Vinson Massif, Antartica

In December 1966 ten American climbers arrived in Antarctica, courtesy of the USAP, via New Zealand then McMurdo and Byrd Stations. They were here to make the first ascent of Vinson Massif, and anything else they could, at the request of the US government, so that no one else would want to come and climb it, thus necessitating a possible expensive and dangerous rescue by government programs. The team comprised a mix of climbers from both the west and east coasts of the US, organised through the American Alpine Club, with additional sponsorship from National Geographic magazine. Charlie Hollister, Dick Wahlstrom, Pete Schoening, Barry Corbet, Bill Long, Eiichi Fukushima, Brian Marts, Sam Silverstein and John Evans were led by Nick Clinch and made the first ascents of Vinson, Tyree, Shinn, Gardner, Ostenso and Long Gables.

It was one of the most successful mountaineering expeditions ever to leave America's shore.

These pioneering explorers returned to Antartica to celebrate the 40th anniversary, and Damien Gildea was kind enough to share some photos with us.

Photo: Eiichi Fukushima, John Evans, Sam Silverstein and Brian Marts, with Vinson Massif in the background.

About Vinson Massif: Vinson Massif is the highest mountain of Antarctica, located about 1,200 km (750 mi) from the South Pole. The mountain is about 21 km (13 mi) long and 13 km (8 mi) wide. The southern end of the massif is capped by Mount Craddock (4,650 m).

Elevation: 4,892 metres (16,050 feet)
Location: Antarctica
Range: Sentinel Range

It is in the Sentinel Range of the Ellsworth Mountains, which stand above the Ronne Ice Shelf near the base of the Antarctic Peninsula.

The massif's existence was unsuspected until 1957, when it was spotted by US Navy aircraft. It was named after Carl Vinson (also the namesake of an aircraft carrier), a United States Georgia Congressman who was a key supporter of funding for Antarctic research.

In 1963, two groups within the American Alpine Club, one led by Charles Hollister and Samuel C. Silverstein, M.D., then in New York, and the other led by Peter Schoening of Seattle Washington, began lobbying the National Science Foundation to support an expedition to climb Vinson. The two groups merged in spring 1966 at the urging of the National Science Foundation and the American Alpine Club, and Nicholas Clinch (Pasadena, CA) was recruited by the American Alpine Club to lead the merged expeditions. Named officially the American Antarctic Mountaineering Expedition 1966/67, the expedition was sponsored by the American Alpine Club and the National Geographic Society, and supported in the field by the U.S. Navy and the National Science Foundation Office of Antarctic Programs. the event, 10 scientists and mountaineers participated in AAME 1966/67. In addition to Clinch they were Barry Corbet (Jackson Hole, WY), John Evans (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN), Eiichi Fukushima (University of Washington, Seattle, WA), Charles Hollister, Ph.D. (Columbia University, New York, NY), William Long, Ph.D. (Alaska Methodist University, Anchorage, AK), Brian Marts (Seattle, WA), Peter Schoening (Seattle, WA), Samuel Silverstein, M.D. (Rockefeller University, New York, NY) and Richard Wahstrom (Seattle, WA).