Entries from Expedition Dispatches
A three hour walk brought us to the toe of the glacier where we spent several hours training on snow and ice in anticipation of our first summit attempt tomorrow. We’ve made a new camp at roughly 15,400’ which sits in the beautiful
Condoriri Valley, where we are surrounded by beautiful peaks. We had an early dinner, and we find ourselves trying to get some rest before an early wake up and a long day tomorrow as we look to climb Pequeno Alpamayo.
RMI Guide Eric Frank
Monday, May 21, 2019 4:43 pm PT
We're taking another planned rest day today in order to get strong and acclimate for our forays up higher. As it turns out, the forecast for high winds came to fruition and we would not have been able to climb higher today even if we had wanted to. Instead, we had another leisurely brunch and worked on fortifying camp with more snow walls. We also practiced fixed line travel for moving above here. Steve Gately's crew (RMI
Denali 2) just rolled into camp, so we're gonna go welcome them with some water. We hope the weather will let us put a cache up high tomorrow and then return back down to our current camp at 14,200'. We'll let you know how it goes.
RMI Guide
Mike Walter & Team
On The Map
Monday, May 20, 2019 10:59 pm PT
I was up this morning early to keep a close eye on the weather in anticipation of a potential move to
14k Camp. Puffy cumulus clouds clung to the surrounding terrain features and were lapping in and out of camp like the tides at about 6AM. Our forecast was calling for an 80% chance of snow showers and increasing south winds into the evening. I opted to give the weather an extra hour to show it's true intentions. I could hear the noises of other teams rustling around, presumably preparing for their own move to 14k Camp. I've seen plenty of deceiving mornings here in the Alaska Range luring you to trust that the forecast was wrong, as if so often can be. I ultimately didn't like the look of it. The team has worked hard for five days now and a full rest day seemed appropriate before committing ourselves to the higher altitudes of the mountain. So we slept in until about 9am and made a wonderful breakfast of eggs and hashbrown burritos that lasted nearly until midday. By then the clouds had overtaken camp and it began to snow lightly. By 1pm the snow intensified and the forecasted south winds showed up early and turned camp into a whirlwind of snow that made it hard to see across camp. Wrapped snugly in our warm bags we all felt good about our decision to take an extra day. It's not always you get such confirmation of a decision well made but today we did and it felt good all the while snuggled up in our warm bags reading and snacking the afternoon away. Tomorrow's forecast looks much more promising and we'll repeat the process of waking up early, sticking our heads out the tent and making another decision. Hopefully this time we'll like what we see and we'll get to move on up! Thanks for following along everyone!
RMI Guide Steve Gately
On The Map
Monday, May 20, 2019 5:40 pm PT
We slept in a little bit this morning, enjoying our first full rest day. The weather was cloudy with light snow and strong ridge top winds--perfect for a rest day!
We had an extended brunch with substantial portions of hashbrowns, bacon, egg, and cheese burritos, and plenty of coffee of course.
Other than eating and resting, our team rallied a work party this afternoon to start building walls around
our camp to protect from any potential winds.
The weather forecast calls for sunny weather with strong ridge top winds tomorrow, decreasing by Wednesday. Right now the plan is to rest again tomorrow as our bodies get used to living at high altitude. Hopefully we'll be able to make a cache up high on Wednesday.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
The
Four Day Climb May 17 - 20 led by
RMI Guides Elias de Andres Martos and
Chris Ebeling reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Elias reported calm winds and overall good conditions from the summit. After enjoying a little time in the crater the climbers will return to Camp Muir and then continue their descent to Paradise.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
Sunday, May 19, 2019
Isla del Sol or Island of the Sun is a remote island with no cars located close to the Peruvian border on Lake Titicaca. It feels weird to be on a mountain climbing trip, yet enjoying the luxuries of home cooked meals, showers and a setting that would remind you of the Mediterranean.
At 13,500’ this is an ideal location for us to acclimatize for the
higher peaks of Bolivia. Meandering through pre Incan terraced gardens allowed us to stretch the legs, breath the thin air and enjoy panoramic vistas. The day included a traditional Bolivian meal and an amazing sunset.
Tomorrow we leave the comforts of Isla del Sol and head into the mountains.
RMI Guide Andy Bond
We woke from our first day at 14,000' camp to beautifully clear skies and stunning views of the
West Buttress to our north and the rest of the Alaska Range to our south, punctuated by the other two massive peaks in the range, Mt. Hunter & Foraker.
After a modest breakfast of granola and hot drinks, we headed back down hill to retrieve our cache, just shy of Windy Corner. That trip involved just over an hour of moving, so we're enjoying lots of rest the rest of the day. Besides resting, eating, and hydrating, were doing some chores around camp, like improving our kitchen/eating tent by digging it deeper and wider and buffing out the seating.
We have a rest day planned for tomorrow. That usually means sleeping in and some form of bacon and eggs breakfast burritos for an extended brunch. We'll touch base again tomorrow.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
Due to wind and snow overnight the
Four Day Climb teams led by
RMI Guides Dave Hahn and
Hannah Smith were unable to make a summit attempt this morning. The teams were safely tucked in at Camp Muir. Dave reported snow drifts of 12+ inches. The teams will return to Paradise later this morning.
The team let a out a collective sigh of relief today as we left the big city of La Paz for the quiet Bolivian country side. A few hours of driving, a ferry ride and five miles of scenic hiking brought us to a harbor on the
Bolivian/Peruvian border. The views in all directions are incredible here. The contrast of the terraced golden field with the deep blue hue of the lake make a gorgeous contrast.
After trekking uphill we arrived at our eco lodge and settled into our rooms. A dinner of quinoa soup and trout next to a crackling fire closed out our night. We all look forward to exploring the island tomorrow.
RMI Guide Eric Frank
Saturday, May 18, 2019 10:11 pm PT
We awoke to clear skies this morning and the team enjoyed the extra sleep and a leisurely breakfast of toasted bagels, cream cheese and bacon. Just before midday we put the ropes back on and traveled back down glacier to about 10,000' to retrieve our cache of gear. The weather stayed cool for us with high wispy clouds and filtered sun making the climb back to camp quite pleasant. The team then had the rest of the afternoon off and spent it snacking, napping and more snacking. Well earned time off after the long haul up the
Kahiltna. Tomorrow, weather permitting, we will try and climb higher to about 13,600ft to place another cache of gear and further acclimate. This though we lose the sleds and snowshoes for crampons and an ice axe!
RMI Guide Steve Gately
On The Map
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Kelby,
We have returned from Hawai’i. It was quite a bit different than these photos. 8-) Hoping for calmer weather for all of you in the days to come.
The Tidds
Posted by: Steve and Tina on 5/24/2019 at 4:08 pm
Good luck to the team and Tom Mulvey! May you find favorable weather.
Posted by: Jerry Suyderhoud on 5/22/2019 at 7:15 pm
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