Yesterday I posted a story, complete with video of Ed Viesturs, about a First Ascent sponsored team of climbers who are headed to Antarctica to climb Mt. Vinson this month. The team, which consists of Viesturs, Peter Whittaker, Seth Waterfall, Caroline George, and Jake Norton, along with videographer Kent Harvey, set out for Punta Arenas on New Years Day, and were expected to make the flight to the frozen continent last night.
There has been no word yet on whether or not that flight went off as planned, but in the meantime, the Born Out There Blog, the official blog of FA, has continued to post some pre-expedition updates and videos to help prep us for what is to come. Yesterday I noted that there would be plenty of content generated from this expedition, and the First Ascent team is already proving me right in that regard.
Today we have a two posts from climber and photographer Jake Norton alone. The first is Jake talking about the personal sacrifices and rewards that come form an Antarctic climb and the second is a bit of an Antarctic climbing history lesson that helps to put things in perspective when it comes to mountaineering at the bottom of the world. There is also a post from FA guide Seth Waterfall on preparing his food and gear for the trip, which is no small task considering he is taking 12 pieces of luggage himself. Finally, we have a fourth post, this time from Caroline George, who discusses her own prep work. Check out the video below for more from Caroline.
This is probably just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to coverage for this expedition. As I mentioned yesterday, the First Ascent crew is top notch at giving us an inside look at their past expeditions, and I expect the same this time out. Should be fun to follow along.