Entries from Expedition Dispatches
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Avery Parrinello
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
We left the comforts of Mendoza following the windy Mendoza River to Penitentes. The landscape is red, rocky, Martian looking land with bright green trees here and there. Before we arrive we make a mandatory empanada stop so we have the energy to get down to business when we arrive. It's a sea of duffels and gear as we sort through our belongings making a pile that will go straight to basecamp and one that will follow us up the valley on the mules. Excitement is growing bigger as we finish packing. Tomorrow we hit the trail. As for tonight we will enjoy a delicious dinner and our last night sleeping in beds.
Talk to you all next on the trail,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team
Posted by: Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Kilimanjaro trip number 2 for 2019 is underway!
The team arrived late last night after their long flights from the US and after a short drive to our lodge the team had a quick dinner and then headed for bed.
Today after a hearty breakfast the team met for RMI's official orientation where we did a round of introductions and discussed the upcoming plan for the next few day and the gear essential for our climb.
We spent the remainder of the day packing and relaxing here at this tranquil and private lodge that has numerous wild animals roaming the grounds. There are two different types of monkeys here, the Velvet and the Blue. Several Dik Dik that have been rescued, a few Guinea fowl, and we even managed to see a mongoose sneaking around today.
We are being well taken care of here at the Arumeru River Lodge by their gracious and kind staff.
Everyone is doing well and looking forward to a little uphill exercise tomorrow as we head to Kilimanjaro.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and Kili Team 2
Not much to write about today. We had a breakfast burrito brunch after a few rounds of coffee. The weather has continued to be warmer then expected with light winds tugging at the tents. We are all in the tents with sleeping bags clipped to the outside to lower the temperatures. While anxious to move to Camp 2, everyone needs this time to continue acclimating. Tomorrow we move camp to 18,000’ and will be in a better position for the next summit window. Currently there is a large lenticular cloud sitting on the summit, several teams moved to high camp yesterday for a summit attempt today, hopefully they are on their descent.
RMI Guide Mike King
Fingers crossed for cooperating weather! Good luck team!
Posted by: Renee Sherwood on 1/22/2019 at 4:51 pm
Hey team—Keep up the good work. You rock! (pun intended)
Posted by: Randy Salo on 1/22/2019 at 12:18 pm
Posted by: Adam Knoff, Taylor Bickford
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Hello from the Chimborazo Lodge located literally at the base of the mountain. From our windows we watch herds of llamas grazing in the pastures, condors buzz the hillsides and the mountain, straight up valley, show us she is certainly not done being angry at something. Which sets the stage for this upcoming tale.
It is no secret that lessons surround us. Whether learned from business, school, love or mountain climbing. If we are aware and observant enough we should be able to find value and see reason through the events of everyday life. Today was one of those days we all learned something.
Our time at high camp began with teaching our seminar crew the correct way to level tent platforms, secure the guy lines and properly tie down your house so the big bad wolf doesn’t come and blow it all away. Once settled in, we were treated to a great meal by our cooks and hit the rack about 6:30 pm. At that point the full moon was rising over the mountain and the wind was calming just a bit. By our wake up time at 11:45 the wind was calm but the clouds had unleashed some freezing rain which coated everything in a smooth sheen of verglass.
By the time we departed camp the wind had picked up a bit and the mountain was sporting a nice cloud cap, beautiful in the full moon light.
The terrain right out of camp was challenging but by the time our climbing team reached an elevation of 18,500 feet, a few had turned around due to fatigue and the unruly steepness of the route. The weather had also begun to deteriorate with gusts reaching upper 30s and a heavy coat of rime ice building on our Gore-Tex shells. By 19,300 feet only two climbers remained headed up. But that upward progress didn’t last much longer. By 19,800 feet the cloud was now fully upon us and the wind and rime became too much to safely continue toward the summit. So at 6:15 our final summit climbers turned around.
The climb down can be as arduous as the climb going up because of tired legs, heavier muscle strain and outright exhaustion. As they have this entire trip, our team performed like seasoned veterans, all arriving back at camp by 8 am. Usually getting back to camp provides a deep sense of relief and comfort, knowing the hard part is over. This morning that was not the case as the winds increased moderately on the upper mountain, they increased dramatically at camp. I almost wanted to start climbing back up the mountain just to avoid the scene. The tents were being held down by rocks and people just to be kept from blowing away, the dining tent was literally beginning to tear itself apart and the noise of flapping nylon could likely be heard ten miles away. But through incredible teamwork we were were able to keep our houses from blowing away and got things packed in relatively good order considering the mountain’s jet engine was on overdrive.
On the descent, some of us had to literally crawl on all fours to keep from blowing over. It was one of the windiest days I’ve ever seen. Thirty minutes after leaving camp we were sheltered enough to take a sigh of relief and walk normally to the bus waiting in the parking lot.
After a brief time to reflect and sit down, we loaded up and headed to Chimborazo Lodge where we are about to take dinner and give a final toast to a mountain that has taught us much more than just climbing skills.
So even though we didn’t reach the summit, we by no means consider this a failure. On the contrary, like our journey as a whole, we consider this a great success! It has been a wonderful two weeks!
Team Ecuador signing off.
RMI Guide Adam Knoff
Good job to all of you. Will be happy to see you all safely home.
Mom (Chris Condon’s Mom)
Posted by: Mary Accettura on 1/21/2019 at 8:37 pm
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Avery Parrinello
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Today starts the beginning of a grand adventure. An adventure to the highest point outside the Himalayas...Aconcagua. The team has shown up in the land of malbecs and carne asada looking fit and well prepared for the next three weeks. After months of anticipation for this moment, all we can do now, is get some well deserved sleep from our lengthy travels. Tomorrow we will continue our travels to Penitentes where we will do the duffel shuffle. Packing and repacking to get our bags ready for the mules will be our main activity for the day, because the following day we hit the dusty trail.
Buenos noches,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team
Posted by: Christina Dale, Grayson Swingle, Alan Davis
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mexico
Elevation: 13,700'
Today the team left the lively Zona Rosa district of Mexico City bright and early to make our way to the mountains. A beautiful drive through the Mexican countryside took us up through a cloud layer that blanketed the City to sunny skies above.
Once we arrived at our home for the night, La Malinche, the team began our first big step towards getting our bodies acclimated for the peaks to come by hiking up to 13,700 feet. Here, we got our first views of the surrounding volcanoes including our next objectives Ixta and Orizaba.
Tonight we will enjoy a much deserved authentic Mexican dinner, sleep at 10,000 feet and try to catch a glimpse of the Lunar Eclipse.
RMI Guide Grayson Swingle
Hope you guys see/saw the lunar eclipse. The moon was bright and shiny here in Atlanta and I hope it lights your way to the top! Best wishes and stay strong!
Posted by: Stephanie Renner on 1/21/2019 at 5:32 am
We had an unusually warm night last night, the drainage near our tents was running with water until early morning. With a light wind in camp, we headed for our Camp 2 located at 18,000’. The camp is technically called, Guanacos 3 since it is located on the now closed Guanacos Route. A guanaco is part of the South American camel family consisting of the llama, vicuña and alpaca. The route today takes us into the Ameghino Col with amazing views of the central Andes here in Argentina. The peaks of La Mano and Mercedario standout the most.
Today is a shorter day and since we are back in camp by 2 pm the Team gets to enjoy a casual afternoon in the tents. Tomorrow we have a scheduled rest day to continue our acclimatization. The weather is forecasted to be dry with 20-30 mph range. Everyone is doing well and glad to be moving higher up the mountain.
RMI Guide Mike King
Posted by: Christina Dale, Grayson Swingle, Alan Davis
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mexico
Elevation: 7,300'
The team all met yesterday in Mexico City where we took walks during the day and were impressed with the city. We met for a fun dinner with lots of tacos and laughs. We all are looking forward to traveling around Mexico, climbing the high mountains, and tasting the best smoked chipotle sauces.
RMI Guide Christina Dale
What a happy looking group and hope everyone (especially Andy & Mychal!) are fueled up and ready for a fun adventure! Best wishes and have fun.
Posted by: Stephanie R on 1/20/2019 at 3:16 pm
This morning our team woke up at one the most impressive haciendas I’ve had the pleasure to visit in this beautiful country. I think what added to the splendor of the place was the outright need for rest after two big mountains in a row. The beds were superb, the food amazing and the amenities top notch. But in mountain climbing, as in life, all good things come to an end.
So where are we now?
Currently I am writing this at 17,500' from my sturdy but noisy tent on the southern flanks of Ecuador’s biggest mountain, Chimborazo. We were just fed dinner by our awesome camp staff so life could be much worse. On the other hand the wind is tumbling down hill at 30+ mph crashing into the tents and buckling them over on a routine basis making the sound of jet engine stuck in place. Not exactly last night’s digs.
But now the full moon has begun to rise, we are wrapped up warm in our bags and the summit cleared up catching the last rays of sun enticing us to venture upward.
Which we intend to do in five hours from now.
Wish us luck as we attempt to reach the place farthest from the center of the Earth.
And Ecuador’s highest point.
RMI Guide Adam Knoff
Good Morning- I am anxiously waiting to hear how everyone is doing! If anyone reading this blog has information on this Summit please email me at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or call me at5419482777. Many Thanks,
Beck Condon
Posted by: Beck Condon on 1/21/2019 at 8:06 am
Travel safe, team! Praying for a successful summit. The full moon and new light to guide you all to the summit. Upward bound! :)
Posted by: Chrissy on 1/19/2019 at 9:56 pm
We could not have asked for a better day to pack up and move our camp to 16,400’. With little wind and warm temperatures, the Team did well today. They shaved some time from the carry day, better acclimatization, slightly lighter packs and nicer weather made all the difference. Camp is located between Cerro Ameghino and one of the many rock buttresses that make up Aconcagua. There are great views to the East and often we see lighting in the clouds that develop over the high desert once the sun sets. There is still a lot of mountain left to ascend. Tomorrow we carry some food, fuel and gear to Camp 2 located at 18,000’ and return to Camp 1 for some rest and continued acclimatization. The Team sends it’s love to family and friends following along. We are all ducked into the tents to avoid the sun for a little while.
RMI Guide Mike King
On The Map
I can see the reason one would climb to such heights in order to stare into the beauty of the world around all of you. Continued success Team
Chris’s Dad
Posted by: John Condon on 1/19/2019 at 6:20 pm
Safe decent, to the team and my nephew Joey Merlone.
Uncle Chris.
Posted by: Chris Williams on 1/27/2019 at 6:05 pm
Be safe and enjoy.
Posted by: Louis Sikora on 1/22/2019 at 10:36 am
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