Entries from Expedition Dispatches

Aconcagua: Justman & Team Carry to High Camp

December 19, 2015

Posted by: Christina Dale, JJ Justman

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua

Elevation: 18,000'

For some, it's a hard thing to understand, that which we do not have control over. Today our team did a carry/acclimatization day in relatively calm, however, freezing temperatures to High Camp at 19,600 feet. Everyone did well despite me not knowing who anyone was all bundled up. All I could see of Stephanie was her nose. The team is now safely back at Camp 2 and we just made an afternoon snack, which warmed everyone up! The weather is changing again as the clouds build and the winds are slowly picking up. Tomorrow is a rest day here at 18,000 feet. Regardless of the weather we are having fun and enjoying the alpine views at Camp 2 on Aconcagua. RMI Guides JJ and Christina

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Juane, Feliz Cumpleanos! Que mejor manera para celebrar que haciendo lo que te apasiona. Espero que las condiciones mejoren! Disfruta, espero verte pronto! Un beso.

Posted by: Maria Ester on 12/20/2015 at 4:12 pm

Hi All- tough call! But it sounds like the right one for sure. Hope you had a great time tagging 19,600’ and a smooth downclimb to base camp. Pizza & beer… Yeah, things could be worse :-). Have a great hike out over the next couple of days and hope you get to enjoy some time in Mendoza. Best, Chris. PS. Juan- happy birthday!

Posted by: Chris Villar on 12/20/2015 at 11:10 am

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Aconcagua: Justman & Team Settling into Camp 2

December 18, 2015

Posted by: JJ Justman, Christina Dale

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua

Elevation: 18,000'

First, congrats to Casey Grom and his team for making the summit of Chimborazo! As for our Aconcagua team, we made our move to Camp 2 at 18,000 feet. It was a tough day but the team did great! Tents are up, sleeping bags are laid out and the guides are busy making water. The wind was a little more kind to us today and we sure hope it will continue to get better. The forecast is calling for stronger winds and all we can do is hope for calm seas and continue to enjoy this beautiful mountain. Tomorrow we are hoping to do a carry day and an acclimatization day to Camp 3 at 19,600 feet...weather cooperating of course. Stay tuned! RMI Guides JJ Justman and Christina von Mertens

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Happy birthday to Juan. Hope you have better weather. Wish you and your team are enjoying your adventure. God Bless you all.

Mami

Posted by: Ana Maria Suris on 12/20/2015 at 5:29 am

A great big birthday shoutout to my big brother Juan. Keep having fun, we will toast to you with a little chateau Serralles.

Jorge, Noreen, and kids

Posted by: Jorge suris on 12/19/2015 at 4:22 pm

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Ecuador Volcanoes: Grom and Team Summit Chimborazo!

December 17, 2015

Posted by: Casey Grom

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador

Elevation: 20,703'

Update: 11:30 a.m. PT The team has completed their descent and are headed to Quito. Photos from the Chimborazo climb below. 6:40 a.m. PT Hello everybody this is Casey Grom calling from the summit of Chimborazo. It is a nice day up here although it was pretty blustery this morning when we got up a little after 11 o'clock and started our stoves to have a little quick breakfast and some coffee. Thankfully shortly after we started walking the wind died down and we hiked or climbed in some gravel and dirt for about 2 hours before we got to the start of the glacier. Then it was pretty icy and pretty tough. The team did another fantastic job today. We ended up having to belay quite a few pitches to keep it safe. The team did fantastic and we're up here in the sun everyone is smiling and doing great. Everyone is a little tired, but the game plan is to get a few more photos and then head on back to camp. Then eventually all the way back to Quito, as we make our way back down in the land of Wi-Fi and cell service then we will send you one of our summit photos. Thank you following and look forward to seeing some of our photos. Alright, take care. RMI Guide Casey Grom

RMI Guide Casey Grom checks in from the summit of Chimborazo, Ecuador.

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Welcome back down, What an adventure!*

Posted by: Ron Birch on 12/17/2015 at 11:06 pm

FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: danny on 12/17/2015 at 4:03 pm

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Aconcagua: Justman & Team Experience a Blustery Night at Camp 1

December 17, 2015

Posted by: Christina Dale, JJ Justman

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua

Elevation: 16,400'

We are all ready to head uphill but Aconcagua has other plans for us. Last night freight trains of wind rolled down the mountain rattling our world. This morning there was no sign of the winds letting up so we decided to take another rest day here. This has proved to be a wise decision because moving to a higher camp with these cold temperatures and high winds would not be a safe and productive plan. We are all hunkering down with hot tea and good books for today with hopes of a good move tomorrow. Spending time here is making us all stronger and more acclimatized for our summit bid in a few days. The team is doing well with the variables here on the side of the mountain. Everyone is healthy and happy and sends hellos to all back home. RMI Guides Christina von Mertens and JJ Justman

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Steady as she goes, team! Being well rested and acclimatized will, I feel sure, add to the strength of your summit bid when the time comes. Larry and I are following along, and sending all of you our best. We lived near the ice fall here for a few days, with tons of ice-blocky snow stuck on our metal roof. It warmed up yesterday and crash boom bah, it all came down with no damage. (the dogs were tired of being kept inside out of harm’s way!)

Blythe n Larry

Posted by: Blythe Lasley on 12/18/2015 at 11:41 am

Hey Doug - enjoying following your adventure. I’ve made a sacrifice to the weather gods for you and the group, hopefully it will pay off. Enjoy and best of luck. Push on - very jealous!
Kevin from Nova Scotia.

Posted by: Kevin Walsh on 12/18/2015 at 4:41 am

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Ecuador Volcanoes: Casey Grom Calls In from Chimborazo High Camp

December 16, 2015

Posted by: Casey Grom

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador

Elevation: 16,564'

Hey everybody, this is Casey Grom checking in from the Ecuador Volcanoes Expedition. We are up here at just over 17,000 feet at our high camp on Chimborazo. We had a pretty nice day to hike up here. Was a little bit of clouds, which was nice to have it cool for our hike. The team had a great time and we hired a couple of porters to help expedite our arrival to camp, which was great. We just wrapped up a nice dinner of hot soup and watched the sun go down up here, which was incredibly beautiful. We're crawling into our tents and do our best for a little bit of sleep until we get up. Similar to our game plan as we had on Cayambe. We are going to try to get up at 11 and try to start climbing around midnight. So that will be our game plan for us. We will do our best tomorrow to give a call once we are back down off the mountain. I'm sure it's going to be a long, busy, hard day for everybody. We'll update you guys tomorrow once we are off the mountain. Thanks. RMI Guide Casey Grom

RMI Guide Casey Grom calls in from Chimborazo High Camp.

Aconcagua: Justman & Team Rest at Camp 1

December 16, 2015

Posted by: Christina Dale, JJ Justman

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua

Elevation: 16,400'

Hello from 16,400 feet on blustery Aconcagua. After a successful carry to Camp 2 yesterday we all took a well deserved rest day today. We slept in, which proved difficult to do because of the winds trying to huff and puff and blow down our houses. Then after hot drinks we took a small walk to a beautiful spot overlooking the valley. There we got the blood flowing by doing some high altitude yoga. Now we're back to the tents for an afternoon nap to prepare for a big move day tomorrow. Everyone says hi and is doing well. RMI Guides Christina von Mertens and JJ Justman

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Yoga! Awesome :-) keep up the good work team, special hugs to Juan.

Juan, we miss you very much and as always, we are so proud of you! Enjoy this wonderful adventure!

Love,
Lilly & the Suris clan

Posted by: Lilly Suris on 12/16/2015 at 8:50 pm

I totally support the yoga practice on the mountain!!! Hopefully you’re all giving some love and gratitude to the bodies that got you 16,400 ft up a mountain! Take care and rest well!
Namaste :)

Posted by: Karina on 12/16/2015 at 4:23 pm

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Ecuador Volcanoes: Grom & Team Prepare for Next Objective - Chimborazo

December 15, 2015

Posted by: Casey Grom

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador

Hello Everyone, All is well here in Ecuador especially after a wonderful night of rest. The team did a fantastic job on Cayambe yesterday and really deserved it. We spent last night in the oldest Hacienda in Ecuador called Guachala, which dates back to the 16th century, and isn't too far from the mountain. After a relaxing morning at the Hacienda we loaded up our gear and headed south for five hours to reach our next climbing objective, Chimborazo. We are spending the night in another newer hacienda, not far from Chimborazo, built about 20 years ago by a German mountain guide that's full of climbing memorabilia. Our plan is to have another good night's rest here, then hike up to a high camp tomorrow afternoon to help shorten our climb. If all goes according to plan we'll be settled in camp by 5pm and hopefully get a little more rest before starting our climb around 11-12pm. Everyone enjoyed the drive and the beautiful views we had today. We are all excited for tomorrow. RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

Aconcagua: Justman & Team Carry to Camp 2

December 15, 2015

Posted by: Christina Dale, JJ Justman

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua

Elevation: 16,200'

Team Aconcagua is getting down to business! This morning we awoke to windy but clear skies. After we loaded up on coffee and waffles we threw the backpacks on and climbed uphill. The team did a fantastic job reaching Camp 2 at 18,000 feet. We emptied our packs into a duffle bag and zipped it shut. Our second cache of gear is done and the team is now even more acclimatized. We are now back at Camp 1 and we just finished a round of hot soup. The guides are busy melting snow for water. Needless to say, the team is tired. Tonight is pizza night so I need to start making the dough. RMI Guides JJ Justman and Christina von Mertens

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Christina wish I would be there with you on your climbing squad! Have a great time!

Posted by: Meredith on 12/15/2015 at 9:27 pm

Good job and good luck to the whole team! Way to go, John McFarlane! Keeping the drinks in your cup?

Posted by: Chris Colleran on 12/15/2015 at 7:20 pm

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Ecuador Volcanoes: Grom & Team Summit Cayambe!

December 14, 2015

Posted by: Casey Grom

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador

Elevation: 18,997'

100% on top!!! The Ecuador team reached the Cayambe summit in stormy weather. Although the weather was not stellar, they were all happy to have made it. RMI Guide Casey Grom sent this summit photo and will check in once the team is safely off the mountain.

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That’s awesome, congratulations to the team!

Posted by: John Arnold on 12/15/2015 at 7:30 am

Well Done!*

Posted by: Ron Birch on 12/15/2015 at 12:30 am

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Aconcagua: Justman & Team Move to Camp 1

December 14, 2015

Posted by: JJ Justman, Christina Dale

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua

Elevation: 16,400'

Hey everyone. This is JJ and Christina with team one on Aconcagua. We are up at Camp One. We settled into camp at 16,400 feet. It was a windy day. We're putting on the wind burn cream as we speak. The team did a phenomenal job. It was a tough day to get up here, probably had about 30 mile-per-hour winds, but we did a great job getting tents up. Right now we have the stoves going. We're melting snow because there's no running water here, which there usually is. So we are melting snow for water and getting some hot drinks going and recovery at 16,400 feet. Everyone says hi to family and friends. We're doing great, but we're going to go for now and get busy on hots and dinner. Thanks for following along. Stay tuned. Tomorrow if the weather is decent, we are hoping to do a carry to 18,000 feet, Camp Two. Take care. Ciao from Aconcagua. RMI Guide JJ Justman

RMI Guide JJ Justman calls from Camp 1 Aconcagua.

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Yeah! Wishing you all continued success. This is a wonderful way to end 2015 and be ready for new challenges in 2016. A special good wish and high-five to our nephew Chris. We are sooo proud of you! Prayers for you and the team…and a bit of the Christmas Cheer to warm you up. Say “Hi” to Santa! Love, Aunt Cindi and Uncle Roy

Posted by: Cindi Burrell on 12/15/2015 at 5:30 am

Great job on the move, in those conditions. The views only get better from here on. This is JJ’s mountain, and sounds as if you have a very strong team. Special shout out to Chris and John, and wishing only the best for all of you!

Posted by: Peter rogers on 12/15/2015 at 2:37 am

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Entries from Expedition Dispatches

Aconcagua: Justman & Team Carry to High Camp

On The Map

Aconcagua: Justman & Team Settling into Camp 2

On The Map

Ecuador Volcanoes: Grom and Team Summit Chimborazo!

Aconcagua: Justman & Team Experience a Blustery Night at Camp 1

On The Map

Ecuador Volcanoes: Casey Grom Calls In from Chimborazo High Camp

Aconcagua: Justman & Team Rest at Camp 1

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Ecuador Volcanoes: Grom & Team Prepare for Next Objective - Chimborazo

Aconcagua: Justman & Team Carry to Camp 2

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Ecuador Volcanoes: Grom & Team Summit Cayambe!

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Aconcagua: Justman & Team Move to Camp 1

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