Entries from Locations
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Ben Luedtke, Daniel May
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 16,200'
Good evening loyal readers,
Today was our rest day. These days can be tough mentally as the day creeps by slowly. A lot of reading, listening to podcasts, and music, watching TV shows, and simply looking at our surroundings to pass the time. The winds stayed calm for most of the day making for a toasty sit in the tents. Tomorrow the winds are supposed to ramp up which could make our move to Camp 2 a little sporty. Everyone is excited for the move because it gets us 1600' closer to the top. We are all tucked into our sleeping Bags ready for some sleep so we can walk uphill.
Buenos noches,
RMI Guides Hannah, Ben, Dan, and Team
100% of our team reached the summit of Ixtaccihuatl this morning!
Everyone’s training and perseverance paid off. Not everyday do the mountains provide us with the right conditions but today the mountain granted us safe passage to the summit and back.
Not only were we able to climb, our early start was rewarded with a beautiful sunrise and clear views of a magnificent Popocatépetl erupting just across from us.
After a long day of climbing we travel to Puebla for showers, a comfortable bed, and of course, mole.
We moved to our high camp on Ixta today!
Despite our packs heavy with climbing gear and tents, we moved through the rocky terrain easily, enjoying the views of the route, Popo, and the valleys below us- stretching as far as the eye can see. With La Malinche under our belts, we are all feeling good at 15,400 feet and prepared for our climb early tomorrow.
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Ben Luedtke, Daniel May
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 18,000'
Hola Family and Friends!
What a day it was. After waking up from a night of heavy wind gusts and having breakfast, we took a few extra minutes sipping our (dulce de leche) coffee to allow the winds to calm down and the sun to get higher in the sky. Feeling warmed up, we did some last-minute packing, doublechecked the tie downs on our tents and headed up to Camp 2, AKA Guanacos 3, for our carry day. As we crisscrossed on rocky and snowy terrain, we took in our first amazing views of Cerro Ameghino. Once we passed through the saddle, we began the long traverse below the Polish glacier, and enjoyed more amazing views of the Andes Mountain range to the north.
Arriving at camp, we took the time to take pictures, unload our packs, and headed downhill back to Camp One. With our bellies full of quesadillas, we are currently weathering more winds and looking forward to a well-earned rest day tomorrow.
RMI Guides Hannah, Ben, Dan, and Team
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poO2BsVGdIU
Posted by: Terry Reilly on 1/18/2023 at 9:11 am
Posted by: Dustin Wittmier, Henry Coppolillo
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Yesterday, ALL TEAM MEMBERS AND GUIDES reached the summit of Cayambe around 6am EST. For those of us living in or around Seattle, we felt accomplished having completed such a hard activity before we would normally even be awake. Most climbers were back to the refugio by about 8am, a very speedy descent. Route conditions were ideal on Cayambe, when you would step out of the trail it was just a light dusting of snow on top of a supportable crust, meaning there was very little plunging, and the crampons would bite into the hard surface during the cold night. Although the route is in great shape, this is always a challenging mountain. At 18,500’ the route ascends a steep headwall for about 300 vertical feet before passing through crevassed terrain. Additionally, sleeping above 15,000’ for two nights and then going to nearly 19,000’ on day seven of an expedition is a quick jump in altitude and everyone seemed to handle it well. Now we turn our sights towards Antisana.
On our way to Antisana we are staying in two different haciendas. Last night we were at the rustic Guachala, which was built in the early 1500s. It has it’s charm and is steeped in local history; we also enjoyed a quiet dinner and breakfast under the watchful eye of the two house dogs, always hoping for a scrap. This morning we packed up and got ourselves closer to Antisana. We are using the beautiful yard at Casa Ilayaku to learn skills for our next climb (tent setup and running belays) as well as more expedition skills for future endeavors. Tomorrow we will go to Antisana basecamp via 4x4 vehicles and spend the night in tents before taking our shot at the summit.
RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier
Hey Dustin and Team! This is all Great to hear. Keep looking up! All the best to you!
Farmer Dave
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 1/18/2023 at 3:20 am
We awoke to another beautiful and clear morning, perfect for our active rest day. After enjoying some street tacos and meeting with our local guide we hopped back in the van to travel to Paso de Cortez. From here our team left the van to walk to La Joya- our camp for the night. Along the trail we soaked in the sun and surrounding nature. It was relaxing compared to our long climb yesterday! Tonight, we trade the comforts of hotels for tents as we prepare for our ascent to High Camp tomorrow.
Posted by: Ben Luedtke, Hannah Smith, Daniel May
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 16,200'
Hola amigos!
This morning we bid farewell to our fellow RMI team as they headed back down the Relinchos Valley, one day closer to civilization. We on the other hand shouldered our heavy packs and began our move to Camp 1 at 16,000ft. Blue skies and a light breeze accompanied the team up toward camp. We arrived in good style, feeling and looking good, happy to be making our way to the upper mountain. The night ended with our very own high altitude rendition of Pad Thai. The sun dipped below the ridgeline, the wind picked up, and we all took the cue and retreated to our warm sleeping bags. An early night's rest will do wonders for our carry to camp 2 (Guanacos 3) tomorrow!
Cheers!
RMI Guides Hannah, Ben, Dan and the team
Hey Hannah! Best wishes for Strength and perfect weather for your climb!
Farmer Dave
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 1/17/2023 at 8:15 am
How excited you must all be!
Posted by: Peter Darasz on 1/17/2023 at 5:25 am
Posted by: Dustin Wittmier, Henry Coppolillo
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Elevation: 18,997'
100% summit success on Cayambe!
The team is now looking forward to a day of rest and relaxation before heading towards Antisana.
Photos and a more interesting blog forthcoming
RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier
That is SO Awesome Dustin!! Congratulations to you and your team!!!
Farmer Dave
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 1/17/2023 at 8:12 am
Ahh!!! That’s amazing! Congratulations, everyone! <3 So appreciative of the blog updates :)
Posted by: Hannah on 1/16/2023 at 8:40 pm
The team had an early start to the day, leaving Mexico City and driving to our acclimatization hike.
We began our ascent at 10,000 feet, weaving our way through the forest until we were greeted with a view of the snowy North face of La Malinche. Despite the snow up high, it was a beautiful and warm day to stretch our legs.
Our team had a successful summit of La Malinche (14,640 feet) that was made perfect by views of Ixta, Orizaba and even an erupting Popo.
Spirits are high as we prepare for Ixta in the coming days!
-RMI Guide Abby Westling and Team
Looks amazing
Posted by: Nancy Elser on 1/16/2023 at 9:08 am
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Ben Luedtke, Daniel May
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 13,800'
Good evening readers,
After a high effort day of carrying to Camp One, the team enjoyed our last rest day at Basecamp. cups of coffee were enjoyed as the sun warmed up camp. Today was a leisure day. Time was spent watching TV shows, reading books, chatting with teammates, and showers. We also sorted gear for the move to Camp One. We don't want to be too heavy when we head back downhill, so luxury items like sweatpants, jeans, sweatshirts, need to stay behind.
A highlight of the day was welcoming the other RMI team back to Basecamp. We got useful information about the route and conditions and now feel ready to have our go at the upper mountain. Tomorrow, we say bye to the wonderful basecamp staff that have been taking good care of us and move to Camp One.
We are ready and excited to progress up this mountain.
Adios,
RMI Guides Hannah, Ben, Dan, and Team
We love seeing your photos and updates. As you approach 22,000+ ft, all of us in Ann Arbor (861 ft at our house) are cheering for you and wishing the team our best. Have fun!
Posted by: Janice Lieberman on 1/16/2023 at 11:26 am
Hey Hannah! Strength & Stamina & Great weather wishes to you and your team!
Farmer Dave
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 1/19/2023 at 3:40 am
Buenas Suerte! Keep the news coming! Everyone acclimating well? Sounds like it. I recently (September ‘22) visited a brother in Taos, NM and did a trail half marathon starting and ending at the Ski Valley(9300 feet -11,400) . I sure would love the opportunity to try an adventure like Aconcagua! Cheers.
Posted by: Terry Reilly on 1/18/2023 at 4:54 pm
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