Mountain Link is happy to announce Wendy Booker, the 1st person with Multiple Sclerosis to summit Mount Vinson
Vinson Massif 2008
Wendy Booker and Mountain Link guide, Brooke Barnes
Have you ever asked yourself "If you could go anywhere, where would you go?" I saw a photo of a SCUBA diver that had just entered the water through a hole cut in the ice and it looked like the hole was the moon and the diver was floating thru the atmosphere. Ever since I saw this photo I knew I wanted to go to Antarctica. Known as the largest desert in the world and the most remote place on Earth. The photo was of a research diver working near McMurdo Station.
Arriving to Patriot Hills
was an experience I will never forget. The Russian aircraft was
loaded with 55 passengers which included 1700 tons of payload
and 80 tons of fuel. It is a bit strange to know you are flying
in a plane with fuel as cargo. Important cargo, however,
the fuel is used for two Twin Otters planes used to fly
climbers to Vinson base camp and explorers to the South Pole.
As we walked off the plane, it was as if we landed on the moon. Everyone was buzzing with excitement. We stepped off the plane onto the runway that is a frozen ocean 2 miles long. Dinning at Patriot Hills was a treat because the food was prepared by professional chefs. The food was excellent and plentiful. Dinner conversations were particularly interesting with the international crowd. Many of which were not climbing but traveling to the South Pole or participating in scientific research. Among them were world renowned glaciologists studying global warming, adventurers skiing to the South Pole and Russian businessmen going to the "Point of Inaccessibility" to visit the statue of Lennon that was placed there by the first Russians to find this location.
For those of us climbing Mt Vinson, we were transported by a Twin Otter aircraft to Vinson BC, about an hour flight from Patriot Hills. As you can imagine, logistics in getting everyone to their desired location can be quite complicated, not to mention the weather factor. After being on-call to fly for 2 days, we received confirmations we were flying to Vinson BC at 10pm. Because it is 24-hour sunlight we were not limited to fling during normal "business" hours.
After arriving at Vinson BC (7,200ft) we spent the next day
packing our food and supplies into sleds for an early departure
to Camp 2 (the next camp from VBC). The move to Camp 2 was
about 2,000ft elevation gain and about 5.5 miles through
moderate terrain and hidden crevasses. The camp is located
below the change in the route which occurred this year.
There is about 800m of fixed lines that bypasses the
headwall and makes the route more direct. The next day we moved
up the fix lines to High Camp (12,188ft) which took about
7 hours. High Camp is located up the ridge with
great views of Mt Shinn. 
We took a rest day at high camp and prepared ourselves for a 9 am summit departure. The weather during our rest day was bluebird with low winds, a perfect day. The next morning the air was unstable and changing but the window was still open. 2 hours into a summit day we were in heavy winds and they never let up. Once we were out of the bowl and heading towards the summit ridge it became clear that the winds were intensifying and the visibility was decreasing rapidly. As we continued to ascend, the conditions worsened and we decided to turn back. At this point the visibility dropped to zero and I could not see Wendy on the rope behind me.
It was a long reverse route in adverse conditions that put our emotions and abilities to the test. Once we returned to high camp we were feeling very defeated, it was a difficult day.
After our unsuccessful summit attempt, the next day we were ready to try again. The weather had begun to improve but there was a low cloud ceiling and moderate winds. By the time we reached the bowl the winds died down and the ceiling began to lift and our spirits were soaring. We were moving much quicker on the second attempt and reached the summit in 7.5 hours. The conditions allowed us to spend an hour at the summit appreciating the view from the bottom of the planet!
Wendy Booker became the first person with MS to summit Mt Vinson. This was her 5th summit of the 7 summits. We are going to Cho Oyu April 2008 to train for Everest in 2009. If you want to follow our climb go to www.mountain-link.com for daily updates under the News.
Brooke Barnes, Mountain Link Guide
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Spotlight: Bolivia
Five centuries ago what is now Bolivia made up a great part of
the Southern Incan Empire known as Qulla Suyu in
Quecha. The Incas were one of the worlds most advanced
societies of its time and the largest in the "New
World." In fact, the culture's origin myth describes birth
from the amazing Lake Titicaca which is just a short drive from
the world's highest capital city, La Paz (11,910 ft.). 
La Paz serves as the staging point for many of the spectacular climbs of the Central Andes. The amenities and altitude of this capital city make it an excellent place to begin the acclimatization process for numerous climbs of 20,000 ft. peaks. While acclimatizing, climbers take advantage of the nearby cultural riches of Lake Titicaca and Tiwanaku.
Lake Titicaca is a lake located on the border of Bolivia and Peru. It sits 3,812 m (12,507 ft) above sea level making it the highest commercially navigable lake in the world. By volume of water it is also the largest lake in South America. Titicaca is notable for a population of people who live on the Uros, a group of about 41 artificial islands made of floating reeds. These islands have become a major tourist attraction for Peru, drawing excursions from the lakeside city of Puno. Their original purpose was defensive, and they could be moved if a threat arose. Many of the islands contain watchtowers largely constructed of reeds.
Tiwanaku is an important Pre-Columbian archaeological site in Bolivia. Tiwanaku is recognized by Andean scholars as one of the most important precursors to the Inca Empire, flourishing as the ritual and administrative capital of a major state power for approximately five hundred years. The ruins of the ancient city state are near the south-eastern shore of Lake Titicaca, about 72 km (44 miles) west of La Paz.
Bolivia's most distinctive geographical feature is the Altiplano, a high arid plateau between 12,000 and 15,000 feet, 500 miles long and in places over 150 miles wide. The Altiplano extends in a series of broken highlands from Colombia southward to northern Chile and Argentina, but it is at its highest and widest in Bolivia and Peru. The Altiplano is bounded on the west by the Cordillera Occidental, and on the east by the Cordillera Oriental. The Cordillera Real, the highest and most often climbed of the Bolivian ranges, rises north and east of the Altiplano, in the area surrounding La Paz, the highest capital city in the world (11,910 ft.).
This trip offers a number of great adventure objectives. The cultural features and sightnseeing are second to none. Not only will you have an opportunity to train and climb but the fishing in camp isn't bad either.
Trip Dates are April 5-14, 2008. Click here for more details...
Lead guide: Robert Link
Denali
Come and join our Denali 08 expedition, May 2-23! This trip will be lead by Alaskan veteren, Robert Link. Call for more details, 800-408-8949.
Tech Tip: Boots and there intended use, part 1 of 3
With the seemingly endless array of equipment and clothing needed for mountaineering, it seems like one could spend a busy lifetime covering the in's and out's of how to properly select your gear. In one way or another, all of it is useful and important. Yet, with much of it, being a little off here or there will not result in your much coveted climb degenerating into a suffer fest. That said (written), there are certainly a few items which, if not just right, will certainly make for a less than pleasurable experience. At the top of my short list of the most essential of the essentials . . . my boots.
As all who share the passion for big mountains are painfully aware of, we spend a lot of time on our feet while carrying heavy loads over less-than-hospitable terrain and conditions. If the slightest bothersome tweak with your feet due to some problem with boots or socks exists, your feet are in misery . . . which they seem overly eager to remind you of. Badly damaged feet due heavy blistering, frostbite or trench foot (aka immersion foot) can be DEBILITATING, not just a bearable annoyance. It's about the boots.
OK, so how do you get the right boots? Larger size than street shoes? Plastic double boots? Leather? Synthetics? Light? Insulations? Shank length? Crampon compatibility? Sole material? One brand or another? All this and more to consider. We'll get down to that shortly. But don't let it intimidate you . . . a lot of it is relatively interesting and itself an education about traveling in the mountains. Don't be tempted by over simplifications of boot selection. The ROT's (Rules Of Thumb) are just that . . . about your thumb, not your big toe.
Basically it comes down to 3 areas of concern: (I) Intended Use; (II) Construction; and (III) Fit.. The rest of this newsletter's tech tip will address Intended Use. Construction and Fit will be covered in the next two newsletters. If you are interested in the complete article, check out the "news" on our website.
Intended Use
Seems fairly obvious. If you are not necessarily looking to log long hours on near vertical ice, then the uber-light and sporty model is not really what you are in the market for. Will you be mostly backpacking/trekking with occasional need to strap on some crampons or climb steeper rock? Or, are you going to spend hours on end in those crampons or scrambling through talus fields and rock bands? While we would love to be able to afford a different boot for each of our intended uses, chances are we can get away with one type of boot that will perform sufficiently in a wide variety of conditions, medium, and duration of use.
Ask youself:
- How long will my climbs be? Is it an expedition in which I will spend many days and long climbing/trekking sessions? Is it only a couple of days?
- Weight of loads to carry? Do we ever carry "full-loads" (40 lb.+) for extended periods?
- What is your expected type of climbing? Lots of scrambling over talus, scree and rock bands? Vertical rock or Ice? Snow and neve slopes? Trekking with a bit of low angle snow or ice in passes?
- What are the expected conditions? Will there be severe cold? Wind-chill? Wet? Loose rock?
- You might think of few more . . . this is not an exhaustive list
In general, the longer the climb, heavier the loads, more uneven/unstable the terrain, colder/wetter the conditions, the heavier/more supportive the boot should be. Temper this with considerations regarding how technical the climbing will be. Remember as well, that there are boots out there that are quite rigid and supportive, but not necessarily heavier. Lighter, less rigid boots will be suitable to shorter or more "trekking" oriented climbs with a few shorter sections of snow and/or ice.
Look for part 2 of boot condtruction in the March newsletter...
Keep Climbin'
