Entries from Expedition Dispatches
We woke this morning to a quiet refugio but that didn't last long... The weekend hordes of locals would soon overwhelm the small refugio and unfortunately for us, the weather wasn't really cooperating for our planned day of training up on the glacier. Despite gusts to 50 mph and sideways drizzle we geared up and tried to make our way up towards the glacier. We didn't last long. After making our way up some 600 or 700 feet we were getting blasted by even stronger winds and getting wet to boot. We pulled the plug and headed back for cover, ultimately using a rock ridge for some protection. It was barely enough for us to get the training in we'll need for tonight's attempt at the Cayambe summit. Luckily, the wind is backing off a bit along with the crowds of day visitors and we are hoping both trends continue and allow us to make an honest crack at the summit.
I'll check in tomorrow evening and let ya'll know how it went,
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
On The Map
It's like no one else is on this giant mountain. We are alone. Don't mistake that for being lonely, the team is having fun and the bonds the mountain brings grows even stronger. However, there is not another team in sight! Rare.
Our Aconcagua team left Camp 1 this morning and we decided to move up to Camp 2 at 18,000 feet. Everyone as usual did a great job. Our oxygen sats are high and our spirits are even higher. Our plan now is to take a well deserved rest day tomorrow.
Someone told me the panthers are in the Super Bowl? Carolina has a football team!?
Go Broncos!!!
RMI Guides JJ Justman and JM Gorum
On The Map
Hi there, Mike,
We went to the Lee Co.Community Band Concert at 3:00 on Sat, then went to look at the tornado damage before heading for the Sieferts’ Super Bowl party. Brought Apple Streudel, two boxes of football brownies, and a case of Coke Zero. Had a great time;everyone asked about you. As you know our Carolina Panthers lost; Cam Newton didn’t do much. So glad that you will ascending the summit tomorrow rather than Sat. Brrr! Love reading J.J.Justman’s blog.
Happy climbing
Mom and Dad
Posted by: Joan and Spence Vigneau on 2/9/2016 at 2:06 pm
It was an awesome game. Great defense on Broncos and they pummeled Cam Newton several. times. I was still a little sad though my Packers were not in it. I know Cheese head. LOL. Hope all of you are doing well and wish you the best of luck on your summit bid.
I am so looking forward to doing this climb or a Denali climb in the next couple of years. Will be doing Rainier next year, and then Denali or this one the year after.
Posted by: Kevin Stone on 2/8/2016 at 6:30 am
Saturday, February 6, 2016
After a light breakfast at the Casa del Sol we headed down to find a bustling Otavalo Saturday market. We cruised around town shopping for souvenirs, avoiding kids hellbent on silly string annihilation, and finished up our Otavalo experience with a nice lunch in the main square. After that we left town and headed for the hills under the guidance of Victor, our fearless driver. The road to Cayambe isn't in the best shape these days and despite massive potholes and some pretty steep switchbacks for a bus Victor was able to deposit us about 30 minutes shy of the refugio. After our short walk, we settled into our accommodations in the refugio and enjoyed a hot drink. The evening brought us to dinner (pork chops!) and knot session to lay the foundations for more skill training to come.
Cozy above 15,000',
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
On The Map
Hope you art all four pork chops. Meat sweats are a critical component of good acclimatization.
Posted by: Bunny Lebowski on 2/7/2016 at 12:35 pm
Hi Poppy I love you Its Olivia
Posted by: Olivia on 2/7/2016 at 11:19 am
We'll folks... This is JJ Justman and our Aconcagua team reporting from Camp 1 at 16,400 feet. We are moving in! This dispatch will be brief as there is much work to be done. However, everyone is doing great and we are the only team up here!! We are going to get busy recovering. I believe some hot soup and extra cheesy quesadillas are in order! Tonight...pizza!! Shhh...don't tell the team, it's a surprise.
RMI Guides JJ Justman & JM Gorum
On The Map
Chillin' at Casa del Sol...
Well, we enjoyed another great day down here in Ecuador with a nice hike, good weather and good company. After meeting our local alpine guide David and an early departure from Quito we made our way to the north towards our acclimatization objective Cerro Fuya Fuya, but also Otavalo, and most notably Cayambe. While the clouds prevented us from peeping Cayambe while on Fuya Fuya, we were still able to enjoy views from the summit of the surrounding volcanic caldera and the large lake below. The whole team moved well and enjoyed the day out and about. We're now posted up at a beautiful guesthouse up above the city of Otavalo called Casa del Sol, enjoying a beer and waiting for dinner. Tomorrow, however, the real adventure begins as we make our way up towards Cayambe...
More to come!
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
On The Map
Team Chapman is hoping Jason is having a great time! Enjoy! We love you!
Posted by: Team Chapman on 2/7/2016 at 7:20 am
Today is another rest day at base camp. Yes, I would love to make this dispatch invigorating, full of excitement. However, I'm not a magician. I'm a mountain guide.
JM and I treated the team to our world famous Aconcagua Egg Hash Scramble this morning. Now, we are chilling, reading magazines and Kindles, and snacking more on fresh fruit. It's a lazy day in camp and we are enjoying it before we move up to camp one tomorrow.
Stay tuned!
RMI Guides JJ Justman and JM Gorum and team
On The Map
Posted by: Seth Waterfall
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Well, we are closing out another great day on safari. The main difference today is that we are all going home instead of staying in a hotel.
It's been a marvelous trip made exceptional with a very successful Kilimanjaro Climb and Safari. We had great animal viewing everyday and today we were up close with more elephants, giraffes and two female lions. It's just been non stop action for almost two weeks.
We will be having one last meal together before leaving for the airport in about an hour and a half. Then it's a long set of flights for everyone on our way back to the US.
Both of my Kilimanjaro climbs and safaris have been really special which is 100% due to the fun folks that joined RMI, and to the Dik Dik staff that goes way above what you could expect out of an in-country outfitter.
Thanks everyone!
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
February 3, 2016
Welcome to a series of dispatches from our most recent expedition seminar in Ecuador! This morning we officially met for the first time as a team and enjoyed a nice breakfast at our hotel before heading out on a cultural tour of Quito, Ecuador's capital city. We started off our sightseeing with a visit to the geographic equator and an interesting sort of a natural history museum at the same site. We saw all sorts of cool stuff like enormous anaconda skins, crazy spiders, a spiny Amazonian fish that will swim up your urethra, and even a real human shrunken head from the jungles of eastern Ecuador. Crazy stuff. We spent the afternoon visiting the old town of Quito which is a Unesco World Heritage site with many buildings dating back to the 1500's. Lots of cool churches were visited and we learned about Ecuador's tumultuous political history as we saw the sights with our local cultural guide Angel. We've got a great group of guys and we are all excited to get out tomorrow and feel a little altitude. Although, it could be said we're starting out acclimation process right here in Quito, hanging out at just over 9,000'.
Talk tomorrow...
February 4, 2016
We woke today to broken clouds and another lovely morning here in Quito. Jaime, our local man with a plan (he's our coordinator for nearly everything we'll do) decided to join us on our climb of Rucu Pichincha just for fun. After a quick taxi ride over to the Teleférico and a scenic ride up the gondola we began our approach towards Pichincha's rocky summit through gentler, but beautiful green mountains. Our team moved well for the most part despite feeling the acute burn of our first serious dose of altitude. The summit block involved a bit of easy scrambling but before long the team found themselves on the summit, albeit in a sea of clouds. Still, we were able to catch a few glimpses of the active part of Pichincha's caldera, la Pichincha Guagua and down to the buildings of Quito filling the valley far below. We celebrated our last night in Quito with a great pizza dinner and are all looking forward to getting outta town tomorrow on our way eventually to Cayambe in the north.
Later!
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
Booted up and ready to go! So says Team Aconcagua. Actually, our boots are already off! We just returned to base camp after a successful, secret, covert operation aptly named, "Carry to Camp One".
The team did great and how couldn't they? We were blessed with sunny skies and calm winds! An absolutely gorgeous day to acclimatize to 16,400 feet. We are now snacking on cucumber/tomato/avocado salad and sipping cokes, Tour de France style!
Everyone here says hello to family and friends. Tomorrow we will take a well deserved rest day to maximize the recovery benefits of base camp before we are moving on up to the big leagues!
RMI Guides JJ Justman and JM Gorum
On The Map
Waltz ! Enjoy your last rest day and get ready to conquer that mountain ! We didn’t win power ball either !
Posted by: Bernie on 2/4/2016 at 6:51 pm
I can only imagine all the hard work and planning that has gone into a trip like this. You all should be proud. Great accomplishments from hard working young men and women.
Posted by: Sandra Blake on 2/4/2016 at 12:23 pm
Posted by: Seth Waterfall
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Hey there. This is Seth calling in from Kikoti Camp way on the far side of Tarangire National Park in Tanzania. We are on the last part of our trip here. Today on safari was great with lots of elephants very close to the car and plenty of other stuff to see in Tarangire. Weather was really clear today. No rain insight for us that's for sure. About 90 degrees in Tarangire and totally clear skies almost all day long. We're going to all meet up for dinner around 7:00 for our first evening celebration as a team. Tomorrow we'll get up fairly early to head back into the city of Arusha back to the Dik Dik Hotel. We'll have one more dinner together tomorrow night before we all head to the airport to be on the same flight out on KLM at about 10:00 tomorrow night. Closing in our last day of the trip. It's been great. Not sure if everybody wants to leave but we are getting back to the USA. I'll check in when we are heading out to the airport from the Dik Dik Hotel.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
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RMI Guide Seth Waterfall calls in from Kikoti Camp, Tarangire National Park.
Happy Birthday SPS!!! We L and M!!!! Enjoy yourself!!!!
Posted by: Team Chapman on 2/8/2016 at 8:39 am
Happy Birthday Jason!!!! Love, mom and dad
Best wishes to the team for a safe and successful climb!!
Posted by: Esther Chapman on 2/8/2016 at 5:57 am
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