Derek Mahon: Antarctica, Mount Vinson, December 1st to December 22nd … The final climb of the 7 summits…

2024 will be a big year for our sponsored endurance athlete and mountaineer Derek Mahon, who not only completed his sixth, 7 Summits climb earlier this year, but who will travel to Antarctica next week to undertake his 7th and final summit – Mount Vinson.

We are as always in awe of Derek and are delighted to bring you his thoughts pre-summit and to see how he has prepared. 12 years in the making, you don’t want to miss this.

What can you tell us about Mount Vinson Derek?

Mount Vinson was measured in 1959 and first summitted on December 18th, 1966. It stands at 4,892 meters (just slightly higher than Mont Blanc at 4,809 metres) and is viewed as the hardest mountains to reach of all the seven summits. The climb on average takes 10/12 days with an average cost of $50,000. Currently, Antarctica Logistics & Expeditions (ALE) is the only company that flies into Vinson. ALE ended up with a monopoly not by design, but rather as a result of the complex web of environmental red tape, cost, and tricky logistical hurdles that Antarctica presents, and at which ALE now excels.

Of all days in the year, December 18th, is my birthday. Wouldn’t it be a coincidence if I was to summit on that same day! Summitting will create a new Irish record, namely me being the oldest Irish man to complete the 7 summits whether on/after my birthday!

What does this 7th Summit mission look like for you?

My journey begins on Sunday 1st of December, with a flight to Madrid, then to Santiago and then to Punta Arenas, the most southerly point (windy), and shipping town in southern Chile.

Weather permitting, we fly to Union Glacier with its incredible mountain scenery, and which offers shelter from the crosswinds that can make landing on the blue ice runways a hairy proposition. The flight to Union Glacier takes around four-and-a-half hours. From Union Glacier, it is another weather waiting game for a flight to Vinson Base Camp. The flight north only takes 50 minutes in a Twin Otter (plane) but is extremely reliant on weather at both stations, that is Union Glacier and Vinson Base Camp.

Base Camp is set at 2,100m with 2 more camps before reaching summit. It can take up to 6 hours to reach Low Camp at 2,700m, pulling and carrying a load of 30kgs and sledding 40kgs. High Camp at 3,850m involves crampons, ice-axe, and the use of safety ropes and an ascend/jumar. Temperatures and wind chill can be expected to reach -40 degrees, so extreme care and attention is required to prevent frost nip and frost bite and the immediate loss of either fingers or toes.

A summit push from High Camp can take up to 8 hours depending on weather conditions. However, the push, from my most recent discussions with fellow climbers, is a not too difficult 7 km climb. Summit success is circa 98%, so fingers crossed!

What about preparation for this journey and summit?

Thankfully my preparation has been extremely good with weekly program scheduling 5km, 10km and 15km local load runs, also kettle bell weight gym sessions and spinning sessions courtesy of Global Cycle Networks via YouTube. Training also involved swims (sea and pool), Sunday bike 50/80km spins or Mourne Mountain 4-to-6-hour treks.

 

All of this has set me up perfectly for the completion of the 7 summits and finish 12 years of planning, journeying, enjoying real adventure and reaching places in the world not many would even consider.

I will be joining the expedition company, Alpine Ascents, in Puntas Arenas and I am so looking forward to meeting and climbing with them. Each expedition day, they will post a text or/and a voice progress message on their website, alpineascents.com, go to the top tab ‘Cybercasts’, and scroll to ‘Vinson’ and be part of this incredible climb.

The Panel has been with me all the way and I would like to thank them from the bottom of my heart for all their encouragement, help and support and the fun times we all had throughout. A huge thank you!

You can follow me on Instagram at: derekjmahon6045

Dream, believe, achieve my friends!

See you in January, Derek