Entries from Expedition Dispatches
The Team is currently relaxing next to a fireplace worthy of GOT in a unique ski lodge in
Los Penitentes. There isn't any winter snow here, so the area serves as an outfitting station for climbers getting ready to head into the park. We spent the afternoon packing and sorting gear for the mules. We'll continue sport eating our way through Argentina this evening and have a casual start in the AM. Our trek to base camp is up the Vacas Valley, an arid high desert landscape filled with rocks, shrubs, mules and rich colored soil that resembles a Bob Ross painting. Thanks for following along!
RMI Guide Mike King
Checking in here from about 12,000ft at the
Altzimoni hut. Today we traveled from La Malinche via the windy Paso de Cortez up to our new hut, stopping on the way for a big egg-based brunch with an interesting mix of exotic local ingredients and our home staples. We met our local Mexican guide and porters in Paso de Cortez and are happy to have their local knowledge and support. Tonight we’ll start reviewing camp set up procedures and check gear on the sunny terrace of our hut, then enjoy a large dinner before we head to our high camp tomorrow. The sun has been shining all day, with only sparse clouds starting to form a crown on Popocapetl and Ixta. Our high camp is barely visible among the clouds forming at the start of the Arista del Sol ridge. Everyone is doing very well with the altitude, looking strong, and in very good spirits!
RMI Guide Jessie Poquerusse
On The Map
Hello Everyone,
All is well here in Tanzania as most of the team arrived late last night after some very long flights. It was a short and uneventful ride to our Lodge that is tucked in between Arusha and Moshi and not so far from the base of
Kilimanjaro. The team had a quick but delicious dinner and headed for bed as the jet lag is in full effect. Thankfully all our bags and essential gear made it too.
Today we had our first official team meeting after breakfast. We did a round of introductions and then discussed the program for the coming days ahead, along with a review of all the necessary gear.
We spent the second half of the day getting our gear organized, packing up, and exploring the grounds of our Lodge, as it’s an incredibly peaceful lodge with monkeys and Dik Dik roaming the grounds. The weather was nice today and we even managed to see Kili off in the distance.
We finished the evening with another delicious meal and enjoyable conversations and are now off to bed to get a good nights rest before heading to Kilimanjaro bright and early tomorrow morning.
RMI Guide Casey Grom
Today is all about rest. Resting the body and resting the mind before we move to Guanacos Camp, our
Camp 2, at 18,000 feet. Anxious to move up, we are passing the time watching Netflix downloaded on our phones, reading books, taking cat naps and eating quesadillas. The team is also taking advantage of the sunny weather by taking light strolls around camp to stretch the legs. All this rest will pay off as we move higher up the mountain.
Buenos Dias,
RMI Guide Mark Tucker and team
On The Map
Sunday, January 21, 2018 - 7:03 pm PT
Hello from day two on the slopes of our first volcano,
La Malinche! Today we made our way to the Malintzi resort at a little over 10,000ft. We wasted no time and immediately headed uphill and hiked up to the ridge heading to the top, at about 13,700ft - not bad for our first day. We were rewarded with a panoramic view of our upcoming objectives, Ixta and Pico de Orizaba, poking up through a layer of clouds. We all returned dusty and ready to shower and eat.
RMI Guides Jessie Poquerusse, Walter Hailes & the team
On The Map
The Team is all assembled with bags in tow here in Mendoza. We broke the ice with a meeting that was followed by gear check and permit registration. Since we are here to attempt
Aconcagua the team opted for dinner and an early night to get caught up on sleep from the two days travel instead of a night out on the town. Tomorrow we will head to Los Penitentes to pack for mules and the trek into base camp. We have a great group with a varied collection of personalities, experiences and mountains under their belts. Thanks for following along.
RMI Guide Mike King
Greetings from 16,000'! The team loaded the bus from Chilcabamba this morning at 10:30 after a leisurely breakfast. After being obscured for most of our stay at Chilcabamba,
Cotopaxi made a guest appearance from
amongst the clouds as we rambled down the rough roads to the park entrance. The brief view of "the Crown Jewel of Ecuador" and the full days rest reinvigorated the team and the psyche was high as we pulled into the parking lot and prepped for the 45-minute hike up to the Refugio. We were greeted with strong winds on the hike and were very excited to reach the shelter of the hut and some hot drinks. The afternoon was spent resting and after an early and delicious trout dinner we are off to bed. The winds continue to howl as we settle into our sleeping bags and we are hoping for a respite when we wake in five hours for the climb. Stay tuned!
RMI Guide Jordan Cargill signing off.
After a getting an inclement weather forecast last night our team was excited to awaken to blue skies which held for most of the day. Feeling strong, we took advantage of the clear morning and started up towards
Aconcagua Camp 2. With our packs filled we climbed up to our future camp at 18,000 feet in a little over four hours! Congratulations were shared throughout the team, Whynde and Brittni had reached a new height. After stashing food and gear we boot skied back down the loose rock to Camp 1 in no time.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Saturday, January 20, 2018 - 8:45 pm PT
Checking in here from day one of our
Mexican adventure! The mood was very well set as the group met and shared introductions interluded by frequent laughter under the majestic arches of our hotel in the vibrant Zona Rosa of Mexico City. What an interesting group with lots in common in addition to our passion for mountains. After our fun round of intros and a quick overview of our itinerary, we had our first sample of the country’s cuisine over mostly traditional dinner dishes before hitting the hay early. We hope to be rested in order to be ready for our day of travel and first acclimatization hike tomorrow up on the slopes of the much colder and higher La Malinche.
Buenas noches,
RMI Guides
Jessie Poquerusse,
Walter Hailes & the Mexico crew
Hello to those following our Ecuador climbing adventure.
I will begin by saying we did not summit
Cayambe yesterday because of difficult route conditions. The morning started as most climb mornings do. An eleven pm wake up call, a bathroom visit the body doesn't ask for, hot liquid, cold bread and and the ever present feeling of "why the heck am I doing this?"
The weather outside was clear and the temps warm. As we ascended the clouds rolled in giving us light snow and a wet mist.
As we got higher the temps dropped and the snow became more difficult to walk in. The wind was blowing 10 mph and a light snow was falling. With only 400 feet to climb before gaining the summit ridge we turned around because of deep post holing and deteriorating weather.
The team was disappointed but understood the reason.
After the climb we regrouped, packed up and loaded the trucks ready to bounce our way back to civilization. The road to and from the Cayambe Refugio is the roughest I've ever been on. Usually a great way to start and end the adventure of climbing the highest point on the Equator.
Once the adventure ended we met our bus at a gas station where we loaded up on post climb necessities such as Pringles, coke and ice cream. This held us over until dinner.
Five hours after leaving the mountain we arrived at our hacienda called, Chilcabamba, tucked quietly away in the beautiful countryside under the shadow of
Cotopaxi.
After a well deserved shower, beer and honest night's sleep, we awoke to appreciate this lodge's full beauty. Although we couldn't see the mountain, the surroundings offered enough to observe. Hummingbirds floated outside the windows and flowered trees waived in the wind.
The rest of today will be spent resting, drying gear and preparing for the climb to come. There is nothing better than a full day's rest after an exhausting day in the mountains.
Stay tuned for more mountain climbing.
RMI Guide Adam Knoff saying Buenas noches from Chilcabamba.
Happy Climbing Auntie SANJ!
Just remember Eddie would go!
Posted by: Bubba and Belle on 1/24/2018 at 12:04 am
Woo hoo! Remember hills are your friend. Have fun and enjoy the journey Bob, Steve, and Kiwi.
Posted by: Mo on 1/23/2018 at 6:50 pm
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