swiss tower
December 2, 2008 - 4:00pm
Guest
i saw the pictures climbing the swiss tower.ohmygosh,how cool!
i was just wondering how long did it take you to climb the tower,was it difficult, and you said in your journal that the temperature changed as the height changed, so did you feel any change in the air pressure or temperature as you climbed higher towards the top of the tower?
--Missy M
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Hello Missy!
The climb to the top of the Swiss Tower was AMAZING!
It took about 20 minutes to climb to the top. I was on a constant climb to get to the top because with all my Arctic clothing, I knew I would warm up quickly.
I did my work on the way back down, fixing the cables for the temperature sensors.
To answer your question, I could definetly notice a difference in temperature from the ground to the top of the tower. The ground is considerably colder because the ice sheet acts like...well...ICE! So, it keeps the air near the ground very cold. As I traveled up, away from the ice, it warmed up several degrees.
I didn't notice any difference in air pressure but because we were at an elevation of 10,500 feet, the oxygen is severly depleted compared to sea level. So, I did notice a lack of oxygen which increased the difficulty of the climb.
Thanks for writing in.
Craig