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Posts from 02/2013

Mexico Volcanoes: Waterfall & Team Summit Ixta!

Posted by: Seth Waterfall, Solveig Waterfall | February 13, 2013
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mexico
Elevation: 17,340'

Hey guys this is Seth.  We’re all on top of Ixta!  All seven climbers and three guides made it.  Beautiful weather. Had a great day.  Here’s the big cheer. [Team cheers!]  We’ll give a shout when we’re back down safe and sound at high camp.

RMI Guide Seth Waterfall

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Mexico’s Volcanoes: Team Ascends to High Camp on Ixtaccihuatl

Posted by: Seth Waterfall, Solveig Waterfall | February 12, 2013
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mexico
Elevation: 14,750'

Greetings from high camp on Ixta!  We had a great day on the trail.  My day started a bit earlier than the rest of the team as I came up to camp to drop off some water early in the morning.  The rest of the group enjoyed bacon and eggs for breakfast before starting their hike at 9:30am.  It was very warm and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky for most of the day but we had a nice breeze to keep us from getting too hot.

We just finished with dinner and now everyone’s getting their gear organized for tonight’s we climb!  Hopefully the next time we check in it will be from the summit.

RMI Guide Seth Waterfall

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Ecuador Volcanoes: Beren & Team Acclimatizing on Cerro Fuya Fuya

Posted by: Jake Beren, Ben Liken | February 12, 2013
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Ecuador
Elevation: 14,000'

The rain was borderline torrential in Quito last night, but as we got closer to our acclimatization hike, it let up for us. We had a great hike today, topping out on Cerro Fuya Fuya at over 14,000 feet!  The team again did a great job climbing up this mountain and making the most of our time up high. Tomorrow we will head to Otovalo and do a little exploration of the market town. Afterwards it’s up to the Cayambe hut!  So far so good down here.

RMI Guide Jake Beren

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Kilimanjaro: Grom & Team Start Their Climb to Machame Camp

Posted by: Casey Grom | February 12, 2013
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Kilimanjaro
Elevation: 9,800'

We caught our first views of Kilimanjaro today while on our two-hour drive to the park gate. Looming in the distance it was almost mistaken as a cloud. We spent about an hour getting checked in and all of our gear weighed. All in all there are 55 porters, guides, cooks, waiters and camp crew bringing our group total to 66. The majority of folks are porters who are carrying much of our gear, fresh food and most importantly fresh ground coffee!

The first day always feels like the toughest as we try to get into the swing of things and find our legs under us. The team did great today and made good time from about 6000’ up to 10,000’ in about six miles. It took a little over five hours and thankfully didn’t rain on us. We have just finished a well cooked meal with curried vegetables, fried chicken breast, potatoes and a nice slice of cake for dessert. Bellies are full and everyone is in their tent getting ready for some well deserved sleep.

RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

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Aconcagua: Nugent & Team Rest at Camp 1

Posted by: Billy Nugent, Mike King, Garrett Stevens | February 12, 2013
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Aconcagua
Elevation: 16,200'

Here for I am to be writing from resting day the third in Camp 1. But seriously, we are resting comfortably here at Camp 1 passing the time jamming Talking Heads, reading, and drinking maté. Most of us are actively working to keep the altitude and tent time from scrambling our brains. The team is understandably a bit restless hanging out with such good weather but managing nonetheless. Rumor has it that there may be a bit of wind tomorrow but nothing that should shut us down on our planned move to Camp 2. As we head higher and higher the reality of a summit bid is getting closer and closer. More to report after we push camp uphill to Camp 2 tomorrow!

RMI Guide Billy Nugent

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Mexico Volcanoes: Waterfall & Team at Altzimoni Hut on Ixta

Posted by: Seth Waterfall, Solveig Waterfall | February 11, 2013
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mexico
Elevation: 13,000'

13,000!  That’s our sleeping elevation tonight at the Altzimoni hut.  We started the day with the best breakfast in Mexico at the Mission Tlaxcala.  Then we drove back to the west and around Ixta, with a few pit stops along the way.  Once we reached the town of Amecameca we loaded up on water and drove to the Altzimoni hut.  After getting settled the group headed out for a light hike.  After that we made dinner and now everyone is tucked in their bunks and getting ready to move to high camp tomorrow.  We will check back in from there.

RMI Guide Seth Waterfall

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Aconcagua: Nugent & Team Carry to Camp 2

Posted by: Billy Nugent, Garrett Stevens, Mike King | February 11, 2013
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Aconcagua
Elevation: 16,200'

More sun today with light winds and nearly perfect temperatures made for a great carry up to Camp 2. Our group is starting to work like that proverbial well-oiled machine with solid efforts the last couple days moving and pushing carries up the mountain. Our foray took us above 18,000’ which was an altitude record for many and certainly the highest anybody in the group had carried a heavy load. We enjoyed a “picnic” with beautiful new views up at Camp 2 while we built up our cache of food and fuel in a nook among the rocks. And after hanging for an hour or so we made short work of our descent back to Camp 1. All in all we were on the go for only 3.5 hours and about 4.5 hours round trip. The team is feeling strong, motivated, and ready for the hard work ahead!

RMI Guide Billy Nugent

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Ecuador Volcanoes: Beren & Team Hike to Top of Rucu Pichincha

Posted by: Jake Beren, Ben Liken | February 11, 2013
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Ecuador
Elevation: 15,696'

What a day!  After breakfast the rain let up for a bit and we boarded the teleferico for a ride up to 13,200 feet. Nice way to travel. We caught a quick glance at Cotopaxi before the clouds rolled in and enjoyed perfect walking temperatures up to the ridge of the extinct volcano Rucu Pichincha. With a weather window to work with, we roped up and climbed to the summit, everyone standing tall at 15,700 feet above the sea. The team did great and we even managed to get down to the trail before the rain came in. The rain stayed with us until we got back to town, but everyone’s spirits remained high and now we are relaxing before dinner. Tomorrow we leave Quito and head for even higher ground.  Wish us luck!

RMI Guide Jake Beren

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Mountaineering Training | Fit To Climb: Week 2

Posted by: | February 11, 2013
Categories: *Mountaineering Fitness & Training

Congratulations on last week’s training, you are off to a great start! How does your body feel after seven practice sessions of the Daily Dozen?

The purpose of this week’s training is to continue to practice the Daily Dozen and to add a weekend hike to round things out. Choose an easy or moderate goal for the first hike.

This is the end of the adaptation phase. Next week is the beginning of the foundation phase.

Fit to Climb: Week 2 Schedule

DAY	WORKOUT	TOTAL TIME	DIFFICULTY
1	Daily Dozen	12 min.	Recovery
2	Daily Dozen + 40 Minute Hike	52 min.	Medium
3	Daily Dozen / Rest	12 min.	Recovery
4	Daily Dozen + 40 Minute Hike	52 min.	Medium
5	Daily Dozen / Rest	12 min.	Recovery
6	Daily Dozen + 2 Hour Hike	132 min.	Medium
7	Rest	-	Recovery
	Total	4 hrs 44 mins

-John Colver

John Colver is a longtime climber, former mountain guide, and certified personal trainer with the American Council of Exercise. Colver introduced outdoor fitness classes to athletic clubs throughout the greater Puget Sound region before creating his adventX brand. Currently, adventX leads training programs in Seattle and Colver presents clinics on outdoor fitness at companies such as Microsoft, Boeing, the American Lung Association, and REI. Colver lives in Seattle, and is working on his second book, Fit to Climb - a 16 week Mount Rainier Fitness Program.

Questions? Comments? Share your thoughts with John and other readers on the RMI Blog!

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Kilimanjaro: Grom & Team Begin with a Visit to a Local School

Posted by: Casey Grom | February 11, 2013
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Kilimanjaro

The team is all here and our adventure starts tomorrow!

Today we rested from the long flights and prepared our gear for the climb. We took a short ride into Arusha, did a little shopping and visited the school that Clement’s (our driver) children attend. Some of the team members brought gifts and candy that we handed out to the kids. Plenty of smiles there!

Everyone is doing well, a little nervous as usual! But ready to stretch the legs tomorrow.

RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

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