The Vinson Massif is located about 1,200 kilometres from the South Pole and is about 21 km long and 13 km wide. The highest point is 4,892 metres, which was named in 2006 after Carl Vinson, member of the U.S. Congress.
Antarctica is the world’s coldest, windiest, highest, and driest continent. Beneath the ice, some parts of Antarctica are 2,500 meters below sea level.
In 2010, only 1,400 climbers have attempted to reach Mount Vinson. 98% of the continent is covered with ice and rocky peaks are very rare so Mt Vinson was not climbed until 1966.
In 2008 Johan Ernst Nilson climbed the highest mountain in Antarctica together with a small group of climbers from USA.
The mountain is quite easy in comparison with mountains like Denali and Everest but since it’s one of the coldest places in the world the mountain can be a dangerous place. The average temperature in the winter is -34°C with a maximum down to -89 °C. But the temperature can get much lower than that because of the highest wind speeds Earth (over 322 km per hour). When Johan skid to South Pole in 2011 he experienced wind speeds up to 150 km per hour.

The expedition was the last of Johans Seven Summits climb.