Hello everyone following along back home and welcome to another series of dispatches from this year's summer Cotopaxi Express trip!
After a long night of scuttling back and forth from the airport Jaime and myself finally got the crew settled in last night at our hotel here in Quito. Since everyone is usually a bit bushed from long travel times from the states we typically start out our first day of the program on a city tour of some of Quito's colonial sites in addition to a visit to the exact geographical equator. We were fortunate enough to climb the bell tower in the Basilica (a neo-gothic cathedral), walk the streets of the old town (world's first UNESCO World Heritage Site), visit the Church de la Compañia de Jesús (baroque interior guilded w/ 7 tons of gold leaf and one of the oldest churches in South America), and play with funky coriolis phenomena on the exact geographical equator. Despite the lack of physical exertion, the gang was still pretty tired after cruising around town all day at an elevation around 9,000'. We ran some errands, took a little siesta, and then met up for our first team dinner later this evening. The gang is starting to open up a bit and get to know each other better, a good thing considering the challenges ahead! Tomorrow begins the first of our acclimatization hikes...
Hasta mañana,
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
At 4:45P (PDT) Mike Walter called from the summit of McKinley:
This is Mike and I’m calling from the summit of Mt McKinley! The weather is beautiful; no wind, and just a few clouds. The summit of Mt Foraker (17,400’) is 3,000’ lower than us, and Kahiltna Base Camp is 13,000’ below us! Our ascent from high camp took seven and one-half hours, which is very good time. We’re taking hero shots, hugging and congratulating each other, but soon it will be time to descend to our tents. After a well deserved rest, tomorrow we will down-climb the West Buttress and reach the thick air at 14,000’ camp. More reports will follow.
Congratulations to the Mt. McKinley June 12th Team!
Another early start and another straightforward move up in perfect conditions. We got up at 3 AM and ate breakfast in the cool shadows blanketing our 7800 ft camp. On our second day of climbing, it was already becoming routine to knock down the tents and get packs and sleds squared away for travel. We were roped up and moving up Ski Hill by 5:45. The hills were big and the loads were as well, but we slowed the pace and worked our way up. Again, we found the surface frozen hard and easy for sledding and walking without sinking in. Distances weren't terribly significant and it only took us three and a half hours to reach the top of the hills at around 9500 ft. We built a camp and dove into the tents just as the sun started heating the giant reflector oven of the upper Kahiltna Glacier. Afternoon was spent in slumber, or in reading, or in watching iPod movies, or in snacking and drinking water. Some did it all. We sat in our "POSH" dining tent chatting for a few hours at dinner. At 8 PM we tuned in our radio to catch the mountain specific weather forecast (which calls for a little bit of snow at our elevation tonight). Far more entertaining was our conversation with the other RMI teams on the mountain. We were excited for Mike Walter's summit and safe return to high camp and to hear that Adam Knoff and his gang are good to go for moving to 17,000 ft tomorrow. If our good luck holds, we'll cruise on up to 11,000 ft tomorrow with our strong and steady team.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Mt. McKinley has the gnarly reputation for being one of the hardest mountains in the world to reach the summit of. In circles of armchair mountaineers, horror stories bounce around like cheap cigars. What most people don't realize is how much down time comes with living the dream of climbing north America's highest peak.
Yesterday we put in our first "average work day" with an eight hour round trip climb to Washburn's thumb at 16,500 feet. We cached food, fuel and clothing needed for our time on the upper mountain. This was our teams most difficult challenge to date which everyone handled like cagey veterans.
Back to the down time. Of course the terrain on this mountain demands one's full concentration, but so does our time of rest. It is unnatural for all of us to try and sleep twelve hours a day with no darkness. The rigors of rest should not be underestimated. Today we woke from thirteen hours of hibernation and had a two hour breakfast demanding great effort to pull away from. Now we are preparing for a stroll to the edge of the world and then home for more sleep. Today is beautiful here at 14,000 feet, much more pleasant than our ten below nights. All is well and we look forward to climbing higher..
RMI Guide Adam Knoff
everybody eat a lot
DG Chris and Michael U eat a lot
John, Tim and Mike R you eat a lot.
Nelson, Adam and Blais eat a lot
Be ready.
Posted by: shamu on 7/2/2012 at 7:59 pm
Nelson - So wonderful to hear your voice from nearly the top of North America! I will be thinking about you tomorrow as your group contemplates a summit bid. I know that it is a trade off between rest and good weather. Pulling for you from home.
Love, Mom
Today our team completed a 10 hour hike through beautiful marshland. We are getting into an area with limestone masses, passing by caves in the limestone cliffs. Quite spectacular! Today's hike was the first we've had in the rain. But despite the wet conditions, everyone is in high spirits and doing very well.
RMI Guide Alex Van Steen
Houston`s climate is not that bad after all. Hope you all will keep up the good spirit and enjoy the reward of being able to do what you are doing.What an experience it is. I am curious to see some pictures after you are all back in good health.
Pap en Mam
Posted by: Richard van Steen on 7/2/2012 at 6:26 am
Alex, Mark and team, Amakane!Mark your blog reminds of a poem my Mom wrote “Oh give me a mountain to climb! Im leaving the jungle trail, the steamy swamps and the lowlands, give me a mountain to scale. I’ve been cut by the jungle grasses, I faint in the tropical heat, to plow through the mire is exhausting the mud has made heavy my feet….” You will soon be wondering at the towering crags above you, gasping at the vast unclimbed faces! Hey that wall of roots is pretty wild, eh? 5.8 climbing in the jungle! Ka noae!
The Mt. Rainier Four Day Summit Climbs led by Dan Windham and Shaun Sears reached the summit this morning in bluebird conditions. The cloud layer was at 9,000’ and the summit temperature was 25 degrees with light winds. What a spectacular day on the upper mountain!
Walter Hailes is leading the Expedition Skills Seminar - Paradise. They start out on the mountain today and will spend the next five days learning mountaineering skills and will conclude their week with a summit attempt.
It was a little tough waking up at 1 AM, since we hadn't been able to get to bed terribly early, but coffee and bagels got us going. Just as we'd hoped, it had been a clear night and the glacial surface had frozen up good and hard. Conditions were ideal for tackling the lower glacier. This section can be problematic since it is normally heavily crevassed in late season, but we found that the recent snowfall and overnight freeze had combined to bridge things nicely. We set out around 4:30 AM and made steady progress, first dropping a few hundred feet to reach the main glacier and then turning North while working up small hills and inclines. The packs were heavy and despite the fact that the fully loaded sleds were sliding easily along, we were all pretty thankful for the short rest breaks each hour. It was good hard work, but we didn't have much in the way of glitches or problems. The last two hours of our push were conducted in bright sunshine with a great view of Denali's south face. The West Buttress stood out clearly in relief. We pulled into our intended camp at 7,800 ft at about 9:15 AM and got to work. In no time, we had tents, a kitchen, a dining area, a latrine and the start of several significant naps. It was a day for power lounging and for catching up on hydration.
We rallied for a group dinner since Solveig Waterfall was serving up excellent burritos, but then the naps resumed.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Richard, Great progress - Non-stop to the top, Best Wishes.
Posted by: Ritesh on 7/3/2012 at 5:27 pm
Richard - we are keeping tabs on you and your team. What beauty of nature you must be viewing! Blackie and I are keeping good thoughts of you and look forward to sharing your climb stories. XOXOXOXO Genny
This is Mike checking in from high camp on Denali. The weather is playing games with us today, but the forecast remains excellent. We had contemplated a summit bid upon awakening, but a lenticular cloud cap kept alternately forming then dissipating throughout the morning, and we decided to hold off. It has been quite windy in camp, but high pressure is forecast to dominate the next several days. Our well rested team hopes to go for it tomorrow. All is well and we will be back in touch with an update tomorrow.
Wish us luck!
We’re awaiting the good news that you and the team have reached the summit. Hoping for sunny skies and a safe and successful climb to the top and back down.
Lynda and Rick
Posted by: Lynda and Rick on 7/1/2012 at 8:15 pm
David, we are pulling for down here in rainy portland. be safe and have fun. Sue D
Hey there Mark Tucker here with the Carstensz climb. I am not quite sure what of the amazing sites in front of me I should speak of when it comes to leading a Jungle tour. We round a corner here in this neck of the woods, I guess jungle. A gentleman appears with a big spear, a large bow, something sticking through his nose, and wearing only a gourd tends to get my attention. A wondrous place it is. It is like jungle gym, thank goodness for roots, I have a new a respect for them as a whole. We had an ascent on some very steep terrain. The team is climbing so strong and so well and the support we are getting from our local staff is wonderful.
We are now in Putigapa which is just a meadow swamp land at about 11,000’ and it is still very forested and we have yet to find the tree line. Mother Nature was kind to us again today we were able to get all of our gear, tents and dining area set up before the rains started. Right now it is raining pretty hard, we are all dry, but pretty happy. We are tired, but that just comes with the territory.
We wish you were all here and we will check in later.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker & Team
When your on that mountain, all you gotta do is give ahundred puhcent. You know me and my boyz dwade and chris all we do is get the rings. If you ever make a big desicion call me up (1-800-got-ring)
Posted by: Lebron (The King Who Got His Ring) James on 6/30/2012 at 8:54 pm
Hey Team!!!! Hope you all are not too worn out so far! You are in our prayers! Keep having fun p.s. Katie I hope you are not using as much chapstick as you did on kili or else you will be out by now….
Posted by: Billy (Bmeister) Mcgahan on 6/30/2012 at 8:49 pm
Our Four Day Summit Climb Teams Led by RMI Guides Mike Haugen and Gabriel Barral reached the top of Mt. Rainier today. The teams reported light winds, and favorable weather. The teams were able to spend some time on the summit and are now en route to Camp Muir.
Congratulations to today's teams!
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Yeah team and yeah Matt!! Can’t wait to hear all about it! So proud
-Vanessa E
Posted by: Vanessa on 7/2/2012 at 2:08 pm
17400+ 3000 = 20400, so I ask again, what is it like @ 20,000 Ft ?
Posted by: Uncs on 7/2/2012 at 11:27 am
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