Ski Traverse from Mt. Vinson to Patriot Hills (via Hercules Inlet).
This expedition was part of the 7summits2sealevel quest and involved skiing over 250km through the Ellsworth mountains. Following remote and unvisited glaciers in one of the most stunning regions of Antartica. The trip is best described by the photos!! The opportunities for exploring the Ellsworth mountains by ski are endless – just contact Darren or ALE if you fancy planning a visit!
The team ready for the off at VBC
The Branscomb glacier, Vinson Massif, Antarctica
The first day involved finding a safe route through the upper glaciers, down to the huge Nimitz glacier. We took the flat terrain in the top left of the photo towards the Zapol glacier.
Skiing across the Cairns glacier towards the Zapol col.
On the upper glaciers the skiing was generally  fairly easy. Just a few large crevasses to avoid heading for the col that lead to the Zapol glacier and descent route to Nimitz glacier.
An aerial view of the Zapol glacier and subsequent route.
Once safely through the heavily crevassed Zapol glacier we started to ski along the huge Nimitz glacier. This ice stream is over 65km in length and runs through the Sentinel Range of the Ellsworth Mountains to meet the even larger Minnesota Glacier.
The 65km long Nimitz Glacier.
Skiing along the Nimitz glacier
After descending from Vinson Base camp via the Zapol glacier Day 1 finished with a easy 8km ski along the Nimitz glacier. The next day we covered over 30km in between the Craddock massif and the Bastien Range. Stunning scenery and a long ski!
Day 3: Perfect weather at the camp site on the Nimitz glacier
In the afternoon of Day 3 we finally came to the end of the Nimitz glacier only to be met with crevasses and a 30m high pressure ridge as the ice crashed in to the even larger Minnesota glacier. The Minnesota is over 80km in length and some 8km wide. We traversed across the glacier just below the crazy paved scenery known as the Bowie Crevasse field. We were now close to the Heritage Range of the Ellsworth Mountains.
Skiing a blue ice section as we entered the Heritage Range of the Ellsworth Mountains.
Two days further on and we started the climb up the 30km long Schneider Glacier. Now we were in the heart of the Heritage Range amongst stunning peaks and perfect glacial scenery.
High on the Schneider glacier after 35km skiing that day.
A long day saw us reach the 1600m high col between the Scheider and Driscoll glaciers. The aerial photo below shows the route. Approaching from high on the right we crossed the col on to the Driscoll glacier which runs left to right in the centre of the view. This region is right in the middle of the Heritage Range of Mountains and affords stunning views.
Driscoll Glacier - aerial view
Campsite high on the Driscoll Glacier
From the Driscoll glacier we descended on to the Union Glacier. High winds and bad visibility meant we had to stop early one day. The weather continued to be far from perfect for the next two days but we pressed on and reached the Hercules Inlet on Day 9 of the expedition. Day 10 and we were back at Patriot Hills camp tired but happy!
New routing on the West ridge of Mt. Fordell, Marble Hills
A day off saw some exploring in the Hidden Valley in the Marble Hills and a first ascent of the West Ridge of Mt. Fordell.
High on the West Ridge of Mt. Fordell
An airy descent on West Ridge of Mt. Fordell
After the ski expedition and a few days at Patriot Hills I returned to Vinson Base Camp (Jan 12). The last Vinson climbers of the 09/10 season were all successful on the mountain and then it was time to pack up camp for another season.
Time to relax at Vinson Base Camp! Thanks again ALE!!
Darren McAulay's Blog 
September 5, 2010 at 5:44 pm |
hey darren,
Interested what route you did on Fordell. Looks like NW ridge? If so, I’m not sure it’s a new route. I think that is the route climbed by Conrad Anker, Alex Lowe and Steve Pinfield in 1997 or 98.