RMI Expeditions Blog
Posted by: Dustin Wittmier, Taylor Bickford
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mexico
Elevation: 13,100'
Our attempt on La Malinche yesterday was turned just above treeline, but we still attained our goal of getting some mileage and elevation in. The National Park Police were stopping all groups from continuing, citing recent weather trends (afternoon thundershowers). My assessment of the weather differed from theirs, but their stern faces projected a certain air of authority.
The team is on the road again this morning, this time from the La Malinche resort to Altzomoni. On previous trips with the same bus driver, Augustín, there was a Shania Twain album stuck in the CD player. However, that problem has been rectified and this morning we are getting re-acquainted with 90's and early 2000's hip hop and R&B.
We will make a quick pit stop in Amecameca for snacks and water before heading to the Paso de Cortes. The anticipation is growing for our first big objective, Iztaccíhuatl (Ixta). Given the weather we have observed for the past couple of days, it appears to be shaping up for a great climb!
On The Map
Posted by: Dustin Wittmier, Taylor Bickford
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mexico
Elevation: 7,300'
Yesterday the remaining members of our team arrived here in Mexico City. I am happy to report that all people and bags are accounted for. If the same can be said at the end of this trip we'll call it a success.
This morning we met for breakfast at 7am in the "Bird Room" of the Hotel Geneve. The food here is classic Mexican fare done right and includes all the papaya you can eat. The only downside is that a person spends half their time at breakfast trying to wave down another cup of coffee, which seems to be the case in all of Mexico.
We are now on the bus headed for La Malinche and so the traverse of the southern portion of the Central Mexican Plateau begins. The group is looking forward to getting up high and truly starting the acclimation process. An attempt on the summit of La Malinche can often be thwarted by local weather patterns (heavy rain and lightning), but with any luck we may be standing on top this afternoon. Stay tuned for updates!
Posted by: Eric Frank, Jenny Konway
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mexico
After all of yesterday's excitement, the team gathered for a celebratory dinner followed by margaritas, then went to bed. We slept hard after a long day's work and greatly enjoyed the comforts of our Tlachichuca amenities. This morning we were awakened by the crows of many local roosters, letting us know it was time to head home. We drank our hot coffee and ate delicious frittatas, then loaded the bus and headed for the airport. We said our goodbyes and headed off to our gates, feeling like we'd been together in Mexico for much longer than just nine short days.
Thanks again for following along and we hope you've enjoyed sharing the journey with us!
Good morning. This is RMI Guide Eric Frank from the summit of Pico de Orizaba. We are enjoying the views looking out over the valley in Mexico. A little cloud cover is creeping Into The Valleys, but we are about 1,000 feet above it up here. It’s been a really nice morning of climbing, a little cold and a little windy, but we were able to get it done nevertheless. We are going to hang out for a few more minutes then get packed up and have a safe descent. Then we will go down and celebrate what's been a great week of climbing.
RMI Guide Eric Frank calls from the summit of Pico de Orizaba.
On The Map
Oh what a difference 24 hours makes! Last night the Mexico climbing team was at dinner enjoying mole, drinking tequila and recalling our climb on Ixta. Tonight we find ourselves at the refugio below Orizaba repacking our bags and preparing for an alpine start.
Tomorrow looks promising for us. The weather is good, the team is strong and reports say that the route is in good condition for a late season ascent. With any luck we look forward to reporting in tomorrow morning from the summit!
RMI Guides Eric Frank and Jenny Konway
Posted by: Eric Frank, Jenny Konway
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mexico
Thursday, February 20th at 9:07 pm PT
Today the team enjoyed a well deserved rest day in the beautiful city of Puebla. After enjoying breakfast together at the hotel, we all went our separate ways and wandered the city streets, taking in the views and enjoying everything from fresh squeezed juices to fried grasshoppers. At 7pm, we met up at one of our favorite restaurants for a team dinner, where we tasted some of Mexico's finest moles, a sauce unique to this area. We followed this up with a quick trip to the ice cream stand, just down the street, then headed to our hotel's rooftop patio to take in the evening views. We're headed off bright and early tomorrow morning to start our move to basecamp for our Orizaba climb. Everyone is excited and ready for the next leg of the trip.
Posted by: Mike King
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Torres del Paine
We concluded our nine day trek through Torres del Paine National Park with an 6 am start to get up to the Towers of Paine before the crowds arrived. The hike was 12 miles round trip with 3,900’ of elevation gain. Once at the towers we had cold wind, mostly clear skies for some good pictures. We saw a condor soaring around the cirque, we saw social media influencers doing acrobatic yoga, we saw someone fall into the glacial lake from trying to pose like an influencer and most of all we capped off a great trip with a nice brisk hike. The trio self named the “base layer boys” lead the charge up with our Chilean guide Fernando and once back at the hostel we packed up and are now back in Puerto Natales for the night. A few hour drive to Punta Arenas tomorrow morning and this fun trip will be done. We laughed a lot, ate great food, took lots of pictures and have some sore legs and feet. Guess that’s the price you pay to be in such an amazing location. We are going to celebrate with one last pizza dinner before the group disperses tomorrow. Thanks for following along.
Hi, this is RMI Guides Jenny Konway and Eric Frank calling in from the summit of Ixtaccihuatl with a full team. We reached the summit at 7:45 this morning. We are hanging out, taking some photos and we'll head back down soon. The team is psyched.
RMI Guide Jenny Konway calls from the summit of Ixtaccihuatl.
On The Map
Our day started with a 7am wake-up call, followed by hot coffee, eggs and some of the best papaya we'd ever had. While we enjoyed our breakfast, we took in the view, as Popocatepl put on a show for us, spewing large clouds of ash and smoke into the morning sky.
We finalized our packing, loaded our gear into the van and headed to the trailhead to start our hike to high camp. The team did a great job, arriving at high camp in good spirits and in good time. After setting up tents and getting moved in, we all took a well deserved break before coming together for dinner. Once we'd had our fill of soup and quesadillas, we discussed our plan for tomorrow's ascent, said good night and headed to bed.
Wish us luck as we head out tomorrow for our hopeful summit of Ixtaccihuatl!
Posted by: Mike King
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Torres del Paine
We finished our last day of hiking with the big packs. Last night was a windy and wet night down near Lago Nordenskjold. The Dones flexed, the tents shook and the trees thrashed about. For an area so infamous for stormy weather our team has lucked out. We hung out at the Refugio until the rain stopped and sunshine appeared. The winds would stay with us all day as we walked 14 km to Refugio Torre Central. The trail was a running creek at times and aside from some rocky bluffs to walk up and descend we cruised in just as the rain started back again. There is a lot of new snow up high and aside from watching some harriers play in the gusting wind the coolest views were the white caps and walls of wind blown spray moving like clouds across the lakes. Tomorrow concludes our 9 day trek of the “O” and “W” circuits. We’ll head out early to see the actual towers that gives this park it’s name and then head for Puerto Natales.
Climb High Dustin! All the best to you and the team! I will be following along.
Posted by: Farmer Dave on 3/2/2020 at 3:10 am
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