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Posts from 02/2011

Mexico: Travel to Ixtaccihuatl

Posted by: | February 14, 2011
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mexico
Elevation: 12,000'

Travel day to Altzimoni hut. 

The roads were great as we drove from La Malinche to Amecameca to do a little final food shopping and check out the colorful local market. 

Then we finalized our approach to the Altzimoni hut and spent the afternoon sorting our gear, setting up tents and taking a walk to scope our route on Ixtaccihuatl. 

Tomorrow we will move to our high camp and prepare for our summit attempt.

RMI Guide Jake Beren

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Aconcagua: Summit!

Posted by: | February 14, 2011
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Aconcagua
Elevation: 22,841'

Hi everybody, who’s been following along. This is Billy, just checking in, we just completed, our summit day and we were able successfully put six climbers on top of Aconcagua this afternoon. We’re all back at camp safe and sound. And we enjoyed a sunny summit and then the weather kinda came in on our descent. And we are sitting in tents right now and it’s snowing lightly. But pretty much plans from here on out are to pack up and high tail it out- out to basecamp and then straight back to Mendoza. Everyone sends their love to their family members and loved ones, and especially Richard. Richard wanted me to make a point of saying that he loves his wife very much and that she’s his valentine and that he could not have summitted today without her.  And we’ll check in again as things progress and we’re headed back home. All right. Take care. Bye bye.

RMI Guide Billy Nugent

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Kilimanjaro:  Packed and Ready to go

Posted by: | February 14, 2011
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Kilimanjaro

Jambo!
Everyone arrived safely to the Dik Dik Hotel in Tanzania.  We spent the day organizing gear and packing our bags.  The Team looks in great shape and everybody spot on with a positive attitude.

We have just finished a five course meal and are looking forward to some much needed sleep after all our travels.  We will be up early tomorrow to start the climb.

Word from the mountain is that a pretty big snow storm rolled through today up high, so it is nice to be down here for that one.

We will be sending updates on our progress, so stay tuned.
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Wishing you all a Happy Valentine’s day from the RMI Kili Team in Arusha!

RMI Guide Mark Tucker

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Mexico: Acclimatization Hike on La Malinche

Posted by: | February 13, 2011
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mexico
Elevation: 10,000'

Today we left the hustle of Mexico City and drove to the high altitude training facility of La Malintzi for our first taste of the thin air. We hiked through the forest, climbing until we broke above treeline and gained our high point on the ridge of La Malinche at around 13,000 feet. We were strong today and after a little siesta and dinner are bedding down to rest up for tomorrows journey to the Altzimoni hut, our jump off for Ixta.

Buenas Noches and happy birthday to Christian and a big Valentine’s Day hug to all the sweeties up North.

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Aconcagua: Team Moves to High Camp

Posted by: | February 13, 2011
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Aconcagua
Elevation: 19,600'

Hey everybody, it’s Billy checking in for the entire crew. We woke up this morning to beautiful blue sky and calm winds and finally the storm broke for us. So we packed up our stuff and left Chopper Camp. We just moved in here at Camp Cholera and looks like this weather is gonna be holding for us through the evening and tomorrow and that makes tonight our summit attempt so will be getting up pretty early in the morning tomorrow and if all goes according to plan, we’ll be standing on top of the Americas, the summit of Aconcagua. We will give you guys a phone call and check in tomorrow at the end of the day and let you know how things went. Wish us luck.

Talk later. Ciao.

RMI Guide Billy Nugent

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Mexico’s Vocanoes:  The Trip Begins

Posted by: | February 13, 2011
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mexico
Elevation: 7,300'

Last night our entire crew met in the lobby of our Colonial-era hotel in the heart of Mexico City, right on the Zocalo or main square.  We all introduced ourselves and began the process of turning into a team by all going out to a local restaurant where we ate great authentic food and were serenaded by a squad of Mariachis. 

This morning we had a quick breakfast before finishing up our packing and heading down to meet Rogelio, our long-time transportation guru here in Mexico.  He will help us travel to La Malintzi where we will begin our acclimatization process by hiking up to 13,000 feet on the old volcano of La Malinche.

Here we go!

RMI Guide Jake Beren

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Aconcagua:  Another Weather Day

Posted by: | February 12, 2011
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Aconcagua
Elevation: 18,000'

Howdy gang, we are up here at Chopper Camp.  We are experiencing 30 mph winds, about 30 feet visibility, sometimes less and plenty of blowing snow to boot.  We are starting to feel like we’re in the middle of an Alaskan storm here. A little bit worse cause we’re so close to our objective. 

Me and the guides have been jammin’ reggae and blues in the tent to try to channel some southern or tropical vibes and overcome this lousy storm.  But the forecast actually calls for the squall to blow itself out tonight and if that’s the case we’re going, the whole team will head up tomorrow to Cholera Camp tomorrow. And then may take a crack at the summit on Valentine’s Day. But right now, Pete says the stoke meter is currently at 1 ½, so please send us your happy, positive, and tropical weather vibes, down here in South America.

We miss you all.  Wish us luck.
Ciao

RMI Guide Billy Nugent

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Aconcagua: Weather Day

Posted by: | February 11, 2011
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Aconcagua
Elevation: 18,000'

Today was the first day we’ve been stymied by lousy weather but the forecast looks pretty good!  We’re just stuck in our tents waiting for sunshine and calm winds.  The rest of the crew is taking the weather day quite well.  Depending on tomorrow’s conditions we may move to Cholera Camp (19,600’) in a single carry because the distance is relatively short and the group loads will be light… 
We’ll keep you posted!

Stuck in tents,

RMI Guide Billy Nugent and the crew

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Aconcagua: Move to Camp 2

Posted by: | February 10, 2011
Categories: *Aconcagua
Elevation: 18,000'

The crew moved up to Chopper Camp.  It’s currently dumping up here, with the forecast calling for 4-6” of accumulation.  Tomorrow’s plans call for a quick carry to Plaza Cholera (high camp) which means we’re getting close to pulling the trigger on our summit assault.  We need some cooperation from the weather but it looks like we’re going to get a good window in the upcoming days! 

Stoke meter is climbing (with the barometer)! 

RMI Guide Billy Nugent and the gang.

On The Map

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Mt. Rainier Winter Seminar - Summit!

Posted by: | February 10, 2011
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'

RMI Guide Seth Waterfall radioed in from the summit of Mt. Rainier at 11:15 a.m. PT with 100% of the team on the top.
It is a beautiful, crisp, clear day and they enjoyed the views for a little while before starting their descent.  They will return to Camp Muir to celebrate and warm up.
The team will spend tonight at Camp Muir (10,060’) and begin their descent tomorrow after some additional training.

Congratulations to the team!

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