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Bernard
Voyer: Vinson 2001
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.
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:
We are still at camp II; yesterday, we attempted to go
a little further and we reached about 3,025 meters. We
had to retrace our steps and find shelter because of
very strong gusts of wind. So, we found shelter, but
it was not for very long because a few hours later,
the wind reached the camp, just before we were in
shelter.
Gusts
of wind raged all night. There is now a terrible storm
with extremely strong winds, perhaps at speeds of 80
to 100 kilometers an hour. These very strong winds
move a great deal of snow around. Visibility is down
to around five meters. It would be dangerous to
venture outside. It is just impossible. So, we have
stayed in the camp. We have gone outside a few times
to see if the weather is going to improve. But it does
not appear to be getting any better in the immediate
future. The wind and the gusts are awful. All our gear
is under the tent so it is well protected. The wind is
moving the snow around and we have snow drifts.
At
the moment, we are still at 2,945 meters. We are still
waiting for the good weather to return. The wind has
now been blowing extremely hard for 24 hours.
This
morning, the weather did not improve; in fact, it got
worse. Since visibility is down to 5 to 10 meters, it
impossible for us to move on because there are
crevasses all around us. Also it is so cold that it is
dangerous to continue on. So, we have stayed put. We
have used this opportunity to make a sort of inventory
of all our gear and especially to ensure that the tent
remains solidly anchored and that all our gear inside
the tent is firmly secured so nothing can blow away in
the storm.
