Entries from Expedition Dispatches

Kilimanjaro: Grom & Team Summit!

February 17, 2013

Posted by: Casey Grom

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro

Elevation: 19,340'

As planned we were up early and started climbing just before 1 a.m. The weather was clear, calm and not too chilly. Surprisingly we were one of the last groups out of camp this morning and thankfully had little traffic issues on the ascent. The weather stayed nice all morning and it was just a little breezy on top. After a long 8 hours of climbing uphill we had the entire group on the summit of Kilimanjaro. We only spent about 20 minutes on top before heading back to high camp. Where we spent about an hour eating, drinking, and getting things packed up and have all safely descended down to our last camp of the climb. Tomorrow is hot showers and clean clothes, then we're off to safari! RMI Guide Casey Grom

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Maria and Peter - way to go!!! Envious and very proud. Enjoy (a much deserved) glass of wine or three xxx Jane

Posted by: Jane on 2/18/2013 at 8:42 pm

Maria & Peter - FAB well done you amazing nutters….enjoy a little luxury when you decend love and hugs H xx

Posted by: Helen on 2/18/2013 at 10:53 am

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Ecuador Volcanoes: Beren & Team Ready for Cotopaxi Summit Bid

February 17, 2013

Posted by: Jake Beren, Ben Liken

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador

Elevation: 16,000'

Hello, this is Jake Beren in Ecuador calling in for the RMI team down here. We had a fantastic day yesterday just resting and recouping after a pretty big week so far here in Ecuador. And this morning we're going to head up to the hut on Cotopaxi. And with any luck, tonight we will be making our bid for the summit. So wish us luck and keep sending those good weather vibes down here and I will check in tomorrow. RMI Guide Jake Beren

Jake Beren checks in from Cotopaxi's High Hut.

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Best of luck and may the gods and goddesses of good weather smile upon you!

Posted by: Christina Doren on 2/17/2013 at 7:04 pm

Anxious to hear how every thing went
Love, Mom and Dad

Posted by: Dianne and George on 2/17/2013 at 4:58 pm

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Aconcagua: Nugent & Team Safely Back to Basecamp

February 17, 2013

Posted by: Billy Nugent, Mike King

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua

Elevation: 13,800'

Hey everyone, Billy calling checking in again. Had a really rough day coming down the mountain yesterday, but everyone made it down in one piece. We got back to High Camp with nice weather and then the weather just kinda gradually turned for the worst through the evening. And by about 5 In the morning, we were fighting about 80 mile an hour gust of winds just battling to keep our camp in one piece. And at first light, around 6:30, we pretty much had to get out of the tents and we're just battling hurricane force winds and to get everybody's stuff together and we got everything out of Camp Cholera. Moved on down to our Camp 2 and reput up tents and cooked breakfast and filled water bottles and recuperated from the hellish evening. And after that everybody walked on down to Basecamp last night and we enjoyed an awesome steak dinner, courtesy of the great Basecamp staff at Grajales. We are all geared up, everything's been loaded on mules and we're now headed for Pampa de Lenas and tonight will be our last night on the trail and tomorrow we are headed to Mendoza. We'll check in one more time tomorrow, after we've made it safely to the road. Ciao, ciao. RMI Guide Billy Nugent

Billy Nugent checks in from Basecamp.

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Mexico’s Volcanoes: Team Descends from Pico de Orizaba

February 16, 2013

Posted by: Seth Waterfall, Solveig Waterfall

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mexico

Orizaba summit! After yesterday I didn't know what to think. We had driven through a forest fire on the way to the mountain and the forecast was for a snow storm to move in during our planned summit bid. Things were getting interesting to say the least. But as it turned out our luck was impeccable. The forecasted storm actually did roll in, as a low level drizzle that put down the small fire whilst we climbed to the summit in perfectly clear conditions. We had a long and tough day for sure but everyone gave it their all. It was a great final climb on what's been a fantastic trip. RMI Guides Seth Waterfall & Solveig Waterfall

Mexico Volcanoes: Waterfall & Team Summit Pico de Orizaba!

February 16, 2013

Posted by: Seth Waterfall, Solveig Waterfall

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mexico

Elevation: 18,701'

Hey this is Seth calling from el Pico de Orizaba, third tallest peak in North America and tallest in Mexico. We had a long but beautiful climb, great weather and we are hanging out in great conditions on the summit. We'll check in again when we get back to Piedra Grande. That's it. That's all. RMI Guide Seth Waterfall

RMI Guide Seth Waterfall calls from the el Pico de Orizaba summit!

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congratulations to the climbing team and their guides on the climbing and summiting of the two mountains in Mexico. I sure wish I was a few years younger as I would have enjoyed those climbs also. Cant wait to see the pictures and hear the stories about your trip.

Posted by: Warren Larson on 3/10/2013 at 1:48 pm

Congratulations!!!!! Have a safe trip back.

Posted by: julie grooms on 2/16/2013 at 9:05 pm

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Kilimanjaro: Grom & Team Ready for Summit Bid

February 16, 2013

Posted by: Casey Grom

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro

Elevation: 15,000'

We're at high camp! It was another beautiful morning and the team made good time to our high camp which sits just over 15,000'. We have just finished our summit talk to make sure we are all prepared for tomorrow. Everyone is feeling well and looking forward to tonight's climb. We'll be up early and the goal is to be walking at 1 a.m. If all things go according to plan, then we should reach the summit sometime around 8 in the morning. We had another trivia challenge that will allow the winner a one minute call from the summit. So, if you live in Texas and your nick name is "ZuZu" keep your phone handy. And remember Texas is 9 hours behind. That's all for now. We'll try to call from the top. Wish us luck! RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

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Ecuador Volcanoes: Beren & Team Relaxing after a Successful Cayambe Summit

February 15, 2013

Posted by: Jake Beren, Ben Liken

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador

Hello, this is Jake calling in from Ecuador. Just to let everybody know that after our successful climb of Cayambe today, we have made it safely, soundly and well fed back to Chilcabamba where we will be spending tonight and tomorrow resting to get ready for Cotopaxi. All's well after a big day and we're looking forward to a little bit of R&R. RMI Guide Jake Beren

RMI Guide Jake Beren checks in from Chilcabamba Eco Lodge.

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So happy to hear the great news! Congratulations! Can’t wait to hear the stories when you return!

Love to you all, LeAnn

Posted by: LeAnn Plank on 2/17/2013 at 9:19 am

Congratulations on the Cayumbe summit! With the bright, ice blue sky, it looked like a perfect morning.

Posted by: Kathy Zuehlke on 2/16/2013 at 9:55 am

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Mexico Volcanoes: Waterfall and Team Prepare for Summit Bid

February 15, 2013

Posted by: Seth Waterfall, Solveig Waterfall

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mexico

Elevation: 14,000'

Well, we're at the hut on Orizaba getting ready to climb tonight. It was an interesting drive up here, for sure. It's been very dry here recently and some forest fires have sprung up down low on the mountain. Normally this wouldn't worry me too much but one of the fires is within a mile of our access road. There are firefighters working in the area and our local logistics company is on top of the situation so at this point it's just a minor concern. One thing that's looking good is that there seems to be a weather system building which would help the fire situation out a ton. The downside of that is it will make climbing more difficult if we are faced with a storm. So that's basically our situation... there's a few things that are out of our control, so we're just doing what we can to give ourselves the best shot at the summit. We're prepping to go up but not at the risk of climbing in a dangerous storm or getting stranded at the hut. We'll be making the safest call, of course. I'll call back early tomorrow and update everyone on our status. Wish us luck, we could use it! RMI Guide Seth Waterfall & Team

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Good Luck! I know you will make the safest decisions.

Posted by: Julie Grooms on 2/15/2013 at 4:30 pm

Good Luck! The route was wonderful a few weeks ago.

Posted by: Travis Lubinski on 2/15/2013 at 3:44 pm

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Aconcagua: Nugent & Team Reach Summit!

February 15, 2013

Posted by: Billy Nugent, Mike King

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua

Elevation: 22,841'

11:39 a.m. PST Billy Nugent & Team called and they are safely back at High Camp. It has started snowing so they are packing up and heading for Plaza Argentina. The team is doing great and they will send an update when they get there. Hey everybody, I am checking in for our Aconcagua crew giving you guys a call from the summit. We are [broken] clear skies [broken] and 100% of our crew on the summit. We are all giving hi-fives, taking pictures and just looking around kind of in awe. I'll give a call when we get back to camp safe and sound but until then, ciao ciao. RMI Guide Billy Nugent

RMI Guide Billy Nugent checks in from the summit of Aconcagua, 22,841 ft.

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Hi Uncle Kenny! Hope you’re having a great time in Argentina! I’m having a fantastic semester so far, I got hired as an RA for next year! I’m so excited, and all my classes are great too. Can’t wait to see all the amazing pictures I’m sure you took, have a safe trip back to the US! Love you!
-Natasha

Posted by: Natasha Young on 2/17/2013 at 12:15 pm

Congratulations to you all!!
I hope there was some summit wine.
Rolf

Posted by: Rolf on 2/17/2013 at 6:44 am

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Kilimanjaro: Team Ascends the Great Barranco Wall

February 15, 2013

Posted by: Casey Grom

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro

Elevation: 13,000'

We enjoyed tea in our tents just before 7 am and had another enjoyable breakfast of fresh fruit, eggs and toast. We then hit the trail shortly after 8 and made good time up the Barranco wall. This wall is about 1,000' high and is the steepest part of the entire climb requiring hands in a few places to assist us up a few steep steps. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the challenge and change of the new terrain. It was amazing to watch the porters easily navigate this terrain with their loads carefully balanced on their heads. We made good time and arrived in a little over 4 hours to our new home sitting at just over 13,000'. We are incredibly thankfully to all of our porters and crew who have been working so hard to keep us well feed and comfortable thus far. Looking forward to moving to our high camp tomorrow. RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew.

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Looking fabulous - can’t wait to hear about the summit tomorrow - very soon!

Leslita

Posted by: Leslie on 2/16/2013 at 8:11 am

Barbara,
What a fabulous adventure! We can’t wait to hear all about it. Take in the sunrise for us. We will be thinking about you and the team.
Nancy & Tal

Posted by: Nancy on 2/16/2013 at 7:11 am

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Entries from Expedition Dispatches

Kilimanjaro: Grom & Team Summit!

On The Map

Ecuador Volcanoes: Beren & Team Ready for Cotopaxi Summit Bid

On The Map

Aconcagua: Nugent & Team Safely Back to Basecamp

On The Map

Mexico’s Volcanoes: Team Descends from Pico de Orizaba

Mexico Volcanoes: Waterfall & Team Summit Pico de Orizaba!

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Kilimanjaro: Grom & Team Ready for Summit Bid

On The Map

Ecuador Volcanoes: Beren & Team Relaxing after a Successful Cayambe Summit

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Mexico Volcanoes: Waterfall and Team Prepare for Summit Bid

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Aconcagua: Nugent & Team Reach Summit!

On The Map

Kilimanjaro: Team Ascends the Great Barranco Wall

On The Map

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