Climbing Mount Vinson — The Top of Antarctica (1987)

One Arm, 100 Pounds, and the Coldest Mountain on Earth

Mount Vinson is the highest point in Antarctica, rising 16,050 feet above one of the harshest places on Earth. It sits 750 miles from the South Pole on the driest continent on the planet, where temperatures can plunge to minus 31°F even in the “warm” season. Just getting there is an expedition. Climbing it is something else entirely.

Ted was invited to join a small climbing team that included the son of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. Every climber was expected to haul a 100-pound pack. Ted, never one to back down from a challenge, trained in his own creative way — loading groceries into his backpack and walking miles home while Vivian drove. Then he added a 50-pound lead weight and trained on his bicycle.

That decision nearly ended everything.

While riding at high speed, the weight tore through the backpack fabric, jammed into the bike spokes, and launched Ted over the handlebars. He suffered a concussion and separated his shoulder — just ten days before departure.

Doctors told him not to go. Family urged him to stay home. Vivian, terrified of the climb, quietly hoped this would be the end of it.

Ted went anyway.

One Arm, One Chance

Ted was the least experienced climber on the team and now had to carry a massive pack using only his good shoulder. Layered in heavy boots, thick socks, thermal gear, oversized gloves, and a bulky parka, he looked more like a walking pile of gear than a man.

He lagged far behind the group.

Then came the wall.

A steep ice face blocked his path, and his improvised backpack kept sliding off his shoulder. Alone, exhausted, and unable to climb with the full weight, Ted faced a brutal choice: abandon the pack or turn back.

He dropped it into a deep ice crevice and climbed on.

Hours later, he caught up to the team.

They were furious. The lost pack held critical supplies — a cooking pot, a tent, and Ted’s sleeping bag. Now they had fewer tents, less equipment, and brutal Antarctic nights ahead. No one wanted to share a sleeping bag.

Ted persuaded them to take turns. One man finally agreed. Whoever wasn’t in the bag had to run in place outside to stay warm in the screaming winds.

For days, they barely left the tents except for emergencies.

The Most Frightening Moment of His Life

When the evacuation plane finally arrived, it skidded wildly on the ice, sliding toward the waiting climbers. For a terrifying moment, it looked like it might crash into them.

Ted later said this expedition was the closest he ever came to death — more than once.

Yet he made it home.

Vivian organized evenings where Ted showed slides and told stories of the climb. What she didn’t realize at the time was that telling the story helped him process an experience that had pushed him to his absolute limits.

Even years later, Mount Vinson remained one of the few adventures Ted didn’t like to talk about.

Some mountains test your strength.
Others test your spirit.

Mount Vinson tested both.