TA Loeffler's Adventures that Move

Here is the latest update from TA’s team who have finished climbing Antarctica’s highest peak, Mount Vinson:

Posted by: Dave Hahn | December 13, 2011
Elevation: 7,200′

The fog and low cloud came and went periodically at Vinson basecamp today. Most of the afternoon was sunny and pleasant and flyable… if one had an airplane. Ours have gone South. ALE has both Twin Otter ski planes down at the South Pole for the big celebration. Today -Dec. 14, 2011 (it is after midnight) marks one hundred years since Amundson reached the South Pole. A noble accomplishment, by any standard -and worth commemorating, but if given the choice I’d wager that Amundson would have tried to climb Vinson instead. Much more fun to be had out here in the big hills.

My team didn’t fret a bit over the lack of aircraft. We were quite happy to sleep in and then sit for a two hour breakfast -bacon and eggs with lots of coffee and cocoa. Then there was time for siestas and snow-carving before a sumptuous dinner (same as last night -we liked it so much we did it again).

We’ll likely be here a couple more days, which isn’t a bad thing.

Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Reposted from the Rainier Mountaineering Blog (http://www.rmiguides.com/blog/)

Many thanks to the Newfoundland and Labrador Credit Union for their financial assistance in getting TA to Antarctica to climb Mount Vinson.

Here is the latest update from TA’s team in Antarctica:

Posted by: Dave Hahn | December 12, 2011

Elevation: 7,200′

This morning at high camp it was still sunny, but there was a persistent breeze which was on its way to becoming wind. Packing up was surprisingly difficult in this wind, we had to keep rewarming hands while breaking down tents, strapping on crampons, and threading climbing harnesses. We got out of there around 12:15 PM and made good time down to the fixed ropes. As expected, there was less wind on the steep mountainside but our descent was difficult for all of the normal reasons. Big packs, slippery snow and steep angles for long distances.

Life got a whole lot easier once we reached low camp, but by then we could see wind whipped cloud caps on all the summits again. It appeared as though we’d just used up all of the decent climbing weather and that we’d ducked down in the nick of time. We did a big shuffle of gear at low camp to switch over to sled-hauling once again. We then got going toward basecamp. The last of our big views were enjoyed at the big 90 degree westward turn of the Branscomb, then we plunged into cold and dense fog. We hit base camp at 6:30 PM and built another camp since it was obvious that airplanes wouldn’t come fetch us in the current conditions. The first of what may be several victory dinners was held in our POSH tent. Quesadillas and cheese burgers, cooked to perfection, made life in the cloud just a little bit warmer and more hospitable.

Best Regards

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Reposted from the Rainier Mountaineering Blog (http://www.rmiguides.com/blog/)

Many thanks to the Newfoundland and Labrador Credit Union for their financial assistance in getting TA to Antarctica to climb Mount Vinson.

Here is the latest update from TA’s team who are climbing Antarctica’s highest peak, Mount Vinson right now:

Posted by: Dave Hahn | December 11, 2011
Elevation: 12,400′

Conditions today can only be described as having been perfect for a summit climb. It is tough to recall that we ate breakfast and geared up in cloud at high camp. But when we roped up and got going at 9:45, it only took us fifteen minutes to climb out of the cloud and into a world of bright snow, brighter sunshine and a big and brilliant blue sky. In our ten and a half hour round trip to the top, we barely noticed anything that could actually be described as a breeze. And so it is possible that the summit temps were the forecasted -38C but we sure didn’t notice or mind the cold with the sun’s super strong radiation at 16,067 ft above sea level. There did seem to be plenty of cloud down low -we couldn’t see basecamp and a few hundred odd peaks were obscured. But a few thousand others were not. TA, Vlado, Mindy and myself all considered that we’d gotten extremely lucky… And so we made good use of the day in tagging Vinson’s summit. We were back for a relatively early and relaxed dinner, and got to enjoy diving into the sleeping bags with plenty of good sun left on the tent walls.

Tomorrow we’ll head for basecamp on the Branscomb.

Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Reposted from the Rainier Mountaineering Blog (http://www.rmiguides.com/blog/)

Many thanks to the Newfoundland and Labrador Credit Union for their financial assistance in getting TA to Antarctica to climb Mount Vinson.

Reposted from the Rainier Mountaineering Blog (http://www.rmiguides.com/blog/)

Many thanks to the Newfoundland and Labrador Credit Union for their financial assistance in getting TA to Antarctica to climb Mount Vinson.

Here is the latest update from TA’s team, they have summited!

Posted by: Dave Hahn | December 11, 2011
Elevation: 16,067′

Hey, this is Dave Hahn calling in from the summit of Mount Vinson 16,067 feet above sea level. And I’m up here. It’s 5:25 in the evening. I’m with three wonderful climbers: T.A., Mindy and Vlado, and we picked a beautiful day to be up here. It’s calm, it’s sunny, it’s wonderful. This is my 29th time on top- likely a record of some sort and what an enjoyable day. What an enjoyable week’s its been. Here’s T.A.: Hey, this is T.A. calling from the summit of Mt. Vinson and the view is absolutely… absolutely awesome! Special hello to everyone in Newfoundland and another special hello to Rain and Zander up there in Edmonton. Take care everybody. [Mindy] The view is… I’ve never dreamed about it. Without Dave and the team I couldn’t dream I could make it. Dave you are a lasting reward. I made a good choice with RMI. Without the team I couldn’t have made it. Total team work. This is Vlado from Slovakia calling from the highest point in Antarctica. Beautiful time, we are having a great time. Alright, well that’s us from the top of the Vinson Massif, highest point in Antarctica. We have gotten very lucky. Very lucky and we appreciate all the help people have given us a long the way. Thanks a lot and we’ll keep you informed. I’ll send out a dispatch from our high camp tonight because we are going to get down nice and safe. We are all doing strong and well. It’s going to be a nice day, a day to remember.

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Reposted from the Rainier Mountaineering Blog (http://www.rmiguides.com/blog/)

Many thanks to the Newfoundland and Labrador Credit Union for their financial assistance in getting TA to Antarctica to climb Mount Vinson.

Here is the latest update from TA’s team, who weather permitting, will be on their summit bid today!:

Posted by: Dave Hahn | December 10, 2011
Elevation: 12,400′

A long and easy day at high camp, preparing for the summit. There wasn’t a breath of wind, which we are hoping will be the situation tomorrow as well. Still plenty of cloud about, although we seem to be near the top of it all. I spoke on the radio with Vinson basecamp and they seem to be down in the soup. Clouds shouldn’t present any great problem for us though, as long as the predictions hold true and the calm continues. The forecast calls for -38 C tomorrow on top. It was far more comfortable than that in our tents today though. We napped, we drank water, we napped, we ate food, and we napped. Tomorrow we climb.

Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Reposted from the Rainier Mountaineering Blog (http://www.rmiguides.com/blog/)

Many thanks to the Newfoundland and Labrador Credit Union for their financial assistance in getting TA to Antarctica to climb Mount Vinson.

Here is the latest update from TA’s team who are climbing Antarctica’s highest peak, Mount Vinson right now:

Posted by: Dave Hahn | December 09, 2011
Elevation: 12,400′

Half past one in the morning and the sun is blazing away at high camp on Mt. Vinson. We made the move up today. It was a murky day from the start, with lazy clouds and light snowfall keeping the views pretty limited as we cranked on up the steep fixed rope section. We made the trip in about 6.5 hours, coming in to camp just after 9 PM. By midnight we’d gotten a good hot dinner and the team was turning in while the clouds began to drop away. We’ll likely take a rest day tomorrow and go for the top on December 11th if weather permits.

Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Reposted from the Rainier Mountaineering Blog (http://www.rmiguides.com/blog/)

Many thanks to the Newfoundland and Labrador Credit Union for their financial assistance in getting TA to Antarctica to climb Mount Vinson.

Here is the latest update from TA’s team who are climbing Antarctica’s highest peak, Mount Vinson right now:

Posted by: Dave Hahn | December 08, 2011

Elevation: 9,500′

It is a quarter after one in the morning in the Ellsworth Mountains of Antarctica. We made our carry of summit supplies to Vinson high camp today. It all went quite well. We made it up there in under six hours, arriving just before 8 PM. Two-and-a-half hours later we were back down the fixed ropes and thirty-five hundred feet lower in camp one. These are late days, but we are simply trying to use the best sun of the day. In such cold temperatures it doesn’t make sense to do otherwise. Our storm is gone, but there is still a lot of high cloud in the area. We were warm enough going up the fixed ropes but met with a nagging four mile per hour breeze on the less steep slopes before high camp and that allowed us to fully appreciate the ambient temperature (forecast to be -24 C today with about -35 C at the summit) It was all good training for the bigger and harder days which will follow. Climbing out of the Branscomb valley, the team got to look out upon the endless world of ice to our west today. It is a stunning and magnificent view, and virtually impossible to tell where ice ends and sky begins.

Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Reposted from the Rainier Mountaineering Blog (http://www.rmiguides.com/blog/)

Many thanks to the Newfoundland and Labrador Credit Union for their financial assistance in getting TA to Antarctica to climb Mount Vinson.

Here is the latest update from TA’s team who are climbing Antarctica’s highest peak, Mount Vinson right now:

Posted by: Dave Hahn | December 07, 2011
Elevation: 9,500′

Winds stayed mercifully calm throughout last night, but just as we got hoping for the morning sunshine (it takes until 11:30 AM for the sun to get around the mountain and into our camp) the storm came in again good and strong for several hours. There was not any question of going ahead with our carry to high camp. Instead, we rested, which turned out to be quite pleasant when the cloud caps blew off the peaks and the winds quit. Just a lazy day in the sun, trying to drink plenty of water and get organized for going higher. This evening’s dinner was relaxed and leisurely, the total opposite of our battle with the elements 24 hours before. Things don’t seem totally stable yet, but there isn’t much doubt now that we are headed for better days.

Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Reposted from the Rainier Mountaineering Blog (http://www.rmiguides.com/blog/)

Many thanks to the Newfoundland and Labrador Credit Union for their financial assistance in getting TA to Antarctica to climb Mount Vinson.

Here is the latest update from TA’s team who are climbing Antarctica’s highest peak, Mount Vinson right now:

Posted by: Dave Hahn | December 06, 2011
Elevation: 9,500′

Another day of storm, as predicted and expected. But it seemed as though things were improving gradually and so we thought we might sneak up into position at Low Camp so as to be ready for the good weather. This plan worked well, at first. We packed up and got rolling from basecamp at 1:30 PM. At the big right-angle turn of the Branscomb Glacier we picked up our cache from yesterday and marched on. Travel was actually easier than it had been for the first Vinson team since much of the soft snow blew away. With a good path and calm and even occasionally sunny conditions, the miles flew by. We hit low camp at 9,300 ft right on five hours, at 6:30. That also happened to be the moment that the first big cold and random wave of wind played through. Sure enough, the storm had a sting in its tail. We got hammered by gusts as we carefully built our tents and lit stoves. It all certainly lent drama to our situation, but the team remained in good humor and coped well. Meals were served up in the sleeping tents instead of in the POSH, but that worked out just fine. By 10 PM the wind was behaving much better and it pretty much quit by midnight (although it can still be heard howling through high camp, 3,500 ft directly above us). Obviously we want our share of good and stable weather to begin tomorrow, but if necessary, we can wait right here for whenever the fine stuff shows up.

Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Reposted from the Rainier Mountaineering Blog (http://www.rmiguides.com/blog/)

Many thanks to the Newfoundland and Labrador Credit Union for their financial assistance in getting TA to Antarctica to climb Mount Vinson.

Here is the latest update from TA’s team who are climbing Antarctica’s highest peak, Mount Vinson right now:

Posted by: Dave Hahn | December 05, 2011

The storm rages on. When we could catch a glimpse of the Vinson Massif today, it was continually capped in thick wind-sculpted cloud. But it really wasn’t bad down here on the Branscomb Glacier. Our basecamp is nicely sheltered… so far. It is rare for big winds to find their way into our valley, but it does happen. This storm isn’t finished yet either. Our forecast from ALE suggests it will be with us at least another day. Today we did manage to get a carry of food and gear in to “half camp” about 2.5 hours above Vinson Base Camp. It was great to stretch legs and it will certainly ease our eventual move up to low camp. We took about an hour to scoot back down to base in cold and shadowy conditions. A hot dinner in our dining tent got all feeling good again.

Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Reposted from the Rainier Mountaineering Blog (http://www.rmiguides.com/blog/)

Many thanks to the Newfoundland and Labrador Credit Union for their financial assistance in getting TA to Antarctica to climb Mount Vinson.

Here is the latest update from TA’s team who are climbing Antarctica’s highest peak, Mount Vinson right now:

Posted by: Dave Hahn | December 04, 2011
Elevation: 7,200′

It turned out to be a lucky thing we flew into Vinson basecamp last night. It would not have worked today as the weather has gone down. Looking at things philosophically, this is not a bad time to get a storm. Considering that it has been nearly two weeks now of generally good (and at times -perfect) weather, we were due for a change and we definitely did not want that change to come as we got higher -and more vulnerable- on the mountain. Our plan for this first day of the expedition involved sorting gear and reviewing climbing techniques. We thought we’d make a carry of supplies partway up the Branscomb Glacier, but with a whiteout and new snow falling, it was easy to scrap the carry in favor of napping. Travel to this point on the Antarctic continent from North America has taken days and nights and lots of “hurry up and wait” and so a rest before the climb begins in earnest isn’t wasted time by any means. Especially when we can hear winds ripping the ridges above. The team doesn’t seem stressed by the change in plan and do seem to be quickly adapting to expedition life on ice.

Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Reposted from the Rainier Mountaineering Blog (http://www.rmiguides.com/blog/)

Many thanks to the Newfoundland and Labrador Credit Union for their financial assistance in getting TA to Antarctica to climb Mount Vinson.

Here is the latest update from TA’s team who are climbing Antarctica’s highest peak, Mount Vinson right now:

Posted by: Dave Hahn | December 04, 2011
Elevation: 7,200′

Dave Hahn called from Vinson Base Camp early this morning after the team arrived on the mountain. Below is the transcript from his call:

Hey, this is Dave Hahn on calling from Vinson Base Camp again. The Illyusion came in today at Union Glacier, it was a spectacular day – actually started a little bit cloudy, still a little bit ice crystals in the air, chance of fog, but the afternoon was just sparkling and beautiful and the airplane came in in the evening and brought in my next group of climbers. So the four of us then clambered…out of the Illyusion and into Twin Otters. But first we had Illyusion Stew there at Union Glacier – the traditional meal there on the ice in the ALE Dining Tent. Then kind of a midnight ride through the Ellsworth mountains, really beautiful, the shadows long. And the Twin Otters on skis, brought us out to Branscomb Glacier. A perfect landing going uphill on the glacier at 7000’ and Vinson splendid out in front of us. And now it’s 2:30 and we’ve gathered our tent’s up. We’re in shadow. So, I’m not gonna stay up too much longer… [Call lost].

Reposted from the Rainier Mountaineering Blog (http://www.rmiguides.com/blog/)

Many thanks to the Newfoundland and Labrador Credit Union for their financial assistance in getting TA to Antarctica to climb Mount Vinson.

Here is the latest update about TA’s team

Hello from Punta Arenas,

We had the call this morning that we were on standby for our flight. Union Glacier was cloudy, but the report was that the weather was starting to improve and they would re-evaluate at 12:30 pm. We all crossed our fingers that the team could get going towards Vinson.

The second call came in right at 12:30 and we were told that the bus is coming to pick us up at the hotel at 1:25 pm. The flight is a go!
There were several other groups to pick up on the way to the airport, but the plane was loaded and ready for passengers. After an abbreviated security check, the bus pulled up right next to the plane and 15 minutes later everybody was on board and ready to go. It’s about 4 1/4 hour flight down to Union Glacier . They carry enough fuel so that if they get down there and are unable to land, they can turn around and head back to Punta Arenas. Hopefully not the case for this flight. Once they land on the glacier, they will meet up with Dave Hahn, and if the weather is decent, the plan is for a quick turn around at Union Glacier, switching planes, and heading directly to Vinson Basecamp.

The next dispatch will be from Dave and the crew on the ice.

RMI Guide Jeff Martin

Reposted from the Rainier Mountaineering Blog (http://www.rmiguides.com/blog/)

Many thanks to the Newfoundland and Labrador Credit Union for their financial assistance in getting TA to Antarctica to climb Mount Vinson.

Leaving St. John’s in the dead of dark winter and arriving to Punta Arenas in late spring is quite a transition. The evening light fools all of us in staying up too late and the morning sunrise gets us up early the next day. As we complete our final preparations here, it’s hard to fathom the cold and white/blue world that awaits us (hopefully tomorrow) at the end of the blue ice runway at Union Glacier. We’ve been treated to two lovely weather days here that would count as summer back home.

Here a mounted officer patrols the beach at the front of the hotel. The body of water is the Strait of Magellan and it was a very important seaway historically but I understand that ships more often use the Panama Canal now.

From Wikipedia:
The Strait of Magellan (also called the Straits of Magellan or the Magellanic Strait) comprises a navigable sea route immediately south of mainland South America and north of Tierra del Fuego. The waterway is the most important natural passage between the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans, but it is considered a difficult route to navigate because of the unpredictable winds and currents and the narrowness of the passage. The strait is approximately 570 kilometres (310 nmi; 350 mi) long and about 2 kilometres (1.1 nmi; 1.2 mi) wide at its narrowest point.

We had our briefing with the Antarctic Logistics company this morning and as usual, the briefing was meant to scare the heck out of you (as well as communicate how serious an undertaking you are about to embark on). From experience, I know these briefings always get me super nervous and put me in a questioning place about my abilities. Fortunately, knowing this would likely arise in my mind at some point, I wrote up a series of evidence on the plane to the contrary and I will regularly review the list as needed. I know once we are underway those doubts tend to seep away.

Marian also sent me with a package of notes of inspiration and today’s note said, “Strong like bull.” It’s something my dad said so often about strong flavours, strong drinks, and strong people. He often said to me, “You are strong like bull.” Sunday will be the second anniversary of my dad’s death and it will be good to carry his voice in my head when lifting our huge packs…”You are strong like bull. You are strong like bull. You are strong like bull.”

Speaking of big packs, ALE just came for our big duffels and we’re on alert to fly as of tomorrow morning. We might get a call at 6:30 am or 9:30 am with a one hour be ready to go. We just took our team picture for the RMI blog and folks are out running last minute errands. I’m heading out for a walk along the beach to get some exercise and get those butterflies to fly in formation. During our briefing this morning, they showed us a map of Antarctica with the U.S. overlaid-it gave a scale to how vast Antarctica is-I don’t think I’d grasped that.

If we get the call, we’ll head over to the airport, pass through security, quickly take our seats on the plane and then patiently wait the 4.5 hours of flying time (3200 or so kilometres) to Antarctica. It could be days of hurry up and wait, and in our briefing this morning, they emphasized patience, patience, patience for all things Antarctica: getting to the ice, climbing the peak, and then getting back from the ice. My lojong slogan for today is “Be grateful to everyone.” This reminds me to be thankful for discomfort, for things that push my buttons, for anything that throws me for it presents an invitation to practice. It’s one of my favourite slogans and I’m grateful to have it on such a day of preparations (after months of preparations)…can you believe it…I might actually be standing on Antarctica tomorrow…and if it goes the way ALE would like it, we might get all the way to Vinson basecamp tomorrow…here’s hoping.

Thanks for all your support and kind words. Once I leave Punta Arenas, I won’t be blogging daily but you can follow our progress here on my website or on the RMI Blog. I may be able to make a call in from Union Glacier if we end up staying there for any time. So…I’m off to hurry up and wait.

Hello from The End of the World (as they call it here)

This will be a shorter than usual update as I’m finger typing it on my ipod. Why? Because the room safe is holding my laptop hostage. They are hoping the nice folks in Santiago can help free it in the morning

All is well here. My duffel is ready for the plane as soon as we finish orientation in the morning. All presently looks good for flying to the ice on Saturday.

Turns out there are only three of us on the team with Dave. So the smallest team I’ve climbed with. I’ll be tent mates with another woman from Canada and the other teammate,a man from NYC will tent with Dave.

I’m feeling pretty relaxed now that all the decisions have been made, but of course wondering how cold it will be. I heard for the Antarctic marathon today the weather was a lovely minus18. Hope I have enough fluffies.

A special hello to Rayne and Xander as I see penguin signs everywhere here and it makes me think of them.

Time to hit the hay as I’m still playing catch up after 46 hours of travel

More tomorrow, hopefully, my laptop will be freed

Special thanks to the Newfoundland and Labrador Credit Union for their sponsorship of this climb.

Good night!

Sent from my iPod

Greetings from SCL,

Santiago International Airport for all those who don’t memorize airport codes for fun. I introduced Bobble Head Ted the the wonderful suitcase sculpture here in the Santiago Airport…made from “left luggage” I imagine it’s what baggage handlers would like to do to all of our bags. It’s a four story high stack of suitcases. I always thought it they were secure enough, they’d make a fun climbing structure.

I arrived here around 1:00 pm after a long over night flight that started with an epic battle to get everyone’s carry on luggage stored in the overhead bins. I lucked out easily but then it was pure chaos and almost came to fisticuffs a few rows up. It’s always been tricky but with people now needing to pay for a second bag, it was pure pandemonium even as they tried to board the plane in the first plane. I’d never seen the likes of it anywhere even in Kathmandu or Delhi…and this was in Toronto.

After we got all the luggage tucked in, the flight underway, and the meal service started, turbulence so rocked the plane that they asked the flight attendants to be seated after once got bounced in the air. Soon, we warm dinner in my belly and a gentle rocking, I managed to get some Z’s. The plane took off after midnight so I chuckled at today’s lojong slogan, “Meditate on what provokes resentment.” It seemed that almost every step of the travel process was bringing out resentment in the entire plane and I did a bunch of tonglen practice to ease all the stress I was picking up.

Been spending the day in the airport bardo. It’s 30 degrees outside so I’ve got out here and there but I don’t want my body to get the wrong idea about where we’re headed (i.e. the beach instead of the ice). It’s full blown summer here and the light in the evening sky is startling coming from the depths of North American darkness.

I got an earlier flight to Punta Arenas and have managed a hotel booking so that’s all good. Originally I wasn’t supposed to land until 5:00 am so I might actually get a little sleep tonight and start the process of settling in to the Southern Hemisphere. I do need to go check what way the water goes down the drain! I enjoyed a Pisco Sour, the Chilean National Drink, with my supper…it’s removed all travel resentment. When in Chile, do as the Chileans…

It was supposed to be a vanilla dip but alas travel and adventure and climbing requires an ability to adapt to changing conditions so bring on the Boston Creme! At the airport, after a wonderful afternoon with the my sweetie, at the movies. We watched Happy Feet 2 as preparation for Antarctica! The only thing that’s tough about leaving for this trip is leaving my dearest behind. Thank goodness, my next big adventure to the top of an island in the Caribbean, we won’t have to face saying good-bye once again. I’m ready for the travel bardo of between here and there with six books on the laptop and one book on glacier mountaineering in the backpack. Toss in a few episodes of Flashpoint and a movie or two and it will be Thursday morning at the bottom of the world before I know it.

Chile is just a half an hour different time zone than here so I won’t have jet lag to deal with-just travel weariness and two overnight flights. They are calling my flight to Toronto. I’m off! (You sure are! …a line from a high school theatre production I was in).

The bags are packed! How did I ever get packed for expeditions in the past before the lovely and talented Marian was in my life? It’s so helpful to have her to bounce ideas off of and she keeps me from packing too light. Tonight she showed her spacial intelligence prowess and got my “ice” bag packed into a duffel smaller than either of us ever imagined.

Last night, from the spreadsheet, I thought I was going to be many pounds over…today with gear separated into “ice duffel”, “wearing on Antarctica plane”, and “carry on”, I’m in good shape. My ice duffel (things going directly to the logistics company for weighing and not seeing again until we make it to Antarctica) is sitting at 48 pounds. Perfect! I need to add two more pounds of lunch food to that one and that will make the 50 pounds I was aiming for. I’ll wear my big boots and down suit and a few layers on the flight (you have to be ready to step out into minus 30 degrees at the Union Glacier runway). There are no buildings at the blue ice runway…the logistics camp is five or six kilometres away.

I’m still deciding whether or not I’m taking my “big camera” if so, I’ll likely be a few pounds over target but I can live with that. I’m so relieved that almost all decisions are done and I’ll make it work with what I’ve chosen. The ice duffel is sealed and locked! Wahoo!

Lots of hugs good bye as Marian’s kids came over for brunch and the St. John’s Christmas parade. I think I have seen almost every single parade since moving here and today, my favourite was the button accordion marching band. It was nice to have a hit of Christmas cheer and now I don’t mind missing the rest of the lead-up though I do hope it works out to be home for the holiday. Played my second to last hockey game. I got rocked by a hit again on Friday night so I was once again a bit tentative today but it was good to get some exercise and burn off some pre-trip stress. With the bags packed, the butterflies do now seem to be flying in formation!

Marian will be posting the RMI blog updates from the mountain daily. If by chance, you don’t want to wait a second extra to hear how things are going, you can visit the RMI Blog and sign up for updates (the button is located after the most recent update)-you’ll get an email the moment an update is published.

First off, congrats to the RMI Team One who summited today. I hope to be following in their footsteps in two weeks or so. They had terrific weather and made good time.

Lots of layers of experiences today including practicing with all my layers once again and documenting each one. Final decisions tomorrow. Spreadsheet weights show I’m over my weight allowance so I’ll revisit each item and see if I can shed any weight (for example, I traded out my heavy duty crampon bag for a lighter stuff sack and saved 200 grams). We are allowed 50 pounds of baggage to the ice and then overage cost $30 a pound to a max of 65 pounds.

Wonderful send-off dinner tonight with friends and I received a terrific penguin wool hat. I have to see if it will fit under my helmet. I also enjoyed visiting with several folks as they picked up penguin t-shirts. Three more sleeps at home…wow…best fill those bags soon.