{"id":5072,"date":"2015-12-22T14:57:22","date_gmt":"2015-12-22T12:57:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/?p=5072"},"modified":"2024-11-11T17:24:47","modified_gmt":"2024-11-11T15:24:47","slug":"december-solstice-2015-what-are-you-doing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.victronenergy.com\/blog\/2015\/12\/22\/december-solstice-2015-what-are-you-doing\/","title":{"rendered":"December Solstice 2015: What are you doing?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Victron people using Victron Energy products do extraordinary things, be that traversing deserts<\/a>, rowing<\/a> or sailing<\/a> oceans – and on this solstice day that remains the case, but this time it is the start of climbing a mountain. This is no ordinary mountain.<\/p>\n

Today, December 22 at 04:48 UT (that’s Universal Time<\/a> not Coordinated Universal Time<\/a>) is the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere. In the southern hemisphere you may well be on a beach celebrating the beginning of summer, but today in our half of the world it is the beginning of the astronomical winter – and for Victron installer Marek Klonowski (pictured above) that means the start of his fourth attempt at climbing Nanga Parbat<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Nanga Parbat<\/h3>\n

Nanga Parbat, along with K2, has never been climbed in winter. It is one of the eight-thousanders<\/a>, with a summit elevation of 8,126 metres (26,660 ft). Literally it means Naked Mountain, an immense, dramatic peak rising far above its surrounding terrain. It is also a notoriously difficult climb with numerous mountaineering deaths in the mid and early 20th century, which lent it the nickname “killer mountain”.<\/p>\n

The climb<\/h3>\n

Back in September I received an email from\u00a0Leo Yntema<\/a> who is the Victron Energy Sales Manager for Eastern Europe. In that email was a forwarded email requesting ‘climb sponsorship’ from Victron installer Marek Klonowski of Energy Freedom in Ireland<\/a> and Mikrogeneracja in Poland<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We’ve featured Marek’s installations in a previous Victron blog<\/a>, but this time the installation was to be on Nanga Parbet, to ensure an electricity supply to charge radios, satellite phones, send video and other media to the world via a satellite modem<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Here’s a short 4 minute video, from the winter of 2012\/13, to give you a flavour of the challenge.<\/p>\n

The team have over 10,000 followers on Facebook, where you can keep an eye on the climb’s progress. Use the translation tool in the page if you don’t speak Polish:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/nangadream\/<\/a><\/p>\n

The blog, in English, is here: http:\/\/nangadream.blogspot.ie\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Victron equipment<\/h3>\n

Below you can see a list of the Victron Energy equipment being used. The first image is one taken during the team’s two week acclimatisation on Rakaposhi <\/a>mountain.<\/p>\n

\"Victron<\/div><\/p>\n

Victron equipment list with quantities and item codes:<\/p>\n