Entries from Expedition Dispatches
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Categories: Expedition Dispatches Vinson Massif
Everything and everyone is in place at the tip of South America... ready for a flight to Antarctica. The past few days have been fun, but also a little stressful and hectic. There were the usual assortment of missed flights and lost luggage, but in the end, our team of five climbers made it down the length of the world intact. I arrived two days ago with the bulk of the team equipment and spent a day shopping for extra provisions and getting over jet lag. Today was the official start to things, as we began at 10 AM with our official introductory meeting with ALE (our logistics company for this trip) This orientation was a two-hour long gathering of all those who will be sharing the Ilyushin 76 transport plane with us to Antarctica. Roughly, there are about 25 climbers bound for Vinson who will be the big Russian jet's final customers bound for the Ice this season.
It has been fun to run into old friends and guiding partners down here, as usual. Mike Sharp, one of the principals of ALE, gave our briefing today and had me reflecting back to my first visit to the continent in 1995 when he and I spent a stormy week in a tent together at Jone's Sound on the Antarctic Peninsula. He showed slides of the operation at Patriot Hills and described the program out at Vinson Basecamp. He tried to impress on those assembled just how far from any government bases they would be and how independent and self sufficient the company and its customers must be. Afterward, I walked with my five climbers (we'll meet our second guide, Namgya, down on the ice, where he is already working with other teams) out into the bustling but friendly center of Punta Arenas. This city of 150,000 is a gateway for tourists coming to see Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego as well as Antarctica, but it is also an industrial town of great importance to Chile. We walked the few blocks back toward Magellan's Strait, and into our hotel at the water's edge. The next task was to get rid of the bulk of our gear and supplies. We brought it all downstairs to be weighed and collected on a truck. ALE will do the heavy work of loading the mammoth IL 76 out at the airport today in the hope that we'll get to fly tomorrow morning.
I got together with the team in the evening to go over maps and pictures of the Ellsworth Mountains in order to get everybody up to speed on which glaciers we'd be landing on and climbing up. We discussed strategies and expected hurdles... but I hope that we also got rid of some of the worry and nervousness that stems from choosing a goal in such a far-off and unique environment.
The work done, it was time for a dinner out on the town and a little relaxation. Punta Arenas has great dining spots... but we don't want to visit many more of them. Our hope is that we get a call early tomorrow telling us that the weather window is open and that we should get our boots on and get set for flying to Antarctica.
Climbing up through the rocks and gullies that make up the base of our route, the team did very well getting to the upper glacier on Orizba. As the sun started to rise we climbed up the glacier, treated to cold and very clear views in all directions. We had a great mountain shadow of Orizaba over Tlachichuca and higher up were able to see La Malinche, Ixta and the smoke of Popocapetl. Great day to go climbing. Everyone did well and really pushed themselves, earning a spot on top of Mexico's highest mountain. Congrats team, time to celebrate in town.
Thanks Paul, Greg and John for a great trip!
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Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mexico
Today our crew took a "rest day," exploring Puebla's Sunday Markets and antiques shops. We didn't do too much up and downhill walking, but no doubt still covered a lot of this colorful colonial market. It was a great day to recuperate after Ixta and restage for Pico de Orizaba. Eating well is an important part of recovery and we also explored the great food and famous Mole sauce that hails from this town. Tomorrow we'll head out to Tlachichuca and get ready for the big one.
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Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mexico
Leaving Puebla after a good breakfast we drove though fields of cactus and learned about the different ways you can eat them from our driver Rogelio. Once in Tlachichuca, we sorted gear and piled into an old Dodge Power truck and drove to the high hut on Orizaba. Fortunately it had snowed recently and the roads were not very dusty and we made it up to the hut with great views of our upcoming climb. Once at the hut we ate and rested and listened to the cold wind on the hut as we waited for our early start. Wish us luck.
This morning (or night, depending on your point of view), the intrepid Team Blackberry/iPhone, awoke to darn near perfect climbing conditions and decided to give the old lady a shot. Our high camp had positioned us perfectly for a good shot at topping out on the first of our big volcanoes for this trip. We left under dark skies, high above the town lights of Amecameca and Chalco far below us. We walked steadily through the rocky glacial debris at the base of the Ayoloco Glacier, skirting the previous night's accumulated hail and gaining the ridge just before first light. Once on the ridge we bundled up because even though in Mexico it can still get cold in the wind at 17,000 feet. From the ridge we handled our new challenge of cold temps until gaining the true summit of Ixtaccihuatl as the sun broke over the horizon, illuminating our next adventure, Pico de Orizaba. After a few photos and some summit celebrations, we steeled ourselves for the descent back to our high camp and the homemade soup of Rogelio's (our trusted driver) wife, waiting for us at the trailhead. Easing our way back into wheeled transport, we stuck to the backroads, avoiding the weekend traffic and checking in to our hotel in the zona historica of the colonial city of Puebla. Tonight we will feast and enjoy a good night's sleep at relatively low elevations, using tomorrow to explore the city and recuperate for Pico de Orizaba, the highest mountain in Mexico.
Today we left the Alzimoni hut, moving to our high camp on Ixta. The crew did very well and we made in good style to our new home at 14,700 feet. After refueling on hot drinks, soup and dinner we turned in to catch some zzzz`s before our alpine start tomorrow. Wish us luck and good weather, we'll check in manana.
Leaving La Malinche this morning our team had a great breakfast en route to Amecameca where we took a quick look around and picked up some fresh food to cook this evening. It's always good to fill up before heading off on a climb. We drove up to the Altzimoni hut at 12,000 feet to acclimatize and stage for the beginning of our climb of Ixta. Tonight we will rest up for a big day tomorrow as we push up to our high camp below the Ayoloco glacier. Everyone is feeling great and ready to start to climb our first big objective. 'Til tomorrow.
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Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mexico
With everyone in Mexico City, we met on the rooftop restaurant of the Majestic Hotel for our first breakfast together as a team. We discussed our strategies for acclimatization and getting up and down Ixta and Pico de Orizaba over coffee and desayuna.
To start our trip we left Mexico City for the high altitude Olympic training ground turned resort of La Malintzi. Here we hiked higher until we traded timber for a misty ridgetop at 13,000 feet on the volcano La Malinche, named after Cortez`s wife and translator. We relaxed/acclimatized before heading back to our cabin for pre-dinner showers. Tonight we will rest up for our trip to Amecameca and the hut at La Jolla to start our ascent of Ixta, kept warm by our hut`s fire. Buenas Noches from Mexico, hope all are warm up north.
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Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Today the remaining climbers successfully reached the summit of Cayambe. It was a cold, tough, and windy day. To add to that, the glaciers here in Ecuador have receded a significant amount the last few years. Because of this, the route that we climbed today felt like we were attempting a "Triple Lindy" see here. Despite the conditions that we had the team did great and persevered.
Everyone has safely returned to Quito and are getting ready for one last dinner and our long flights home.
Thanks for following.
Hey, hey, hey RMI. This is Casey and crew on the summit of Cayambe!
Great day yesterday. Everyone slept well last night and we got up about midnight again. Took us about 6 1/2 hours to summit. Clear, windy and cold today. Both trips have been real tough. These guys are real troopers and did a great job. We'll check in again when we get back to Quito.
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