Entries from Expedition Dispatches
We were treated to another wonderfully calm, clear ... and cold night last night at Camp 1. The almost full moon hung huge in the western sky, just above the edges of the Horocones Glacier below us when we poked our heads out of the tents this morning. We dragged our feet a bit getting out of the tents but once the sun reached us we warmed right up and soon had our packs loaded and were heading up the trail. The climbing today was perfect, not too warm and hardly a breeze. Our acclimatization at Camp 1 was noticeable as we moved smoothly across the difficult sections of trail where the bedrock is covered by a thin veneer of gravel and loose stones. The time and the altitude ticked by with us hardly noticing until we found ourselves weaving between the large boulders that mark the entrance to Camp 2 at 18,330'.
No afternoon clouds were forming in the west and the weather was perfect so we took our time setting up camp, soaking in the views, sipping on water, and erecting large rock walls around our tents in case the do winds pick up. The rest of the afternoon passed with little action other than relaxing in camp and getting used to the new elevations. The approach of the longest day of the year down here (tomorrow!) means that even approaching 8 o'clock in the evening the sun still hangs high in the sky right now and is keeping the tents pleasantly warm.
We are all definite feeling the new jump in altitude up here - everything takes just a bit more effort - but are all feeling good. It is exciting to be moving higher on the mountain and suddenly the summit doesn't look, or feel, as far away now. We are planning on taking a stroll above Camp tomorrow but largely using it as a rest day to adjust to the new elevations and recover a bit from the days we've had since leaving Base Camp. We'll check in tomorrow afternoon.
RMI Guide Linden Mallory
Buenos Dias from Plaza de Argentina (4,200m). We had a wonderful rest day. Sunshine, salad, and Christmas movies have kept us entertained. But don't forget the very important medical check up. The top notch doctors at base camp checked out the group and of course everyone is healthy and ready to climb.
In light of the Christmas spirit the group was given the gift of a shower to clean off the dust from the long trek in. A hot shower and clean socks are a hot commodity down here.
Tomorrow we will carry some gear to camp 1. We're all looking forward to stretching our legs and seeing more of the mountain!
RMI Guides Leah Fisher & JJ Justman
On The Map
Posted by: Casey Grom, Solveig Waterfall
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Elevation: 19,348'
Summit on Cotopaxi!!!
We awoke to start our climb from the Refugio at 16,000' in a misty cloud, but as we ascended the thick fog gave way to clear skies and stars. Our ascent took a direct route that brought 100% of our team to the summit of https://Cotopaxi">Cotopaxi just as the sun began to rise.
We had a calm and relatively warm hour on the summit to make some calls and take photos while enjoying impressive views of the crater and surrounding volcanoes.
We are now all safely back in Quito and just returned from a delicious celebration dinner!
We are looking forward to being home with our friends and family soon!
RMI Guides https://Casey Grom and https://Solveig Waterfall
On The Map
Congratulations to Brian and the rest of you!
Posted by: Karen Easterday on 12/21/2013 at 5:30 pm
Congrats to everyone!
Posted by: Paul Judge on 12/20/2013 at 10:33 am
Posted by: Linden Mallory
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
2,200' higher in the Andes is a noticeable change in temperature! While our mornings at Base Camp were chilly before the sun reached us, it was downright cold this morning at Camp 1 as we prepared to leave. The cold nip was softened a bit by the views: there wasn't a cloud in the sky and we watched the entire range around us soak in the morning light as we packed our bags. Once again we hit the trail as the sun reached us, following a long traverse out of Camp 1 towards a shallow basin at the head of the slope. After a few minutes we settled back into the rhythm of climbing and the time ticked by as we ascended. After several hours of climbing, traversing rock slopes, crossing small snowfields, and weaving around large boulders, we crested the gentle saddle on the Northwest Ridge of Aconcagua and arrived at Camp 2.
Known as Nido de Condores, or Nest of the Condors, Camp 2 sits along a ridge line of distinct rock towers and the views are impressive: to the north stands Mercedario, another 6000m Andean peak, to the east lies Chile, and to our south: our climbing route up Aconcagua. We sat up there in the good weather for a few minutes after unpacking our gear just to enjoy the panorama and get used to the ever higher altitudes. Once satisfied, and with our packs nearly empty, we descended back to our tents at Camp 1. Yesterday's snow squalls are a thing off the past and we've enjoyed sunshine all afternoon.
Tomorrow we will pack our gear and move up to Camp 2.
RMI Guide Linden Mallory
Posted by: Dave Hahn
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Vinson Massif
Wow. I don't think I've ever had a trip down and out from the Vinson Massif go so smoothly. A day ago our stoves were getting the breakfast ice melted at 12,300 ft in Vinson high camp. It was colder than it had been the day before, when we'd gone for the summit. We packed up our tents and roped up to go down the steep lines toward low camp and Basecamp. The day got warmer -naturally- as we got lower, but there was still a lot of cloud, just as there had been all week. Six hours after beginning the descent, we hauled heavy packs and sleds into 7,000 ft Vinson Base. The place was humming with activity. We were told to be ready for a Twin Otter on skis in a half hour. That meant 30 minutes of feverish packing and repacking and last awesome views of Vinson for the year. At 5:30 PM the Twin put down and we got in. Not only was the flight through the sunny Ellsworth Mountains magically beautiful, it was taking us to an on-time dinner at Union Glacier. One that none of us had to open, boil, or rehydrate. We reached camp there at a time when it was mostly ALE staff and not so many needy "customers" such as ourselves. Over dinner, we were told that our next flight was already on its way in. The Ilyushin 76 landed with a distant roar on the ice runway at 12:30 AM. We got on after a bunch of freight had been unloaded. There was plenty of room to stretch out as in addition to the five of us climbers there were perhaps three or four staff and assorted personnel going for the ride to South America. I saw the distant Vinson summit sliding by the port side windows after we'd reached cruising altitude. At 7:30 AM the plane touched down gently in Punta Arenas, where summer is currently coming on strong.
The team piled into a car and then hotel rooms for a big snooze. We'll feast tonight and fly homeward tomorrow. Small world... but full of great climbs.
Best Regards,
Dave Hahn
Hey, hey, hey it's RMI Aconcagua Team 2 on the way! What a gorgeous day to make our final journey into Basecamp. We had a thrilling mule ride to get us across the Vacas River and then it was smooth sailing into camp.
A lot can be told of how our climbers are doing as they near 14,000 feet. And they are doing great! Every one of them. Now in Basecamp we are setting up our new home and simply relaxing. We earned it. Tomorrow we will have a rest day. So stay tuned for Leah and JJ's secret quesadilla recipe!
RMI Guide JJ Justman
On The Map
Cindee— Hope you’re getting acclimated, resting, and enjoying the view! Since you’ve been out a few days, thought you and the group would appreciate some light news from this week. For starters, Robin Wright (Princess Bride actress) just got engaged to boyfriend Ben Foster… Donations have exceeded $100,000 to help a NY blind man keep the guide dog who rescued him from a potentially fatal subway fall….Former NBA star Dennis Rodman arrived in North Korea on Thursday to meet leader Kim Jong Un and finish plans to bring 12 ex-NBA players to Pyongyang for a January exhibition for the leader’s birthday….. and Justin Bieber says he’s “retiring” (yay!). How’s that for an update? Hope you have a great weekend!
Hugs, Rebekah
Posted by: Rebekah Mitchell on 12/20/2013 at 3:51 pm
KK—Mules, stars,hiking and mexican food? You’re living the dream, my friend. Lots of luck to you and your fellow team members. Will continue watching your trek. Love ya.
Posted by: Helen on 12/20/2013 at 12:57 pm
Posted by: Dave Hahn
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Vinson Massif
Dave Hahn here. I'm at Union Glacier. Today we started out at high camp on Vinson (12,300'). We climbed six hours down to base camp, and 30 minutes later we were on an airplane bound for Union Glacier and arrived just in time for dinner. And now we are just a couple hours away from a flight to South America on the Iluyshin. So everything's happening pretty quickly for us. And if it keeps happening this way, we will be in Punta Arenas in southern Chile by tomorrow morning, mid morning or so. But we will catch you up a later and so far so good.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Dave Hahn calls in from Union Glacier.
Once again clouds hungover Base Camp this morning and the moisture and cold temps covered camp in a thin layer of frost. We broke down camp and packed up our gear in the cold early morning shadows, stopping now and again to warm our hands while brushing frost off of the tents and packing them away.
The first rays of morning sunshine found us climbing out of Base Camp on our way to Camp 1. The rest and added acclimatization from yesterday paid off as we moved up the trail, making switchback after switchback up the rocky slope. By midday we reached Camp 1 and taking advantage of the good weather quickly set up our tents. Camp sits on a gentle slope at 16,600', just above a series of spires and cliff faces that roll off below us. The slope meant we had to put in some work rearranging rocks and flattening the platforms but before long we had everything set up and tied down in case the winds picked up.
The rest of the afternoon passed building rock walls for wind protection and retreating to the tents when occasional squalls of snow blew through. Thankfully nothing major came about and by early evening the clouds lifted a bit, giving us amazing views of the glaciers and peaks above Base Camp while we had dinner.
We're tucked into the tents and heading to bed to get some rest before tomorrow. Our plan is to make another carry to Camp 2, getting more supplies up there for when we move the following day. It's great to be out of Base Camp an up on the mountain. Tom and Thomas continue to climb very well and we are all adjusting to the altitude smoothly. Buenas noches from Campo Uno!
RMI Guide Linden Mallory
Posted by: Casey Grom, Solveig Waterfall
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Elevation: 16,000'
After almost two days of rest at the lovely Chilcabamba the team is feeling refreshed and excited for Cotopaxi. We had a leisurely breakfast and then finished our packing before loading up the van and heading uphill to reach the parking lot that allows us easy access to the mountain. The parking lot sits at about 15,000' and the climbers hut is just about a 1,000' above that. Our timing was perfect today as we hiked to the hut just after a small snow squall and shortly before the weather came back in. Lucky for us!
Our plan tonight is to get up around 11pm again and hopefully be climbing shortly after midnight. I'm expecting the climb take us around 7 hours if all goes according to plan.
Keep your phones nearby tomorrow morning. A lucky winner will make a summit phone call if the weather allows.
Wish us luck
RMI Guide Casey Grom and team
On The Map
God’s speed! Safe climbing!
Love you Brian M
Posted by: Duane Mycroft on 12/19/2013 at 5:20 am
We awoke from our first night under the stars to another beautiful day in Valle de Vacas. The early morning light brought the return of our mules, who patiently awaited our heavy loads. Fortunately for us, and the mules, the weather quickly changed to scattered clouds and some reprieve from the scorching sun that successfully torched a few of us yesterday.
We had a great day walking to Casa de Piedra (11,000 ft) and we were able to catch our first glimpse of Aconcagua, or more correctly, parts of the mountain as it poked through the clouds.
Everyone is doing great and we are all looking forward to pulling into base camp tomorrow since life is so rough down here. Too much steak and packs that are way too light!
RMI Guide JJ Justman
Happy trekking today! Can’t wait to hear about today’s adventure. Have fun! Josh we are so proud of you.
Jess
Posted by: Jessica on 12/19/2013 at 6:36 am
Wish I could enjoy your quesadillas! Safe climbing.
Posted by: Elsie Bemiss on 12/19/2013 at 5:52 am
.jpg)
Happy winter solstice!! Stay strong and take lots of wide angle shots of Aconcagua. You can never have too many (-;
Posted by: Monsieur Homme on 12/21/2013 at 8:28 am
View All Comments