Entries from Expedition Dispatches

Greetings friends, I know you have all been anxiously awaiting this update and I am proud to announce that we have in fact found Flaming Hot Cheetos and are currently in possession of enough to power a small factory. Mission accomplished. As for updates on our whereabouts, we had a great breakfast at the hacienda and made our way to the Otavalo Market where we did some shopping and exploring before heading for the hills. We arrived at the lower hut on Cayambe late afternoon and had some time to relax before a three course dinner. Afterwards talked some logistics about the days to come and shared some good laughs. Tomorrow we will rise early and make our way to the high hut before heading up to the glacier for a quick snow school in preparation for our Cayambe summit attempt. Morale continues to soar and we are all excited for what is to come. Hope all is well back at home, we can feel you all cheering us on and we greatly appreciate it! Even Jeff Daniels

RMI Guide Michael Murray

Hola amigos! Team Cuy Frito woke up a little earlier than yesterday to load up the bus and make our way to Cerro Fuya Fuya at 14,000 feet for another acclimatization hike. We walked through some clouds but stayed dry and had ourselves a swell time. We finished our day with a team dinner at the quaint hacienda Intiyaya and are now organizing gear to head to the climbing hut on Cayambe tomorrow. The search for Cheetos was fruitless today but hopes are high that we will track some of that orange goodness down as we visit the Otavalo market tomorrow for some souvenir shopping and to pick up some last minute snacks before heading to the mountain. Morale is as high as the Andes and we are all looking forward to the adventures to come. Hope all is well back at home and hasta luego!

RMI Guides Dustin Wittmier & Michael Murray

Hello friends, all is well here in sunny Ecuador! Yesterday we kicked off our adventure with a trip to the Equator to learn some science and balance eggs on a nail (difficult, but not impossible), followed by a cultural tour of the city. After a delicious Ecuadorian dinner and some spa time, the team hit the hay to rest up before our first acclimatization hike.

We awoke to blue skies and after a nice breakfast we headed to the teleférico where we took a ride up to 13,000 feet and were able to stretch our legs on a wonderful hike to the summit of Rucu Pichincha 15,354 feet. We saw some splendid flowers along the way and even some friendly birds at the summit.

Tomorrow we will check out of our hotel and make our way to Cero Fuya Fuya for another acclimatization hike before ending our day at a lovely hacienda in Otavalo (don't worry friends and family we are certainly not roughing it on this trip). Morale is high and at dinner tonight we will be finalizing our new team name so stay tuned.

Hope all is well back at home and hasta mañana.

RMI Guides Dustin Wittmier, Michael Murray & Team

Following two nights of tent camping in the paramo, yesterday we climbed Antisana. Several members of the team reached the summit and everyone gave a serious effort. Congratulations to all for making it as far as we have.

Antisana is Ecuador's fourth highest mountain, but the complex glaciers that one encounters makes a summit bid quite difficult. Our camp sits at 14,800' in the final patch of grass before entering more serious alpine terrain. The first hour takes you through a glacial moraine before arriving at the base of the glacier. Once on the glacier, numerous huge crevasses are encountered as well as needing to navigate through serac-ridden terrain. Higher on the mountain, the team worked their way up some very steep snow pitches before walking the seemingly endless plateau to the true summit. Although this section is benign, the altitude of over 18,000' catches up with you. This is truly a difficult climb and for making the effort, you are rewarded with excellent views of other high mountains in Ecuador.

Honestly, Antisana might be my favorite volcano climb in Ecuador. The beauty of our campsite alone is worth a visit. We camped two nights in tents and there is also a dining tent where we were served delicious, hot meals every morning and evening. The staff at Antisana basecamp is lovely and as always, our local Ecuadorian guides are professional and just truly good people to hang with.

Today, a portion of the group heads home while the rest of us are headed to Chimborazo. We spent a final night as a team at Casa Ilayaku, a quaint hacienda on an old farm property near Quito. According to our smart watches, the sleep was near perfect. For those headed to Chimborazo, we are now on a four hour bus ride to the Chimborazo Lodge for one more relaxing night prior to another big summit push!

Thanks for following along.

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier

Iliniza Norte summit!

Our team reached the summit of Iliniza Norte at 6 pm yesterday evening. It was a beautiful afternoon, so upon arrival at the hut we decided to just go for it. We were rewarded with a lovely sunset at the summit, one of the nicer ones most of us have ever seen.

Back at the hut, we sat down for a hot meal and although it was quite tasty, Emma and I spent some time forcing people to eat. A long few days of acclimatizing is catching up with everyone, but you have to eat! The main objective lies ahead.

We are now in route to Antisana Basecamp, where we will spend two nights and hopefully be standing on top of the fourth highest peak in Ecuador less than 48 hours from now!

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier

Flying into Quito you begin to grasp the magnitude and astounding beauty of the volcanoes surrounding the city. The dichotomy of the lush Amazonian rainforest and the high, snowy mountains leaves one with a sense of the diverse ecosystems of Ecuador. Our first day included trip introductions, getting to know each other and exploring the city. We spent the first half of the day at the equatorial line, learning about the indigenous people of the Amazon and their culture. The second half of the day we explored old Quito, checking out stunning architecture and discussing the current politics of Ecuador. Our second day we took a teleferico or gondola up to around 13,000ft to begin our acclimating hike up to the summit of Rucca Pichincha at 15,354ft. Everyone enjoyed snacks and laughs at the summit before heading back to Quito for a delicious Mediterranean dinner.

RMI Guide Emma Lyddan

Everything went like clockwork this morning, smooth and easy.  We ate a last trek breakfast and walked toward the Lukla heliport at 7 AM.  There were clouds, but there were also plenty of aircraft coming and going already.  After a short wait and weigh-in session, we were ushered out and into a running A-Star B3.  The pilot went right to work and we cruised out over farms, ridges, rivers and terraces.  He took us around clouds but there were always plenty of open avenues.  After 45 minutes we’d reached the busy Kathmandu airport.  Within minutes we went from being a famous and well above average trekking team to just another van full of tourists in a big city.  We checked back into the comfy Yak and Yeti and headed for the showers.  It was a day for catching up, for mingling with other trekkers and climbers and for getting ready for the next phase… the big travel chore.  But first, we went over to Thamel, the busy tourist and trekker Mecca for a last relaxed dinner together at the New Orleans Cafe.  We toasted a fine journey… one that wasn’t always easy, but one that seemed very much worth the trouble. 

Thanks for following along.

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

We walked for seven hours today… of course we did take a leisurely lunch break in Phakding, so it was less.  But it felt like a big day.  We lost about 2,000 vertical feet in the first hour, coming down the Namche hill.  That was significant, since it meant we were then working at low altitude (around 9,000 ft) which was easier than so much of what we’ve done in the last week.  It was a cloudy day, but there was an amazing amount of helicopter traffic overhead.  And there were plenty of trekkers, porters and pack animals on the trail.  It is prime time in the Khumbu.  Still, we had some fine peaceful moments gazing at waterfalls and flowers and children playing on small farms.  We bounced across a bunch of cable bridges and finally we climbed uphill for the final 90 minutes to reach Lukla.  We’ll spend the night and see if we get lucky with clear weather for flying in the morning. 

Best Regards

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Thanks everyone for following along and once again, a shout out to Farmer Dave for all the encouragement!

Climbing Orizaba is never easy. We ended up having a great weather day and route conditions were also favorable. But it still felt like a hard push after the long week of being rained off of big mountains and spending hours drying gear. The team can take pride in their perseverance and their summit of Pico de Orizaba, the third highest peak in North America.

Last night we celebrated in Tlachichuca at the Servimont hostel, where there is always a nice meal and cold drinks. Most people were in bed by 8pm, it was quite the party. Now we are on one final bus ride, to the airport this time, and will return to normal life tomorrow. The muddy, dusty gear we are bringing home will remind us of the good times we had in Mexico.

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier

Saturday, October 14, 2023 7:11 am PDT

Summit Orizaba. High clouds, cool, light breeze. Nice day!

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier & Team