Vinson Massif, the highest mountain in Antarctica, is located about 1,200 km (750 mi) from the South Pole, in the Sentinel Range of the Ellsworth Mountains. The massif's existence was unsuspected until 1957, when it was spotted by US Navy aircraft. It was named after Carl Vinson (also the namesake of an aircraft carrier), a Georgia congressman who was a key supporter of funding for Antarctic research.

In 1963, the American Alpine Club, began lobbying the National Science Foundation to support an expedition to climb Vinson, in part to forestall the efforts of Woodrow Wilson Sayre, who had developed a reputation for problematic trips (the concern in this case was that a private expedition in trouble would require a difficult and dangerous rescue). The Alpine Club finally got permission in 1966.  With the help of the Navy, who flew the climbers to the Sentinel Range on a ski-equipped C-130 Hercules, a group of four climbers led by Nicholas B. Clinch reached the summit on December 18, 1966.