Entries from Expedition Dispatches

Aconcagua: Justman & Team Carry to Camp 2

January 14, 2015

Posted by: JJ Justman, Steve Gately

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua

Elevation: 18,000'

Hey Everyone, Today Team 4 did a carry to Camp Two at 18000 feet. However, we didn't stop there. We were all feeling so good that after we dropped our gear at camp we ventured higher to 19000 feet. The team did great and we are now back at Camp One where 16200 feet is beginning to feel like sea level. Tomorrow we will have a rest day to fully recover and assist in acclimatizing even better. Thanks for following along! RMI Guide JJ Justman & Team

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

David and Jenny
Hope everything is going well. I see the pictures on the blog. Keep warm and safe. Vaishu, Jai and Janita send their love
Vishnu

Posted by: vishnu on 1/14/2015 at 7:37 pm

Rob, Jo, and Sue,

Great work! I hope the weather has been cooperative, and that all of you are feeling well up there in the thin air. Heck, you’re up at jet altitudes, now! I’m sure there’s plenty of tea, powdered cow (good memory, Russ!), and maybe even fresh popcorn to keep your spirits up.

Thinking of your often,

Sarah

Posted by: Sarah Brown on 1/14/2015 at 6:58 pm

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Kilimanjaro: Waterfall & Team Reach Shira Plateau

January 14, 2015

Posted by: Seth Waterfall

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro

Elevation: 12,000'

Greetings from the Kili team! We are up above 12,000' at the Shira Plateau. It's not very crowded on the mountain and our camp is set nicely to the side of the main sites. The trail was a little slick today but not too muddy and the team handled it well. The weather was warm again so the five and a half hours we spent hiking was pleasant. The food has really been excellent so far and everyone has been really surprised at how good the whole operation is here on Kilimanjaro. We are all relaxing now before dinner and then we'll get fueled up for a big day tomorrow. That's all for now. RMI Guide Seth Waterfall & Team

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Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Go McCulloughs!! We’re all pulling for you. Terry, you’re missing all of the fun in San Antonio.

Posted by: Mark, Charlie, Danita, Debra, Martha, Rhonda, Jenn on 1/15/2015 at 6:11 am

Hope you are having fun! We can’t wait to see you soon! Ice cancelled school so did not travel….Lumu!!

Posted by: Angela Chapman on 1/14/2015 at 7:30 pm

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Ecuador Seminar: Knoff & Team arrive at Base Camp of Antisana

January 14, 2015

Posted by: Adam Knoff, Nick Hunt

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador

Elevation: 14.400'

Hola from Antisana Base Camp, Here at base camp, elevation 14,400 feet, the view of the mountain, stars and surrounding landscape, as declared by the entire team is purely worth the price of admission. The team is feeling great and excited to be spending our first night in tents. The team was also psyched to break in our new base camp tent. An 8 person mini hotel perfect for dinner on cold evenings. We will be training tomorrow. Adios for now! RMI Guide Adam Knoff & Team

Aconcagua: Billy Nugent & Team Finish Up Loose Ends and Are on Their Way

January 13, 2015

Posted by: Billy Nugent, Katrina Bloemsma, Billy Haas

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua

Hi everyone, Billy (Nugent) here checking in after the first official day on our 2015 Aconcagua expedition. Today was a crazy one and the team spent most of the day scrambling around trying to get everything ready for tomorrow´s departure to the mountain. One of our team members was the victim of freezing rain and thus a cancelled flight from O´Hare so she arrived in Mendoza this morning and was forced to hit the ground running. We went straight to the permit office to handle that and then made a quick stop to freshen up at the hotel before we departed for Penitentes where Grajales, our outfitter, has a packing facility near the trailhead. The rest of the team spent the morning tying up loose ends; making runs to the grocery store and gear shop to pick up last minute items before we all jumped in the van for a three-hour drive up to Penitentes in the mountains. Once we arrived we spent several hours packing and readying our loads for the mules that were broken up nicely by a great dinner at Ayelen, our hotel. Lots of things to remember means a fair bit of stress but that will all evaporate once we hit the trail tomorrow. The team is ready and in good spirits, eager to hit the trail! We´ll check in again from our first camp along the trekking route into basecamp. All for now, RMI Guide Billy Nugent and the gang

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Lucy! St. Louis is routing for you, too! We will be reading about your progress and thinking about you! Good luck to you and the whole team! We love you!! Love from Mom, Erle, Donald, Donald Jr. & John

Posted by: Erle Broughton on 1/17/2015 at 9:15 pm

Good luck Billy and Company! I’ll be in Pete’s group following behind you guys. Getting ready to leave for Mendoza on Saturday. See you on the mountain!

Best regards,
Craig Falkenhagen
Atherton, CA

Posted by: Craig Falkenhagen on 1/15/2015 at 1:41 pm

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Aconcagua: Justman & Team Enjoy Views at Camp 1

January 13, 2015

Posted by: JJ Justman, Steve Gately

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua

Elevation: 16,200'

We've got another rock star crew baby! Team 4 is at Camp 1 at 16,342' feet and everyone is feeling great! The views are getting better by the minute. A few clouds are slipping away in the distance and the breeze is keeping us cool. We are sipping hot soup and simply soaking up the sights. Tomorrow we plan on carrying more goods and gear higher up and I anticipate everyone is going to do awesome!! If like to give a special message to my sister. Happy Birthday Jodi!!! RMI Guide JJ Justman & Team

Kilimanjaro: Waterfall & Team Reach Their First Camp

January 13, 2015

Posted by: Seth Waterfall

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro

Elevation: 10,000'

Hi there, this is Seth checking in from 10,000 feet on Kilimanjaro. Everyone is doing well after our first day on the trail. We started early at the hotel, with breakfast at 6:30 this morning. I arrived a few minutes early but I was still one of the last ones to arrive. This is a motivated bunch of folks. The drive to the trailhead was relatively uneventful but checking in at the national park entrance took a little longer than usual. The small delay was quickly forgotten after a few minutes of hiking. Everyone agreed that it felt great to stretch the legs after all the traveling. The weather was great for the hike and we are hoping that carries over for the rest of our time on the mountain. That's all for now. RMI Guide Seth Waterfall

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Glenn enjoy your adventure! Saw your wife today! Take care and we cant wait to hear all about the climb!

Your fans,

Frank and Margie

Posted by: margie grillo on 1/13/2015 at 7:03 pm

I’m glad to hear of a successful first day. Looking forward to following your grand adventure through the blog each day. Hike on!

Posted by: Shirley on 1/13/2015 at 5:34 pm

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Ecuador Seminar: Weather Keeps the Team from the Cayambe Summit

January 12, 2015

Posted by: Adam Knoff, Nick Hunt

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador

Early this morning we made our summit attempt on Cayambe. Although we were unable to make it to the top, we gained some invaluable mountain experience and made many new personal high points. Spending the time at altitude will also help us be better acclimatized for our next two targets, Antisana and Cotopaxi. Just after leaving our break at 17,000 ft on Cayambe, we were faced with exceptionally high winds and freezing rain, conditions that just don't allow us to continue moving uphill safely. The decision was made to turn the entire team around descend back to the refugio (our mountain hut). After making it back to our camp, we went right in to packing our gear and preparing for our descent. No rest for the weary! We made the short hike downhill to our waiting bus and started our journey to Termas Papallacta, a natural hot-spring resort that we called home for the evening. A nice, long soak in the hot springs does wonders for sore legs! The rest of our evening will be spent organizing and packing our gear, preparing for our move to Antisana in the morning. Until next time, RMI Guide Nick Hunt and team

Aconcagua: Blais & Team Summit!

January 12, 2015

Posted by: Zeb Blais, Mike King

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua

Elevation: 22,841'

January 12, 2015, 1:30 PM PT This is Zeb Blais checking in from high camp with a jubilant summit team. Today we topped out on Aconcagua at 2 PM in adverse weather conditions. We fought through a small snowstorm to get to the top and spent a brief time taking pictures on the summit before descending back down to camp where we are now hydrating, resting and preparing to head back to base camp tomorrow. Thanks for checking in. January 12, 2015, 9:20 AM PT RMI Guide Zeb Blais just called from the Aconcagua summit! The team did well and they will check back in from high camp. Congratulations to the team!

RMI Guide Zeb Blais calls in from high camp after their successful summit.

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Just phoned RMI and the team is down theountain and will be in Mendosa today or tomorrow! Wow- the trip down is certainly faster than the trip up! Just thought I would post this update for those who are wondering what happened to our team!

Posted by: PKW on 1/15/2015 at 8:50 am

Haven’t had an update in many days. Are you all partying it up in base camp now?

Posted by: Kim Wright on 1/15/2015 at 7:42 am

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Aconcagua: Justman & Team Enjoy a Rest Day at Basecamp

January 12, 2015

Posted by: JJ Justman, Steve Gately

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua

Elevation: 13,800'

It's another day of rest for our Aconcagua team at Base Camp. Initially our team was wondering why we were going to take a second day of rest here. After yesterday's carry to Camp 1 at 16,000 plus feet the team understands. This mountain climbing is tiring work! We had a casual morning here at base. Steve and I made our famous home fried potatoes that even brought the Base Camp cooks out to get a plateful. After breakfast we went for a walk and got a great view of base camp from a whole different vantage point. Now team members are lounging, taking showers and ordering pizzas. Tomorrow we plan on moving up to Camp 1. If you don't mind, I need to address one of RMI's owners, the Legendary Joe Horiskey. Joe, please, no matter what happens between the Sea...what's their name again...and the Green Bay Packers, I hope we can still be friends! RMI Guide JJ Justman

On The Map

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Holler mi Familia!
I hope you two are not only surviving but enjoying yourselves too. The rest of my trip in Colorado was great. Mom and I are going to see a puppet show about caring for elders with dementia on Friday…how will you be spending your Friday night? Dad I booked us a meditation retreat that takes place in Auschwitz in November. Love and miss you both!!

Dad-To a man standing at the edge of a cliff, progress is defined as taking a step backwards.

Jenny-What is happening within us, will create what is happening outside of us.

I BELIEVE IN YOU, SO YOU BELIVE IN YOU!

Love, G

Posted by: G on 1/14/2015 at 6:01 pm

Christmas cards arrived yesterday and they look great! Jenny, thanks for all of you did getting the artwork ready. David, your 30 are in the mail today, the rest will follow this week. I am going to MN this weekend so I will be home to retrieve you two intrepid hikers from ORD on the 27th. Love you both!
M/N

Posted by: nancy Hines on 1/13/2015 at 6:15 pm

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Kilimanjaro: Seth Waterfall & Team Arrive at the Dik Dik Hotel

January 12, 2015

Posted by: Seth Waterfall

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro

Jambo! Our first Kilimanjaro trip of 2015 has begun. Everyone came in on the same flight late last night and most of us slept in a bit this morning. We all managed to get together before lunch for a team meeting followed by a gear check. In the afternoon we all packed our stuff to get ready for the mountain. We had some thunder in the afternoon as well but it never rained at the hotel. The temperature is nice and warm and that bodes well for a nice hike tomorrow. I'll check in from our first camp tomorrow. RMI Guide Seth Waterfall

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Chris
Looks beautiful. Have fun and take lots of pictures.
Looks like a nice set-up.
Mom

Posted by: Diane Sadler on 1/16/2015 at 1:07 pm

Happy everyone made it there safely. Looking forward to the daily blogs. Stay safe and enjoy the adventure. Take lots of pictures!

Posted by: Barb McAllister on 1/12/2015 at 5:42 pm

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Entries from Expedition Dispatches

Aconcagua: Justman & Team Carry to Camp 2

Kilimanjaro: Waterfall & Team Reach Shira Plateau

On The Map

Ecuador Seminar: Knoff & Team arrive at Base Camp of Antisana

Aconcagua: Billy Nugent & Team Finish Up Loose Ends and Are on Their Way

Aconcagua: Justman & Team Enjoy Views at Camp 1

Kilimanjaro: Waterfall & Team Reach Their First Camp

On The Map

Ecuador Seminar: Weather Keeps the Team from the Cayambe Summit

Aconcagua: Blais & Team Summit!

On The Map

Aconcagua: Justman & Team Enjoy a Rest Day at Basecamp

On The Map

Kilimanjaro: Seth Waterfall & Team Arrive at the Dik Dik Hotel

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