Hello from Barafu Camp,
We had another gorgeous morning when we woke up. Since it was a fairly short hiking day we took our time packing up camp and had a nice leisurely breakfast. We walked out of camp at 9:00 and made very good use of the trail to continue working on our rest stepping, pacing and breathing so we will be ready for tomorrow. The group did great and we made it to camp in just over two hours.
We took full advantage of our afternoon by talking about all the details of the climb ahead as well as discussing what gear to bring and what gear can stay at camp.
Now we are getting ready for an early dinner so we can be in bed by 7:00. The alarm clock is set for o'dark thirty and the plan is to be walking out of camp at 1:00 am. Hopefully we will be calling in from the summit of Kilimanjaro around 8:00 am.
The entire team is strong and healthy and doing well. We all appreciate the comments that have been posted on the blog, thank you for sending the encouraging words.
Best regards,
RMI Guide Jeff Martin
Jambo from Karanga Camp,
The team did great again today and the good weather continues. Right out of camp this morning we started our climb of the Barranco Wall. While viewed by most people as one of the more difficult parts of the trail, it was a breeze for this group. And it wouldn't be a stretch to say that they actually enjoyed it! We had the usual stopping and starting along the trail as climbers and porters negotiated some of the more tricky sections, but this did not slow us down and we topped out in just 1 hour and 20 minutes.
With the elevation gain behind us, we continued east towards Karanga Valley, traversing below the last of the southern ice fields. We also took advantage of some good terrain along the way to practice some walking techniques that we will use on summit day. By 1:00 we were pulling into camp, just in time to sit down to a spaghetti lunch. Such a treat! Now we are continuing the routine of the past few afternoons and just hanging out in camp enjoying our time on the mountain. The sun has been battling the clouds for most of the day. Lucky for us, the sun is refusing to give up.
Tomorrow is a short climb to Barafu Camp, our high camp. We'll get into camp by early afternoon with plenty of time to get ready for our summit day.
Best regards,
RMI Guide Jeff Martin
Hello from Barranco Camp,
Today was another perfect day for us. We got out of camp early and made great progress to Lava Tower. We were there by lunch time and everyone felt great, despite being at almost 15,000'. While we had a cloudless sky in the morning, the clouds had started to roll in and we decided to begin our descent to Barranco Camp. The highlight of the descent was seeing all the giant groundsels as we approached camp. It is hard to describe their unique appearance, but suffice to say that you could just as easily have been on another planet.
We were in camp by 2:00 and after settling into our new accommodations, we headed to the dining tent for tea and snacks. Now we are just hanging out and enjoying the impressive views around camp and taking advantage of some idle time to write in journals, do some reading, send some texts, or just relax.
The team has been climbing strong everyday and everybody remains healthy. We'll send the next dispatch from Karanga Camp tomorrow.
Best regards,
RMI Guide Jeff Martin
Hello RMI blog followers! Our team has arrived safely back at Basecamp. We are so happy to be in the thick air after a very long expedition. We have used up all our days and it is nice to enjoy the fruits of our labor. We are once again enjoying fresh Argentinian pizzas and the stories are rolling around the table.
Aside from relaxing we will be packing up duffels for our mules arriving tomorrow. We will begin our journey back to Pampa de las Lenas where we began, then the next day we will arrive in Mendoza. We want to thank everyone for all your comments on the blog. Everyone gives their regards. This is our final dispatch for the expedition. Again, thank you! Wait...another pizza is coming. Gotta go!
RMI Guide JJ Justman
Hello from Shira Camp,
When we woke up this morning, it was crystal clear and the mountain was completely visible. The group wasted no time packing up camp and we were walking by 8:00. With the early start we completely avoided all the trail traffic and pretty much had it to ourselves for most of the day. We gained about 2,500' total, reaching our high point at 12,500'. Everyone did extremely well today with both the terrain and the altitude. We stopped en route for a nice lunch before traversing up to the west to gain the Shira Plateau. We were in camp by 1:00 and had the whole afternoon to enjoy our new camp. We mostly sat around the dining tent talking about past adventures and tried our best to keep up with the tea and snacks that were being delivered non-stop. We'll head back to the dining tent around 6:00 for dinner and then settle into our tents for the evening.
Tomorrow is going to be a big day for us as we are trekking to almost 15,000'. Lava Tower will be the high point for tomorrow, and then we will begin our descent to Barranco Camp. Even though we are gaining almost 2,500' in the morning, we will be back to almost the same altitude that we are right now. And this is exactly what our bodies need and is key for proper acclimatization. We are ready for the challenge!
Best regards,
RMI Guide Jeff Martin
Update 1:45 pm PST:
Our team has safely returned back to high camp. The snow has returned. We are nestled in our tents drinking and eating. We are tired.
[Summit phone call transcribed]
Hey everyone, this is JJ Justman with the Aconcagua Team. We're happy to announce that we are on the summit of South America's highest peak, Aconcagua! It was an interesting day. It started out cold and windy. It was a hard day to get started but at the end of the day, the sun is shining. The clouds are now starting to build a little bit, but it turned out to be a fairly decent day. Definitely a tough day to get on top of South America's highest speak. Everyone says hello. Big thing now is to head on down. We had a good, safe climb. We're gonna have a safe descent. But again, everyone says hello and thanks again for following along and giving us your best wishes for a safe and successful climb. That's exactly what we had today was a really decent weather day, a safe climb. Thanks again everyone. We'll touch base when we get further down the mountain, but everyone is doing real well. Take care, good-bye for now from the the top of the Western Hemisphere.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
Congratulations team! It sounds like everyone had a new “personal best” in just relentlessly tough weather conditions. You should all be proud of your journey and perseverance! Randy C you are amazing and we miss you! Now time to skip down that mountain and come back to little Delaware. If you see a gondola hop on it and come on home!
Love Judy
ps. Roxy is waiting for you on the couch!
Posted by: judy Christofferson on 1/29/2014 at 1:56 pm
Denise Mamason! Oh my gosh i am exhausted. I partied all night in celebration of your magnificent feet! you guys rock! Safe trip down! Yahoo! I am with Josh. Definitely recommend skiing or sleigh riding back down. So very proud of you! The family of mountain tamers! Give your bro and sis a big hug for me. So proud of you. Cutter dog is too!
Love,
Mary Fox
Greetings from Machame Camp,
We could not have had a better day today! This was the first day on the trail and the group did great. We had the trail to ourselves and perfect weather. We heard some very distant thunder but made it to camp without any rain. It was barely an hour later when some light rain started to fall, but fortunately we were already warm and dry in our dining tent, snacking on some tea and popcorn.
We started the day at 6,000' and made it up to camp in just under 4 1/2 hours, a solid pace. We are now settled in at camp and the mountain is teasing us with grand views as the clouds roll in and out. The team is feeling really strong and happy to finally be on the mountain.
Best regards,
RMI Guide Jeff Martin
I am so excited to relive my Kilo moments through you and Jeff. Behind every successful team is a very successful woman! Cheers to all the team. Elsie Bemiss
Posted by: Elsie Bemiss on 1/29/2014 at 6:58 pm
Cheers to Barrie on hanging with what looks to be like a lot of testosterone. Wish you all the best and enjoy each day of the hike as they are all so different.
Unrelenting! That is the word that describes our weather on Aconcagua. Last night we received 10 inches of snow. When we awoke this morning the winds had scoured most of that snow off the mountain leaving several deep drifts around camp.
Thankfully the weather settled down a bit and we were able to break camp and pack up. The scene looked more like Denali in Alaska than Aconcagua in the Andes. The team did great in the harsh conditions. It would have even made The Godfather of Denali, Joe Horiskey, proud as the team worked together in cold, blustery winds.
We are now sitting in silence at high camp enjoying the sun at 19,600 feet. The team has run its final days. Tomorrow is our only shot. Then we have to head downhill. As luck I believe has it, the forecast is for light winds on top.
We will touch base tomorrow, keep your fingers crossed, it should be from the top!
RMI Guide JJ Justman
You can do it! Saying prayers for good weather for you and will sacrifice something to the weather Gods for you. You are the best. Very proud of you!
Cutter dog says Hi!
Love,
Mary
Posted by: Mary fox on 1/28/2014 at 7:31 am
Incredible! You guys have dealt with an unbelievable amount of varied weather conditions! Looks like the mountain is giving it everything she has to you guys…well done for doing such an excellent job! We are so proud of you, dad (Lew Smith)! I know this is the toughest climb you’ve ever done, but from what it sounds like, you and the team are doing awesome! Just like I did in the Marine Corps, you remember your training. When the poo poo hits the fan, your hard work and training kicks into gear, and I’m quite sure that’s what it has been doing for you while on Aconcagua. Keep it up, dad! You guys are so close. I pray that you have good weather conditions, so that you have a window of time to go for the summit. We will see what Aconcagua will do; if she will allow you and the team to stand on top. I hope so! Best of luck and climb on!!!
Jambo,
We are now a full team. Our last climber was delayed in getting here last night but was able to re-route through Nairobi and arrived here by mid-day.
This morning we focused on getting ready to leave for the mountain tomorrow. Everybody went through their gear one last time to ensure that nothing was missed and more importantly, to make sure that the kitchen sink was not thrown in by accident. We enjoyed the rest of the day hanging out at the pool and exploring the area around our hotel. We just finished an incredible five-course meal, and are frantically writing a few last emails before going to bed.
We head to the Machame Gate (6,000') in the morning and will be checking in from Machame Camp (10,000') tomorrow night. Now with the months of training and planning behind us, we are just a few hours from starting our climb. Everybody is excited to get on the trail tomorrow and ready for the challenge that lies ahead.
Best regards,
RMI Guide Jeff Martin
Hi there this is Seth checking in from the Houston airport. The team awoke in Tlachichuca this morning after lots of slumbering last night. Everyone was pretty tired after a whirlwind couple of days.
After checking out of the Hotel Colonial in Puebla we drove to Tlachichuca, packed our bags and headed up to high camp. Once there we had time for an afternoon stroll and then it was off to bed. Just a few hours later we made a 1am start for the summit. Although a few of the climbers decided that it was best that they stayed at the hut while the bulk of the group went up.
Orizaba is an 'in your face' kind of climb and it's steep right out of the gate. After a couple of hours of trail and scree we reached The Labyrinth. This section can be trickery but for us it was straight forward. Steep ice and snow was the order of the day. Geoff, Alejandro and I anticipated this and had carried extra ropes to 'fix' the steep section. This took a little bit of time and we appreciated everyone's patience as we tried to make the climb as safe as possible.
Once we made our way through that section we began the long march up the Jamapa glacier. Everyone was pretty tuckered out when we finally topped out 7 hours and 15 minutes after starting. There wasn't a puff of wind while we were at the summit and the sun was shining. It was the nicest day I've ever had on that mountain.
Everyone had climbed strong and doubled down on the descent. We climbed down the glacier and then Geoff and Alejandro guided the climbers down The Labyrinth while I pulled the ropes. We returned to high camp just over 11 hours after starting out.
Now we're all disbanded and heading to our respective homes. It was a great experience and quite the uphill adventure!
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
Almost there Daddy (Rob)!! I’m so excited for you!
Posted by: Samantha Golomb on 2/2/2014 at 5:55 am
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