First Ever Carbon-Neutral Ascent of Mt. Vinson
THURSDAY, 17 FEBRUARY 2011
Ed Viesturs, Source 44 LLC’s co-founder and chief spokesperson, has officially attained a new milestone in the world of carbon-friendly mountaineering. Today Source 44’s scientific staff verified that Viesturs and his eight-person team, which reached the summit of Antarctica’s Mt. Vinson on January 10, has become the first to ever scale that continent’s largest mountain in a carbon-neutral fashion.
“I’m thrilled to have helped lead this great team to the top of the bottom of the world,” Viesturs said, “and I’m proud that by partnering with the folks at Source 44 we were able to do so without any impact on this incredible environment.
“The team was diligent in planning this expedition to ensure we minimized our carbon footprint as much as possible,” he said. “Source 44 then measured our reduced carbon dioxide emissions, and has offset those reduced emissions by purchasing verified carbon offsets.”
The expedition began on January 1 when Viesturs rang in the New Year by setting off to Antarctica with an expedition team with plans to celebrate the 45th anniversary of its first ascent.
The expedition commenced in Punta Arenas, Chile, where Viesturs and his team of three guides and five clients prepared to travel to the southern-most continent. Their instruction included how to survive in sub-zero temperatures for 10 days.
Ideal weather conditions arrived on January 5, 2011, and the team boarded an Ilyushin 76 loaded with gear, food and supplies and flew to Union Glacier Camp, Antarctica headquarters. The team undertook a two-part journey from union Glacier Camp to Vinson Basecamp: first a flight to Nimitz Glacier, then an additional 10-minute flight to the final base camp.
Five-and-half miles from Vinson Basecamp, the team reached Low Camp at 9,000 feet, where they stored most of the food and fuel. From there, the team ascended to 12,500 feet, waiting at High Camp for the weather to clear before attempting the summit of Vinson Massif at 16,067 feet.
At 5:00 p.m. on the tenth day of the expedition, with winds blowing at 18-20 knots and temperatures at 31–32 below zero, Viesturs and the expedition team reached the summit of Vinson Massif.
“To reach the summit of Mt. Vinson is a mountaineer’s winter wonderland,” said Viesturs. “Thanks to my partners at Source 44, I have achieved my dream with minimal environmental impact - carbon neutral! I would also like to thank Eddie Bauer, a Source 44 client and sponsor of our expedition, for keeping us warm in one of the coldest places on earth."
“We at Source 44 are all celebrating this historical event,” said Jess Kraus, Source 44’s president, co-founder and CEO. “From the top of Mt. Vinson, Ed Viesturs and his team have demonstrated how to reach great heights with a minimal footprint. Source 44 is proud to be part of that achievement by calculating and offsetting their carbon dioxide emissions, enabling this expedition to be the first-ever carbon-neutral “offset” ascent of Mt. Vinson.
“The team learned a great deal through this process,” Kraus continued, “and this expedition will serve as a template for future climbs and expeditions. We recognize that the ultimate gain will be derived from a truly carbon-neutral expedition that doesn’t require offsets, and we believe we now have the fundamental data to deliver for Ed’s summit of Mt. McKinley in May. In the end offsets are not the final answer, and the guidelines we’ve created during the summit of Mt. Vinson will provide the foundation for a carbon-neutral expedition that only minimally relies upon offsets."
Explaining how Source 44 offset the expedition’s carbon dioxide emissions, Jennifer Kraus, Source 44’s chief scientific officer, said, “Our team of business sustainability analysts utilized the WRI GHG Emissions Factors Compilation and GHG Protocol to assess the footprint of the expedition,” she said. “After we determined the carbon footprint of the expedition, Source 44 purchased validated carbon offsets at Carbonfund.org, an organization that supports three types of carbon projects that play an important role in the fight against climate change: renewable energy, energy efficiency, and reforestation.”
Source: www.prlog.org
|
|
|
|
|
Basics & Backgrounds
in Dutch
Home
Print News Item
Comment on News Item
Submit News Item
Search News Items