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Bernard
Voyer: Vinson 2001
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After
standing at the Earth's three polesthe North
Pole, the South Pole and Mount
EverestBernard Voyer has taken on a new
challenge: A world tour via the highest mountain
on each continent. |
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Starting
November 8, 2001, Bernard
Voyer will complete the last stop on his World
Tour of the highest mountains, by climbing Mount
Vinson (4897 meters), the highest peak in the Antarctic,
with climbing partner Nathalie Tremblay.
Update
11/16/2001: We have returned to Punta Arenas after
training in Torres del Paine National Park. We learned
yesterday that we will not be able to fly in before
November 21, because there must be several days of
very good weather, and a firmly established high
pressure area, before approving a flight between South
America and Antarctica. So if the weather turns nice,
even very nice, today the 16th, the flight could not
leave before 21 November.
So
that gives us more time here for better preparation of
our equipment, all the logistics as well as a few
visits to Punta Arenas.
That's
all for Friday 16 November. Talk to you again soon.
Bernard
Hello, We
are still in Punta Arenas, but expect to leave on the
21st or 22nd. The latest weather satellite photos are
still showing very high turbulence and very bad
weather over Antarctica. Very strong low pressure
systems will continue to prevent us from leaving for
Antarctica before November 21.
I
will take this opportunity to tell you a little about
Punta Arenas. The name means sandy point. This is a
city of 125,000 people, founded in 1848. The site was
discovered by the Portuguese explorer Magellan in
1520. He was seeking a much calmer inside passage to
bypass the wild storms that lashed Cape Horn (which is
famous for the most violent ocean storms on the
planet). So the Strait of Magellan was discovered in
1520. There is actually a park in the middle of the
city with a statue honoring Magellan's achievement. It
portrays the explorer with two Indians sitting by his
feet. Legend holds that if you kiss the foot of one of
the Indians in this statue, it will give you good luck
and ensure that you return alive if you are venturing
further south. We took heed, since Antarctica is a
long way to the south of here. So we kissed the
Indian's foot, because the legend says we'll come back
alive. I also did this in 1995, before leaving for
Antarctica.
The
economy in Punta Arenas is based primarily on sheep
ranching. There are a lot of sheep here - they are a
major export, along with fish, giant crabs and a
variety of seafood. Punta Arenas is a fairly large
port. Its location on the Strait of Magellan affords
fairly good protection from the wind, although it is
always very windy here in Punta Arenas.
Bernard
Voyer
<<<<
Dispatches >>>>
Check
his
web site for more up to date dispatches in French.
For
more on Bernard on EverestNews.com including his
interview after Everest see
here.
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