<--- Previous Story: Vinson

I'm in Punta Arenas, preparing for my next trip.

Like the Vinson climb, the next trip wasn't exactly planned. When we left Arizona, I had no idea I would be climbing Antarctica's highest mountain. Or any mountain really. I didn't train for it, and I had no climbing gear.

My NFT will be extemporaneous also. Only after I descended from Vinson did the idea of my NFT occur to me. Fortunately for me, Jenny is now arranging the details by phone.

One item of noteworthy equipment that has been on all these fun trips is the quilt. Jenny and I first used it for two weeks on the ice cap of Greenland. Then we used the same quilt for nearly two months while skiing to the South Pole. We used it while camping in Patriot Hills, until Jenny left Antarctica, then I continued using the same quilt at P.H., until it was time for me to leave for Mt. Vinson. Then on Vinson I used the same quilt.

Always before, this quilt was packed in a sled. But on Vinson I had to cram it in my backpack. Now back in Punta, I am about to cram this quilt into my backpack again and leave for my NFT.

This particular quilt is a two-person model without a Spit-Zip. It works for two people sleeping together and sharing their warmth. But it also works for one person sleeping alone. In fact, on Vinson I had the lightest "sleeping bag" of all the climbers - my 2-person quilt. Not too shoddy for 12,000' in Antarctica.

This quilt was a prototype that Jenny sewed when we were developing our new Ray-Way Quilt Kit. Designed to be easy to sew, yet it has the Gorget and the Draft-Stopper. If we were using it for backpacking, it would also have the Split-Zip.