Posted: Feb 15, 2007 11:46 am EST
(ThePoles.com) "We are under the tent, we have no stove, we have some with frostbite. Our situation is desperate, please, please come and get us. I can't move them by myself. If we try to leave here, we will go into another crevasse and we are all finished."

This alarming message on the radio launched a major rescue operation on Mount Vinson last December. Its sender was Jagged Globe guide Ian Barker who, now at home, has posted a complete report on (probably) the longest three days of his life.

IMG, Berg Adventures and Alpine Ascents International had been involved in ascents or attempts on Mt. Vinson the previous day and were descending fast in deteriorating weather. The remaining climbers agreed they would attempt to leave the camp as soon as possible. Holding would mean they would be left on the mountain by themselves as all descending groups would try to get to Base Camp as soon as possible. The team set off, but very soon things began to go wrong in a snowstorm that eventually whipped up to 60 knot winds in 30 below temperatures. Here goes parts of Ian's report:

Man in crevasse!

"We set off in deteriorating weather with visibility down to about 100m. Sign of other people's tracks had started to disappear under drifting snow. After about five minutes Fredrick went into a crevasse up to his waist - fortunately Kevin was on the ball and had him on a tight rope."

"Less than a kilometer further on we entered the steepest and most heavily crevassed part of the headwall. I watched the first two members of the team exiting a snow bridge over the largest crevasse on the route (the bridge was clearly marked by crossed wands)."

"Suddenly, my rope was taut and Jon was on the ground. Once he got himself into a brace position, I moved up to him and placed two snow stakes and secured Richard's rope. I moved to the edge of the crevasse and could see Richard upright in a v-hang. I shouted down to Richard that we would have him out in no time. I estimated he was less than 10 feet (3m) down into the crevasse. I rigged a pulley system quickly, but my big problem was getting slack into Kevin's side of the rope so I could start to pull Richard out."

"Once you exited the snow bridge, the route dropped away downhill, so I had no visual contact with Kevin and could only just make out Fredrick periodically through the drifting snow. Kevin had done exactly what I'd told him to do in our crevasse rescue training sessions and had got into a bracing position, and Fredrick had even managed to put in a snow stake. Now I needed them to slacken off the rope so I could get Richard out."

Richard emerged from the crevasse with no gloves

"After much gesticulating, Fredrick finally got the message (the wind was now too strong for him to hear me shouting). Jon and I started to pull Richard out, but after only a few pulls, Jon said he couldn't do it any more. I had to get Fredrick to come over the bridge and help me finish off pulling Richard out."

"When Richard eventually emerged from the crevasse, I was horrified to see that he wasn't wearing any gloves and his hands were unmistakably frostbitten. I estimated it had taken us about 15 minutes to get Richard out of the crevasse."

"While Richard was in the crevasse hanging in the V, he had started to be pulled upside down by his rucksack. He decided his best course of action was to cut his rucksack straps allowing it to fall into the crevasse. It was while attempting this maneuver that he dropped both his gloves."

You could feel the heat being sucked out of you

"Jon was now lying on the ground shivering and not responding to commands. I asked Fredrick to get a pair of gloves for Richard while I sorted out Jon and de-rigged the belay. With Fredrick's help I got everyone over the snow bridge and down the slope a little way into some shelter."

"Before crossing the bridge, I used the Sat phone and tried to ring Vinson Base Camp, but the batteries died within seconds. The only part of the message they received was that we were at the top of the headwall needing urgent assistance. They logged the call at 10 p.m. I also tried the radio to no avail."

"The weather had really taken off by now and was starting to develop into a full-blown blizzard - you could feel the heat being sucked out of you. I fetched the biyy tent from one of the rucksacks and we all climbed inside. Richard, Jon and Kevin were all shivering - Jon violently. We got Richard into a duvet jacket - Jon was already wearing his."

Fortune bivy not enough

"Despite the cold, Fredrick's Sat phone worked and we were able to call Vinson Base Camp and tell them of our predicament. While this was happening, I was busy working the radio, trying to make contact with other groups. I decided our best option was to try and dig some sort of snow shelter to get out of the appalling weather. Leaving the others in the bivy tent, I tied myself to a snow stake and went looking for soft snow. I started digging below and to the left of the group."

"At first things looked promising, but after about 10 minutes or so I broke into a crevasse. I stuck my head inside to see if we could use it in some way, but it just dropped away below me. I moved to the right of the group and further down the slope and started digging again - the same story ending in yet another crevasse."

"I went back to the bivy tent to find everyone covered in snow and still shivering. It was now so cold that the plastic see-through windows in the bivy tent had appeared to shrink and crack, leaving snow pouring in over everyone."

A ledge in the slope

"I dropped straight down the slope and started digging like crazy. The snow was much more solid here, and after a while I had to resort to using my ice-axe with both hands. I realized this was going to take ages by myself, so I went back to the bivy to get Fredrick."

"After some time (I can't say for sure how long but we were both exhausted), we managed to fashion a ledge in the slope about 6 feet long by 3 feet wide and 2.5 feet deep. I lined the ledge with foam mats and had Fredrick lie on them while I brought the rest of the team down to the ledge."

"We put Richard and Jon in the middle with Kevin and Fredrick at each end. I pulled a fly-sheet from one of the tents and turned it inside out so we could hold onto the guide lines, tuck the fly-sheet behind our backs and pull the rest over the top of us."

"I stayed outside to collect rucksacks, which I placed at the back and on top of the ledge to give us some protection. I then collected all the ice-axes and put them next to the bivy site. While doing all this, I managed to put a leg through yet another crevasse. It wasn't until I crawled into the bivvy myself that I realized how tired I was and that I had also now started shivering."

SOS to Base Camp

"I tried the radio again, but no one seemed to have their radios switched on. I found out later that the other guides had their hands full with just trying to get their own teams off the mountain."

"After trying the radio again for a while, I went back outside and grabbed two vacuum flasks and a tent inner from the rucksacks. I also managed to get my duvet jacket out. Once back in the bivy, the tent inner thrown over the top of us and some hot water made a big difference."

"At 12:20 a.m. on Dec. 3, we got our first radio call from David Hamilton - a regular Jagged Globe guide who was working for ALE for the whole season this year. He told us that two Swedes, Olaf Sundstrom and Martin Letzter had set off from Base Camp on skis moving quickly, followed by David Hamilton and Tim from ALE, and supported by Paul Aubrey and Guy Cotter from Adventure Consultants. "

Gloves set like concrete

"David estimated the Swedes should be with us within four or five hours. After the radio call I went outside for a second time; by now the visibility was down to a couple of meters and the wind was so strong I had to crawl on my hands and knees."

"My goggles had iced up and my gloves set like concrete - I couldn't see a thing. I tried taking my goggles off, but the snow and wind was so painful on my face I had to put them back on. I managed to locate Kevin's and my rucksack by feel as much as anything else, and dragged them into the bivy with us."

If we move, we're finished

"We got out Kevin's sleeping bag and spread it across the team lengthwise so it covered us below the armpits and down to our knees. With the inner tent on top of the bag, this too made a big difference. We packed a thermo-rest behind Fredrick and more clothing and a foam mat behind Kevin, who were both on the outside of the group."

"I was also able to get some snack food out of my rucksack and more water for the group. I located my down mitts for Richard and started treating his frost-bite with the first aid kit that was also in my rucksack. I sat in front of Richard and Jon and we all shared as much body heat as possible - all these things made a big contribution to easing our discomfort and people even stopped shivering for a while."

"From my experience of just going outside the bivy for a short while, I knew that if we moved down without an improvement in the visibility or the weather, we would be finished."

Rescuers on hold too

"At 4:30 a.m., the Swedes had made remarkable progress and were now at the base of the headwall, but had to dig in. David and Guy's team had been constantly blown over by the wind trying to get to Camp 1, but were now safely there. It became clear that no one was moving until the weather improved."

"We sat there wiggling our fingers and toes, trying to be positive - at times people started to drift off to sleep or break out in a fit of shivering. A flapping tent nylon would snap you back into reality as the wind tried to whip the fly-sheet from our grasp."

"We tried to keep an hourly radio schedule with Camp 1. At times I was being urged by those at Camp 1 for the people who could walk, to make an attempt to get down the headwall. But I was absolutely sure that our only real chance was a dramatic change in the weather or assistance from below, and at this stage I was definitely not going to leave anyone behind."

Time to get out

"On the evening of Dec. 3, at around 5 p.m., I noticed a change in the wind and radioed this to Camp 1. A short time later, I got a message from below that the Swedes, Tim and David, were setting off up the headwall towards us. The weather continued to improve for a while, then started to deteriorate again."

"I started to fasten on the team's crampons and get the group ready to move. The Swedes arrived at 6:30 p.m., and were we happy to see them! As the weather was deteriorating, the Swedes were understandably reluctant to let us pack any gear, as, like us, they wanted to get off the mountain as quickly as possible."

"I instructed the group to ditch anything heavy and leave it at the bivy site, and helped Olaf tie in the team members while Martin supported Richard. Our clothing and mitts froze instantly on leaving the bivy. I tied in Jon on a short rope in front of me, and we set off down the headwall. After a while we met David and Tim who helped with Richard. Paul and Guy met us at the base of the headwall with food and hot drinks, then we set off under our own steam towards Camp 1."

The second storm - stranded in C1

"Richard was taken to the Swedes' tent at the base of the headwall and then quickly whisked off to Camp 1. We arrived at Camp 1 at 9 p.m. on the evening of the Dec. 3. The AAI group were still there - they had erected tents for us and provided us with warm food and drink."

"People lent the team foam mats and a sleeping bag for Richard. It was hoped that my group would be able to move after a few hours, but they were too exhausted, and after the food and water, they collapsed into the tent."

"By the early hours of the morning, the wind had picked up again, and it was clear that we were going nowhere. The weather continued to deteriorate throughout the day to the point that it became impossible to light a stove in the tent."

Tents beginning to shred

"It was hoped that we would only be at Camp 1 for a few hours and that we would be able to get Richard down to Base Camp to re-warm his hands."

"But in this new storm, it just wasn't possible to move him. I had started to treat Richard with antibiotics as soon as we'd got to Camp 1, and now I decided I needed to clean and dress his hands (it was impossible to re-warm them in these conditions). I washed them in iodine solution, packed his fingers and hands with melanin and bandaged them."

"The storm just didn't let up, and we almost lost the tent on three occasions. I had to go outside more than once to throw snow blocks onto the tent to prevent it from blowing away. David and Tim's tent had already started to shred."

Back down - we would see our families again

"I was so concerned, I dressed Richard in his outdoor clothing and placed him in his sleeping bag - the amazing thing was that Richard bore all this without a word of complaint. In this time I managed to speak to the doctor at Patriot Hills, and he confirmed that I should continue with the medical protocol that I had started."

"The storm finally abated, and we were able to leave Camp 1 at 7:45 p.m. on Dec. 5, almost 46 hours after we had arrived. We received a warm and emotional welcome from all the guides and team members at Base Camp. The realization and relief that we would see our family and friends again was overwhelming."

Mount Vinson is the highest point of Antarctica's Ellsworth Mountains - and the entire continent. It provides a technically straightforward climb with a few steep 40 degree sections on snow. From Base Camp on the Branscomb Glacier, the normal route follows the glacier up to a headwall two hours from Camp 1. Steeper climbing through this leads to the col between Vinson and Mount Shinn, a prominent mountain on the north. High camp is usually set on the large plateau of the col. From that point teams launch the summit push up a long valley, heading south away from the top camp. At the head of the valley stands the summit pyramid of Vinson. The final slope to the summit can be climbed from the left or right, the former being easier but longer.

Ian Barker, 48, has been working in the Outdoor Pursuits/Development Training industry for more than 25 years. He is a qualified Mountaineering Instructor (MIC) and his past professional work includes a year-long stint at the British Antarctic Survey. Ian is a freelance climbing, canoe and ski instructor and works regularly leading groups on mountaineering expeditions to Nepal, Tanzania, Ecuador, Mexico, Bolivia and Argentina. He has climbed peaks in India, Afghanistan, Peru, Chile and Spitsbergen.

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