Hi all... Just checking in on a rest day here at Chilcabamba. Been enjoying the views and the rustic setup of this farmhouse turned lodge and lazing about like monarchs. The famous dogs of Chilcabamba, Pacha and Toa are still around and friendly as ever (anyone who's been here knows what I'm talking about). These guys might be easier to adopt than the aforementioned monkey but I'm pretty sure the folks here won't give them up so easily. Not much else to report besides views, wood burning stoves, hundreds of hummingbirds, and ponchos! Enjoying our rest and letting our brains as bodies recoup after yesterday's challenge, getting ready for the next...
RMI Guides Billy, Garrett & Team
Hello -
We are back safely at high camp (19,600') on Aconcagua. We had a long day up and down and everyone needs some food and hot drinks to recover. The day started cold then turned hot and now it is back to cold with blowing snow. We need a break!
We will spend the night here and tomorrow begin heading down hill.
Hasta manana,
RMI Guide JJ Justman
Hello from the Plantation Lodge,
We had a great day today at Lake Manyara National Park. Located about two hours from Arusha, it is the first stop on our safari circuit. This is a hidden gem of a park as most people only drive right by it on the way to the bigger named parks. It is the perfect introduction to how to safari, getting us oriented to many of the different animal species and habitats, as well as figuring out how to get some really good pictures.
We had some excitement during our "bush" lunch when a troop of 60 baboons passed right by us, and three of the males caused quite a ruckus when they began fighting over one of the female baboons.
There were lots of elephants today, giraffes, monkeys, hippos, dik diks, warthogs, wildebeests, and ostriches. The list goes on and it was a very successful day.
We are now at the Plantation Lodge, a wonderful small lodge that sits on the highlands above the Great Rift Valley. It's absolutely beautiful here and they have thought of every detail in making this one of the best lodges in the area.
Tomorrow we are off to Ngorongoro Crater, where we will see what most consider as the eighth wonder of the world.
Best regards,
RMI Guide Jeff Martin
Hey everyone, I'm wondering if you could just take a listen to this for second... Do you hear that? I didn't think so because there is zero wind on the summit of Aconcagua right now! That is where Team Seven is at this moment. What do you say guys? [Happy yells from the climbers.] People are excited to be up here. We have a beautiful day climbing. We had a sunny day to begin with; now there's a little bit of clouds and a little bit of snow. People are feeling pretty darn good, tired but good. We had a great day climbing. Can't say enough great things about the summit. And now we are going to head down. This is JJ and the team heading downhill from the highest point in the western hemisphere of the world.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
RMI Guide JJ Justman calls in from the Aconcagua summit!
Hi Ken ! Congratulations on doing something I never even dream of. Your boys and wife are super proud. Can’t wait to see the photos and to hear the behind the scene stories. ok I am going back to the couch .... LOL. Take Ken. See you soon.
Posted by: Ivy on 2/19/2014 at 9:37 pm
Congratulations to you all! Great job Rich, we are all very proud of you. Safe trip down! See you soon! Hope you got some great pics for us…
Love
Susie
Today was another busy day for us starting with a duffle shuffle and reloading the van. After an hour drive we arrived to the best breakfast in Mexico, Mission Tlaxcala, a beautiful stone hotel over looking a stunning waterfall. With full bellies we hopped back in our van and drove through the warm morning to Amecameca. A quick grocery shop for last minute food items and the conclusion to Mike's quest for AA batteries put us back on the road. A beautiful two-hour drive winding through a wooded hillside and eventually the high grass covered slopes of Ixtaccihuatl (Ixta). Our home for the evening is the Altzimoni Hut at around 12,800'. After settling in to our new accommodations, we went for a short stroll up the trail to stretch the legs. Once back at our hut we discussed gear and packing for tomorrow and ate a five-star taco dinner. Now we are all doing a little packing and organizing our gear for mañana and turning in for a good night's sleep.
Thanks for following along with us,
RMI Guide Geoff Schellens
All smiles on the summit of Cayambe!
Our strong team made short work of Cayambe today and were on the summit in about 6 hours and 45 minutes after leaving the refugio. Conditions were very firm on the glacier and when combined with fair weather and almost no wind it made for a quick trip up. A rope length of steep snow and ice just below the summit required some front pointing and a belay especially because the runout emptied into a giant chasm of a bergschrund. A little ice climbing is always nice to keep you on your toes. The sun came up at some point while we were negotiating this steep pitch and we enjoyed the dawn from the summit. We took pictures and exchanged high fives on top and after a short while began our descent because we wanted to pass over several hollow spots on the glacier before the day heated up. Those firm glacier conditions that made the climbing so nice on the way up made the descent a fair bit more taxing. Despite being tired and a bit worked we were back at the refugio just after 10:30 am. A quick pickup and we were headed down the road to meet Victor and jump on the bus for the long ride to the Chilcabamba eco lodge at the base of Cotopaxi. And after a time warp of a bus ride, here we are chilling and filling up on a hot meal with a rest day ahead.
Time for sleep...
RMI Guide Billy Nugent & Team
Hello from the Dik Dik,
Our mountain adventure ended today with 10 very happy climbers. Even though we had a very long day yesterday, the team wanted to get an early start and hike down to the Mweka Gate. You could tell that everyone wanted showers as we made record time descending the 4,400' to the end of the trail. You can feel it is the last day as porters are ready to get paid, and the climbers are still on the high of summiting yesterday. We had a big lunch spread waiting for us at the gate and then we tipped out our mountain crew for all their hard work over the last seven days.
Now we are back at the hotel and sitting down for drinks before our celebration dinner. We are all cleaned up and have packed away all our mountain gear.
Tomorrow we are heading out on our safari. The perfect way to recover from the physical effort expended to reach the top of Kilimanjaro. First stop is Lake Manyara!
Best regards,
RMI Guide Jeff Martin
Hey everybody! It's Billy here checking in for Garrett, Jaime and the rest of the crew. We are on the summit of Cayambe right now with clear skies and calm winds. Enjoying a perfect day. That's all to report really. We will be headed down shortly here and wish us luck for us a safe descent. All is well, bye bye.
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
RMI Guide Billy Nugent calls from the Cayambe summit!
Decisions, decisions! After some careful thought the team had decided to spend one more day at high camp before attempting the summit. We all had a tough day battling new snow and breaking trail to make it here. There's no need to exhaust ourselves and ruin our chances at the summit. Tomorrow is supposed to be an even nicer day. And after a full day of eating, drinking and relaxing we all should be more recovered to give the summit our all.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
So close, Rich! Hang in there! I hope the weather holds out and you all summit tomorrow! Love you very much and miss you! Will see you very soon!
Good luck to you and the team!
Love, Susie
Posted by: Susie on 2/18/2014 at 10:43 am
Good morning Brenda ( Sweetie Pie) :-) today is the big day to the summit team 7 goes!! Have fun drink water . The Jay an I are in LV with Travis he says hello all A’s eight classes! Have fun today love you, Richie & Sea Jay. Xxxxxooooxx
La Malinche summit!
Today was a busy day. After a fantastic breakfast at our hotel in Mexico City we met our driver and loaded the van to the brim with all our gear. By 9:00 we were bumping along the streets working our way out of the city and towards the hills. After a few hours we found ourselves winding through the forests on the flanks of La Malinche. We arrived at La Malintzi, an old Olympic training facility at 10,000 feet around noon and stowed our bags in our cabins. With day packs packed and the noonday sun warming us, we started our acclimatization hike. After two hours hiking through the forest, we broke out of the trees and began climbing up the scree trail to gain the ridge. At 4:30 we found ourselves on the summit of La Malinche, 14,640'. Higher than any point in the continental United States. With perfect weather we began our descent scree skiing through the sandy section and back into the forest. Happy and tired we all enjoyed our delicious dinner back at La Malintzi and headed to bed for some well-deserved rest.
Thanks for following us.
RMI Guide Geoff Schellens
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Way to go all y’all! Frank and all your new best friends. Be warm, be safe.
Fred T
Posted by: Fred T on 2/19/2014 at 7:52 am
Congratulations to all!
Posted by: Marsha on 2/19/2014 at 5:02 am
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