Update from the Antarctic
January 16, 2009
In our last news item we mentioned that five Exum guides were in the Antarctic this winter, four of them guiding for Antarctic Logistics and Expeditions and doing laps (well, not quite) on Mt. Vinson, the highest peak on the continent. One member of the group, Susan Detweiler, showing off on the summit in the photograph at right, climbed a new route on the mountain, the Central North Face. Suz writes: “The new route sounds a lot more exciting than it is: much “low-hanging fruit” here, but it was super fun to be reminded of the idea of climbing. We all soloed slightly different lines of 4th class rock, ending with 60-70 degree snow at the exit to the summit.” And yes, she really is that limber, even at 16,067 feet. Back in Jackson Hole, Suz barely had time to unpack before leaving to teach a Backcountry Ski and Winter Ecology course for Prescott College, which no doubt will be a bit of an anticlimax after soloing Mt. Vinson.
