Entries from Expedition Dispatches
Posted by: Walter Hailes, Nick Sinapius
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Today was a rest and travel day as we made our way from Otavalo to a climbers hut on the lower slopes of Cayambe. On the way we stopped at the Otavalo market to shop for a few last minute essentials and some things we didn’t know we needed. Negotiating prices in Spanish was a challenge and we had varying levels of success, but most of us walked away with what we think was a good deal. The big purchase of the day was a somewhat large painting and the group is now brainstorming ways to get it back to the US intact.
We spent the afternoon reviewing knots and now we’re organizing gear, looking forward to the next couple days and our first climb of the trip.
RMI Guide Nick & Team
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Ecuador Seminar January 6 - 20, 2026
Posted by: Ben Luedtke, Raymond Holt
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Day two on the trek to base camp here in the Vacas Valley.
After a night of team building around the table playing some Farkle, “BIG C” and “Half Calf” claimed the first two victories of the trip. We were treated to an incredible night sleeping under the stars, with a bright half-moon and even a coyote running through the campsites.
After a wonderful breakfast, we applied another layer of sunscreen and “Chub Rub” and hit the trail a little after 8 AM. As we hiked through the Vacas Valley, the scenery was breathtaking, and we were treated to a ton of Guanaco sightings. Some in our group—who shall remain nameless (Johnny)—even tried to stalk one down.
With Scooby at the helm and his very capable sidekick, Ray, we trekked the 10 miles to our second stop, Casa de Piedras. Before finishing the second leg of our journey, we were able to lay eyes on Aconcagua, a.k.a. The Sentinel of Stone. It is a stunning, daunting, and beautiful sight to behold. Full of respect and nervous excitement, we are one stage closer to seeing if we are worthy to pass.
RMI Climber Tim Schafer
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Aconcagua Expedition January 5, 2026
Posted by: Walter Hailes, Nick Sinapius
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
We have broken free from the city and made our way into the highlands. Today we drove north through the rain to hike around Lake Cuicocha. Fortunately, the last drops of rain fell with our first few steps on the trail, and by the end of the hike we were rewarded with clear, sunny skies. Hopefully, that good weather luck follows us to the big peaks ahead.
We’re becoming fast friends—laughing almost constantly as we trade stories on the trail and around the dinner table.
RMI Guide Walter Hailes
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Ecuador Seminar January 6 - 20, 2026
The rain delay yesterday didn’t take the wind out of our sails. We woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed ready to start our trek. On the way to the trailhead we enjoyed (yerba) mate, empanadas, and Carlos’s 80’s rock playlist. The meat and Malbec of Mendoza felt like an oasis but getting on the trail today reminded us of why we had travelled all this way.
A cool breeze and breathtaking views helped us up the Vacas Valley and a condor soaring high above the snow capped peaks was a good omen for the start of our trip. We are now sitting at Las Leñas patiently awaiting an asado from our kind Argentine hosts. We had a lovely first day and are excited for what is to come.
Peace, Love, Gratitude.
RMI Guides Ray Holt, Ben Luedtke, and Team
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Aconcagua Expedition January 5, 2026
Posted by: Walter Hailes, Nick Sinapius
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Elevation: 15,407'
Thursday, January 8, 2026 - 6:41 pm PT
Our second day in Quito started with a leisurely breakfast followed by a taxi ride to the Teleferico ( gondola ) that took us up to 13,000 feet and the first of our many volcanoes of the trip. We hiked to the top of Rucu Pichincha (15,407 ft.), one of the many peaks of the pichincha volcano that overlooks Quito. Most of the day was spent in the clouds until we reached the summit and they cleared for a view of the city below. This marked a new high point for some members of the group, being higher than any point in the continental United States. Our decent went smooth and most of us escaped with only minor sunburn.
On our way back to the hotel we worked on our Google Translate communication skills and after a brief rest we walked to a local Ecuadorian restaurant for dinner, managing to avoid the worst of the evening rain. Our biggest takeaway from the day was to trust the local taxi driver’s weather forecasts.
RMI Guide Nick Sinapius
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Ecuador Seminar January 6 - 20, 2026
We started the day in our fancy hotel, enjoying eggs and sausage and coffee as well.
The van had arrived, the gear was all packed and our guides diligently made up for what we lacked
The bus swayed and vistas were scanned, 3 hours more to begin what we planned
But when we stopped to pee we heard the news, one weather day we had to lose.
We decended the highway trying not to be crass, Aconcagua had told us, you shall not pass
The city came close and I remembered my luck, I was in South America no other place I'd rather be stuck
Another night in the land of sun and good wine, another joke about chubrub would not be out of line
RMI Climber Colin Young
Due to heavy rains the Aconcagua National Park closed today. (Jan. 8) The team will start their trek tomorrow to Base Camp.
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Aconcagua Expedition January 5, 2026
Hola amigos y familiares de Mendoza, Argentina y feliz año nuevo!!
We have all officially arrived here in the land of carne asado, vino tinto, and guanacos. The excitement cannot contain us. Over the last 2 days, we have found the lag to our jet, enjoyed some fine Argentinian cuisine, and triple checked our gear. The highest peak outside the Himalaya, the Stone Centinel, awaits our arrival. Tomorrow is that day. The day we start our long trek to stand atop South America. Stay tuned as we utilize our Chubb Rub along our endeavor not only to climb, but circumvent Aconcagua.
Hablamos pronto.
RMI Guides Ben Luedtke, Ray Holt, & Team
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Aconcagua Expedition January 5, 2026
Hello from Ecuador!
We had a beautiful first day on our Ecuador adventure. After introductions and a quick team meeting we set off on a tour of Quito.
Our first stop was at the equator, where it’s hard to walk in a straight line, easy (for some people) to balance an egg on the head of a nail, and water swirls this way and that. Our tour guide explained the physics being all these things correctly enough to meet the approval of Paul, our Astrophysicist. Most of us were just happy to see the water swirl in different directions.
We finished our sight seeing with a walking tour of the historic district and a panoramic view of the city from the base of the Virgin off the Panecillo.
Overall a really strong start with a great group of people.
RMI Guide Walter Hailes
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Ecuador Seminar January 6 - 20, 2026
Sunday, December 7, 2025 - 8:45 pm PT
Tim and I said goodbye to a lot of friends today. We had time for all of that though as the jet landed at Union at 3:30 PM. We had plenty of time to catch a lecture on jellyfish, to eat a big lunch and to go for a 10K fat bike ride out in the bright sunshine. It was another great day in Antarctica. It was a slightly novel experience to load onto a 757 with only 16 other passengers. Things were relaxed, to say the least. We both got window seats and thus had a spectacular view of Vinson as the pilot took us way closer than normal leaving Union. Four hours later we put down in Punta Arenas. It was just getting dark -an unfamiliar thing to us- as we drove into town. Checking in to the hotel at 10 PM meant that dinner would be tough to find on a Sunday evening, but we were able to find a comfortable cafe still willing to serve pisco sours. So we toasted each other and a fine adventure. We got oh so lucky… and we used that luck to achieve some dreams.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
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Vinson Massif Expedition, November 22, 2025
Hey Dave! It was So Cool to follow you guys on this Incredible adventure!
Dave
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 12/9/2025 at 3:19 am
Sunday, December 7, 2025 - 7:03 am PT
Tim and I spent a restful day and night at Union Glacier. It was another very calm and sunny day here… easy to enjoy. We alternated eating and napping with attending lectures and riding fat bikes on a groomed 10K track.
We are on course for flying back to South America later today and so we are both experiencing the usual mix of excitement for moving on and regret at leaving this wonderful place.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Let’s go gang!!! Excited to follow your journey. Bobby T
Posted by: Robert Taylor on 1/10/2026 at 3:13 pm
Yay! Feliz, feliz. Happy climbing to all. The condor is definitely a good sign!
Posted by: Rob and Lori Holt on 1/9/2026 at 5:21 pm
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