Mount Vinson

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Context

• Scaling yet another peak in his ambitious journey, Kerala government employee Shaikh Hassan Khan has climbed Mount Vinson, the highest peak in Antarctica.
• This is the fifth highest peak that has been scaled by the 36-year-old Khan.

About Mount Vinson

• It is Antarctica's highest
• 4,892 metres (16,050 ft) is the elevation of Mount Vinson above sea level.
• It is situated close to the Ronne Ice Shelf and is a component of the Ellsworth Mountains' Sentinel Range.
• The Vinson Massif is the collective name for the five other great mountains in the same area as Mount Vinson, which are the next five highest summits on the continent of Antarctica.
• One of the coldest spots on Earth, the South Pole, is roughly 1,200 km away from it.
• There are five other tall mountains in the same area as Mount Vinson the next five highest summits on the continent of Antarctica which are collectively referred to as Vinson Massif.
• It was named after Carl Vinson, a U.S. Representative from Georgia who served in Congress from 1935 to 1961.
• Vinson was a strong proponent of the exploration of Antarctica.

Important details on the Ellsworth Mountains:

• Antarctica is home to the mountain ranges known as the Ellsworth Mountains.
• They are assembling into a north-south mountain range that is 360 km (224 mi) long and 48 km (30 mi) wide.
• In addition, Minnesota Glacier splits them in half, creating the Sentinel Range to the north and the Heritage Range to the south.
• With Mount Vinson (4,892 m) being the highest point on the continent, the former is by far the higher and more spectacular.