Good morning! We've moved on from La Malinche and are currently enjoying the best breakfast in Mexico at the Mission Tlaxcala. After breakfast we're headed for the village of Amecameca and then on to the base camp at Ixta. Our plan is to get an acclimatization hike in this afternoon and tomorrow head to high camp.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
Taylor….we all wish we were back there with you. Can’t wait to see your photos…I hope Seth makes guacamole as well as JJ and Solveig!!! Climb on my friend!!
Posted by: Debbi LaPrevotte on 1/21/2014 at 4:44 am
Hey this is Seth checking in from La Malinche over here in Mexico. We just had a great day climbing up the mountain actually of La Malinche. We made it to just about 13,500' from our cabanas here at 10,000 feet. It was getting to be around 4:15 at that point so we turned around, descended back down here to 10,000' and just finished with a nice dinner and we're getting tucked in. There's actually TVs in the room here so we were able to pipe in the Seahawks-49ers game. We started a fire in the fireplace and we're gonna watch them. [Connection lost.]
Tomorrow the team will depart La Malinche and drive toward Ixtaccihuatl's Altzomoni Hut.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall calls in with a team update.
Cotopaxi summit!
We woke up at 11pm to a breakfast of coffee, tea, oatmeal and bread. We finished our packing in the dark with the rest of the hut's inhabitants before beginning our 9-hour summit bid. We got off to a bit of a stressful start when we realized that someone from a different climbing group had accidentally taken Adam's climbing helmet, but we weren't going to let that get in the way of our climb. (The helmet was returned later in the afternoon, once we returned to the huts after the climb.)
It was windy and snowy as we stepped outside around midnight, and that continued for the first hour during the hike up to the toe of the glacier. But soon after donning our crampons and ice axes, the weather mellowed out and the good luck we've been having with the weather on this trip continued for the rest of our ascent: the clouds cleared, the winds died down, and for the next 5 hours to the summit, the weather could only be described as mild and pleasant. At one point, we could see an active lightening storm beyond the lights of Quito and were grateful that we weren't experiencing the same.
The initial climbing on the glacier was steep, but not too difficult. These moderate angles soon gave way to steeper slopes that had us rest-stepping our way up. The dry snow made traction difficult (even with our crampons), so as the terrain became more exposed, we had to kick hard with our feet to really gain purchase. An exhausting endeavor at 19k feet!
In 6 hours and 15 minutes, we had made it to the top! The group's previous high altitude climbing on Cayambe and Antisana had definitely gotten us into shape for this climb. We moved well and as a team the entire way up! As we pulled on to the summit, the sun was just beginning to rise and we got a quick look into the summit crater. We didn't stay for long, though, since the winds picked up as we snapped our group photo. After 15 minutes up top, we began our descent.
Not only was our group strong on the ascent, but we rocked our descent, too! Despite some rather high winds at times, knocking us around a bit on narrow ridges, we continued to move well and made it back to the hut in just under three hours.
Back at the huts, we packed up our gear and descended to the parking lot, where we met up again with Victor and the magic bus. We were whisked away to La Cienega, a hotel that looks more "castle" than "hacienda", and after taking showers, we met up over dinner and a couple of games of Wits and Wagers, reflecting on our trip as a whole.
Tomorrow we head back to Quito and begin our journey back home. See you soon!
RMI Guide Nick Hunt
We will spend the day taking showers in our Cabelas shower tent, ordering pizzas and perfecting the art of chillaxing. Finally, the sun is out in full effect so we are also charging phones and iPads. Tonight will be a marathon session of The Wire.
Today's rest really isn't needed. Our team is doing great! However, at this altitude we can recover back to 110% before we move to Camp 1 at 16,600' tomorrow. Stay tuned and please keep posting comments! The team appreciates it.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
Buenas Tardes! The team is all here and excited to kick off the Mexico's Volcanoes trip. Everyone arrived today and we had our first team meeting in the evening. Some of the group went on to bed while the rest of us went out for a delicious Mexican dinner.
We made an early night of it since tomorrow we hit the ground running and head for our first destination, La Malinche.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
This is Adam Knoff from the Ecuador Skills Seminar. I am happy to announce that we have successfully summitted Cotopaxi this morning on a glorious, calm day. People could say it was in great style. I am very proud of the team for their efforts as it took some fortitude to get up on a cold and windy day. The expedition seminar has concluded its climbing on the mountains and we are happy to be tucked in here at La Cienega and drinking cervezas and very comfortable. Everything is fabulous. We will touch base tomorrow. Gracias. Adios.
RMI Guide Adam Knoff
RMI Guide Adam Knoff calls in after Cotopaxi summit.
It's a cold, cold world.
We woke up and fired the stoves at about 3:30 this morning and things were looking good: clear skies, bright moon, and calm winds. We scarfed a quick breakfast, had a quick cup of coffee, packed up, and hit the not so dusty trail. The consistent snowfall of the past week has blanketed the mountain so what is normally a gravelly trail out of Cólera was a very snowy sendero. Our team moved well, per the norm, despite the large number of other climbers clogging the route and before too long we had climbed past the Indepencia Hut (ruins) and hit the traverse into the Canaleta. At some point along the way we found ourselves no longer enjoying the clear skies but instead traveling under consistent snowfall. In fact it was snowing heavily and visibility was poor. Despite the worsening weather the snowpack seemed ok until we reached the center of the traverse. Walt and myself headed out further without the group and found the normally gravelly trail under several feet of snow. In fact the whole Canaleta was smoothed over with the storm snow. Every other team on the mountain had already turned around due to avalanche hazard but we hadn't seen anything worth turning around until the deep storm layer that we encountered in the lower Canaleta. While the snow didn't seem super reactive the steeper part of the Canaleta was surely more dangerous and there was no way to see without exposing ourselves to the hazard. With worsening weather and continued snowfall we decided that the dire consequences of an incident were too much for us to shoulder. We weren't willing to bet our lives on it so we did the smart thing and turned around at 21,500'. Now we are back at high camp and the weather is still crappy. So much for the forecasted sunny day...
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
Sorry to hear you didnt make it to the top this time but I’m glad you made a smart decision and did what was best. I’m sure it was still quite an adventure and Mike, can’t wait to see the pictures when you get home. Safe travels back to the States!
-Rich
Posted by: Rich on 1/22/2014 at 10:47 am
Billy k- you have accomplished so much on this trio. Even without the summit you must have so many stories. I can’t wait to hear all about! Now get you butt home :) !
Today we carried to 16,600 on Aconcagua. We enjoyed a cool morning with snow and a light breeze. The entire team cruised through our breaks to arrive at Camp 1 with a small piece of blue sky. The scree which is typically dry and loose was covered in snow, making the climbing more enjoyable. The team returned to Base Camp just in time for weather to roll in and snack before siesta. Rest day tomorrow!
RMI Guide Mike King
Michael…We are enjoying your blog posts. Checking in with Abby today. Love, Mom
Posted by: Diana King on 1/19/2014 at 6:28 am
Bissell, for some reason, my messages do not seem to be getting through. The kids and I miss you terribly, as does Atticus of course. The pictures are wonderful and I try to imagine what it must be like to be surrounded by such beauty. So proud of you. Love you.
The great weather continued today as we left the comforts of the beautiful Chilcabamba Eco Lodge and ventured up to the Jose Ribas Refugio at 16,000’ on Cotopaxi were we are posed to make our third major summit attempt of the trip. Everyone is in great spirits, feeling strong and acclimatized, which is not an easy feat when at 16,000’!
We are waiting for our local, in-house (or should I say in-hut) chef to complete our dinner feast of soup, chicken, crackers, and rice; the wafting smell is oh so enticing right now. This sustenance will get us through until the alarm beckons us to rise and climb.
Tomorrow is our summit day on Cotopaxi. Wish us luck!
RMI Guide Adam Knoff
We're at high camp, poised and ready! Last night we had quite the snowfall, almost 8", which is quite a lot for Aconcagua. We spent the morning digging out and packing up for our move up. The large majority of the climbers who were queued up at Camp 2 made the move up to Camp Cólera with us today so trail breaking wasn't so bad. Our team stayed together and moved smoothly through the terrain despite very hot temperatures. Blue skies and direct sun at almost 20,000' coupled with the reflective blanket of new snow made for some serious UV exposure not to mention the high temperatures. It felt like being in the Mega-Tan 9000 industrial strength, Baywatch endorsed tanning bed all day. Then as we arrived at Camp Cólera the clouds rolled in and it started to snow again. If the last seven days are any indication, the snow should stop and the clouds should lift sometime overnight. We have our fingers crossed for a clear and comfortable summit attempt tomorrow.
We'll check in tomorrow after the hurly burly's done!
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
Best wishes Mer and to all climbers! We’re so excited for you!
Posted by: Delese on 1/18/2014 at 4:48 am
Len and Dawn
We hope the weather cooperates for you and the team and you have an enjoyable and safe summit attempt. Good luck and we will be thinking of you.
Mom and Dad
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Taylor….we all wish we were back there with you. Can’t wait to see your photos…I hope Seth makes guacamole as well as JJ and Solveig!!! Climb on my friend!!
Posted by: Debbi LaPrevotte on 1/21/2014 at 4:44 am
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