Last night was one of the best nights of my life!! I was at the Royal Geographical Society in London celebrating Women At Altitude and 50 years since Junko Tabei became the first woman to climb Mount Everest. I was honoured to spend an evening with 20 inspirational British women who like me have climbed Mount Everest. And each of us had our own unique story to tell. Oh what a night! Sincerest thanks to Rebecca Stephens MBE for making it happen
She has left Antarctica
Andrea has left Antarctica and just arrived in Punta Arenas. You will soon hear from her directly.
In the meantime brush up on your geography, do you know where Vinson Massif and Union Glacier are?
Check out the map below
Happy Birthday Tana from Antartica
Check out the special birthday wishes all the way from Antarctica here
Love your work wife
She only gone and done it and on Tana's Birthday
What a legend, Andrea knocked of summit number 5 last night. What amazing timing on Tana’s 11 birthday.
But as any good climber will tell you, the mountain is not summitted until you are safely back down.
Lots of accidents happen when tired and not focusing. Go well on the descend and lots of love and congratulations from everyone back here in the warm!
Read the full report here, including the all important summit photo
Andrea is a high camp and ready to go for the summit
Great day today getting up to high camp. Already to push for the summit in the next few days.
Read the full report here.
There is even a photo of the team in action, I think Andrea is the one at the front.
Acclimatisation day
Today is practice and rest day staying at a height of 3000m to acclimatise to the altitude. Then pushing on to High Base camp tomorrow if the weather holds.
Check out full report here
In and Out of Base Camp
At last the mists have cleared.
Andrea was able to fly into base camp only to leave and start climbing. All that waiting to get to base camp only to leave straight away.
She had a cracking day’s climb and now is just under 3000m. She will stay here for a day to acclimatise before climbing on up.
Read the full report here and a picture
The frustration of climbing
The real frustration of climbing is when you can not climb. Let alone get to the mountain. Andrea still at Union Glacier waiting for the fog to lift.
Read full report here
Patience is the name of the game, lots of reading and sharing stories.
If you you are new to climbing you must reading the amazing history of Adventure Consultants here.
Andrea is stuck at Union Glacier
Currently waiting for the mist to lift at Base camp to allow Andrea and the team to fly in.
Hopefully there will be a window today
Ready the full report here.
The team at the airport in Punta Areanas waiting to fly to Union Glacier taken on the 8th Jan
Andrea has arrived at Union Glacier, Antarctica
She is waiting for a weather window now to fly to Vinson Base Camp, read full report here
(this takes you to an external site, Adventure Consultants, the amazing guiding company that has guided and trained Andrea through all her climbing adventures.
All the gear that the climbing team have taken!
I am on my way to Antarctica, check out the plane!
Today is the day! I feel a great mix of excitement, nerves and anticipation. In just a few short hours I will enter a whole new ice world, which is Antarctica.
This afternoon we will board a polar-capable aircraft and will land on a blue-ice runway at Union Glacier on the Antarctic continent.
Weather permitting we will then move by Twin Otter aircraft to the Base Camp on Mount Vinson. And from there we will see what the weather has planned for us in the coming days and set our course accordingly.
To finally be on Antarctica will be genuinely emotional, following many months of preparation and training. The hardest part of any challenge or adventure is getting to the start line. I would not be at the starting line without the rock solid support of my wonderful husband Pete, my kids Tana, Bella and all the good wishes from wider family and great friends. So thank you all for helping me get to this point.
And yes for those of you have asked if I have had a dental check ahead of this trip, then I can confirm yes I have and all is in order. For those who missed it, while climbing on Everest I got an abysses on a tooth and had to have the tooth extracted with a Swiss army knife and a screw driver. YouTube clip if you are brave enough https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_DPqhQl4AM
Onward and upwards!
Here is my Russian Freight plane, capable of landing on ice!
My last day on dry land
My last day on dry land. Tomorrow lunchtime local time we will fly onto Antarctica (weather permitting). It will be my first time on the earth's southernmost and least populated continent and my excitement levels are becoming unmanageable. I need to 'play it cool'....literally!
Today my backpack will be weighed, to check it does not exceed the 25kg weight limit. This is what I will carry on my back as I climb up Mount Vinson (while also pulling a 15kg sledge with my share of team gear, food etc) This means only essential kit is allowed in my backpack, no luxury items. And yes chocolate and fudge do count as essential items in my world.
Onward and upwards!
Packing up the gear again
Great news that the expedition ahead of mine managed to summit last night, despite bad conditions, a chilly -45C.
For me it is a case of having passed the kit check yesterday of getting my rucksack packed. That will be collected tomorrow and the next time I will see it will be when we arrive at Union Glacier on Antarctica!!
Meantime I will have as separate day back with some super warm clothes to put on once we land on the ice!
Check out my dark side look, essential kit to stop my face from freezing off!
High winds for the expedition ahead of mine
Tense times for the current expedition, the one before mine, high winds and a soup of cloud are hampering their push for the summit.
Fingers crossed that the winds will drop for them and they can push for the summit before time runs out.
Follow them at https://www.adventureconsultants.com/latest-news/dispatches-mount-vinson-201920/
Kit Check today
Passed the kit check today, just missing a 4m piece of rope and another drink bottle.
Now I need to pack it all up, again!!!
Arrived in Punta Arenas
Hola from windy Punta Arenas. This is still mild compared to the brutal high winds I will face while climbing in Antarctica. Today I have taken in the delights of this little town which is the gateway to Antarctica and got the legs moving after 21 hours travelling yesterday. The adventure continues…
I am on my way
The hardest part of any journey is getting to the start line and saying goodbye to my loved ones!
Here I am at Barcelona airport with my amazing kids! First flight of four, 14 hours to Santiago, Argentina,
Packing up my gear, do not forget the 'she pee'!
It is -34 degrees on Vinson Massif right now, so I hope I have packed all my thermals!
4 days to lift off! Muchas gracias a Patricia for the awesome work to keep the body together through all the training with my 25kg backpack
New website is ready
Follow my progress as I attempt to climb the tallest mountain in Antarctica, Vinson Massif.