 meters also about 7,900 feet yesterday, so big that by the time that I thawed out the phone in my sleeping bag so that I could make this call I had fallen asleep, so please forgive the fact that we were a little late in checking in. However, everybody is in good spirits even though the work was hard, and we’ve made a very solid camp here, this is getting high enough where we can actually get some wind. Everybody is still asleep, I’m calling in early morning, but soon we’ll be rising in about 5 hours at noon and having breakfast and moving up towards our second camp, up at the corner, so please stay tuned and know that we are thinking of you, ciao for now.

November 24, 2005: Happy Thanksgiving friends, family and loved ones. This is the Vinson Team at Vinson Base Camp. We had a wonderful day and we have lots to be thankful for. One of the things that we have to be thankful for is the special turkey dinner that Eric has just whipped out. We’re sitting around enjoying the savory moments of that. We also went over our glacier travel rigs today and learned about how to make bomber anchors, following the serene technique and we’ve also figured out how to pull people out of crevasses and how to get ourselves out. -And just a minute please, what’s that?- Oh yeah, we’re also very thankful that one of Paul’s bags did catch up with him, that’s one of two, however we are also thankful that people brought a little bit of extra stuff and Paul fortunately had the wisdom and foresight to travel with his boots in his carry-on, the boots are the most difficult part to replace, especially when you’re at the last place on Earth. So he has those and we’ve all chipped in a dug deep, goggles and water bottles and things to eat out of and things to sleep on and he’s doing great, he’s all decked out including some crampons we’ve even arranged to have a loaner on those, so he’s got a lot to be thankful for, we do to, because he was able to join us in our adventure on Vinson!

November 23, 2005: Hello there friends family and loved ones, this is the Mount Vinson trip signing on for this first over the Iridium cybercast. It was a lovely day today, full of rain this morning, but we got called to get scrambled at about 9:45. We easily changed into our glacier duds and packed away our street clothes and left them with the hotel, jumped on a bus and went out to the airport. Everybody was pretty excited, as we got through the security and boarded our Illuyshin 76, which is a fine Russian aircraft. We did one lat weather check and they said it was calm and clear and so we took off and here we are at the other end. Half the team is in Patriot Hills, and the other half, myself included, is actually going to fly out this evening and end up here at midnight at Vinson Base Camp. So we’re at 7,200 feet and telling everybody that we’re happy to be alive and we’re on our way. It is just a little after midnight and everybody is just tucking into bed, the sun is still shining and will be for the next couple of months. So stay tuned for the further adventures of Mount Vinson first climb of the season. Ciao for now and goodnight.

November 21, 2005 Hello there cybernauts,

Big day today. We moved all of our 1577 kgs. of food gear to the airport where it was weighed, inventoried and loaded. It is now safely in the hold of our fine Russian built jet that is to take us to the "Ice". We were on "Hot Standby" for most of the day to depart but fortunately for Paul the weather at Patriot Hills Antarctica did not permit. Paul arrived in from Santiago in great spirits considering how frustrating it can be to have flight delays and lost baggage. The team however was quick to rally around him in support and we have been able to loan, rent or scrounge him enough gear that he can continue, despite bags being AWOL. That said, we all prefer that his stuff makes it before we launch for the blue ice runway of Patriot.
We will all be happier.

The team is getting to know each other and it looks to be a good match. Spirits are high and the humor is good so come along with us as we experience "the last place on earth".

To The Ice, Vern Tejas

November 20, 2005: Hello friends, family and loved ones,

Vern Tejas here at the end of the world in Punta Arenas, Chile reporting what's going on with our first climb of Mt Vinson this season. Talented mountain guide Eric Murphy and I have been shopping and packing diligently for days to ensure that we have lots of great food for our upcoming expedition to the highest point on the Continent of Antarctica. Our team is experienced and well diversified with Horst, Dana, Louis, Suzanne, Stephen, Paul and Kathy. Even with jet lag, they have that sense of humor and can do spirit that make for a good team. Paul is having the most fun right now as he is stuck in Santiago waiting for his gear to catch up with him from Madrid.

We have gone through everybody else's equipment and found nothing lacking. Then we took in what could possibly be our last good meal and hit the hay early as tomorrow is going to be a big day.

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