Entries from Expedition Dispatches
Hello everybody back home. This is Casey Grom checking in from the Ecuador’s Volcanoes Expedition. Just letting you know that everyone doing quite well up here at the hut at Cayambe. We woke up to a beautifully clear morning and were able to see most of the volcano through the valley here. We had a nice leisurely breakfast then we hiked for just over an hour to access the lower part of the glacier here on Cayambe. We reviewed some of our climbing techniques that we will need for tomorrow’s upcoming summit climb. Everyone seems to be doing great. We made it back to the hut. We just finished up a nice lunch. Folks are taking some naps. Looking forward to an early dinner tonight and getting a most likely midnight start for our summit time tomorrow. We will do our best to call from the summit to let everybody know how things are going. At very least we will call tomorrow when we return from our hopefully successful climb. Once again, everyone is doing great and we will check in tomorrow. Thanks.
RMI Guide Casey Grom
Today was a great day. We visited the Otavalo market working on our bargaining skills. Then we returned to the San Luis Hacienda for a great lunch this afternoon. After lunch we drove towards the Cayambe hut in a torrential downpour of rain. Fortunately the rain let up and we were able to make our hike up to the hut on Cayambe (15,300'). Everybody did a wonderful job. The group is super strong and things are going really well. It’s been a great group. That is everything here from Ecuador. We will check in with our adventures from tomorrow. Ciao.
RMI Guide Jason Thompson
It turned out to be a lucky thing we flew into Vinson basecamp last night. It would not have worked today as the weather has gone down. Looking at things philosophically, this is not a bad time to get a storm. Considering that it has been nearly two weeks now of generally good (and at times -perfect) weather, we were due for a change and we definitely did not want that change to come as we got higher -and more vulnerable- on the mountain. Our plan for this first day of the expedition involved sorting gear and reviewing climbing techniques. We thought we'd make a carry of supplies partway up the Branscomb Glacier, but with a whiteout and new snow falling, it was easy to scrap the carry in favor of napping. Travel to this point on the Antarctic continent from North America has taken days and nights and lots of "hurry up and wait" and so a rest before the climb begins in earnest isn't wasted time by any means. Especially when we can hear winds ripping the ridges above. The team doesn't seem stressed by the change in plan and do seem to be quickly adapting to expedition life on ice.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
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Dave Hahn called from Vinson Base Camp early this morning after the team arrived on the mountain. Below is the transcript from his call:
Hey, this is Dave Hahn on calling from Vinson Base Camp again. The Illyusion came in today at Union Glacier, it was a spectacular day - actually started a little bit cloudy, still a little bit ice crystals in the air, chance of fog, but the afternoon was just sparkling and beautiful and the airplane came in in the evening and brought in my next group of climbers. So the four of us then clambered...out of the Illyusion and into Twin Otters. But first we had Illyusion Stew there at Union Glacier - the traditional meal there on the ice in the ALE Dining Tent. Then kind of a midnight ride through the Ellsworth mountains, really beautiful, the shadows long. And the Twin Otters on skis, brought us out to Branscomb Glacier. A perfect landing going uphill on the glacier at 7000' and Vinson splendid out in front of us. And now it's 2:30 and we've gathered our tent's up. We're in shadow. So, I'm not gonna stay up too much longer... [Call lost].
Posted by: Jeff Martin
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Vinson Massif
Hello from Punta Arenas,
We had the call this morning that we were on standby for our flight. Union Glacier was cloudy, but the report was that the weather was starting to improve and they would re-evaluate at 12:30 pm. We all crossed our fingers that the team could get going towards Vinson.
The second call came in right at 12:30 and we were told that the bus is coming to pick us up at the hotel at 1:25 pm. The flight is a go!
There were several other groups to pick up on the way to the airport, but the plane was loaded and ready for passengers. After an abbreviated security check, the bus pulled up right next to the plane and 15 minutes later everybody was on board and ready to go. It's about 4 1/4 hour flight down to Union Glacier . They carry enough fuel so that if they get down there and are unable to land, they can turn around and head back to Punta Arenas. Hopefully not the case for this flight. Once they land on the glacier, they will meet up with Dave Hahn, and if the weather is decent, the plan is for a quick turn around at Union Glacier, switching planes, and heading directly to Vinson Basecamp.
The next dispatch will be from Dave and the crew on the ice.
RMI Guide Jeff Martin
Posted by: Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Today we left the busy city and headed north to continue our acclimatization and experience some of Ecuador's wonderful culture.
Our drive north took us to the small town of Tabacundo were we turned off the highway and drove up a cobbled stone road to the base of our next hike. Our hike for the day was the beautiful Cerro Fuya Fuya, which is large grass covered mountain with a small rocky summit that overlooks a small lake. Although Fuya Fuya is considered a small mountain here in Ecuador it is nearly as tall as Mt. Rainier, but not nearly as tough. Today's climb took just over 3 hours to reach the summit and make it back to our vehicles and everyone did great. Thankfully we timed it perfectly, because no sooner had we arrived back to the cars then the rain started to fall.
We quickly left the trailhead and headed for our new home for the night at Hacienda Hosteria San Luis. San Luis is nestled in between our first climbing objective, Cayambe and one of South Americas largest markets, Otavalo. Normally we would spend the day exploring the grounds of this working ranch, but the rain is still falling and now we are relaxing, listening to the frogs croak and enjoying the peacefulness and the warmth of the fireplace. Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves and I'm sure are looking forward to a nice meal and a good night sleep.
RMI Guide Casey Grom
Lauren
Félicitations!
Excellent travail, je suis très heureux pour vous et pour l’équipe!
Gatorade est impressionnant:)
Posted by: Timborazo on 12/5/2011 at 12:51 pm
So Spence, I spent the day raking leaves… not sure it compares to yours. First summit bid tomorrow?
Posted by: Scott Arnold on 12/4/2011 at 4:44 pm
Posted by: Jeff Martin
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Vinson Massif
Greetings from Punta Arenas,
Our second Vinson trip of the season is officially underway. Our small but adventurous group arrived yesterday in the beautiful port city of Punta Arenas. This small southern Chilean town sits right on the Straight of Magellan and is the jumping off point for our flight to Antarctica.
Today, we had our pre-trip briefing with our outfitter ALE to go over all the details about our flight and to review some of the protocols for visiting Antarctica. "Vast, large, and remote" is how Peter McDowell, one of the owners of ALE and the person giving today's orientation, described it. He then showed a slide with the US (the lower 48) overlaid on top of Antarctica. Even with the US, there was still a whole lot of land mass showing.
After the team meeting we began to unpack and then re-pack everything for the flight to Union Glacier. With the final equipment check complete, the bags were weighed and transported to the airport to be loaded on the plane. It is now a waiting game. The forecast is showing an improving trend and with any luck, the team will be able to fly out tomorrow as planned and meet RMI Guide Dave Hahn who is waiting for them at Union Glacier.
Today is beautiful here and we are now off to do a little exploring and then on to dinner. We'll check in tomorrow to let you know about the flight status.
RMI Guide Jeff Martin
Hola from Ecuador. We started our day with another bountiful and colorful breakfast this morning. The main dishes varied from yesterday's breakfast. Eggs, sausages, and mini breakfast burritos were the main attractions. Rounding out our breakfast of yogurt, papaya, mini pastries and once again fine Ecuadorian coffee. After breakfast we loaded the taxis and shuttled over to the teleferico ( or the gondola ). Which was a short 10 minute drive from our hotel through the bustling streets of Quito.
The hearty breakfast was put to good use today as we had our first day of beginning our acclimatization with some physical activity. We rode the teleferico to about 13,500 ft. We then began our 3.5 hour hike up Rucu Pichincha. The weather and temperature for our hike could not have been more pleasant. We had some clouds in the area which helped to keep the temperature moderate. We all agreed that it felt splendid to stretch our legs and most importantly work our lungs, breathing hard as we hiked to nearly 15,500 ft. Conversation throughout the hike was animated, as we hiked through varied terrain of lush vegetation and some fun rocky terrain. The view of Quito throughout the day gave us an appreciation of how big this city of 2.2 million people is.
We returned to our hotel in the afternoon for a few hours of free time to relax, explore local culture and prepare for our departure from Quito tomorrow morning. Dinner tonight was filled with laughs and great conversation. We are all back at the hotel this evening preparing for a good nights rest feeling satisfied with the day, looking forward to tomorrows adventures.
RMI Guide Jason Thompson
Hello Everyone and welcome to RMI's Ecuador Expedition 2011.
The entire team safely arrived last night and headed straight to our nice hotel, Hotel Mercure Alameda, to get a little rest after the long flights. We started today with a huge Ecuadorian buffet breakfast full of delicious breads, pastries, fruit, juices and washed it all down with plenty of coffee. After filling our stomachs we sat down for a round of meet and greet that included an orientation and overview of the program ahead.
Just after 10 a.m. we headed out the door on our city tour of Quito, starting off with a visit to the colonial old town. We were lead by our local guide Jorge though the narrow roads with stops at the Basilica, church of La Campania (built in 1605), the monastery of San Francisco (built in 1535) and a visit to Independence Square to see the President's Place. Next up was a quick stop atop the Panacilla which is a small hill overlooking Quito with a 200' statue of the Virgin of Quito. The views where wonderful of this 2 million-plus city. We finished the tour by heading a little to the north to stop and visit both hemispheres at the Equator from where Ecuador gets its name. It was fascinating to see the Coriolis effect in both hemispheres with different results in just a few feet. It made believers out of most, but I hear there are still a few skeptics among us.
We headed back to our hotel for a quick gear review and a little shopping before dinner and have now returned to catch a little shut eye before tomorrow's adventure.
All is well and everyone is excited to be here.
RMI Guide Casey Grom
Charles,
Have a great time. I’m posting the blog!
Debbie Growe
Posted by: Debbie Growe on 12/5/2011 at 10:10 am
Spencer, looks like a great group of people. Have fun, be careful and make sure you don’t get too “hangry”.
Ti Amo.
Karen
Posted by: Karen Geiger on 12/2/2011 at 7:59 am
Posted by: Dave Hahn
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Vinson Massif
It took all night, but finally the victorious Vinsonites evacuated the continent. At two in the morning we all clambered into a giant open sledge being dragged by a Tucker snow machine. Thus began a surreal hay ride across the endless Union Glacier to the blue ice runway in some of the coldest and windiest conditions of our entire trip. We got to watch the massive Illyusion 76 scream in for a landing, but it was then still a few hours wait to get the big aircraft unloaded. Luckily ALE had a convenient (and spartan) warming hut staged close to the aircraft. I said my congratulations and goodbyes to the gang and watched them jet off the ice at 5:30 AM. In particular, I made sure that Seth Waterfall and Billy Nugent knew the extent of my gratitude for their help and friendship these past weeks. Of course I was a little sorry to miss out on what I'm certain will be a fun victory dinner in South America, but my season on the Ice isn't finished just yet. I'll pass a few days now at Union Glacier waiting for the next RMI Vinson climb (space on the Illyushin is limited and pricey so the best plan is for me to stay put). ALE is hosting a marathon for about 30 runners tomorrow and I have volunteered to assist in conducting the event... It should be interesting.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
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Rooting for you, Mom! I know you can do it! -Tianna
Posted by: Tianna on 12/4/2011 at 12:54 pm
Great luck guys! Li, you’re living your dream! Much love and support from Toronto Canada! d
Posted by: Dean V. on 12/4/2011 at 11:41 am
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