Entries from Expedition Dispatches
Greetings from
high camp on Ixta! We had a great day on the trail. My day started a bit earlier than the rest of the team as I came up to camp to drop off some water early in the morning. The rest of the group enjoyed bacon and eggs for breakfast before starting their hike at 9:30am. It was very warm and there wasn't a cloud in the sky for most of the day but we had a nice breeze to keep us from getting too hot.
We just finished with dinner and now everyone's getting their gear organized for tonight's we climb! Hopefully the next time we check in it will be from the summit.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
On The Map
The rain was borderline torrential in Quito last night, but as we got closer to our acclimatization hike, it let up for us. We had a great hike today, topping out on
Cerro Fuya Fuya at over 14,000 feet! The team again did a great job climbing up this mountain and making the most of our time up high. Tomorrow we will head to Otovalo and do a little exploration of the market town. Afterwards it's up to the
Cayambe hut! So far so good down here.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
We caught our first views of
Kilimanjaro today while on our two-hour drive to the park gate. Looming in the distance it was almost mistaken as a cloud. We spent about an hour getting checked in and all of our gear weighed. All in all there are 55 porters, guides, cooks, waiters and camp crew bringing our group total to 66. The majority of folks are porters who are carrying much of our gear, fresh food and most importantly fresh ground coffee!
The first day always feels like the toughest as we try to get into the swing of things and find our legs under us. The team did great today and made good time from about 6000' up to 10,000' in about six miles. It took a little over five hours and thankfully didn't rain on us. We have just finished a well cooked meal with curried vegetables, fried chicken breast, potatoes and a nice slice of cake for dessert. Bellies are full and everyone is in their tent getting ready for some well deserved sleep.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
On The Map
Here for I am to be writing from resting day the third in
Camp 1. But seriously, we are resting comfortably here at
Camp 1 passing the time jamming Talking Heads, reading, and drinking maté. Most of us are actively working to keep the altitude and tent time from scrambling our brains. The team is understandably a bit restless hanging out with such good weather but managing nonetheless. Rumor has it that there may be a bit of wind tomorrow but nothing that should shut us down on our planned move to
Camp 2. As we head higher and higher the reality of a summit bid is getting closer and closer. More to report after we push camp uphill to
Camp 2 tomorrow!
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
13,000! That's our sleeping elevation tonight at the
Altzimoni hut. We started the day with the best breakfast in Mexico at the Mission Tlaxcala. Then we drove back to the west and around
Ixta, with a few pit stops along the way. Once we reached the town of Amecameca we loaded up on water and drove to the
Altzimoni hut. After getting settled the group headed out for a light hike. After that we made dinner and now everyone is tucked in their bunks and getting ready to move to high camp tomorrow. We will check back in from there.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
On The Map
More sun today with light winds and nearly perfect temperatures made for a great carry up to
Camp 2. Our group is starting to work like that proverbial well-oiled machine with solid efforts the last couple days moving and pushing carries up the mountain. Our foray took us above 18,000' which was an altitude record for many and certainly the highest anybody in the group had carried a heavy load. We enjoyed a "picnic" with beautiful new views up at
Camp 2 while we built up our cache of food and fuel in a nook among the rocks. And after hanging for an hour or so we made short work of our descent back to
Camp 1. All in all we were on the go for only 3.5 hours and about 4.5 hours round trip. The team is feeling strong, motivated, and ready for the hard work ahead!
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
On The Map
What a day! After breakfast the rain let up for a bit and we boarded the teleferico for a ride up to 13,200 feet. Nice way to travel. We caught a quick glance at
Cotopaxi before the clouds rolled in and enjoyed perfect walking temperatures up to the ridge of the extinct volcano
Rucu Pichincha. With a weather window to work with, we roped up and climbed to the summit, everyone standing tall at 15,700 feet above the sea. The team did great and we even managed to get down to the trail before the rain came in. The rain stayed with us until we got back to town, but everyone's spirits remained high and now we are relaxing before dinner. Tomorrow we leave Quito and head for even higher ground. Wish us luck!
RMI Guide Jake Beren
On The Map
The team is all here and our adventure starts tomorrow!
Today we rested from the long flights and prepared our gear for the climb. We took a short ride into
Arusha, did a little shopping and visited the school that Clement's (our driver) children attend. Some of the team members brought gifts and candy that we handed out to the kids. Plenty of smiles there!
Everyone is doing well, a little nervous as usual! But ready to stretch the legs tomorrow.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
Hola! We're at
La Malinche. Everything was pretty smooth getting out of the city this morning and we had great views of
Ixta on the drive. Once we checked into out cabins at
La Malinche we went for a great hike to acclimatize. 3.7 miles and about 3,500 feet up to a prominent ridge on the mountain. After a few pics we reversed course and headed toward the dinner bell. We'll check in again tomorrow.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
On The Map
Buenos Dias from Ecuador! The team arrived last night ahead of schedule, with all our gear and we hit the town running today. After a team meeting this morning, we loaded up on coffee and breakfast and took a short drive to the equator to perform a few experiments. After some testing we were able to verify the precise location of the Middle of the World and head to lunch. Post traditional Equadorian food, we returned to the Southern Hemisphere to explore the Old Town of Quito. We were able to get some great views of the city from the ramparts of the Basilica before an afternoon lightning storm encouraged our descent. The Guilded Church, Presidential Palace and Virgin of Quito followed and we returned to the hotel for some rest before a gear check and dinner. Off to a great start down here!
RMI Guides
Jake Beren &
Ben Liken
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I swear that is the rare specie of Ecuadorian houli in the red jacket.
Posted by: John Loschky on 2/12/2013 at 8:02 pm
Hurray! Keep up the good work.
Posted by: Caroline on 2/12/2013 at 4:39 pm
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