Antarctica is the coldest, most windswept continent on Earth. Its mean altitude of 2 290m (7 500ft) is three times greater than that of any other land mass, and it holds 90 per cent of the world's ice. This ice covers the whole continent - only a few mountain tops project through it. Winds, which normally blow at 10-15 knots, can reach up to 100 knots. Antarctica holds the record for the lowest temperature ever recorded, -89°C (-126°F), yet during the summer the South Pole receives more solar radiation than the equator in any equivalent period.

The Antarctic has attracted mariners, explorers, scientists and most recently- climbers. Activity is of necessity, concentrated during the Antarctic summer when there are 24 hours of daylight. During the other half of the year the continent is in darkness.

Antarctica's highest mountain is Mt Vinson in the Sentinel Range of the Ellsworth Mountains, at the base of the Antarctica Peninsula. The Sentinel Range stretches for more than 130km (80 miles), drawn up like pieces on a chess board against the edge of the greatest sweep of ice in the world - a vast, barren plain, bigger than North America. The elegant symmetrical pyramids of striated metamorphic rock, laced with icy runnels, grow in stature towards the heart of the range, culminating at the centre in the complex high-glacial massif of Vinson. Its summit is 1 190 km (700 miles) from the South Pole and, from the top, there are breathtaking views to the neighbouring peaks of Mt Shinn and Mt Gardner. The most recent remeasurement of the range puts Mount Vinson at 4 897m (16,067ft), 52m (170ft) higher than nearby Mount Tyree.

Should we believe that the unexplored exists, that we must view the isolation of Antarctica as an explorer's final frontier ? Unparalleled in its pristine and absolute beauty, the journey to the great white continent and the climb of Mount Vinson ignites man's primal instincts for wilderness, the elements and conquest. The sheer magnitude of the continent and exquisite nature of the ascent is an extreme and remarkable expedition.

Ridges, faces and peaks

Rising from the Nimitz Galcier, the Vinson massif presents black, fluted ridges and huge faces of up to 3 000m (9,850ft) in height. It has a vast summit plateau of wind-scoured ice and snow, from which Vinson and the massif's lesser summits rise. The standard approach is from the West Side, where the Branscomb Glacier offers the most direct route to the summit. This glacier descends steeply from the Vinson-Shinn Col into a high basin before swinging in a southerly direction towards base camp, 5km (3 miles) away.

Vinson Massif

By way of the Branscomb Glacier and the Vinson-Shinn Col F (Alpine)

The base camp is situated on the Branscomb Glacier at 2 100m (6,900ft). The route climbs the glacier for 3km (2 miles) where it turns north under the West Face of the mountain. Here a steep hanging glacier provides a direct route to the summit. Just beyond this bend, poorly sheltered among pressure ridges at 2 700m (8,800ft) is Camp 1. Camp 2, a further 2km (11/2miles) up the glacier at 3 100m (10,200ft), is often placed in a windscoop at the base of the Branscomb Ridge, within sight of the icefall leading to the Vinson-Shinn Col. The route climbs this icefall to Camp 3, which is situated at 3 700m (12,100ft). From here the route turns south, ascending the Vinson summit glacier for 5km (3 miles) to 4 500m (14,800ft) where a short snow and ice slope leads to a small col and the Summit Ridge. Vinson summit (16,067ft).

At these high latitudes the effects of altitude must not be underestimated. Crevasses, avalanches, séracs collapsing in the icefalls, are common. All parts of the route apart from the area immediately surrounding base camp, are windswept. The most serious concern is to avoid being caught by high winds.

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