Surviving Climbing in Antarctica and What I Learned
Dear Traders,
I did it! We summited Vinson Massif in Antarctica with extreme cold and wind at 03:55 PM on January 19, 2024. I am proud to take our community flag on top of this massif, and I dedicate this achievement to all of you in the BBT Family who have followed my journey, witnessing the transformation to the climber and trader I am today.
Climbing Vinson was more challenging than Everest. It was colder, more remote, and without any Sherpa or helicopter support if needed. We had to do everything ourselves – carrying all our fuel and food on sleds, and establishing tents in high camps where the wind was blowing at 40 mph and the temperature dropped to -50°C/-60°C. It was so cold in higher camps that the thermometer stopped working after a few minutes outside.
The iPhone could only take pictures for about 45 seconds; it would completely shut down if you held it out longer. I had to take pictures, put the iPhone back in my pocket, and then warm my hands in my mouth.
Several team members suffered serious frostbite and had to return. It was cold, even colder than what I experienced on Everest.
Mt. Vinson is the symbol of power and eternity. A teasing lady who often is no lady, Mt. Vinson lures and seduces. It flirts with men who can’t say no to its beauty. It crushes men who respond to the invitation, but stay too long.
During the climb I couldn’t imagine seeing anything more beautiful than this. Silence, this vastness, this peace in the middle of the most hostile desert on earth. The only sounds came from ourselves.
I went to Antarctica not with aspirations of becoming an elite climber in the traditional sense; rather, I wanted a personal challenge. But it was more than just an adventure. It was a new life within my life. The journey of finding your way through ice and cold takes you prisoner. Every meter, every thought, trapped in ice surrounding us. It is all so real and demands so much of you physically and mentally that the world outside becomes irrelevant. Reality was saving my fingers, all other things lost their significance.
The trip began as the most extreme form of journeying my choice and freedom. I wanted to do an adventure to prove my individuality: but when we got to Camp 3 in -47C and had to set up our tents and team members started losing fingers from the cold, I realized this one was different. Now it was just about survival. The absurdity of this trip became not only obvious to me, but I also became painfully aware of it.
The wind was so cold that as if we were really at the world’s end and had arrived at the birthplace of the clouds and eyrie of the four winds.
What I learned from this trip that we should never forget that the nature is still the primary force of the universe, that for all our technological advancement and penetration of inaccessible places, there remain places where nature is still in charge: Antarctica
I am grateful I was able to experience this mountain!
Trading was amazing! We witnessed SPY and QQQ breaking all-time highs, and AMD and NVDA reaching unbelievable trading ranges. I missed 10 trading days, but today I got back into the groove with a solid $8,000 win on PLTR, thanks to a very solid ABCD Pattern.
Watch my recap to see how I traded PLTR today.
Also, we’re gearing up for the biggest and 8th anniversary of our community on April 7 and 8, 2024, in Vancouver, where BBT was born. I’d love to have at least 200 members joining us. We already have 50 people signed up, and I’d like to invite you to visit my beautiful city in the best month of the year and attend a 2-day full workshop with us, featuring many guests and new presentations.
We’re excited to have two new members, Lenny and Avi, joining us. Aiman is flying in from Russia, and Abiel is coming from Mexico. It’s going to be a fantastic meetup and live trading event!
We have 20 more tickets available at the early bird price. Your early sign-up helps us better organize the event. Also, if you book your hotel now, it will be very affordable, with budget-friendly hotels around $200 USD per night.
To your success,
Andrew
