He's an Alpine Mountaineer

My friend Dave is an alpine mountaineer. He is the only person I know who actually lists this as his avocation on his LinkedIn profile. I’ve known him a few years – he’s my friend Felice’s fiancé.

Yesterday, checking my Facebook page, Felice was on line. After catching up on the holidays, she told me Dave was in Antarctica. “What’s he doing there?” I asked. Her answer: “Climbing Mt. Vinson, the highest peak on the continent.”

Here’s the story of Mt. Vinson, from the website http://www.7summits.com/:
“Vinson Massif, at 78°35'S, 85°25'W is 21km (13 miles) long and 13km (8 miles) wide. It lies on the southern part of the main ridge of the Sentinel Range. Named for Carl G Vinson, a Georgia congressman and a major force in 20th century US Antarctic exploration, it was first climbed in December 1966 by a combined group from the American Alpine Club and the National Science Foundation.

Four members of the joint expedition led by Nicholas B. Clinch made the first ascent of the mountain on 17 December 1966. During the next days the team continued climbing in the local area adding Mount Tyree (4845m/15,892ft), Mount Shinn (4801m/15,747ft) and Mount Gardner (4686m/15,370ft).”

At 4897m/16,067ft) Vinson is taller than these three, making it the tallest peak on Antarctica. Dave’s goal is to climb the “7 Summits” – the tallest peaks on each of the seven continents. He’s been working on this goal for two or three years, and with Vinson will have completed four of the seven. The other three he's done are Mt. Kilimanjaro (Africa), Mt. Elbrus (Europe), and Denali - also known as Mt. McKinley (North America).

Despite the training and preparation that these and the remaining two ascents, Carstenz Pyramid (Australia) and Aconcagua (South America), will provide, the preparation for Everest (Asia) will involve additional work and training. It’s dangerous, you have to master specialized equipment including oxygen apparatus, and you have to be able to help with rescues and first aid in your expedition.

Dave’s pursuit gives a new meaning to adventure travel. Hawksbill (4049 ft) and Stony Man (4010 ft) pale in comparison to these, but that’s what we’ve got in the Valley. Just think of it though, our two mountains could be the early stepping stones for someone achieving this great feat!