Entries from Expedition Dispatches
Posted by: Dave Hahn
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Vinson Massif
This was a day for naps and meals and diversions. The wind was on again and off again throughout the day. The sun never did break through and snow kept falling on Union Glacier. There was never any question of airplanes coming to visit. One of the ALE snowcat drivers plowed up a fifty foot long, eight foot high snow berm as a shield around our sleeping tents, which is certainly a comfort. As usual, the staff kept serving up excellent meals (for about 130 staff and guests) and presenting great lectures to fill the time. For evening entertainment, we watched “the Perfect Storm” in the library tent.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Posted by: Mike King, Nick Scott, Gloria Roe
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 9,000'
The Team got a casual start to the morning with some breakfast and last minute packing and adjustments before the Mule drivers arrived to load our food and equipment for the next 2.5 weeks on Aconcagua. The morning sun already felt hot was we waited for our shuttle to the national park. We got started around 11am with a stiff breeze that turned into a very windy day. While wind makes some parts of being outside difficult, it lowered the temperatures and wicked our sweat, this cooling effect made for a nice hike to camp.
The Team is getting out of the sun, some in tents and some have found some shade among the massive boulders that surround camp. We will enjoy the afternoon and then throw down on the best steak and assorted grilled meats the world has ever known. The asado at Las Lenas is legendary, it’s rich and bountiful smoke is infused into your clothing, bringing back memories of the communal dinner and meatmares often associated with this wonderful start to an expedition. We are happy, healthy and looking forward to what tomorrow will bring. Thanks for following along.
RMI Guide Mike King
Thanks, Mike, for posting the blog…:-) Hope Patty gave you a hug from me!
Patty - my BFFMG,
Thinking about you and your team. It looks and sounds amazing. So wish I were there… Make a wish on a shooting star for me!
Be safe and enjoy this amazing adventure!
Good thoughts and prayers for all…
Sally
Posted by: Sally Mouradian on 12/17/2018 at 6:12 pm
Patty,
Really great to see photo of you and the crew. Looking forward to the next update. Be safe, endure, and enjoy every step of your journey!
Love,
John
P.S. - just received call on Mon 12-17 at 10:30 A CT that the house transaction is complete! All good! We did it!
P.S.S. - Ben called with excellent news on the first semester!!!
Posted by: John Kudla on 12/17/2018 at 8:43 am
Posted by: Dave Hahn
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Vinson Massif
Rough day at Union Glacier. Early on, there was the hope that the Ilyushin would fly... there were even expected times and schedules developed. But before we got very far into the morning, the flight was canceled due to big winds in Punta Arenas. This wouldn’t have been our flight, of course, as it is devoted to getting the marathon folks out. But obviously we need this one done to get to our own. The weather at Union spiraled into a nasty storm during the late afternoon and evening. 55 mph winds punished our tents in the middle of the night in this normally calm camp, causing most guides and staff to be up and on alert through the wee hours. Winds mellowed by morning, but now a snowstorm has set in. Despite the disappointments of the day, spirits were high as we worked to entertain one another with lecturers and movies and slideshows. We are hanging in there at Union Glacier.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
My thoughts and prayers are with you on this last stretch of your journey to come home. To Matt and the entire team. Be safe!
Posted by: Karen jones on 12/16/2018 at 2:46 pm
Posted by: Mike King, Nick Scott, Gloria Roe
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 9,000'
The Team arrived over the last few days with most bags in tow and we are now in Penitentes. We took the afternoon to pack and sort gear for the mules and our trek to Aconcagua Base Camp. The warehouse is at the base of a defunct ski hill and looks like something out of the Argentine version of Hot tub time machine. We have a great local logistics company in Grajales Expeditions to help us get our gear through the high Andean desert valleys that we will hike through during the next three days.
The Team is doing well and excited to get walking tomorrow. We will be checking in each day, fingers crossed for clear weather and light winds. Thanks for following along.
RMI Guide Mike King
Love following along and getting daily updates. Be save and enjoy your time. Love you Becky!
Posted by: Kay Robinson on 12/17/2018 at 7:20 am
Happy birthday Slamma! Enjoy the start of this trip around the sun starting even closer to it than usual <3
Posted by: The Chartbigs on 12/17/2018 at 4:46 am
Posted by: Dave Hahn
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Vinson Massif
Waking today was groundhogs day. Low and lightless grey clouds. Gently falling snow, muted sounds. But that all changed as the day went on. To the point that by late afternoon it was blue skies and sunshine all around. That didn’t make the Ilyushin fly though. We, of course, want the plane to come in to take away the marathon runners -much as we’ve grown attached to them- they stand between us and spare seats to Punta Arenas. There is new snow covering what should be a blue ice runway here at Union and, reportedly there are ridiculous winds limiting a transport plane from taxiing for a takeoff from Punta. Nonetheless it turned into a brilliant day here at Union. People congregated outside the tents, staring at the sun and forgotten horizons and mountains. Much as 60 odd people wanted out... nobody could deny that Antarctica was amazing (and captivating) today. We all attended and appreciated a lecture by an ALE guide who’d broken records for a solo female journey to the South Pole. We watched a fine movie about Shackleton’s Endurance expedition. Generally, we celebrated the fact that 107 years ago today, man first reached the South Pole of planet Earth.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Posted by: Dave Hahn
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Vinson Massif
Start to finish... another grey day of clouds and snow at Union Glacier... with no horizon, no contrast, not much visibility and zero chance of escape. Except... today was the Antarctic Ice Marathon and everybody was excited. Our own Abdul surprised his climbing team at breakfast by inquiring as to whether he might enter the race... scheduled to begin in an hour. It turned out that he could and did. 26.2 miles was going to be run in whiteout conditions over four laps on a ten kilometer groomed loop. But with new snow falling, the grooming wasn’t all that good. It was a lot like running in sand at the beach. Abdul took off with the crowd at 10:30 AM... his first marathon-and the only one of 59 entrants to have climbed to Vinson’s summit three days earlier. Skeptics expected one lap from him. Abdul finished the marathon, completely comfortable and in control. The winner took 3.5 hours and the final contestant 13 hours with Abdul very respectably in-between.
The evening was a memorable and international celebration, with cheers going up from the Chinese, the Australians, the Dutch, the Austrians, the Russians, the Indians and the Sri Lankans... not to mention the Americans and Brits.
The end of the day was exactly like the beginning... snow, cloud, murk, calm and quiet. But pretty fun too.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
RMI Guides Casey Grom, Chad Gaffigan and their team made it to the top of Cotopaxi! As you can see from the photo, weather was less than ideal but eight of nine climbers did summit.
Congratulations to the team!
On The Map
Posted by: Dave Hahn
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Vinson Massif
Half the team didn’t even make it to breakfast this morning. Which was perfectly acceptable (although it was the best breakfast we’d had in weeks). We got great sleep without so much as a ruffle of the tents due to the wind. By our standards it was warm, comfortable and easy. Union Glacier suits us just fine. As expected, the weather went from yesterday’s blue bird to today’s gray bird. It was overcast and snowing lightly all day, perfect for napping. Camp is chock full with 60 marathon runners, primed for their big event tomorrow. None of my team has yet been tempted to participate, but we’ll see if someone wakes up extra feisty tomorrow. Today we were content to sit in chairs at tables and to read books about Antarctica while sipping strong coffee.
The marathon runners were all curious about our strange tans and our experiences of the last two weeks. We told tales of the big mountains and ate, drank and ate some more. Change is always difficult... except this particular change to comfort and easy living.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Posted by: Dave Hahn
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Vinson Massif
Tough start to the day up at high camp as the winds weren’t inclined to give us a break. These weren’t the kind of winds that could rip your tent down, just the kind that make it a little miserable to be outside, say taking down a tent or trying to do up ones crampons. We persevered, with huge help from Patchi and Lakpa Rita, two of ALE’s guides, we carefully got our work done and got walking downhill around 12:30 PM. No surprise, it was tough work getting down the fixed ropes with full packs, but we just kept at it. We pulled into low camp and got back into the world of sleds and flat glacier travel. All were tired from multiple hard days strung together, but we got walking toward Vinson Basecamp (VBC) at 4PM in any case. By this point our radio communications had let us know that an airplane would be on the ground at VBC awaiting our arrival. We couldn’t run, but of course we went down at a business like pace, despite sore feet and worn out muscles. We passed a number of climbing teams headed up the mountain -the next wave- and we wished them all well. We arrived at base around 6:30 and set for some serious and rapid gear sorting. We were busy and motivated, but not so much that we couldn’t connect with ALE’s wonderful staff at VBC to thank them for such comprehensive support and friendship. It turned out that we were sharing the flight with a couple of ALE’s owners and so our Twin Otter pilot, Monica, took the scenic route through the mountains, much to our delight.
We got back to Union Glacier on a calm and sunny -warm, by our standards- evening and life got a lot easier. The camp is chock full of marathon runners who’d flown in this afternoon. We missed that flight as an exit and so it seems we’ll get to be here for a bit longer and who knows... perhaps we’ll run in a little endurance race to stay limber.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Posted by: Casey Grom, Chad Gaffigan
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Hello again from Ecuador! The team woke up today to a tranquil setting at a beautiful mountain lodge, Chilcabamba Eco Lodge. A late breakfast was followed by walks around the local area, discovering an albino cow, and a few folks trying their hand at horseback riding.
The team then had a nice discussion on packing for our next objective, Cotopaxi. This discussion led into an excellent pasta dinner.
Another night of rest and we will be active again the in mountains.
RMI Guide Chad Gaffigan
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We’re anxiously awaiting your safe return to Punta for the flights home. Hang in there. We are, too! K
Posted by: Kathy on 12/20/2018 at 8:53 pm
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