Quebec mountaineer Marie-Pier Desharnais is entering the final stage of her Apex Woman project, which involves climbing five of the highest or most difficult peaks on the planet. She is on her way to Antarctica, where she will tackle the ascent of Mounts Vinson and Mount Sidley in the next month.
At 4892 meters above sea level, Mount Vison is the highest mountain in Antarctica. Mount Sidley is the highest volcano, at 4285 meters.
The mountaineer from Victoriaville has already conquered K2 and Everest, in the Himalayas, as well as the highest volcano in the world, Ojos del Salado, on the border of Argentina and Chile.
She chose those peaks that few women have climbed — just 31 for K2 and 38 for Sidley, according to her tally at the launch of the Apex Woman project. She hopes to be able to influence, not only women, but anyone to embark on their challenges.
The Antarctic adventure will begin on Thursday. About ten days will be devoted to the ascent of Mount Vison from the base camp of Union Glacier, at an altitude of 700 meters. Next, she’ll head to Mount Sidley, which is over a five-hour flight from Union Glacier.
“Sidley has been climbed a dozen times at most and we may even risk opening a new route, depending on the condition of the glaciers,” explains Ms.me Desharnais, in an interview with The Canadian Press a few days before his departure.
There is only one expedition per year to Mount Sidley, which is provided by Antarctic Logistics Expeditions, the company that manages travel on the Antarctic continent.
“It’s really in adventure mode, we see what is available to us when we arrive,” she adds.
As it has been three years since this expedition has been postponed for Marie-Pier Desharnais, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she said she was feverish before her departure for Chile, from where flights to Antarctica depart.
” I have one “melting pot” of emotions in the sense that [ça] has been handed over, there’s a storm on the horizon [au Québec, qui risque d’annuler des vols]… Seems like there’s always this kind of “clouds” above my head that says “are you really going to happen?” “, she testified.
On Monday, she had nevertheless arrived in the Chilean capital, the first step towards the southern continent. More than the technical aspect, it is the cold that represents one of the biggest challenges of the Antarctic expedition. Even in summer, temperatures fluctuate between -24° and -1°C at base camp.
They can reach -40°C at Mount Vison.
“Every element we use must be robust for the cold, but, at the same time, when it’s robust, it’s heavy […]. I’ve literally been evaluating every item I want to take for months,” says Ms.me Desharnais, who notably worked with the Quebec brand Chlorophylle to develop adapted clothing.
And even more, the financial aspect is a constraint, while the cost of his expedition to Antarctica is around US$100,000.
“People think that the challenge is purely technical or sporting, but no, the whole financing aspect… I spent nights not sleeping to be able to successfully align all these sources, and that’s especially the fruit of my hard work”, explains the one who works as an expert in disaster management and business continuity in Qatar.
This adventure is therefore very different from the ascent of K2 that the 37-year-old Quebecer made in July and which is renowned as one of the most difficult in the world.
“I think K2 really made me question myself personally, about how far I was willing to go; was I at peace with the fact that there could be fatal consequences? », Analyzes the mountaineer.
“I don’t have all that questioning for Antarctica, it’s really more about funding. How far am I willing to sacrifice my other dreams? “, she underlines, specifying that she used the money she would have invested in a house to go to Antarctica.
After Mounts Vinson and Sidley, not only Mme Desharnais will close her Apex Woman project, but she will also have climbed the seven highest volcanoes on each of the continents. She will also be one mountain away from achieving the “seven peaks,” the highest point on each of the seven continents.
He will therefore have Denali, the highest mountain in North America, in Alaska. She plans to get there in June.
Few mountaineers have successfully completed the Seven Summits and Seven Volcanoes, and even fewer women. Montrealer Theodore Fairhurst has been on this list since 2018. A few women have achieved this double, in the version that includes Mount Kosciuszko (2228m), Australia, for Oceania.
Among them are the Australian Katie Sarah since 2018 as well as the Romanians Delia and Iulia Zanoschi since this year. Another version of the seven peaks includes the Carstensz pyramid (4884 m), in Indonesia, for Oceania.