Entries from Expedition Dispatches
July 1, 2014 - 11:13 pm PT
Today was a relatively easy move for the team. We were walking out of our 9,000' camp at 7 AM when things were crisp and cold. The track was in pretty good condition due to the number of teams that had been over it in the preceding 24 hours and our loads were light. We began in clear conditions but by the time we reached the big right hand turn at
Kahiltna Pass, we were in cloud. Passing our cached gear at 10,000', we began the more serious hills leading to 11 camp. The team rolled into camp at around 11:30 AM and set to smoothing out tent platforms. Right about then it began to snow, just as had been predicted. There are at least a half dozen other guided teams in camp, a few more than we expected to see, but most are staffed by friends and acquaintances. The team took a well-earned rest for the afternoon.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
The
Alpamayo team had another great day. Early this morning we caught a bus, along with the
Peru - Expedition Skills Seminar, an hour out of town and went for an acclimatization hike to just over 14,000'. The scenery was stunning and sporadic hail from passing clouds added spice to the walk. After a few hours we found ourselves next to an alpine lake at the base of a snow covered face. Incredible! This evening we ventured into the heart of Huaraz to buy a few last minute items, and indulge in locally caught trout on the main plaza.
RMI Guide Eric Frank
Buenas tardes from Huaraz!
What a day we had! We were greeted by a sunny morning in
Huaraz, with excellent views of the Huascaran and Copa mountains right from our hotel. After breakfast, we headed without hesitation to the "Laguna Churup" trailhead for a morning stroll (which by the way, felt really good after two days of flying and riding a bus.) It was the perfect acclimatization hike, since we were taken from 0' to 10,000' by a bus, so exercising a bit at this elevation we found very beneficial. From the trailhead at 13,000' we hiked a good 2 1/2 hours towards this glacial lake at around 14,400' (oddly enough, similar height of
Mount Rainier) and we all got a better chance to start getting to know each other a bit better. Governed by "Nevado Churup", a small but steep peak on the southern end of the Cordillera Blanca, the turquoise of its waters, inspired the better picture moments of the day. After a short snack, we began our descent to the trailhead. Once back in town, we run the logistics of buying some extra snack food, a couple gear items and final arrangements with our outfitter to hit the trail towards Ishinca Valley tomorrow at 8am sharp.
Our next dispatch will be from Base Camp and from our satphone. Best regards to everyone back home!
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
We had another great day today, hiking up to the climbers' hut on the Ilinizas at an altitude of 15,500'. The weather, once again, was very cooperative and we had great views of Cotopaxi and the
Ilinizas. Afternoon clouds produced some showers, but not until we were already back at our van and driving down from the trail head. Now we're headed to the beautiful Hacienda Chilcabamba to rest for the night. We'll be in touch again tomorrow.
RMI Guide
Mike Walter & Team
June 30, 2014 - 11:19pm PT
After an impromptu camp on the polo field we woke up to intermittent wind gusts rattling our tent flys. We crawled out of our shelters to crisp cold weather and blue skies. We ate a quick breakfast and began to break camp to complete our journey to 14,200' feet. Amidst the chaos of packing our bags we spotted Billy Nugent and his crew descending from a successful summit, we exchanged high fives and and hit the trail. This time equipped with snow shoes and skis to deal with the waist deep drifts. We were feeling very happy about floating on the snow surface vs crawling through it. We had pleasant weather and relatively calm winds working our way around
Windy Corner. We pulled into camp and made ourselves at home, feeling the altitude a little we began to take care of ourselves and focus on the mountain ahead of us.
We are all feeling good and hoping for the best weather possible.
RMI Guide
Adam Knoff & Team
On The Map
June 30, 2014 - 9:44pm PT
Hey Everybody!
Last night we got our first taste of Denali weather as a wet snow fell, dusting our camp with six fresh inches. The little storm began to lift after a leisurely breakfast of bacon, eggs, and hash browns and we were soon able to pack our bags for a carry to 10,000' feet. Along the hike we witness spectacular views down the
Kahiltna Glacier and up to the start of the West Buttress. We are now back in camp resting and awaiting a tasty dinner of tortellini prepared by Zach. All is well here in the great north as the sun splashes some light into our dinning tent.
Thanks for following along!
RMI Guide
Ben Liken
Greetings from South America!
This is the RMI Expeditions
Alpamayo team making our inaugural check-in from the Peruvian city of Huarez. After spending most of yesterday on planes, the team had a brief layover in Lima last night before catching a shuttle up into the mountains today. With a dinner of Alpaca steaks, we are currently nestling into bed and getting excited about the days to come.
RMI Guide
Eric Frank & Team
Hola desde Huaraz!
Greetings from the
Peruvian Switzerland, where the team has just arrived!!! After everyone's flights made it timely around midnight yesterday in Lima, we all met for breakfast this morning. Shortly after a formal meeting and introductions of team members and the program, we all, filled with excitement, loaded the bus with climbing duffle bags and got on the road.
We made it to our hotel "Club Andino" right on time for dinner and to meet our outfiter Peter and local guide Carlos, who will accompany us in our Ishinca Valley adventure. We're moving to a well deserved night of sleep as we speak... lots of miles in the last 48h for everyone!
Tomorrow we have a short hike planned to "Laguna Churup" in the morning to start acclimatization and some logistic arrangements in the afternoon. We will be checking in again at the end of the day.
Best regards from Peru,
RMI Guides
Elias de Andres Martos,
Robby Young & Team
The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guide
Casey Grom and the Five Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guide
Linden Mallory reached the summit of Mt. Rainier earlier this morning. The teams got an early start this morning in order to take advantage of the cooler overnight temperatures and
beat the heat today. While on the summit, the teams found it to be incredibly warm with calm winds. They are also enjoying a clear sky with views in all directions.
The teams will descend to Camp Muir where they will refuel before continuing their descent to Paradise. We look forward to seeing them in Ashford later today.
Congratulations!
Our team had a great day today, tackling our first
acclimatization climb in good style. We climbed to the summit of Rucu Pichincha, a 15,400' volcano outside of Quito. The views were grand as we ascended in the rare air of high altitude.
Everyone did great (we were all breathing hard up there!), and we look forward to moving out of the comfort of the city life tomorrow, heading south, and getting another acclimatization hike under our belts.
We'll touch base again tomorrow. Thanks for checking in!
RMI Guide
Mike Walter
On The Map
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Way to go guys! Keep up the good work! Keeping track of you guys through Joe and Sean’s posts. Wishing I was there!
Posted by: Matt Moldenhauer on 7/2/2014 at 7:09 pm
View All Comments