Team Aconcagua is getting down to business! This morning we awoke to windy but clear skies. After we loaded up on coffee and waffles we threw the backpacks on and climbed uphill. The team did a fantastic job reaching Camp 2 at 18,000 feet. We emptied our packs into a duffle bag and zipped it shut. Our second cache of gear is done and the team is now even more acclimatized.
We are now back at Camp 1 and we just finished a round of hot soup. The guides are busy melting snow for water. Needless to say, the team is tired. Tonight is pizza night so I need to start making the dough.
RMI Guides JJ Justman and Christina von Mertens
100% on top!!!
The Ecuador team reached the Cayambe summit in stormy weather. Although the weather was not stellar, they were all happy to have made it.
RMI Guide Casey Grom sent this summit photo and will check in once the team is safely off the mountain.
Hey everyone. This is JJ and Christina with team one on Aconcagua. We are up at Camp One. We settled into camp at 16,400 feet. It was a windy day. We're putting on the wind burn cream as we speak. The team did a phenomenal job. It was a tough day to get up here, probably had about 30 mile-per-hour winds, but we did a great job getting tents up. Right now we have the stoves going. We're melting snow because there's no running water here, which there usually is. So we are melting snow for water and getting some hot drinks going and recovery at 16,400 feet. Everyone says hi to family and friends. We're doing great, but we're going to go for now and get busy on hots and dinner. Thanks for following along. Stay tuned. Tomorrow if the weather is decent, we are hoping to do a carry to 18,000 feet, Camp Two. Take care. Ciao from Aconcagua.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
Yeah! Wishing you all continued success. This is a wonderful way to end 2015 and be ready for new challenges in 2016. A special good wish and high-five to our nephew Chris. We are sooo proud of you! Prayers for you and the team…and a bit of the Christmas Cheer to warm you up. Say “Hi” to Santa! Love, Aunt Cindi and Uncle Roy
Posted by: Cindi Burrell on 12/15/2015 at 5:30 am
Great job on the move, in those conditions. The views only get better from here on. This is JJ’s mountain, and sounds as if you have a very strong team. Special shout out to Chris and John, and wishing only the best for all of you!
Hello everyone.
All is well here in Ecuador.
The team got a decent night of sleep here on Cayambe at 15'000ft last night despite someone car alarm going off all night. We got up at 6am and had a nice breakfast before hiking up to the start of the glacier where we reviewed the climbing techniques that we'll need for tomorrow. After a few hours of training we then made our way back to the hut for a nice lunch.
Currently the team is taking naps or resting outside in the always warming ecuadorian sun. Our plan is to have an early dinner tonight and try to get a little more shut-eye before our alpine start. We'll most likely get up at 11pm, have a quick breakfast and coffee, then start climbing around midnight to make use of the cooler temps. If all goes according to plan we hope to summit around 7am give or take a few.
As per usual, I'm going to have a mountain trivia challenge where one lucky winner will receive a summit phone call from my Satellite phone. So everyone back home keep your phones nearby, you might be receiving a call from a strange number.
Wish us luck!
RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Cayambe crew
A tough day today and our group truly shone. We woke up early and had a quick breakfast of oatmeal and cold cereal then threw on some heavy packs and headed to Camp 1. Our goal today was to bring up food and fuel to Camp 1 then descend back to basecamp for the last night in luxury. Our carry today took us up to 16,400 feet in quite strong winds that made the climb very challenging. Everyone performed well and we walked into Camp 1 as a strong cohesive team walking together. As soon as we left our cache of gear we flew down the mountain as light as if we were on the moon. Timing was perfect because behind us rolled in some light precip and clouds. Back at basecamp we all celebrated our well-timed carry with snacks and tea. Tomorrow our plan is to move up to Camp 1 and be in great position to learn lots from Aconcagua. The team says hi to everyone back home and keep the words of support coming. We've been reading them aloud in the evenings!
RMI Guides Christina von Mertens and JJ Justman
Your good timing on that carry is something to be thankful for! Here in the Cascade Mountains, at 4500 feet we have 2 full feet of fresh snow. So beautiful. Dogs diving and surfacing like dolphins to get through the powder. Back to you, intrepid team that you are, we wish you a smooth “moving house” day up to Camp 1. Onward!!
Hey, everybody. This is Casey Grom calling in from Cayambe and Chimborazo climb corn here in Ecuador. We're doing great down here today. We had a nice relaxing morning at Casa de Sol. We then headed into the center of Otavalo, close to where we are staying. Otavalo is one of the largest open air markets in all of South America. The team spent a little over an hour practicing their bartering skills and doing a lot of sightseeing all the local artisan goods they have for sale. After we felt like we had enough shopping done, we got in our van and we went out to lunch just a few miles down the road. Then we headed up a long and winding road that leads up the mountain where we hit Cayambe. There's two huts up here. There's a big one and a smaller one. Thankfully for us our outfitter was able to secure the smaller hut, which is nice. It sleeps about ten. The big hut is full tonight and sleeps about 40 to 50 people, so we are pretty thankful that we got the smaller hut. We just finished our dinner, and we're settling in for the night at the base of Cayambe. Everybody's doing well. We will give a check in sometime tomorrow afternoon and let you know the game plan for the summit. See you tomorrow.
RMI Guide Casey Grom
Sending all my best to Danny, and fearless leader Casey Grom and team. I took a quick peak at the weather and looks like there may be some heavy snow in your area, especially Monday night. Hope all is well and you will be able to stay on schedule. Everyone looks they have been enjoying themselves in the pictures. Stay strong for yourselves and each other! -Virginia
Hello from base camp!
It's Team Aconcagua reporting for blogging! Last night the winds were howling here at base. We woke up and the winds were still gusting and we had several snow squalls blowing through camp. It was a fairly easy decision for the team. We decided not to do our carry to camp one at 16200 feet.
Sure, you betcha, the team could have grit their teeth and made it to camp one. However, we are not in a hurry. We were planning on a second rest day at base camp anyways. Instead of sitting around though, we donned light packs and did an acclimatization hike to just above 15000 feet. The entire team is doing great! And despite the adversity we are all in good spirits.
It's now noon so Christina and I are cooking up some fresh veggies to go into our Plaza Argentina Potato Surprise. Thanks for checking in with us and keep you fingers crossed for nicer weather. We are hoping to carry food and gear to camp one tomorrow and then return for a last night in base camp.
Go Packers!!!
RMI Guides JJ Justman and Christina Von Mertens
Wishing you all a safe climb. Love hearing how it is going.
Chris, looking forward to seeing your great photos!
Posted by: Sally Schuler on 12/14/2015 at 12:23 pm
Glad to hear you’re all doing well! Sounds really cold up there, but I know you guys all dig that! Sending a shout out of “hello” to my pal Chris Villar. And hoping that you guys are all having a blast!
Posted by: Aaron Shumaker on 12/13/2015 at 12:15 pm
Hello again everyone!
Today the team left behind the hustle and bustle of Quito and moved just north of the Equator to the comfortable and quite rural countryside. Once outside the city limits the landscape quickly turned into rolling hills with farms pitched on steep slopes and dozens of small eucalyptus forest.
Our plan was to visit a smaller mountain called Fuya Fuya where we stretched our legs on a nice steep and short acclimatization hike. Thankfully the weather was nice, which allowed us to see some amazing views of the beautiful surrounding landscape.
We are just on the outskirts of a town call Otavalo, which is known for its massive market and we are currently relaxing at a wonderful hacienda called "La Casa Sol." The team is doing great and looking forward to nice quiet night here.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
Showers, movies, pate, and packing for the upper mountain. Today we are resting and organizing at Plaza de Argentina, the basecamp for Aconcagua. Everyone is feeling great indicated by full nights of sleep and healthy appetites. The basecamp amenities have surprised us all in excellent food and comfortable accessories. The mules headed back to the barn yesterday leaving us with much heavier loads of food, fuel, and warm layers to heave up this mountain. Everyone agrees that on this beautiful warm sunny day at 14,000 feet the best part is the company. We have a tremendous group of climbers who are all acclimatizing well and ready for a carry of gear tomorrow to Camp 1. Hello to all!
RMI Guide Christina von Mertens
Hello again everyone
Today we had a very nice hike to help with our acclimatization on a nearby peak called Pichincha. It is one of the many local peaks that is situated above Quito and is used by many climbers to help adjust to the higher altitude here in Ecuador. We made use of the gondolas to help us gain access to around 13,000 ft then hiked the additional 2,500 ft to the summit. It took our team roughly 3 hours to gain the top after a little scrambling up the final bit to reach our high point thus far. It was a personal high point for a few of us, and the entire team did a fantastic job. After spending a bit of time on the summit and getting are photos we descended all the back to our hotel for a brief nap before dinner.
Everyone is in good spirits and looking forward to tomorrow.
RMI Guide Casey Grom
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Christina wish I would be there with you on your climbing squad! Have a great time!
Posted by: Meredith on 12/15/2015 at 9:27 pm
Good job and good luck to the whole team! Way to go, John McFarlane! Keeping the drinks in your cup?
Posted by: Chris Colleran on 12/15/2015 at 7:20 pm
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