Friday, December 15, 2017 Back in South America! It was a fine morning out at Union Glacier. One could tell our outfitter (ALE) was anxious to get rid of the fifty odd stinky, hungry, hyper climbers in camp. The Ilyushin was off deck from Punta Arenas by mid morning and we were on it ready for take off at 3 PM. The morning at Union was wonderful, saying so long to old and new friends. Everyone commented on how long us “V1” climbers had been down (pretty far into V2) and sure, it is true... we got way behind schedule waiting for storms... but somehow today, it all seemed extremely worth the wait. Landing in rain in Punta Arenas was a novelty. Darkness was a novelty. Showers and plumbing were a novelty. Dinner together was just fun and delicious (starting at10 PM -normal for Latin America). We went to the top floor of a high hotel for a nightcap and found the other fifty climbers we’d traveled with. Lots of fist bumping, back slapping and hugging ensued. It began to crystallize... we’d lived through a great adventure together. We’ll remember it forever. Tomorrow (later today actually) we’ll bump into each other in airports from Punta to Miami and beyond. It will be back to the same old grind... but not quite... we’ve shared enough of the good stuff in the wildest, weirdest corner of the world to make that same old grind a little finer forever. Thanks very much for keeping track of our adventure. Best Regards RMI Guide Dave Hahn