Entries By dominic cifelli

Monday, February 26, 2024 - 5:20 pm PT

A long evening in La Malinche Parque Nationale cabins, late breakfast, and improved air quality revived the group, following what Dom had sold us as a “nothing conditioning stroll” on La Malinche volcano. We boarded our Sprinter van for the drive to Amecameca’s central plaza where we grazed the food stalls for lunch, and our guides bought huge jugs of water for our tent site at Ixta base camp.  The Sprinter took us to our next Parque National, Ixta-Popo, where we let Hecter drive our bags up to our base camp at 13,000 feet.  The couple hour walk up a trail was, this time, indeed a “stroll”.  Our local guide Allen, along with our cook, Rudolpho, and porters, Ali and Alejandro, greeted us happily, and then we focused on an intense gear check and pack planning session, followed by instructions in erecting the Trango tents.  Spaghetti for dinner, and several layers of down wrapped up our day.  Everyone is excited to carry our heavy packs up to Ixta’s High Camp tomorrow.

RMI Climber Katherine Jankaew 

"Pista!” 

“¡Venga!”

“¡Sí se puede!”

The hike up La Malinche gave our RMI crew a chance to stretch our legs (muchas gracias to our driver, Hector, for our safe travels from CDMX) as well as to practice our Spanish thanks to a race up and down the mountain that was happening during our acclimation hike.  

Our group went from 10,000 ft at the La Malinche resort to a near summit at 14,000ft. About half the crew tried to summit but were turned away by the local enforcers of summit attempts. 

In a few quick hours everyone was back at the resort and enjoying a delicious authentic Mexican meal prepared by the resort staff. 

Off to bed early and in the morning we will be back at it headed to Ixta base camp. 

“Watch the course!”

“Come on!” 

“Yes you can!” 

RMI Climber Jared Wood 

Today we walked.

It was a dusty, rocky, hot, and dry 15 miles from Mulas Basecamp to the park trailhead. In front of us sprawled an immense valley. Behind us, clear views of the summit we stood upon just a few short days ago.

A perfect setting for reflection.

Some thought back to the summit bid with all the challenges and struggles that came with it.

Others looked forward to the Michelin Star dinner that awaits us in Mendoza tonight. With FKTs being broken to meet the reservation.

Still others spoke of future climbing plans such as Mt. Vinson or Denali.

All in all we started this journey as strangers just a few short weeks ago. But we leave the Park as friends, by our shared experience of climbing Aconcagua.

Thank you for following along, we can't wait till we're back out in the mountains for our next objectives.

Climber Jon Honda 

Well well well. After a dusty walk downhill we have arrived back at basecamp, albeit a different basecamp on the other side of the mountain, we are back to the land of three course dinners, soda, wine, and real toilets (sort of). A welcome reward after our hardwork on the mountain the last few days.

I have said it before and I will say it again, while summits are great, my favorite part of these trips is seeing a group of individuals come together to create a family and work together towards a common goal. It has been an honor to work with this team and even sweeter that we were able to go 100% to the summit.

We will all be heading home with our heads held high knowing we accomplished what we set out to do.

That being said our adventure is not quite over. Tomorrow we will complete the 15 mile hike (downhill thankfully) back to civilization and end up back in Mendoza for a delicious closing dinner. We have negotiated a deal with the mules to get one more day of help carrying our gear which is greatly appreciated.

To everyone back at home who have been following and supporting our journey, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. The support means more than you know, and you will be seeing us back stateside before long.

RMI Guide Michael Murray & Team

It’s a beautiful thing, to challenge yourself to something you truly don’t know you can accomplish. You figure out truths about yourself that otherwise would be lost behind the comforts of home and the assuredness of monotony. It’s a beautiful thing to know that despite the outcome of an expedition, you’ll return with a lifelong memory. 

A lifelong memory we sure had. Today was a hard fought battle full of wind, clouds, and sideways snow. On typical summit days we revel in the brief reprieve from the cold at two rest stops, Independencia and the cave. Today, we were met with swirling clouds and snow; nothing but glimpses of the sun as the clouds whipped over Aconcagua. Though we weren’t treated to the views that Aconcagua had to offer we weren’t short of a sense of accomplishment. I am so proud to say that 100% of the team stood on top of the Americas today. We were more than likely the highest people touching the earth at the time. Congrats team. 

I do owe the team an explanation though. Ever since I was a kid, i hated the attribution of the saying “ that’s Just my luck” to mean bad luck. Ever since, whenever something good would happen, I’d say the line. The team heard plenty of it during the trip. Saying “ just my luck” to getting an extra lunch, or when the weather forecast was in our favor. Except you just read the above, the forecast wasn’t exactly in our favor, so what gives. Of course some things don’t go in my favor all the time, weather included, but the team showed up in the best shape of their lives, need I remind you we went 100%. The team showed up ready to mentally handle the hardship and discomfort of the wind, snow, and cold. The team gelled and laughed the entire time. So who gives a shit about the weather. If that’s not “ just my luck” I don’t know what is. 

 Congrats again, Team! For a hard fought summit and an excellent trip. 

RMI Guide Dominic Cifelli

Look,

If you had, one shot, or one opportunity, 

To seize everything you ever wanted,

In one moment.

Would you capture it or just let it slip?

Yo.

My face is dusty,

I'm not weak, pack feels heavy,

There's something on my puffy already,

Dom's spaghetti, we're nervous.

But on the surface, we are calm and ready,

To rest step, but we keep on forgetting,

What snacks we bear,

How many puffy's should I wear?

We open our mouths, to get the pressure breath out.

I'm not choking, how,

We are not joking, wow,

The time is now, breaks up, 

Over, pow!

Snap back to reality,

Ope there goes vanity,

Ope was that rabbit? Beef stew,

It's that bad, but it's all that I got,

So I guess I'll just have it.

We know we've gotta get up and go, 

It don't matter, we're dope,

We know that, and we're tired, 

But not stagnant, we know,

When we go back to our mobile homes,

That's when we check on our snacks again,

Yo, I'm going choclatey.

Better go capture this moment and not let it pass us and,

We're gonna lose ourselves in the moment,

These moments, we own it,

And we'll never let them go.

If we only get one shot, we won't miss our chance to go,

This opportunity comes once in a lifetime,

Let's go."

All MC lyrics aside, this team truly is ready to go. We are ready to make one final push towards our ultimate goal of standing on the summit of Cerro Aconcagua. Here we are at 19,600 feet with our packs packed, our bellies full, and our excitement unable to be contained. Tomorrow's summit day will test us both physically and mentally, but we are ready to rise to the challenge and give it our all. I want to give a huge shoutout to all friends and family who have been following us on this journey. Stick with us a little longer as our biggest day is right in front of us. See you all tomorrow!

P.S. - Happy Birthday Eddie :)

RMI Guide Ben Luedtke & Team

Rest day

Two things sprung to mind when I was asked to do this post. First what my wife would say “another rest day, you go on vacation and you need rest days?” The other was why me - am I the best rester, is that my speciality?

This put me to think about this. Am I incapable of discussing the climbing/trekking days?  Is that just too technical for me - walking uphill on a pile of gravel and sand everyday - left, right, breathe, left, right, breathe. Yeah, that is super technical so I’m never going to be out in that brigade.

However, am I the best rester, what about the rest of the bunch?

Start with the guides.  They are never going to be assigned as superior resters.  Job security with RMI suggests they’ll never get the rester job.

What about Norm, my tent mate? Norm never rests.  Whether it’s out shooting beavers to make his wife’s world famous beaver stew, or do DIY around the house - shelves and presses to keep everything in place (he could do with some shelves in the tent!). No, not Norm.

Mikayla , hmmm?  No not her either. On rest days Mikayla is off negotiating world peace and post Cold War detente with any passing Poles or Russians Mikayla is too focused on world peace.

Chris, surely an option.  However, Chris is the best dressed person on the mountain. As we crawl from our tents every morning, covered in dust and stained with the remains of last night’s dinner, Chris is like James Bond - clean, sparkling. I’m positive he gets overnight Amazon deliveries of new gear. But I digress, is Chris a rester?  No, Chris spends his rest time searching for the latest gadget or piece of gear. What’s the next 360 degree camera?  Also Chris is an inventor and an environmental evangelist- something we didn’t know at the outset of this trip.  His latest “the Oop stove” provides instant sustainable heat in your tent and solves the blue bag challenge.  Also, even when I wake in the middle of the night I hear Chris doing some wind experiments. No, Chris’s rest days are his busiest days.

Finally the three lads - Andy, Jon, Ben.  (Ben has been a champion sleeper since he reconnected with his sleeping bag).  Whenever I ask Jon how his afternoon sleep went he replies “I had a great sleep”. So the anesthetist, the pathologist and the unsuspecting patient spend their afternoons doing some macabre fiendish high altitude medical research.  It’s important that science progresses

Yeah, I guess I am the obvious choice.

So the rest day was just that.  A quick 90 minute saunter up a nearby hill, that we somehow completed in 45 mins - thanks Ben L.  An afternoon sharing all the excess food we carried to Camp 2.  A charcuterie board, dates, granola.  It was truly a rest day

Climber Myles O'Neil 

Today began with a team meeting at breakfast. Last night there was a possibility that mud slides in the Vacas Valley would prevent us from coming down the mountain the way we came. Fearless leader Dom confirmed we would not be able to backtrack the way we came and instead would go down the other side of the mountain to the Mulas base camp, a route known as the "360." Since we would not be able to go back to our original base camp, we'll have one of the helicopters pick up our duffels and bring them to us at the Mulas base camp. 

Our carry day to Camp 3 today brought many us to new high points, with Camp 3 at nearly 19,600ft. Since we would have to carry all our gear up and over the mountain, as opposed to caching it at Camp 2, we all had pretty heavy packs. As we climbed today, the air got thinner and thinner, for most of us requiring a breath every step. Even though we have been at 18,000ft for almost two days, it still required significant fortitude to keep climbing. 

High elevation does a number on your body. As you climb higher, the decreasing oxygen makes it difficult to even do the very basic tasks, you loose your appetite and have to force yourself to eat, and for most climbers there is a point where they need start taking Diamox to help prevent high altitude pulmonary and cerebral edema. 

After a few days at a particular elevation, we get acclimatized and start feeling good. But we can only bring so many supplies and we have only so many days to get to the summit and back. So our schedule keeps us moving to a new higher point just as we were getting used to our current camp. This is mountaineering and one of the many things that makes it so difficult and the act of doing it so rewarding. Getting to a rest stop on a hike or the next-higher camp on a carry or move day brings a sense of relief that is hard to find in any other activity. 
As we approach our last uphill move day, and followed soon after by our summit bid, it's important to remember what a great feat we have accomplished so far, and how lucky we are to be up here with the best climbing team you could ask for. 

Climber Andy Green

Today was a “rest day,” which in Spanish apparently means “do your chores, pack your bag, unpack your bag, repack your bag, go for a hike up a steep hill and move rocks back and forth until you can hardly breathe.” And at 18,000 feet, just putting your shoes on can leave you breathless.

We did find some time for relaxation, however, with euchre, naps, confessions of past dating catastrophes, exchanging pro tips, and the best views we’ve had yet.

We also practiced making our camp look like we’re on a proper expedition rather than having a yard sale.

And we continued working on our hand tans.

Most importantly, we had time to ponder the important questions we’ve been debating over the last couple of days:

Why do mountain guides value a Coke more than the Hope diamond?  And why do they carry only one trekking pole while we all carry two? What do they know that we don’t? And why won’t they tell us.

How much stuff can you squeeze into your sleeping bag at night so it doesn’t freeze?

How can 10 Brazilians take up so much space?

What did the Russian climber do with the other Russian climber’s body that night?

Do blue bags come in other colors … or would that be confusing? And why don’t they have scatalogical humor printed on them so you’d have something to read at night?

How can I get rid of all my extra food so I don’t have to carry it up … and then down … the rest of the mountain?

And why do they call this camp TWO, even though the sign says camp THREE and it’s actually our FIFTH camp?

In any event, as much as we miss the daily comforts of home, there is something liberating about simplifying your life down to the contents of a single backpack - a bed that packs down into a cubic foot, one pair of shoes (as uncomfortable as these mountain boots are), a single bowl, a single spoon, one shirt, one pair of pants and in many cases a single pair of underwear. No decisions about what to eat for dinner. No traffic. No TV. No politics. Just endless, unparalleled views and good company. Liberating.

Wish us luck.

RMI Guide Dominc Cifelli and Team

Postscript: What do you call a mountain guide without a girlfriend?

Homeless.

“It’s a funny thing about life, if you refuse to accept anything but the best you very often get it.”  W. Somerset Maugham

And that’s what we have with this group, the best. Each person brings something unique which together creates something greater,  something which makes the team keep giving their all as we make consistent progress on our push towards the summit. 

Today, the team bid goodbye to Camp One and moved to Camp Two on Aconcagua.  We had a “record-breaking“ moment right before we left Camp One. The team looked forward to moving to Camp Two as we had caught a brief glimpse of the camp yesterday, dropping off our cache, refueling our bodies, maybe sneaking in a little internet and finally heading back down the mountain while surfing the scree on our boots. Now, camp two is our home for the next few nights.

This trip, at least for me and I’m sure this also echoes the sentiments of a few others, has been all about learning, not only learning about each other, but learning about our own individual physical and mental obstacles we face and have overcome and yet to be overcome. The mountain is only there to test the fortitude we already have inside and to make us stronger. 

One of my favorite books is Robert Fulghum’s “Everything I Needed To Know I Learned In Kindergarten”, and so, in the spirit of learning, I now present to you “Everything I Didn’t Want To Know But Learned Anyway On Aconcagua”

1.    The words Chardonnay and shower can sound remarkably similar at high altitude.
2.    Adults still love story time.
3.    When you’re having a hard time with the climb and searching for reasons to continue, all you have to do is remember Guide Michael’s words “Whatever motivates you”
4.    No matter what you do, no matter what people may say, always keep your spoon……..and in some cases, your fork. 
5.    Be wary of unknown salt shakers.
6.    Make sure you pass food around the table until it gets back to the person who it was originally handed to.
7.    And finally, the most important thing to remember, the one thing that you must always keep in mind, especially when you need someone in your corner to help you with that final push to the summit…… Andy Always Wins.

Climber Benjamin Koch