Chicks With Altitutde

Cheryl and Nikki Bart are the only mother-daughter team to have climbed Mt Everest and the Seven Summits, the tallest mountain on every continent. They will now climb Mt Sidley—Antarctica's tallest volcano.

Live Updates

We are grateful for the support and technical gear we have received for our expedition

Mount Sidley

Mt Sidley is Antarctica’s tallest volcano and, given its harsh environment and remote location, less than 40 people in the world have successfully achieved its summit. One of the Seven Volcanic Summits, it will be Cheryl and Nikki’s third of these peaks. The volcano stands at 4,285m and is located on the polar ice sheet—the top is a 5km wide caldera with a 1,200m deep amphitheater created by an eruption 4.7 million years ago. The summit is made more unique by its fantastical snow “mushrooms”, created by the eruption, which define the entire upper ridge and create the added challenge of a maze to the summit.

Mt Sidley is located in Marie Byrd Land—essentially “no-man’s land”—which, unlike other Antarctic territories, is not claimed by any nation. It is a region that is rarely visited and even satellite images of the area are sparse. It is truly wilderness with no artificial moorings, research stations, or landing strips. In this area there is a chain of 18 active, almost-unexplored volcanoes that break up through the polar ice sheet, including Mt Sidley.

Cheryl and Nikki will face harsh conditions, with temperatures as low as -40°C/F, and severe storms. The expedition is expected to take 2–3 weeks with 6–8 hours of climbing daily, carrying large packs, and dragging 30–40kg sleds on the approach. The team will carry all of their own food, fuel, and equipment as the expedition is completely unsupported, and they will source drinking water by shovelling snow to melt using gas cylinders. The only mode of communication will be satellite phone, charged by solar panels.

Seven Summits

The Seven Summits are the tallest mountain on each continent. Currently, less than 500 people worldwide have achieved this mountaineering crown, with less than 100 of those being female. Details of each summit, along with the dates on which Cheryl and Nikki reached them, are included in the history section.

Volcanic Seven Summits

The Volcanic Seven Summits are composed of the tallest volcano on each continent. Two of the Seven Summits (Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Elbrus) also form part of the Volcanic Seven Summits. Current records indicate that only 12 people have climbed all 7 Volcanic Summits.

Live Updates

Cheryl and Nikki's only means of contact will be via satellite phone. Live updates will be posted here and on Twitter @ChicksAltitude. Make sure to check out the map of live update locations.

Problems with the sat phone led to intermittent communications so check back soon for additional and more-detailed updates.

9
20 Jan '18 UTC
-79.7595° -82.8503°
Returning to Punta Arenas from Union Glacier.
8
14 Jan '18 UTC
-77.0895° -126.1348°
Summit of Mount Sidley.
7
10 Jan '18 UTC
-77.0895° -126.1348°
Via sat phone: good weather meant we had an early start to fly in a twin otter across to sidley. our head pilot, rus, is one of the most experieced in antartica. the montvain is so remote we need the best team. we flew two hours across the continent and then stopped to refuel at a cache before taking off again. there is no runway near the mountain so the pilot did a couple of practice landings to see where was the flattest area to land. you definitely couldnt be afraid of heights or flying for this trip. what a spectacular "airport" we had. everyone held their breath as we landed on the snow within the regoin of volcanos. we set up a spectacular site to sleep in tonight. bc the area is so very remote the two pilots and an engineer will stay with us rather than attempting to fly back. we are both happy we have our appendix out as we feel very far from home right now. good night from where the sun never sets
6
9 Jan '18 UTC
-79.7595° -82.8503°
Via sat phone: we landed on a blue ice runway with no breaks only reverse thrust. we were greeted by twenty four hour run and minus twenty degrees. the warm weather and good conditons meant some climbers could fly straight out. we are excited and nervous to be here. our team is all experienced, with everyone already completing everest and the seven summits. however given the nature of sidley even the guide has not been there before.
5
9 Jan '18 8:41AM CLT -0400
-53.1417° -70.9764°
Time to board! Safety briefing and mandatory selfie on the Ilyushin IL-76.
4
8 Jan '18 23:26PM CLT -0400
-53.1417° -70.9764°
Had final briefing at Antarctic Logistic Expeditions. Learnt about all of the adventure & risks ahead. Room was filled with nervous excitement—South Pole skiers, Mt Vinson climbers & 4 of us climbing Mt Sidley. Weather permitting tomorrow we fly to the ice. Wind & snow conditions are carefully monitored and, because we need to land on a blue-ice runway, if conditions change we might need to turn around mid-flight. We will get a weather update tomorrow morning and hopefully it’s all systems GO!
3
7 Jan '18 23:42PM CLT -0400
-53.1417° -70.9764°
Our first day in Punta Arenas. Expedition to Sidley is unsupported so will be carrying all food, fuel, tents and anything needed to survive over next 3 weeks. At -40 degrees, have special sleeping bags and down jackets/pants to keep us toastie warm! Always a fine balance between how much we carry, and how heavy we can make our bags with chocolate. Spent most of the day sorting our gear and then doing a thorough gear check, because anything missing could make a serious difference to our expedition.
2
5 Jan '18 20:00PM CLT -0400
-53.1417° -70.9764°
Arrived in Punta Arenas, Chile. Lying at the southern-most tip of South America, it is an ideal departure point for Antarctica.
1
5 Jan '18 12:30PM AEDT +1000
-33.9373° 151.1648°
Cheryl & Nikki leave Sydney for Punta Arenas, Chile on their way to Antarctica.

Chicks With Altitude

Cheryl and Nikki Bart hold the world record for the first mother-daughter team to have climbed Mt Everest and the Seven Summits, the tallest mountain on every continent. For their accomplishments the duo were awarded the Australian Geographic Spirit of Adventure award in 2008 and they remain the only mother-daughter team to have achieved this feat. Nikki has also skied to the North Pole in 2011 and Cheryl has skied to both the North and South Poles, becoming the 31^st person in the world to achieve The Explorers Grand Slam.

Speaking Engagements

Both Cheryl and Nikki are available for keynote speeches in Australia and internationally. All speaking enquiries should be addressed to Saxton Speakers Bureau.

Cheryl Bart

Cheryl Bart AO, is a lawyer and company director. As a banking and finance lawyer, she serves as a non-executive Director on the boards of ME Bank Ltd, SG Fleet Ltd, Football Federation Australia, Powering Australia Renewables Fund, Invictus Games Sydney 2018, The Prince's Trust Australia, and Audio Pixels Holdings. She is immediate past Chairman of the Environment Protection Authority, South Australian Film Corporation, Adelaide International Film Festival, and FARE. Cheryl recently finished her terms on the boards of the ABC, South Australia Power Networks, Spark Infrastructure, Local Organising Committee of the Australia Asian Cup 2015, and the Australian Himalayan Foundation.

Nikki Bart

Dr Nikki Bart is a medical doctor working at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney. She has completed a PhD in medical physiology at the University of Oxford, under a prestigious Sir John Monash scholarship. Looking at the effect of low oxygen on the human body, she translates her passion for mountaineering to further our knowledge of sick patients with heart and lung disease suffering from low oxygen levels.

Fundraising & Awareness

We are passionate about these causes, and it would be wonderful to have your support for them.

Jewish House

Donate now

Providing professional and compassionate care to men, women, and children from all walks of life, Jewish House is an independent crisis prevention and intervention service operating out of the Eastern suburbs of Sydney. Our services include a 24/7 help line, crisis accommodation, a resilience-building program for kids aged 4–12, psychology, psychiatry and social work services, as well as community education, prevention, and other positive-living programs. Many of our clients are suffering from either homelessness, domestic violence, mental health, or other family and life crises. Jewish House provides support and refuge, without bias, all year round, to all people.

Heart Foundation

Find out more or get involved

Despite being a leading killer of women, few women consider heart disease personally relevant. Awareness is currently below 35% and only one in two women are confident they would know what to do or actions to take if they were having a heart attack. Women between 30 and 65 are also less likely to have spoken with their GP about heart disease than their male counterparts. These statistics underscore the fact that heart disease in women remains under-recognised, under-researched, and under-treated. To address this the Heart Foundation has built a comprehensive women and heart disease program around four key pillars; community engagement, health professional engagement, research and community awareness through its Making the Invisible Visible campaign.