Entries from Expedition Dispatches
Jambo!
We are all up at our first camp and everyone is doing good. Dinner ended a little while ago and the team has headed off to the tents for a long night of rest.
We got an early start this morning with breakfast at 6:30 and we were on the road just after 7:30. It took us about two hours to drive to the national park gate where we spent some time getting organized and sorting out the climbing permit.
Once we were all checked in, we started our trek through the rain forest. Everyone on the team was excited to get going and we spent the next several hours hiking and chatting as we gained about 4,000 vertical feet.
Everything went smoothly except for about five minutes of rain right before we hit camp. That's no problem for this team though and anyway our tents were nice and dry inside when we arrived.
Tomorrow we climb up to the
Shira Plateau. I'll check in again from up there.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
On The Map
Hi everybody and welcome to the dispatch blog for this year's early January
RMI Aconcagua expedition. Billy here checking in from lovely Mendoza, Argentina, where the last of our team (and a bunch of missing luggage) has finally arrived. We had an informative meet and greet this evening poolside at the classic Nutibara Hotel, a haven for
Aconcagua climbers from all over the world, where we all got to know each other and run through some important details about our upcoming adventure. Afterwards we headed out on the town for our first team dinner, enjoying the steaks, wine, and Italian influenced food Mendoza is famous for. It looks like we have a very fit and experienced climbing team this year which bodes well for our chances up on the mountain. We'll check in again tomorrow from Los Penitentes where we'll be packing up our loads for the mules and finishing up the last of our preparations before heading onto the mountain.
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
Hi,
Seth here. We are all finished with dinner and everyone is off to their rooms to finish the last bit of packing before we head out to the mountain tomorrow morning.
The plan is to meet up for breakfast at 6:30am and be ready to go by 7:30. We have a couple hours of driving to the national park entrance and it's good to be early.
All the gear looks good and tents and food are all set to go. The team is starting to get excited. We are all looking forward to getting the trek under way.
I will check in again tomorrow from
Camp 1.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
Hi everyone! This is RMI Guide Adam Knoff checking in from Ecuador. We reached the summit of
Cayambe this morning on what turned out to be a beautiful day. Last night at dinner we were nervous about the climb; it was pouring rain outside. Would it clear for our climb? Would we even be able to leave the hut?
My alarm went off at 11:00 p.m. and when I went outside to check the weather I saw stars in the sky. Our climbing window was open! It turned out to be a great climb. The rain last night didn’t hamper our efforts. We had a great route with great local guides. The team did an awesome job. On the summit we had views of Antisana and smoky Cotopaxi.
Now we are back down and waiting for our bus to take us
Guachala, the oldest hacienda in Ecuador. Our bus is delayed by rain, the same rain that made us nervous at dinner last night is now delaying our pick-up. Delays are part of the game so we take them in stride but I must say that this delay is definitely increasing our appetite for a juicy hamburger…hopefully soon we will be able to satiate our appetites.
Until next time,
RMI Guides Adam Knoff, Nick Hunt, and team
On The Map
Hi folks,
Well, it's time to say goodbye to
Aconcagua Base Camp and hit the dusty trail back to Las Lenas. Given the grim outlook on this mountain for the next week, the team is rather excited to be able to get back home to you all just a little bit sooner. We're hoping that the promise of huge slabs of steak cooked over an open fire will motivate us along the 18 or so miles we have ahead of us today. Hopefully we can stay hydrated and blister free.
You used to call us on our sat phone,
RMI Guides Pepper Dee and JJ Justman
I can't remember the last time I woke up in a room of ten other people and everyone felt hungover. Come to think of it, it was probably the last time I was here. I hope all of you in the blogosphere don't think I am telling all the climbers on my team that chugging beer is a good idea before spending our first night above 15,000 feet. Quite the contrary actually but no matter how many preventative measures we take, the first night sleeping this high always produces hangover-like symptoms the next morning.
Fortunately these symptoms are more easily combated and by 8:30 a.m. the team was feeling much better.
Out hut sits at 15,300 feet on a beautiful rocky ridge. We were blessed this morning with glorious views of Antisana, our next major objective and Cotopaxi, Ecuador's most famous mountain. Sadly she is suffering from a bit of indigestion and burps up large amounts of lava and ash. Not good for climbers wanting to look into her crater.
Anyway,
Cayambe is in great shape so making good use of our expedition's best morning, we pack our things and hiked a solid hour to the glacier. Here we reviewed basic skills then got into a fun crevasse rescue scenario. Our high point for today was almost 16,500', a new altitude record for many on the team. We knew time was getting close to head down, not when the dark clouds began to threaten rain but when a large local family arrived on the glacier next to us in tennis shoes and began taking their clothes off. At one point I was trying to review how to tie a friction hitch when a large man began screaming for a photo while doing jumping jacks in a speedo. Most likely the weirdest thing I've ever seen on a glacier.
Once down we all rested and then packed for our big night tonight. We plan to "wake up" at 11:00 p.m. to begin our climb.
Wish us luck! It is raining now so think dry thoughts as well.
Hasta Manana,
RMI Guide Adam Knoff and team
Jambo! I've just returned from the airport with the last of the arriving climbers for our first
Kilimanjaro Climb of 2016! Everyone has made it and although there were some delays along the way all the bags are here.
The crew is a mix of folks on their own and some that have been friends for a long time. Either way we will all be turning into a big team starting with a meeting and gear check in the morning.
After that we are off to the mountain. Wish us luck.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
I'm not sure what it was about Casa de Sol, but my head hit the pillow at 11 and didn't move until the sun broke through our window at 6:30 am. When I asked everyone else how the night went, it was clear the sand man wasn't as generous to others in the group. Oblivious to the world, it was revealed to me at breakfast that the neighbor dogs got a bit vocal right outside most of the rooms. I apologized for not trying to help but then just blamed things on Nick, so after much strong coffee and delicious eggs, the team was at full force.
After leaving Casa de Sol, damage free for both bus and garage, we were off to
Otavalo to visit Ecuador's largest crafts and goods market. Here sensory overload is impossible to avoid but with good self control the team managed not to sink the ship with souvenirs and we made it out in good fashion.
After lunch we all piled into the bus once again and began our upward push toward the
Cayambe hut sitting nicely at 15,300 feet. After two hours of driving up roads that make the pot holes of New York look like ice cream dishes, the bus could go no further. With all bags loaded into a jeep we walked the final 30 minutes to the hut.
We were greeted by our local guide, David, and moved right in to our private hut just below the main Refugio. It was perfect timing because 20 minutes after arriving, the skies opened up and a soaking rain doused the mountain around us. With all things dry we practiced knots for a bit, had a great dinner and are now tucked in ready to listen to my bedtime stories.
Stay tuned for tomorrow's update.
RMI Guide Adam Knoff and team Ecuador out.
On The Map
Hello folks, Team 3 is resting and doing well back at base camp on
Aconcagua. There are a lot of teams that have retreated from the upper mountain and have departed base camp. Last night
Pepper and one of our team members, Brian, played guitar and sang for the entire base camp and yes, they received a standing ovation.
As for our team, we are not quite ready to throw in the towel but I have to be honest, the weather and the forecast is looking horrible with extremely high winds continuing for several days. We will keep you posted to our progress. As for now, the team is really happy not having to hold tents up from the inside and actually enjoying visiting the bathrooms.
RMI Guides JJ Justman and Pepper Dee
Hello from Casa Sol or the "sun house" located high on steep hillside overlooking a beautiful valley.
Today our team left the hustle and bustle of Quito and drove north in Victor's Magic Bus to a beautiful reserve called Mojanda. Translated this word means "black lake" but the lake we parked at was a deep emerald blue. Created by a sunken crater, lake Mojanda is surrounded by steep craggy mountain sides covered with a thick carpet of tall grasses and plants unique to this high altitude ecosystem.
One of these tall mountains was our acclimating objective for the day.
Fuya Fuya, which would sound a lot better if you put the word Kung at the beginning of it, stands at close to the same height as Mt. Rainier but is much more easily climbed. After following the nice trail through those tall grasses for just over an hour the team reached a windy saddle splitting the mountains two summits. Banging a hard right toward the northern peak, we had to scramble over a challenging 10 foot rock step and then continue up a steep ridge for another ten minutes to a flat and welcoming summit. The entire team arrived together but only had enough time for a quick high five, group photo and a few personal pictures before being greeted by distant thunder advising us it was time to depart. A quick hour long descent was motivated by a laughing group of high school kids racing downhill both on foot and rolling. We were reminded by those playful youths that we can't take things too seriously because even with lightning and thunder around, smiles and fun can make any situation better.
After the hike we ate lunch at a nice local hacienda before driving to Casa Sol for the evening. The most exciting part of the day wasn't the lightning or thunder but watching Victor try and park his large mini bus in the cramped garage. The scar where he tore off a chunk of the gate still showed from last year. He made it, barely, so we all raised a cup and declared success all around.
Let's hope for a successful mission to Cayambe tomorrow.
RMI Guides Adam Knoff & Nick Hunt
On The Map
Tell Annie all of us are thinking of her and are so proud of her!!
Posted by: Dianne Burd on 1/14/2016 at 8:28 am
What exceptional athletes! Enjoy the journey, the memories will last a life time.
Posted by: Kat Malcom on 1/13/2016 at 6:57 pm
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