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SKIING THE ANTARCTIC PENINSULA PART 1
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GETTING INTO WINTER CLIMBING SHAPE WITH FA GUIDE CHAD PEELE
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CARSTENSZ PYRAMID THE HEROES PROJECT EXPEDITION IN THREE ACTS
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KYLE MILLER ON FIRST FILM PREMIERE AND TRANSITIONING FROM SKI BUM TO PRO ATHLETE
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BE FIRST RECIPIENT JON TURK RECAPS HIS EPIC, FIRST CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF ELLESMERE ISLAND
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TAHOE GUIDE MEETING DAY 2 THE GUIDE BUILT PROCESS
By Melissa Arnot:
The trail is dusty and covered with large rocks. I can see the small black marks of rubber that have worn from the boots of people who have passed here before us, but that is the only sign that this path has been traveled. The quiet is comfortable; I can hear my breath and my thoughts, equally loud. My eyes are trained forward toward the black triangle of Everest and the Base Camp I know sits below. My thoughts are centered on the present moment, the steps immediately in front of me. Suddenly, as I lift my eyes, I can see the tents that make a “Skittle City” of Base Camp (a term that the Summit on the Summit crew came up with). It is now familiar to me; I have spent almost four months here over the past two years. Base Camp stretches for about a half-mile, and our camp sits at the highest point, a 45-minute walk from the first tents of this city. I can feel the benefits of our trek over two passes that share the same elevation, it feels a little easier to move around at 17,500 feet than it has in years before. Our hardworking staff greets us on arrival. We are a group of seven total: two Sherpa who will climb with us (Tshering Dorje and Tshering Angchu), a cook who will stay at Camp Two (Childum Sherpa), and two Base Camp staff (Kumar and Yam). They have been working hard over the past few weeks to get our personal First Ascent tents set up as well as a dining tent, cooking tent, toilet tent, and the First Ascent dome tent that we will use for communications. An altar, where we will have our blessing, has been carefully built out of the glacier rocks. We are incredibly lucky to have such a hardworking staff, and this climb would not be the same without them. As I take inventory of this small village that will be our resting and preparing point for the next few weeks, I find my eyes constantly distracted toward the Khumbu glacier and the icefall that sits at the head of our camp. In between the sounds of a glacier that is alive and moving, I am sure I can hear an invitation for us to enter.
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Comments 
Great pictures. I love the people shots!