Hola from a stone's throw from the Chilean border! Our team is currently relaxing at our hotel, enjoying coffees and catnaps before dinner. Our gear is packed and weighed for the mules who will help us out by schlepping our kit all the way to Aconcagua's Basecamp. Tomorrow we will hit the trail, tagging in after our friends with RMI Team the First (who we stopped on the road to visit on our way here). Time for one last meal without doing our own dishes and an evening in a "real" bed.
Tomorrow we ride,
RMI Guide Jake Beren
PS. After a fantastic meal here at the Hotel Ayelen the team discovered the hidden ping pong table. Dios mio man. Turns out the entire team is pretty darn good with a paddle. Let's call it our first acclimatization cycle.
Same storm, different day. We are still at Basecamp and this big system of clouds and wind is still hitting the Ellsworth Mountains. It came on a bit more today, with thicker clouds and hours of light snow falling, but so far we have been spared the big winds. The teams we flew in with journeyed on up to Low Camp despite the weather today, so we are alone at base, but none of us is particularly worried that we are missing some golden opportunity.
We ate, read, listened to music, ate, slept and ate again... getting set for the end of the world, or a good day for climbing... whichever comes first.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Summit on Cotopaxi!
Casey Grom and Team phoned in from the summit of Cotopaxi early this morning. It was windy and cold, but the team did great.
Congratulations Team!
Greetings from Mendoza! The entire team has arrived with all bags accounted for and after a siesta, team meeting and feast we are ready to head out tomorrow. When we get up we'll hopefully have a busy day, securing permits and driving to Penitentes to load up our gear for the Mulas and enjoy one last restaurant meal before hitting the trail. Wish us luck for our last bit of off-mountain logistics. It feels great to be one step closer to getting on the hill.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
Godspeed to each of you! Know that this journey will change each of you in a deep way. It’s my dream to follow your footsteps within a few years. Can’t wait to hear from you as your adventure unfolds!
We had higher hopes for today. But no, we didn't go anywhere. It was stormy with a forecast for more, so we sat at Basecamp. The mountain was partially visible from time to time, but mostly it was socked in with a thick layer of cloud covering all but the bottom of the western face. As the afternoon wore on there was even a little wind right here in Basecamp (which is rare) but mostly it was just calm cool and cloudy. The team rode it out in the tents; reading, writing, talking, eating and sleeping. By evening the sun had broken free of the clouds that were piled up against the mountain and things got downright pleasant for a while. Fingers crossed for more pleasantries tomorrow.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Hello everybody back home. This is Casey Grom checking in from the Ecuador's Expedition. I just wanted to check in to let everyone know that all's going well. We had a nice leisurely day today at Chilcabamba. Got up this morning, got things packed up and had about just over an hour drive up to the parking lot to the Cotopaxi Hut. We got out of the car little bit of cloud and took us about 40 minutes to hike up a nice easy trail to get up here to the hut. It sits at about, oh just shy of 16,000'...(transmission lost)
RMI Guide Casey Grom
RMI Guide Casey Grom checks in from Cotopaxi's Hut.
Hey this is JJ and Team One on Aconcagua,
The weather is fouling up the satellite so I will make this quick. We have left Aconcagua Base Camp, and it was probably the worst day walking out of Base Camp I have ever had. Usually we are worried about sunburn, but today we have to be worried about windburn in a blinding blizzard snow storm. Something I have never seen before. It is definitely nice to be out of that weather and a little bit lower in the valley. The team is doing great and we’re real happy. We are actually having a great dinner of filet mignon with the cowboys that are carrying our stuff out via the mules.
This will be our Final Dispatch of what was one incredible adventure, with the weather that is still not letting up is going to miserable for the next few days, so hopefully Mendoza will be a little sunnier, a little warmer, and a little more hospitable. The Team definitely deserves it!
Thanks again everyone for following along, and definitely stay tuned because Geoff Schellens, Garrett Stevens, and I will be back at it with another Expedition her on Aconcagua. We hope the weather gods will be kinder to us.
I can’t say enough great things about this team and the great experience we have had. No summit but that is the way the weather goes.
That’s all for now from Argentina, Ciao!
JJ Justman, Geoff Schellens, and Team
Todd McClure- Todd, I am praying for your safety and that you have an amazing time. I can’t wait to hear stories in late January about the climb. One step at a time!!! Tim Dolan
Posted by: Tim Dolan on 1/2/2013 at 12:52 pm
This is a shout out for Todd McClure. Todd, thanks for the link and I hope you get this. I’ll be thinking about you and your effort and all you stand for and know that you’ve got what it takes. Drink lots of water and you should be fine. Altitude headaches are horrible, and hopefully you’ll acclimatize well. You’re big and strong and can carry a lot of weight which should help your team. I’m thinking the best for you and your group. What an adventure.
Posted by: Bart Blankenship on 12/29/2012 at 10:40 am
Hello, this is the Ecuador crew checking in. We had a great rest day. We are at the Hacienda Chilcabamba here at the base of Cotopaxi. Most of us took a nap in the afternoon, just getting ready for our next big push. So tomorrow morning we'll head up to the Jose Ribas Refugio and get ready to climb. Things are beautiful down here. Hope everyone is doing well back home in the states.
RMI Guide Eric Frank
RMI Guide Eric Frank checks in from Chilcabamba Eco Lodge.
Way to go Mike, Scott & Kelly! How’s the air on the peaks? You look as though you’re breathing as well up there as you do at sea level - or is that just an act? Good luck and keep safe!
Bill Proctor
Clouds and murk rule the Ellsworth Mountains for the moment. But even so, the weather isn't all that bad down here on the Branscomb Glacier. We did a normal mid-morning wake-up at Vinson Base (earlier than that one risks discomfort from cold shadows and down glacier breezes). A leisurely breakfast was followed by a brief review of the basic mountaineering techniques we'll employ for travel on the lower mountain. In mid-afternoon we set out to carry loads up the long gentle hills between base and the big ninety degree turn of the glacier at the foot of Vinson's massive Western escarpment. This carry wasn't performed so much out of a great need to get supplies up the hill, but more out of a desire to test systems and our legs and lungs. All good. We cached the load at around 8,700 ft and walked easily back to our 7,000 ft Basecamp. We even got a few grand views of the endless ice to the west. These had to suffice for scenery since the clouds closed in while we were eating dinner and put us in a world of gauze and grey. The sun will come out tomorrow. Possibly.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Hi All,
RMI Aconcagua team one here in Base Camp watching the torrent on the upper mountain as we pack and organize gear for the mules. After soup and snacks we moved on to sports and movie trivia with some of our German climbing friends. Although we are all disappointed to be leaving the mountain with out a summit, the foul weather and thoughts of steak and wine are reassuring.
We will start our hike out tomorrow and get back to Mendoza on Thursday the 20th. Thank you all for all the support and we look forward to talking to all our friends and family soon.
RMI Guides JJ Justman, Geoff Schellens & Team
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Best of luck Nicole! So proud of you!
Posted by: Lisa on 12/21/2012 at 1:21 pm
safe travels to you and your team as you work your way to the summit.
Posted by: michelle on 12/21/2012 at 4:42 am
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