Helloooo everybody,
The team has been very busy today here at Camp 1. It's hard work napping for several hours, eating as much prosciutto and cheese as we can, and making sure to stay hydrated to boot. Games of cards, iPods, and chit chat fill in our spare time. All of this work is necessary however for our success on the upper mountain. Tomorrow will see us move to a new camp at 18,000', and we'll start the acclimatization cycle over again.
The weather has been pretty sunny today with clouds here and there, but our fresh breeze that began last night has encouraged the group to remain in tents for much of the day. We are looking forward to a scrumptious dinner of tortellini, and a good night of sleep. For those that are wondering, cooler temps and the breeze today have resolved our aquatic camping problem, turning our aquarium into a rather exciting skating rink.
Abrazos from Argentina,
RMI Guides Pete, Gilbert, Gabi, and the Aconcagua double A hockey team
Hi Jeff, Thanks for sending the snow!! We have snow coming down this a.m. yeh, hope you are staying warm & breathing is getting easier. I feel like I’m climbing w/you when I read the blog, pics are great to see. Luv to you, live it love it, keep going, mum
Good morning, this is Jake Beren and the RMI Ecuador team standing on top of Cayambe. Everybody did super well today. We had a beautiful day to climb and now we are perched pretty high above the clouds surrounded by some pretty large volcanoes. It was just about as good today as I have ever seen out here. It was a real pleasure to be here with such a good team. So, I guess that’s it. I'll be in touch when we get further down.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
RMI Guide Jake Beren calls in from the summit of Cayambe.
Hello again from Camp 1 on Aconcagua. We had a successful carry to Camp 2 today. It was very busy leaving camp this morning, about 60 climbers heading up. The weather was great, sunny and warm with a fresh breeze. We got 4 inches of snow last night, so the mountain is beautiful right now. The whole crew did great on the carry today. Camp 2 at 18,000' was a new high point for a lot of folks. We are now back at Camp 1 resting and diverting a fast flowing river that is trying to submerge our tents. We are resting tomorrow before we move higher on the mountain. Hope this dispatch finds everyone doing well and enjoying the new year.
You'll will be hearing from us soon,
The Aconcagua team
Proof that Wally is the most thoughtful man on earth; he asked Bryan,(who unfortunately had to cut his climb short due to asthma) to send me an e-mail letting me know “he is in good shape, and has already made it to 19,000 feet. Waltor is an awesome man, he has made this trip soooo enriching. Dont worry about him”. The Wally Glover fan club can now breath a little easier! Thanks Bryan!
Our team woke to a beautiful morning after our first night at 15,300' Refugio Cayambe. Inspiring views of the glaciers and rugged landscape made our day of mountaineering skills amazing. The team is strong and we're all looking forward to a great summit day. We're hoping for good weather and climbing conditions as we make our summit push tonight.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
Waking at the lovely Hacienda San Luis, we soon found ourselves in the midst of the Saturday Otavalo market. Full of local crafts, raw chickens, entire cooked pigs and about anything you could imagine. We wandered around the vibrant market doing a bit of shopping and a lot of looking around.
After a fun morning of exploring the market we traveled to the Cayambe hut making it most of the way on wheels before finishing up the approach on foot. Here at the hut we celebrated Brad's birthday and turned in to get some rest before our training day tomorrow. A fun day for sure and great to get to the base of our first big climb.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
Hi there,
Team Aconcagua checking in from Camp 1 (16,200'). We arrived at camp around 3 pm today. It took almost 5 hours for us to complete the move to our new home (we are planing to spend 3 nights here).
It started to snow right after we set the tents and it hasn't stop since (3 hours), the accumulation is just 2 inches so far.
We are ready to have dinner and relax for the evening and recover from our move. Tomorrow, if the weather is good and everyone is feeling well, we plan to make our carry up toward Camp 2.
We will check in tomorrow when we are return to Camp. Thanks for all the comments on the RMI blog, keep sending them.
Cheers,
Team Aconcagua
Thinking of you Tom and sending our love and support. We will pray for good weather and an enjoyable climb tomorrow. Mom and Dad
Wherever you are - be all there. Jim Elliot
Posted by: Daisy J. Dwyer on 1/17/2012 at 7:42 pm
hey baby! it was sooo good to hear your voice today, tell whom ever let you borrow the phone that i said THANK YOU!! sfter talking with you i realized how hard it must be living (surviving) at 19,000 ft!!! i love you so much push to your limit and you know your body : ) all my thoughts and prayers are with you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hello Everyone,
The Winter Skills Seminar is down safe and sound from a week of good training and climbing on Mt. Rainier. We made a solid summit attempt on Thursday with the team climbing strongly to 13,000’ before wind, cold, and firm conditions had us turn around. The week saw high points for some of the team, lots of new knowledge gained, and many climbers hankering to come back for more. Congratulations and thanks to the team for a great week!
RMI Guide Adam Knoff
Buenos Dias! Today we loaded up our gear and left Quito, driving North on the Pan-American Highway to our next acclimatization hike on Cerro Fuya Fuya. Again in the clouds, we had openings on our way up that provided great views of Lago Fuya Fuya and Cerro Negra. Hiking through the mountain grasses, we ascended quickly as we followed a little steeper trail than yesterday. Again the team did well, standing on top of the volcanic remnants in a few hours, feeling strong at 14,000 feet above sea level.
After walking down the mountain and reloading the vehicles we rejoined the highway and made our way to the Hacienda San Luis, a beautiful hacienda to relax and prepare for our trip to the hut on Cayambe, our first big objective. Let's keep our fingers crossed for continued luck here in the Mountains of Ecuador.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
Hey all,
This is the Aconcagua crew checking in from Base Camp. It's been a beautiful rest day here with crystal blue skies most of the morning. It was a great day to sit outside, enjoy the sun, and visit with other teams here. Several folks were even warm enough to take showers via nalgene bottles.
It hasn't been all play though, as each team member had to sort through gear and decide what is going to make the move with us and what will stay here at base camp. It's an important task, since from here on out, every extra thing we bring adds weight to our packs. We will enjoy a last gourmet dinner from our outfitter, Grajales, before our big move to Camp 1 tomorrow. As I write, clouds are building, and it looks like we may get a touch of snow to brighten the landscape tonight.
All the best, and we'll check in from 16,000' tomorrow!
Ciao,
RMI Guides Pete, Gabi, Gilbert, and team
Hi Jeff & team, I look forward to reading the blog everyday, sounds all good from here. I’ll bet you are getting to know one another & know who you’re on the mtn w/keep the postive feedback coming. I hope you are sleeping well,I could just picture you taking a shower from you water bottle. Love always, take care mum
Today was a great day. After an early breakfast, we left the hotel and headed to the morning opening of the teleferico, the gondola that launches from Quito and lands at 13,500 feet on the old volcano of Rucu Pinchincha. Quite a leap in elevation and great for an acclimatization hike.
The team did a great job ascending the grassy ridges that led to a rocky scramble to the cloudy summit of Pinchincha. Our maiden voyage was a success, climbing to around 15,700 feet in an afternoon and even getting enough of a clearing to see both Cayambe and Cotopaxi rising high above Quito.
Tomorrow we head out for another altitude mission, but this one was tough to beat.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
Hi Jeff, Thanks for sending the snow!! We have snow coming down this a.m. yeh, hope you are staying warm & breathing is getting easier. I feel like I’m climbing w/you when I read the blog, pics are great to see. Luv to you, live it love it, keep going, mum
Posted by: Norene on 1/17/2012 at 8:00 am
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