Our first day went off without a hitch. Our logistics and prep was capped off by dinner at the always impressive La Marchigiana.
The team is doing well and we're set to head off to Penitentes soon. We'll check in when we can!
RMI Guides Zeb Blais, Mike King and Alex Barber
Our last rest day at Plaza Argentina brought blue skies and gentle winds. The crew spent a fair bit of time chatting idly over hot drinks, covering topics like:
The Seattle Seahawks
And are Americans actually hated or loved around the globe?
Tomorrow we move to Camp 1. The crew is less than excited for the steep scree we have to ascend, but looking strong and optimistic. We look forward to congratulating the successful descending climb.
RMI Guide Walter Hailes
After a successful summit of Aconcagua the team is safely back at high camp. Everyone did a wonderful job today. Aside from some sore knees and tired feet the day couldn't have gone better. The team is now enjoying some hot soups and a warm meal to recover from today's effort as tomorrow has us packing up and heading back down to basecamp for a fantastic home cooked meal by our lovely basecamp staff!
RMI Guide Steve Gately
Hey Everyone –
This is JJ and Steve with Team #1. Guess where we are? No, we are not sitting by the pool in Mendoza. We are on the summit of Aconcagua. The entire team is up here right now. They did a really great job. This is my 19th summit of Aconcagua and I have to tell you this, is the most beautiful day I have ever seen up here. But hey, you have heard enough from me. I am going to pass the phone around, so hopefully this will work. Some folks want to hi and etc to some people back at home. So here we go.
[Listen to audio]
Alright, so hopefully that work and we didn’t get cut out. This is Team #1 on the summit of Aconcagua. A beautiful day up here. We have a little more work to do. But I can’t tell you how great of team this was. What do you say team [Cheers]. We are tired. But we are going down hill, so that is the good news.
Chao from the summit,
RMI Guide JJ Justman
RMI Guide JJ Justman and the team call in from the summit of Aconcagua.
Congrats Matt! Sounded a bit winded though, need to train harder. Jimmy, Ross and I really appreciated the shout out ;).
Posted by: Michael Beck on 12/29/2014 at 9:17 am
There is a difference between interest and commitment. When you are interested in doing something, you do it only when it’s convenient. When you are committed to something, you accept no excuses; only results.
We have successfully finished one of the harder days on Aconcagua!
The first trip to Camp 1 is always a surprisingly hard day. It is the first time on the trip that we carry heavy loads in our packs, until now the mules have done all the hard work. It is the first time some people have been above 15,000 ft, and definitely the first time in a long time for the rest us. Most importantly, the terrain on the way to Camp 1 is extremely challenging. The slopes we climb are very loose small rocks and sand. So every step we take up we slide back half way. You can imagine how physically and mentally taxing this can be, happily everyone did great. And we are excited for our second rest day tomorrow.
RMI Guide Walter Hailes
The Guiding Life!! It's not so glamorous. Steve, and I are sitting at high camp 19,600' feet on Aconcagua with the team. They are all doing great. The guides however are pulling their hair out (ok, ok, I'm not)! But Steve is because our stoves are being very temperamental. We are working hard to make water, hot drinks and dinner. All is well and we are excited for a great summit day tomorrow. Stay tuned!!
RMI Guide JJ Justman
Hey everybody!
Checking in from Aconcagua Basecamp after a wholesome meal of steak, potatoes, and red berries. Today was spent recovering from our three days of approach and preparing for our carry to Camp 1 tomorrow. These days can often be long but this one seemed to breeze by due to great conversation with great people. We spent hours telling stories and joking around, with the laughter alleviating any sign of an altitude-related headache.
Now the sun has set, lighting the clouds to the east in brilliant blues, purples, and pink. As the stars rise we drift to sleep looking forward to climbing high on this beautiful peak tomorrow.
Thanks for tuning in!
RMI Guide Walter Hailes
Team 1 is back!!! Thanks to Steve's genius technology skills. The team is resting today at Camp 2 which is at 18,000 feet. Everyone is doing great! As a matter if fact, I can't remember another team that was on equal level in terms of strength. If all goes well we should have a fantastic summit day. We are shooting for the summit on the 28th so keep your fingers crossed!
RMI Guide JJ Justman
December 24th, 11:30 am PT
The team is enjoying Christmas Eve this year at 15,500ft on the tallest mountain outside of the Himalaya, not to shabby, eh? Temperatures are still warm and the winds mild. Today we rest and prepare for the real work of moving up to Aconcagu's Camp 2 tomorrow. Keep our climbers in mind tomorrow, Christmas Day, as we'll be hauling 50-pound packs to 18,000ft. I know the team wishes they could be home with.... Well why don't I just let them tell you themselves....
Wishing all of my Hawaii peeps a blessed holiday season! I'm in good spirits and feeling well physically (and more important, mentally) to summit soon. Let's celebrate when I return! Love, Del.
All's well! Wishing a Merry Christmas to Taegan, family and fellow climbing buddies hanging at lower elevations for the holiday! Love you all--Matt
Having a great time. All is well! Enjoying the views, steaks and a great team. Merry Christmas to all! Love Nigel
Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas! Wish I could join you but Christmas at 18,000 is not too bad. Claud - I hope you're behaving yourself! Love,
Marek
I AM ON AN ADVENTURE!!!
Mammut
Pogoda przepiekna, super samopoczucie, towarzystwo wysmienite!!! Wesolych Swiay i Szczesliwego Nowego Roku - Pawel
Missing you very much this Christmas Bea! Wish I was there with you and the girls and Grant. Keep those good thoughts coming my way. Love ya, Jemes.
My dear Alex, you motivate and encourage me every step of the way, as always in front of me leading the way. Thank you for being the most amazing part of my life. Merry Christmas my love. I'm yours always. Ruben
Christmas Day was a little different for us this year than the usual gift giving and big meal with the family. We moved into our new home for the next several days, Plaza Argentina, our base camp. After a great three-course dinner of soup, lasagna, and rich dessert, we discussed some of our holiday traditions including fondue donuts and chocolate coins.
We miss you all back at home and hope you had as happy a Christmas as we have had.
RMI Guide Walter Hailes
Do something today that your future self will thank you for.
Posted by: Chris on 12/26/2014 at 4:14 am
Equipo Hailes we miss you all as well. We observe your accomplishments each day individually (GO VIV!!!!) and as they say in Spanish el equipo, the team. A strong team is what counts both on the mountain and in everyday life.
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Tell Cheryl I’m tracking her on the Spot and that Danny says “Yay Danny!” Love the blog/progress report!!
Posted by: Erin Alexander on 12/30/2014 at 2:44 pm
No bettah than Blaise.
Posted by: KIPPLES on 12/29/2014 at 11:11 pm
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