In January 2001, Jon Krakauer, Conrad Anker and six others set out to summit the unclimbed east face of the Vinson Massif in Antarctica. Starting in Punta Arenas, they fly to Patriot Hills in Antarctica. The blue ice they land on is so slippery that you can’t apply the brakes when you touch down. There’s lots of space to skid to a halt, though.
Jon Krakauer and Conrad Anker return to Patriot Hills. Photo: pbs.org
It soon becomes clear that the risks confronting these modern explorers remain the same as those faced by Amundsen and Scott back in 1911. Their route covers 70km of glacier skiing and climbing to the summit of Vinson Massif and includes a perilous 1,000m wall. Other than climbing, they want to take a GPS reading on summit to determine height and to measure snow accumulation, to discover if that region is getting more or less than before.
Antarctica winds. Photo: pbs.org
All have studied the journals of Scott and Amundsen, and while Anker et al are equipped with modern gear, Antarctica’s wildness and remoteness trumps improvements in knowledge and technology. Even the Twin Otter pilots — the most experienced bush pilots in the world — are nervous: No one had landed on the east side of the Ellsworth Mountains before. The surface is unpredictable, and the maps are inaccurate. The only ones available came from a series of U.S. Navy flights some 40 years earlier.
Eventually, they land where no one has been before and they are on their own for the next 17 days. Carrying about 70kg each on their sleds, they ski up toward their destination.
On the Upper Dater Glacier. Photo: pbs.org
After week of manhauling, they spot the hardest part of their route, that 1,000m headwall. The issue is that the cameraman and producer are relatively inexperienced. Should the team take a steeper, technical route or a gentler one that everyone can access but which is exposed to the danger of serac fall? A heated debate breaks out about whether the film crew should be involved at all.
Mountain of Ice gives a window into the highs and lows of an expedition and the timeless allure of Antarctica.
