RMI Expeditions Blog
There was improvement all around when we checked weather this morning, but not enough to permit moving up yet. The clouds were almost gone, which seemed to fit with the forecast that high pressure was building, but there was still wind up high blowing big streamers of snow off the ridge overhead. In the below zero temps we work in down here, one just can’t get a whole lot safely done while walking into wind. But today’s winds were nothing like yesterday’s. We followed our familiar Low Camp rest day routine of alternating naps reading and feeding. We didn’t cut blocks or add to our snow walls today though... we’re finally feeling temporary, like we’ll leave this camp tomorrow. We checked in with Base Camp a couple of times today, as usual. Their weather was actually worse than ours and the climbers were still waiting for clearing to be able to fly back to Union Glacier.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
After a fun filled day touring around Quito yesterday, today was our first acclimatization hike. Our target Rucu Pichincha, a 15,696' extinct volcano. With sun breaks and patchy clouds the hike was a success, getting back to the hotel by 3 in the afternoon.
There was plenty of time for more exploring and shopping around Quito before the team had a good dinner at a local brewery.
RMI Guide Chad Gaffigan
On The Map
The weatherman was spot on. By morning there were wind sculpted space ship clouds stacked over all the peaks and the ridge above us began to sprout streamers of snow flying out into the air. Not a whole lot of choice for us but to stay put. The teams at high camp were able to get moving downward before things strengthened at midday. We greeted and congratulated our traveling companions as they did a quick reshuffle of their gear and got hauling sleds down to basecamp. And we went back to cutting snow blocks and building stout walls to protect our tents. Before long, the winds were visible reaching all the way down the fixed lines and it was blowing pretty hard -perhaps 40 or 50 mph- on the glacier just a few hundred meters from our camp. We’re considering ourselves quite lucky that it stayed relatively calm and even sunny in camp all day. The jealousy for the victorious teams that hit the narrow two day weather window perfectly has passed and we are now a little excited to have the entire mountain to ourselves. It feels a little more “Antarctic” in some way. What better way to commemorate that Antarctic feeling, than with burrito night in the cook tent.
We are each confident and motivated for climbing Mt. Vinson just as soon as the wind drops.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Hola from Ecuador!
The team arrived late last night after some very long flights. Today we started our day with a team meeting where we did our usual round of introductions to get to know each other and then discussed the game plan for our upcoming 11 day adventure here in Ecuador.
After the meeting we headed out on the town to explore this beautiful historical city with our local and very knowledgeable tour guide Angel. We first headed north to visit the Equator from which Ecuador gets its name, stopping by a museum that had a pretty interesting collection as well as some unique test that attempt to prove it’s the actual middle of the world.
Then we headed to the southern part of Quito to a big hill called La Panacia that over looks this beautiful city. Normally we get to visit the oldest part of Quito, but today is the Holiday celebrating the founding of Quito and many of the street were closed for the festival. So we opted for a visit to the Basilica, built in gothic style, and managed to climb nearly to the top, via the steepest stairs any of us had ever been on. Pretty cool to say the least!
We wrapped up the day with a quick gear check to make sure everyone has all the gear needed for our climbs. Then it was off to dinner at a nice restaurant where we were enjoyed getting to know each other better.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Ecuador crew
Definitely the nicest day of the trip so far. We spent it resting at Low Camp. Rest was welcome after the big effort yesterday, but the day would have been a bit more relaxing had we not received the news that the wind would come back tomorrow. Things worked out well for the other teams on the mountain. While we all climbed the fixed lines to High Camp yesterday, ours was the only group electing to carry and return to Vinson Low Camp. The others stayed up and went to the top today. Of course we are happy for them, but we’ll be truly happy when we’ve gotten equally lucky with a calm day of our own up high.
We enjoyed the profound quiet today, without people and without weather. We read and rested, cut a few snow blocks for walls and ate a few more meals in our kitchen tent. We’ll enjoy the late sun on the tents tonight and we’ll hope the weatherman and the weather have both had a change of heart by tomorrow.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
Finally, an all around nice weather day. We made good use of it, carrying food and gear all the way up to our 12,000 ft high camp and then returning to Low Camp. It felt great to walk out of camp at 1:50 PM with crampons on and an ice axe in hand. About thirty minutes into the day, we started up the “fixed ropes”. We gained about 2,500 vertical feet climbing straight up a steep snow slope while clipped in to lines anchored to the hill. While the slope isn’t vertical or even close to vertical, it is certainly steep enough to fall down. After about three hours on the wall, we topped out to walk on an easier angled glacier to high camp. We made it up in just over 5 1/2 hours. Views of the surrounding peaks were magnificent, but there was still a sea of cloud and fog shrouding most terrain under 9,000 ft. Crucially, it was calm and sunny at high camp as we rested for a few minutes and cached our supplies. The descent of the steep slopes took a little time, even with lighter packs. We were back into Low Camp by about 10:30. Dinner took us to 12:30, but of course it is a sunny night so the hour isn’t a problem.
Matt Brennan sends his best regards to Gayle Stafford’s reading class and to Karli L. He doesn’t have access to Instagram from down here, but he’ll be back in range when we hit South America.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
The sun WOULD have hit our tents at 10:40 this morning, but by that time there was a lot of cloud to get through. As forecast, it was good and windy pretty much everywhere except in our camp. We ate breakfast and hung out talking in the cook tent until midday, at which point a nap was due. We passed the day reading, digging, meditating, and kicking back. The winds above and around us quit in early evening -which was good- but the clouds had increased. It became a world of murk with the lightest of snow falling... the kind of crystals that can come down for hours without adding up to an inch. We did a late dinner from 9 PM til 10:30 and then retired to the tents, this time without the sunshine to make for the warm and easy end to the day that we enjoyed yesterday.
The forecaster, back at Union Glacier, suggested some improvement for tomorrow. If we get that we’ll endeavor to carry a load up the fixed lines toward high camp.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Something had changed overnight. We woke to brilliant blue skies and sunshine. Of course we could still see the wind beating up the ridge atop Vinson’s Western escarpment and there were still fog layers lying thick just to our west, but everything looked different and we liked that. The forecast was still calling for another day of wind, but we figured it was time to get on up to Low Camp. We busted out of basecamp at 2:20 in excellent walking conditions. The track in the snow had firmed up a little since all the other teams had gone up in the days previously, stomping their feet and dragging their sleds. We made it in a respectable four hours and thirty minutes. For the last hour we could see and hear the wind on the ridge two thousand meters up over our heads. It was gratifying to reach camp and find it calm and sunny. We rejoined all the other folks on the mountain in a tight little cluster of tents. We threw ours up to one side and worked to dig a kitchen and dining area in the firm glacier surface. That took a little doing, but by 10 PM (still in strong sunshine) we were sitting down to dinner in our new and higher home. Most of the gang was in bed by midnight. I warned them that the sun would continue blazing until at least three AM but that it would then go behind the mountain and plunge us into shadow and bitter cold for the following eight hours. Life at 9,000 feet in Antarctica.
Happiest of birthdays to my Dad.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
hi im in Gayle Staffords reading class please can you get Matt Brennan to respond. If he can that would be great and please ask him if he has an instagram acount so Mrs.Stafford can follow him there to this will be sent to my moms ohone but i dont have an email acount.
Posted by: Karli L on 12/3/2018 at 10:59 am
Same storm, different day. When we started rolling out of the tents at 9 this morning it was obvious that the storm was still hitting the upper mountain hard. We ate breakfast and kept watching the clouds, and when the forecast at 11 AM confirmed that we still had some more storm days to come, we opted to stay another day at base. As predicted, the local weather came and went during the course of the day with periodic thick cloud and light snow and a little wind even at Base Camp. We rested and sorted supplies and kept our spirits up. We hydrated and snacked and had a hardy dinner and storytelling session until 10:30 in the evening, at which time the sun finally broke free of the clouds stuck on the mountain range. It broke mostly free, but even diffuse sunshine was welcome for making it a little easier and more comfortable to climb into the tents again.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
Doug, Best of luck. miss you!!! Stay strong!
Beth, Kevin & Jenna
Posted by: Beth Rice on 12/2/2018 at 4:00 pm
We’re pulling for your success. Stay well. Mom and Dad
Posted by: Dad on 12/2/2018 at 8:25 am
As planned, we took the day off. Sure enough, it looked like the storm had arrived on the upper mountain. We could see wind sculpted clouds attached to all of the high ridges and peaks, but it wasn’t that bad down at our level. We ate a leisurely breakfast until it was lunch time, then retired to the tents for naps and reading and organizing personal gear. The sun was never at full power but even through the clouds, we could feel it in the tents and so it wasn’t too cold. We got together for a late afternoon snack and then for dinner at close to 9 PM. Two of the other groups chose to move up to Low Camp today and so we’ll have eye witnesses as to actual conditions up there tomorrow when we are trying to decide whether to move up. The forecast isn’t yet calling for the end of the storm, but these typically blow through in a couple of days.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Hi Dale,
It doesn’t look like Logan down there. I am hoping for a successful climb and safe travels. The best of luck to you and the team.
Thanks,
Ed
Posted by: Ed Heath on 12/1/2018 at 1:18 pm
Here’s to a successful climb. Will be following blog through the 14th. With u in spirit!
Marti Smith
Maineville OH
Posted by: Marti Smith on 12/1/2018 at 1:13 am
Matt Brennan-Sounds like an exciting adventure. Good luck reaching the summit. We’ll celebrate with some Red Schooner when you return! Scott
Posted by: Scott Schlesner on 12/5/2018 at 8:45 am
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