Entries from Expedition Dispatches

We woke to another windy day here at basecamp. After reinforcing our tent anchors, we had a delicious breakfast.  The meal was leisurely and delicious, and everyone was in high spirits. We took a walk mid day to stretch our legs and get an incredible view of the mountain.  The rest of the day was spent resting and sorting gear. Tomorrow the weather is supposed to become more favorable, and we plan on moving to Camp 2 in order to best position ourselves for the summit.  

RMI Guide Nick Scott & Team

January 18, 2022

Today we rested at basecamp, avoiding the high winds as much as possible.  The team read books, watched some movies, and ate lots of snacks.  We are waiting for a break in the winds to try and make a final move up the mountain.  

RMI Guide James Bealer

Following a leisurely breakfast in the courtyard at Guachala, we made our way south towards Cotopaxi.  We are staying in the Tambopaxi Lodge who's playground served as an excellent location for learning crevasse rescue techniques against the backdrop of multiple volcanoes: Sincholagua, Ruminahui and most importantly, Cotopaxi.  It was an excellent day to give the body some rest while also learning some mountain skills.  Seeing the mountain got us all psyched for the next couple of days, especially because you can clearly see the hut and the route from Tambopaxi.  One member of the team even snapped a great night photo of Cotopaxi, that's not a stock photo!

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier & Team

Yesterday, we woke at 7am just before our welcomed friend, the sun, hit our trailhead camp. After finishing the last of our packing that was put on hold from the thunder and hail the previous night, we had a warm breakfast and donned our climbing packs for the first time on the trip. Conditions were mostly snowy and cloudy on the trail to Campo Alto, but the team managed to make good time nonetheless. In 4.5 hours we arrived, ready to set up tents before the afternoon hail storm set in. Taking shelter to cook in the Refugio, we had the camp to ourselves and enjoyed warm ramen and quesadillas. The team then got their climbing kits ready and took to the tents early to maximize rest for the upcoming summit push tomorrow.

RMI Guide Alan Davis

After three nights of strong wind gust, fitful sleeping and high altitude we were all ready for a full mountain rest day today. Rest days are simple and look similar to your cat’s daily routine: eat, then nap, then casual stroll, then eat, then nap. Today, our highlights were hot quesadillas for snacks and we walked across the valley from camp to an abandoned hotel to enjoy even more spectacular views.
All around a great rest day and everyone is ready for more climbing tomorrow.

RMI Guide Walter Hailes

A good thunder storm and the rain hitting the rooftop of our cold, but dry cabana made for a very restful night of sleep. After breakfast at the IMSS training compound of La Malintzi, we got back on our bus to make our way to the La Joya Trailhead. On the way we stopped in the markets of Amecameca to purchase our water, fresh tortillas, queso, and last minute snacks for our Ixta climb tomorrow. Once we entered the gates of the National park, we were greeted with hail, thunder, and snow for the remainder of our journey to the trailhead camp.  Spirits were kept high though, as we were served another warm and delicious meal by the local staff. After our final packing for tomorrow's move up to Campo Alto. We were lucky enough to see both Ixta and the smoke off of Popocatepetl in the clear evening light after the thunderstorm passed. We are excited to begin our first objective bright and early after a good nights sleep at our trailhead basecamp.

RMI Guide Alan Davis

Monday, January 17, 2022

What a crazy 36 hours! We arrived at Aconcagua Camp 1 excited for the true expedition to begin, but little did we know, the mountain had other plans. We crawled in our tents after dinner with moderate winds slapping the tent walls, but what began as moderate mountain winds soon grew into freight train roars. Gust after gust battered the tents as we scrambled to secure more guy lines and add more rocks to the anchors. What started as 40 mph gusts soon grew to 80 mph and greater! It felt as if the mountain was unhappy with our presence on its flanks. The wind was relentless all night, making the guide's job tireless as we constantly left the safety of our tent to check on the security of the others. No one slept a wink as we all constantly felt the need brace the walls of our tent as the roar of the train built high in the mountain and finally crashed angrily into our camp. As the sun rose, the wind flowed unabated but with less severity as it had throughout the night. With the light increasing we were able to survey the damage. One out of the three tents didn’t survive, but all climbers woke unscathed, albeit a little sleep deprived. Despite their experience, it was the guides whose tent was left broken and battered and who had to seek shelter in the emergency dome tent set up by our logistics company for just such an occasion. With the sun rising, the group sipped coffee with 1,000-yard stares until the caffeine kicked in and we were able to process what just happened. With a broken tent and the forecast changing for the worst, the mountain forced our hand. The guides made the tactical decision to retreat back to basecamp to regroup and pick up our spare tent we had left behind. However, this does not mean the adventure is over. We plan to rest where the air is thicker, wait out the bad weather, and continue on up the mountain in two days. Everyone is tired, but in good spirits after such a trying night on Aconcagua. Wind is what this mountain is famous for and it delivered in spades. Two nights of good sleep in basecamp will have us rested and ready to give it another go. Let’s just hope the mountain decides to let us pass.

RMI Guide Nick Scott

Monday, January 17, 2022

After a windy night with little sleep we awoke to a beautiful and sunny day. After a delicious breakfast we packed light packs to head up hill for an acclimatization hike. The wind lingered as we hiked and we remained bundled up even with the sun shining upon us. The air felt thin as we reached Aconcagua's Camp 1 at 5000m (16,000ft). After a quick lunch break the team was feeling good so we continued uphill for another hour to take full advantage of our day. Once we reached our high point we turned around and scooted downhill to a hearty meal of carne asado grilled by the porters. Tonight we hope to sleep like rocks.

RMI Guide Jack Delaney

Sunday, January 16, 2022

After a quick breakfast in the Hotel Geneve, we said goodbye to the bustling streets of La Zona Rosa at 07:40 to get some much needed time to acclimatize in preparation for the objectives that lie ahead. We were greeted with sunny skies and mild morning weather on our hike of La Malinche which tops out at 14,640. The trail was in good shape and feral dogs were good company at times. After moving into our Cabana and just missing the evening thunder and rain, we are on our way to enjoy an nice family-style meal of carne asada, complimented with hot sizzling veggies and queso to end a great first day.

RMI Guide Alan Davis

Monday, January 17, 2022 - 6:21 am PT

The last few members of the team are arriving back at the refugio after a successful summit of Cayambe!  It was a clear morning, but quite windy above 17,000’.  We will descend to Guachala today for some much needed rest before moving south towards Cotopaxi tomorrow.

Sunday, January 16, 2022 - 9:18 pm PT

On Sunday, we had an excellent day reviewing basic mountaineering skills on the glacier plus starting some advanced skills in the hut.  Currently we are 20 minutes into the climb and it is a clear, calm night.  Let’s hope it stays that way!

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier