RMI Expeditions Blog
Posted by: Peter Whittaker, Jess Matthews
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Elevation: 12,000'
Our hopes for sunrise photos of Cotopaxi were dashed when we woke to a layer of low clouds blanketing the hillside. The upside was additional sleep and a leisurely start to the day with pancakes and coffee. Our mission for the day was some active rest after sleeping at a new altitude of almost 12,000’. Inspired by our caffeine intake, several of us jumped on the backs of a few horses. Fortunately, no injuries and no feelings hurt. Nacho, our Ecuadorian friend and guide, has been sharing his country with us the past couple days. We went on a cruise in his high country backyard and were introduced to some of his equine friends. Never really taken a rest break before with a small herd of horses. After we banked 1,500’ feet of vertical, tagging almost 13,000’, we once again finished the day with an equatorial downpour.
RMI Guide Jess Matthews
Posted by: JM Gorum, Hannah Smith, Avery Parrinello
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 16,200'
If today hadn’t been a rest day, it would have been a weather day. I have never seen snow so far down the valley before. It snowed well below basecamp, and almost to the Vacas River, where we were trying not to overheat in shorts just a few days ago. It looks like we’re in the clear as far as more precipitation goes, but it is still quite cold. I would say it’s Denali cold. Despite the mountains best efforts, we still managed a filling brunch of hash browns and cheesy eggs. I call it brunch because that sounds hip, but really it was just too windy and cold to cook breakfast any earlier.
After brunch, most of the day was spent hiding from the weather. When the sun was out, we could be outside moving around, but otherwise we were snuggled up. We’re planning on moving to Camp Two tomorrow, but if the weather is the same we will most likely just stay here. If it’s cold here, it’s colder there, and we’re still getting plenty of good acclimating done at 16,200 feet. The team sends their best from their cozy sleeping bags.
RMI Guides JM Gorum, Hannah Smith and Avery Parrinello
Posted by: Peter Whittaker, Jess Matthews
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Elevation: 15,100'
Sunday, January 6, 2019 - 7:30 pm PT
Another day, another volcano! We left the hustle and bustle of Quito this morning and eased into the beautiful, lush countryside of Ecuador. After a short drive to the base of Illinizas we parked at 12,800' and powered up to the hut at 15,100’. Beautiful weather on the ascent, not so much on the descent. Right as we reached the hut clouds began to swallow us up and we tucked inside for snacks and some hot tea. Shortly after, a cold rain gave us some extra motivation to get moving and it chased us downhill back to the trailhead. We wound our way back down the narrow (and bumpy!) cobblestone road along small family farms and pastures full of cows, llamas, horses and the occasional rogue pig. We threw it into park on the other side of the valley at Hacienda El Porvenir where we are tucked in for the night drying our gear in front of a crackling wood stove. Perfect. Hoping for clear skies in the morning and a front row sunrise view of Cotopaxi with coffee in hand. Buenas noches!
RMI Guides Peter Whittaker, Jess Matthews and Team
Posted by: JM Gorum, Hannah Smith, Avery Parrinello
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 16,200'
We got our first taste of weather today on the Stone Sentinel. It was pretty nice in the morning, with just a bit more breeze than we’ve been used to. We planned to be done with our carry and back at Camp 1 by the early afternoon to beat some forecasted weather. That forecast started to materialize as we climbed to 18,000 feet. We got slapped in the face a bit by the wind, and we were hit with some precipitation, but nothing we couldn’t suit up for and endure. We didn’t spend much time at Camp 2 today since there wasn’t much to see, and the weather wasn’t overly conducive to sunbathing.
Once again, everyone moved really well, up and down, and we were back at camp hiding from the wind by 1:30. The forecast called for snow this afternoon into tomorrow morning. I’ve never actually seen snow fall from the sky and stick to the ground in any appreciable amount here. It’s normally so dry and windy that all the snow just blows somewhere else. But, uh, it is sticking today. It is also blowing into every crevice of our tents, backpacks, and boots. Our trusty crocs are no longer appropriate footwear for lounging around camp. Thankfully we have a rest day tomorrow, so we should have plenty of time to de-snow everything. We’re all hunkered down and cozy for the night here at 16,200 feet. We’ll check in tomorrow, hopefully the sun will be out.
RMI Guides JM, Hannah & Avery
On The Map
Posted by: Peter Whittaker, Jess Matthews
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
And boom. We went to over 14,000' today. To be honest, gondola-assisted, but we still logged a few thousand human-powered vert. Warm sun, mild temps, and a calm, steady breeze from the east kept things comfortable. Clouds slowly built throughout the day as we ascended, but never threatened anything more than the occasional chilly gust. The bright orange Chuquiragua flowers, also known as the “the flower of the climber” that grows at over 9,000 feet, were in bloom along the trail and grew thicker as we ascended. We’ll take it as a good omen! Satisfied with our solid effort, we snacked and took in the panoramic views of Quito over 5,000’ below us from our perch on the flanks of Pichincha before heading back downhill.
Our team is strong and deposited valuable funds into the Cotopaxi acclimatization account today. More to come tomorrow as we venture further south through the Avenue of the Volcanoes!
RMI Guides Peter Whittaker, Jess Matthews and Team
Posted by: JM Gorum, Hannah Smith, Avery Parrinello
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 16,200'
We had perfect weather for our move today. From the time we got out of our tents, to the time we arrived at 16,200 feet we had blue skies, warm temperatures, and just enough of a breeze to keep us from getting sweaty. Everyone did extremely well, and we were relaxing in our tents by 1:30 pm. I took a nap, so I assume everyone else did as well. The only hiccup of the day occurred later in the afternoon when we realized that two of our tents were in a bit of a damp neighborhood. We took twenty minutes to move them, and any wetness that might have occurred was avoided.
The sun goes behind a ridge pretty early here, and once that happens it gets pretty cold. We hung out in the shade for as long as we dared, which wasn’t very long, and have all retreated to our sleeping bags at this point. If everyone still feels good tomorrow morning, we’ll carry to Camp Two.
RMI Guides JM Gorum, Hannah Smith and Avery Parrinello
On The Map
Posted by: JM Gorum, Hannah Smith, Avery Parrinello
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Not much to report from Aconcagua Base Camp today. We had a late breakfast, played some cards, and ate some pizza. It was another beautiful day living in our little tent city, with nary a cloud in sight. The occasional 30 mph gust would have us glancing towards our tents, making sure they were solidly anchored. Tomorrow we will leave the comforts of Base Camp behind, and start the climb in earnest. Everyone is excited to get moving. We’ll check in from Camp 1!
RMI Guides JM Gorum, Hannah Smith and Avery Parrinello
On The Map
Congratulations Clayton and Team!!! Seems it’s been quite a journey - looking forward to hearing all about it! So happy for you guys that you found the right conditions and window to summit Aconcagua - amazing!!!! Enjoy the final days of the journey!!!
Posted by: Whitney on 1/14/2019 at 3:43 pm
Happy climbing! We can’t wait to hear how it goes from base camp to camp 1. Stay safe, everyone! Hello to Andrew and Nik!
Posted by: Lynn L. Martin on 1/5/2019 at 6:01 am
Posted by: Peter Whittaker, Jess Matthews
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Elevation: 9,000'
After a long day of travel yesterday, we were re-energized this morning when we stepped outside the hotel to deep blue skies, brilliant equatorial sun, and temps in the mid 70s all at over 9,000’ here in Quito. We made our way high and low through the city excited to experience the colorful culture, friendly locals, and empanadas! We then ventured to the outskirts of Quito where we visited the site that gave the country its name - the equator! And since there’s never a bad time to snack, we hunted down a produce stand and stuffed ourselves with oritos, delicious sweet baby bananas widely grown here in Ecuador, and was soon followed by a delicious team dinner at an Ecuadorian restaurant. No, no one’s ordered guinea pig...yet.
What a great way to acclimatize for a 19,000 foot volcano!
RMI Guides Peter Whittaker, Jess Matthews and Team
Posted by: JM Gorum, Hannah Smith, Avery Parrinello
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 13,800'
The team was up before the sun hit camp for breakfast this morning. We filled our bellies with pancakes and eggs, and hoped that our bodies would turn those tasty morsels into uphill momentum. It seems like it worked, because everyone did an excellent job on today’s carry.
The carry to Camp One ends up being one of the longest days of the climb, second only to summit day. It is also our first day climbing above basecamp, and our first day with heavy packs. It is our first opportunity to really test ourselves on the mountain. Everyone passed the test with flying colors. We climbed to Camp One at 16,200 ft (that’s 2,400ft above basecamp), cached a bunch of food and gear, and hung out for about 45 minutes. There was not a cloud in the sky. The wind was blowing, but not maliciously. A calm day by Aconcagua standards.
What goes up must come down, and eventually we drew ourselves from our sunny perch to descend back to basecamp. The team did well on the ascent, but I am actually more impressed, and more excited, about how well they descended the mountain today. We moved back to basecamp in under two hours, everyone was under control, and everyone had energy left in the tank. People were even laughing, which doesn’t often happen during a descent of any portion of this mountain.
Tomorrow we’ve got a rest day. We’re going to eat a lot of food (gotta lock in those gains), probably nap a lot, and maybe eat some more food. Hasta mañana.
RMI Guides JM Gorum, Hannah Smith, and Avery Parrinello
On The Map
It’s a long time to be in the the cold and wind. Keep focused, summit bid coming soon!
Posted by: Brent Wolfe on 1/6/2019 at 9:15 am
Posted by: JM Gorum, Hannah Smith, Avery Parrinello
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 13,800'
We had breakfast at nine today, our latest of the trip. A casual start to a casual day here at 13,800 feet. Pancakes, eggs, and sausage were on the menu, and we ate until they stopped bringing food. After breakfast, we only had two more items on the agenda. The first of those items was organizing for our carry tomorrow. It didn’t take too long to divvy up group gear. Everyone will carry some amount of group food, fuel, or kitchen equipment tomorrow. This crew was surprisingly eager to grab their respective loads and get packed up, so we were done with task number two by early afternoon.
Task number three, dinner, wouldn’t be until 7, so we all had some time to kill. Lucky for us, basecamp is full of spectacles. Today’s spectacle was provided by an unfortunate member of another team. This particular person was using the bathroom, a common enough event here at basecamp. The uncommon part was that he dropped his phone into the pit toilet. The even more uncommon part was that he recovered it. Using a variety of garden tools and good old fashioned ingenuity, he was able to lift his device from the deepest, darkest depths that exist within walking distance of basecamp. In doing so, he provided entertainment for everyone nearby, and before we knew it, dinner was upon us.
Steak, potatoes, and some wine for good luck capped off the evening. With our final task of the day completed, we are now headed to bed. We’ll get up earlier tomorrow. We’ve got some actual work to do now.
RMI Guides JM Gorum, Hannah Smith, Avery Parrinello
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Go Team!
You’re doing so great! I’m so proud of you (you know who you are)! You’ve worked so hard for this. We’re all watching and I believe in you!
Xo Your MP
Posted by: MP on 1/7/2019 at 5:48 pm
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