Entries from Expedition Dispatches

Monday, January 17, 2022

What a crazy 36 hours! We arrived at Aconcagua Camp 1 excited for the true expedition to begin, but little did we know, the mountain had other plans. We crawled in our tents after dinner with moderate winds slapping the tent walls, but what began as moderate mountain winds soon grew into freight train roars. Gust after gust battered the tents as we scrambled to secure more guy lines and add more rocks to the anchors. What started as 40 mph gusts soon grew to 80 mph and greater! It felt as if the mountain was unhappy with our presence on its flanks. The wind was relentless all night, making the guide's job tireless as we constantly left the safety of our tent to check on the security of the others. No one slept a wink as we all constantly felt the need brace the walls of our tent as the roar of the train built high in the mountain and finally crashed angrily into our camp. As the sun rose, the wind flowed unabated but with less severity as it had throughout the night. With the light increasing we were able to survey the damage. One out of the three tents didn’t survive, but all climbers woke unscathed, albeit a little sleep deprived. Despite their experience, it was the guides whose tent was left broken and battered and who had to seek shelter in the emergency dome tent set up by our logistics company for just such an occasion. With the sun rising, the group sipped coffee with 1,000-yard stares until the caffeine kicked in and we were able to process what just happened. With a broken tent and the forecast changing for the worst, the mountain forced our hand. The guides made the tactical decision to retreat back to basecamp to regroup and pick up our spare tent we had left behind. However, this does not mean the adventure is over. We plan to rest where the air is thicker, wait out the bad weather, and continue on up the mountain in two days. Everyone is tired, but in good spirits after such a trying night on Aconcagua. Wind is what this mountain is famous for and it delivered in spades. Two nights of good sleep in basecamp will have us rested and ready to give it another go. Let’s just hope the mountain decides to let us pass.

RMI Guide Nick Scott

Monday, January 17, 2022

After a windy night with little sleep we awoke to a beautiful and sunny day. After a delicious breakfast we packed light packs to head up hill for an acclimatization hike. The wind lingered as we hiked and we remained bundled up even with the sun shining upon us. The air felt thin as we reached Aconcagua's Camp 1 at 5000m (16,000ft). After a quick lunch break the team was feeling good so we continued uphill for another hour to take full advantage of our day. Once we reached our high point we turned around and scooted downhill to a hearty meal of carne asado grilled by the porters. Tonight we hope to sleep like rocks.

RMI Guide Jack Delaney

Sunday, January 16, 2022

After a quick breakfast in the Hotel Geneve, we said goodbye to the bustling streets of La Zona Rosa at 07:40 to get some much needed time to acclimatize in preparation for the objectives that lie ahead. We were greeted with sunny skies and mild morning weather on our hike of La Malinche which tops out at 14,640. The trail was in good shape and feral dogs were good company at times. After moving into our Cabana and just missing the evening thunder and rain, we are on our way to enjoy an nice family-style meal of carne asada, complimented with hot sizzling veggies and queso to end a great first day.

RMI Guide Alan Davis

Monday, January 17, 2022 - 6:21 am PT

The last few members of the team are arriving back at the refugio after a successful summit of Cayambe!  It was a clear morning, but quite windy above 17,000’.  We will descend to Guachala today for some much needed rest before moving south towards Cotopaxi tomorrow.

Sunday, January 16, 2022 - 9:18 pm PT

On Sunday, we had an excellent day reviewing basic mountaineering skills on the glacier plus starting some advanced skills in the hut.  Currently we are 20 minutes into the climb and it is a clear, calm night.  Let’s hope it stays that way!

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier

Sunday, January 16, 2022  4:01 PM PST

After a rough first night at base camp because of the big jump in altitude, we started the day a little slow. We went for a nice casual walk to check out the local penitentes and breathe off the slight headaches that lingered from the night before. It was beautiful walking into the 15’ tall glacier spires. After lunch we got to work sprucing up our camp. The whole team worked really hard shoveling, hoeing, and raking the rock filled dirt into plush flat platforms for our tents. We will sleep better tonight partly because the tents will be more comfy and partly because making the tents more comfy was exhausting. Another beautiful day in the mountains with a great team!

RMI Guide Walt Hailes & Team

Sunday, January 16, 2021 - 11:18 AM PST

The team moved up to Camp 1 at Plaza Canada today, situated at 16,500 feet.  Our packs were noticeably lighter after carrying most of our gear up to camp a few days ago.  We quickly got settled in and shored our tents against the upcoming wind.  Everyone is happy to be above basecamp and starting our push towards the summit. 

RMI Guide Nick Scott & Team

Hola Amigos! It’s finally happened, we have arrived on the mountain! After some last minute packing and eating a lot of empanadas while we waited, we got a weather window and flew into Plaza de Mulas at 14,000 feet. It was one of the most scenic and incredible helicopter flights I’ve ever been on. We settled nicely into our Basecamp, where we will spend the next several days acclimatizing. We’re happy to be here and are going to bed with full bellies thanks to the amazing food and hospitality of the staff at camp.

RMI Guides Walt Hailes & Jack Delaney

Following a rainy day on Fuya Fuya yesterday, we were able to dry out and take hot showers at La Casa Sol.  We had the place to ourselves and enjoyed a quiet stay.  Today we spent a couple hours at the Otavalo Market, the largest outdoor craft market in South America.  It was a fun and slow way to start our day which included a bus ride and long 4x4 ride to the Cayambe climber’s hut.  The team is settled in for the night and we will train on the glacier tomorrow, reviewing basic climbing skills and learning how to build snow anchors.  Thanks for staying tuned and cross your fingers for good weather the next two days!

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier

After an impressive showing on our Carry Day we decided to let the group rest their weary muscles at before we begin our progression up the mountain. Lots of eating and sleeping are being done today at Basecamp before the meal quality decreases and the altitude does it’s best to rob you of valuable shut eye. I can definitely feel the excitement in the group as all of us are eager to move higher and test our mettle against the mountain. Send good vibes out to the weather gods for us. We are hoping for sunny skies and light winds from here on out. Two things Aconcagua does not provide often.

RMI Guide Nick Scott

Aconcagua 2022! Yes, it’s happening. Covid delayed this trip by a full year but we are all in Argentina, healthy, happy and ready to climb.
I must thank the hard work of Jeff, Autumn, Jack and Luke for working out all the logistics of my covid related delays and making sure that this trip didn’t stop before it ever got started. The whole team is now together in the town of Uspallata, spending tonight in a beautiful hotel a few miles outside Aconcagua National Park. If the weather report holds, we will fly to Base Camp mid-day tomorrow. But until then, we are enjoying more of the friendly people, tasty food and great wine of Argentina.
Our 3 Guardsman, Alden, Brett and Chip are raising money during our climb. We welcome everyone following along with our adventure and thanks for your support and generosity.

RMI Guides Walter Hailes & Jack Delaney