It has been a nice leisurely day here at Aconcagua Base Camp. We started out the day by putting a good dent in the 72 eggs we brought in, yummy. The majority of our day was spent gearing up for a load carry to Camp 1 tomorrow. On these expedition style climbs we take a portion of our food and equipment up and cache it, then we return back to Base Camp. It is just too much to carry in one push since we stay for an extended period up high on the mountain it also helps our bodies to acclimatize. We took a short hike after lunch in big boots with light packs to fine tune our systems for a smooth ascent tomorrow. Our team is looking good. All is well here in the high country.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
We were up early to catch the mule shuttle across the Vacas River. We could have waded across but that would have been a painfully cold start to our day. When do you get to be a cowboy in Argentina anyway? It made for some great photos. It took us a bit over six hours of climbing in beautiful weather to arrive here at Aconcagua Base Camp. We are settled in. All of our gear is here and in good shape. It resembles the team, good shape that is. Another fine meal and a warm sleeping bag; it just doesn't get anymore basic or nice. All is well.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
We had a beautiful night and a gorgeous day here on our trek into Aconcagua. We bid farewell to RMI Guide Mike King and team this morning. Great work by all of them and what a job Mike and his crew did on their successful summit. Congratulations!
We had some scattered clouds and not much wind, which made for a very nice trek of eight miles to our new camp, Casa Piedra, at almost 11,000 feet. Fresh chicken over pasta and salad for dinner with a big bottle of Sprite to wash it all down. In the morning we will have an early river crossing with the help of our mule team. This will make for a nice start to the day. It will be a big day but no problem for this group of hearty souls as they all continue to do well. Basecamp here we come!
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Our departure went as planed today from Los Penitentes. There was a bit of final packing, then a quick transfer to the park gate of Aconcagua National Park. With our permits in hand we hit the trail. Today did not provide a lot of altitude gain but we did travel about eight miles to our first trek camp, Pampa de Las Lenas. Some high clouds throughout the day kept the heat down and upon arrival at camp it started to rain intermittently.
Tonight we are excited to share camp with the RMI Team led by Mike King who reached the summit on Friday and is now on their descent. Both teams were treated to a local barbecue, asado, by our mule team drivers. They do a very nice grill of various meats and treats. We are all doing well and enjoying camp life.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
The team woke to cold and snowy conditions at High Camp...normal Aconcagua conditions, just not what we experienced this expedition. We had some gear to pick up at our previous camps, but finally got down to base camp for some much earned beverages and a delicious dinner. We will walk to Leñas, our first trek campsite for the infamous asado...Chapstick application is key to enjoying the grilled carne after being in the Alta Montana for the last two weeks. The moon is newer then our trek in so the stars/Milky Way dust will be in full effect, my favorite place to sleep under the stars. This is our final dispatch of the trip, thanks for the comments.
Get down to Leñas next climbing season for the best steak this side of the Galaxy and a bid at the highest peak in South America!
RMI Guides Mike King, Jess Matthews & Nick Scott
Thank you Mike, Jess and Nick, for all the post. It really is a comfort to hear about the group and daily postings. I must admit hearing about high temperatures and snow was hard to grasp at first.
Great to hear they had reached the top and now to hear they will be on their way home. Thank you for leading this group to safety.
Posted by: Donna Bernier on 1/14/2018 at 8:44 am
Congratulations team! You have so much to be proud of. Enjoy the well deserved showers and food. Safe travels home brother Dave love Jul
Great news! The team has now received all of our bags and we are ready to hit the trail... tomorrow!
We checked in with the Aconcagua National Park Service to secure our climbing permits before leaving Mendoza. After gathering one more delayed bag, we made the three hour drive to Los Penitentes. We had plenty of time to re-arrange our gear and get it ready for the mule loads. Now after a great dinner, we are ready for our comfortable hotel and really looking forward to that pillow. Jet lag sucks. The team is doing great and we are having a good time.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Hello from Argentina!
The team all arrived in Mendoza, minus a couple of bags. We all got acquainted at our first meeting; sharing some stories and giving some background. After a fantastic meal we are well fed and ready for some rest. It will be a big day tomorrow- permits, more shopping and transfer up into the Andes.
Our next stop should be at around 9,000 feet. But first, the missing bags must arrive, which could show up tomorrow. Then we will finish our gear check and move forward with the adventure ahead. Everyone is A-OK.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Update from Mike King at 10:30 am PT:
If you haven't listened to my hypoxic voicemail from today, you should know that we stood on top of Aconcagua, 22,841' around 1pm local time. The climbers are back in camp trying to avoid these late afternoon snow/heat waves...ya doesn't sound fun does it? The climb had wind, snow, heat, drifted snow in the trail and lots of other parties attempting the summit. I'll leave the details from the summit day for your loved ones to tell...but the guides are in agreement, one of the harder days we've had in the mountains. Tomorrow we will start our downward retreat to the thick air of base camp.
Summit call transcription:
Hey, this is Mike with the RMI Aconcagua Team. We are standing on top of Aconcagua, the highest mountain outside of the Himalaya. The team did well, we had a really cold morning, probably about 25 mph winds in the face for the first several hours. Now we are sitting up here, we could be in jeans shorts and tank tops. The team did well and we're going to hang out here and take some photos. Then we still have to descend. We will call in or send a dispatch once everyone is safe back at camp. Thanks for following along. Everyone sends their best.
RMI Guide Mike King
RMI Guide Mike King calls from the summit of Aconcagua.
Well, we pulled the trigger and moved to Cholera located at 19,600'. We decided to skip a rest day in exchange for 2 'active' rest days. The Team moved up with the bear necessities to establish camp and summit Aconcagua! We were on our feet for only three hours so the remainder of the day has been R&R. This morning was the coldest of the trip with beautiful clear skies and a 10-15 WNW wind that kept us cooler then yesterday's sweat locker. Other teams have been coming down from the summit so the track is kicked in which will make for great climbing.
Everyone is doing great, some nervous energy but that is to be expected the day before attempting the highest mountain outside the Himalaya. We are about ready to feast on hot summer sausage cheese quesadillas and soup before doing a little pre-packing and talking summit day expectations and plan of action. Hopefully we will be calling in from the summit tomorrow. The Team is getting their final pep talk from your blog comments tonight, thanks for the encouraging words and being apart of this wonderful expedition with such a stellar crew!
RMI Guide Mike King
Wow! It's was one of the hottest days above 18,000'! We had 4 inches of snow starting yesterday evening that tapered off by 9 pm. The 1,600 vertical feet to high camp took us up a snowy moraine and into a series of switchbacks that terminate below a complex of white rock towers. The camp is named after the fierce winds that plague this part of the mountain...Camp Cholera. We could have used a fraction of that wind today to cool down the Team and maybe prevent the roofs of our mouths from getting sunburned due to the heavy panting brought on by altitude and heat.
The Team got in a small cache and now comes the difficult decision of when to attempt the summit. The weather models are showing increasing winds on Saturday with Sunday winds being high enough that maintaining camp will be difficult. Our current plan is to move up Friday but a move tomorrow is not out of the question in favor of lighter winds and snow and hopefully higher summit success. It's snowing again, we've been able to set out watches by the afternoon snow fall.
Regardless of what happens, the effort today has the guides feeling optimistic for the Team to boot up and meet the challenge. Thanks for following along.
RMI Guide Mike King & Team
Virg - talked to Dad, Nora & Joe and we are all cheering you and the team on. I hope things went well today. Joe went snowboarding, Nora printed out W’2s, Dad went to Harbor Freight and I read one of the books you got me for Christmas. Well l’m sure your day was more exciting. Love, Mom❤️
Posted by: Barbara(mom) on 1/11/2018 at 4:02 pm
So glad to hear you’ve made a carry to the high camp! I’m sure you’re anxious to keep moving higher. We can’t wait to hear the tales from the trail. Much love and stay safe!
I can only imagine how the excitement must be building for each and everyone of you.
Posted by: Geri Kuehn on 1/18/2018 at 2:41 pm
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