December 14th, 2023–
Vinson Basecamp (Eric Simonson)
IMG lead guide Porter McMichael reported that the team has safely descended from High Camp back to Vinson Base Camp. Everyone is doing well, tired and happy! It sounds like the summit day was clear and very cold, with air temps about -38C (recall that the Celsius and Fahrenheit scales cross at -40 so the temp was basically the same using either scale!). On the summit they had no wind, so it was perfect, but down lower they encountered 10mph winds that made for a bitter wind chill (estimated at minus 66 F). That’s why climbers bring all that warm gear!
They are now waiting to fly back over to Union Glacier Camp. Their flight from Union Glacier back to Punta Arenas is scheduled for December 18.
Eric Simonson