Entries from Expedition Dispatches
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Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Hey, this is the Ecuador trip checking in.
Today we had a much deserved and much needed rest day here at the Chilcabamba Lodge. We woke up this morning to glorious views of Cotopaxi and a magnificent breakfast. We ate wonderful food and drank lots of coffee. We spent the majority of the day resting, relaxing and drying out and organizing our gear for tomorrow’s departure to Cotopaxi. This afternoon we enjoyed more coffee and continued reviews of Cotopaxi and finished the day off with a wonderful dinner this evening.
Everyone is doing well here in Ecuador and we are all looking forward to tomorrow’s adventures. We'll check in later.
RMI Guide Jason Thompson
RMI Guide Jason Thompson checks in from Ecuador.
Another day of storm, as predicted and expected. But it seemed as though things were improving gradually and so we thought we might sneak up into position at Low Camp so as to be ready for the good weather. This plan worked well, at first. We packed up and got rolling from basecamp at 1:30 PM. At the big right-angle turn of the Branscomb Glacier we picked up our cache from yesterday and marched on. Travel was actually easier than it had been for the first Vinson team since much of the soft snow blew away. With a good path and calm and even occasionally sunny conditions, the miles flew by. We hit low camp at 9,300 ft right on five hours, at 6:30. That also happened to be the moment that the first big cold and random wave of wind played through. Sure enough, the storm had a sting in its tail. We got hammered by gusts as we carefully built our tents and lit stoves. It all certainly lent drama to our situation, but the team remained in good humor and coped well. Meals were served up in the sleeping tents instead of in the POSH, but that worked out just fine. By 10 PM the wind was behaving much better and it pretty much quit by midnight (although it can still be heard howling through high camp, 3,500 ft directly above us). Obviously we want our share of good and stable weather to begin tomorrow, but if necessary, we can wait right here for whenever the fine stuff shows up.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
The storm rages on. When we could catch a glimpse of the Vinson Massif today, it was continually capped in thick wind-sculpted cloud. But it really wasn't bad down here on the Branscomb Glacier. Our basecamp is nicely sheltered... so far. It is rare for big winds to find their way into our valley, but it does happen. This storm isn't finished yet either. Our forecast from ALE suggests it will be with us at least another day. Today we did manage to get a carry of food and gear in to "half camp" about 2.5 hours above Vinson Base Camp. It was great to stretch legs and it will certainly ease our eventual move up to low camp. We took about an hour to scoot back down to base in cold and shadowy conditions. A hot dinner in our dining tent got all feeling good again.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
RMI Guides Casey Grom & Jason Thompson checked in this morning with the news that their team reached the summit of Cayambe (18,997') at 7:10 a.m. local time today. The team left the hut on Cayambe (15,330') just after midnight with a low cloud layer above keeping them warm to about 17,000'. The team climbed well with some steep and challenging conditions on the final approach to the summit. They reported mostly cloudy skies and knee to ankle deep snow in places. Unfortunately, the cloud cover obscured their views from the summit but they did take some time to celebrate their accomplishment before starting the descent. Everyone is back to the Cayambe hut. They are planning to pack up, load the vehicles and make their way down the mountain. They will stop for lunch and then continue to Chilcabamba Eco Lodge where they will stay and rest the next two nights.
Congratulations to the team!
Hello everybody back home. This is Casey Grom checking in from the Ecuador’s Volcanoes Expedition. Just letting you know that everyone doing quite well up here at the hut at Cayambe. We woke up to a beautifully clear morning and were able to see most of the volcano through the valley here. We had a nice leisurely breakfast then we hiked for just over an hour to access the lower part of the glacier here on Cayambe. We reviewed some of our climbing techniques that we will need for tomorrow’s upcoming summit climb. Everyone seems to be doing great. We made it back to the hut. We just finished up a nice lunch. Folks are taking some naps. Looking forward to an early dinner tonight and getting a most likely midnight start for our summit time tomorrow. We will do our best to call from the summit to let everybody know how things are going. At very least we will call tomorrow when we return from our hopefully successful climb. Once again, everyone is doing great and we will check in tomorrow. Thanks.
RMI Guide Casey Grom
Today was a great day. We visited the Otavalo market working on our bargaining skills. Then we returned to the San Luis Hacienda for a great lunch this afternoon. After lunch we drove towards the Cayambe hut in a torrential downpour of rain. Fortunately the rain let up and we were able to make our hike up to the hut on Cayambe (15,300'). Everybody did a wonderful job. The group is super strong and things are going really well. It’s been a great group. That is everything here from Ecuador. We will check in with our adventures from tomorrow. Ciao.
RMI Guide Jason Thompson
It turned out to be a lucky thing we flew into Vinson basecamp last night. It would not have worked today as the weather has gone down. Looking at things philosophically, this is not a bad time to get a storm. Considering that it has been nearly two weeks now of generally good (and at times -perfect) weather, we were due for a change and we definitely did not want that change to come as we got higher -and more vulnerable- on the mountain. Our plan for this first day of the expedition involved sorting gear and reviewing climbing techniques. We thought we'd make a carry of supplies partway up the Branscomb Glacier, but with a whiteout and new snow falling, it was easy to scrap the carry in favor of napping. Travel to this point on the Antarctic continent from North America has taken days and nights and lots of "hurry up and wait" and so a rest before the climb begins in earnest isn't wasted time by any means. Especially when we can hear winds ripping the ridges above. The team doesn't seem stressed by the change in plan and do seem to be quickly adapting to expedition life on ice.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
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Dave Hahn called from Vinson Base Camp early this morning after the team arrived on the mountain. Below is the transcript from his call:
Hey, this is Dave Hahn on calling from Vinson Base Camp again. The Illyusion came in today at Union Glacier, it was a spectacular day - actually started a little bit cloudy, still a little bit ice crystals in the air, chance of fog, but the afternoon was just sparkling and beautiful and the airplane came in in the evening and brought in my next group of climbers. So the four of us then clambered...out of the Illyusion and into Twin Otters. But first we had Illyusion Stew there at Union Glacier - the traditional meal there on the ice in the ALE Dining Tent. Then kind of a midnight ride through the Ellsworth mountains, really beautiful, the shadows long. And the Twin Otters on skis, brought us out to Branscomb Glacier. A perfect landing going uphill on the glacier at 7000' and Vinson splendid out in front of us. And now it's 2:30 and we've gathered our tent's up. We're in shadow. So, I'm not gonna stay up too much longer... [Call lost].
Rooting for you, Mom! I know you can do it! -Tianna
Posted by: Tianna on 12/4/2011 at 12:54 pm
Great luck guys! Li, you’re living your dream! Much love and support from Toronto Canada! d
Posted by: Dean V. on 12/4/2011 at 11:41 am
Posted by: Jeff Martin
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Vinson Massif
Hello from Punta Arenas,
We had the call this morning that we were on standby for our flight. Union Glacier was cloudy, but the report was that the weather was starting to improve and they would re-evaluate at 12:30 pm. We all crossed our fingers that the team could get going towards Vinson.
The second call came in right at 12:30 and we were told that the bus is coming to pick us up at the hotel at 1:25 pm. The flight is a go!
There were several other groups to pick up on the way to the airport, but the plane was loaded and ready for passengers. After an abbreviated security check, the bus pulled up right next to the plane and 15 minutes later everybody was on board and ready to go. It's about 4 1/4 hour flight down to Union Glacier . They carry enough fuel so that if they get down there and are unable to land, they can turn around and head back to Punta Arenas. Hopefully not the case for this flight. Once they land on the glacier, they will meet up with Dave Hahn, and if the weather is decent, the plan is for a quick turn around at Union Glacier, switching planes, and heading directly to Vinson Basecamp.
The next dispatch will be from Dave and the crew on the ice.
RMI Guide Jeff Martin
Posted by: Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Today we left the busy city and headed north to continue our acclimatization and experience some of Ecuador's wonderful culture.
Our drive north took us to the small town of Tabacundo were we turned off the highway and drove up a cobbled stone road to the base of our next hike. Our hike for the day was the beautiful Cerro Fuya Fuya, which is large grass covered mountain with a small rocky summit that overlooks a small lake. Although Fuya Fuya is considered a small mountain here in Ecuador it is nearly as tall as Mt. Rainier, but not nearly as tough. Today's climb took just over 3 hours to reach the summit and make it back to our vehicles and everyone did great. Thankfully we timed it perfectly, because no sooner had we arrived back to the cars then the rain started to fall.
We quickly left the trailhead and headed for our new home for the night at Hacienda Hosteria San Luis. San Luis is nestled in between our first climbing objective, Cayambe and one of South Americas largest markets, Otavalo. Normally we would spend the day exploring the grounds of this working ranch, but the rain is still falling and now we are relaxing, listening to the frogs croak and enjoying the peacefulness and the warmth of the fireplace. Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves and I'm sure are looking forward to a nice meal and a good night sleep.
RMI Guide Casey Grom
Lauren
Félicitations!
Excellent travail, je suis très heureux pour vous et pour l’équipe!
Gatorade est impressionnant:)
Posted by: Timborazo on 12/5/2011 at 12:51 pm
So Spence, I spent the day raking leaves… not sure it compares to yours. First summit bid tomorrow?
Posted by: Scott Arnold on 12/4/2011 at 4:44 pm
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What a great achievement! Congrats to my brother Charlie and the whole team!! IT is awesome to see photos and get these updates.
Posted by: Annmarie Eldering on 12/7/2011 at 7:52 am
Papa - Everyone looks great. Hope your climbs are all they would be. Keep up the great work! We miss you. Michael and Gracie
Posted by: michael and gracie on 12/6/2011 at 6:25 pm
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