RMI Expeditions Blog
Good evening from
Kyajo Ri Base!
We made our move from the village of Khumjung this morning uneventful. Beautiful day indeed witnessing some of the towering peaks nearby getting just a little smaller.
The beautiful meadow where we are is enclosed under steep granite walls, and while the views are short, they sure provide a sense of greatness above us.
My colleague, Sherpa guide Lopsang added to the mysticism of the night by burning some juniper as an offer to the God that might inhabit Kyajo Ri; with His blessings, we will go to sleep in hopes He grants us passage tomorrow into the higher grounds of Camp 1.
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
Moving day! The day we have been patiently waiting for has arrived. We packed up our things and made our way to high camp. After walking as the Nepalis say, bastary bastary (slowly slowly) we made it to our camp in three hours. The team did great, with everyone making it to camp. The air is rather chilly as snow flurries dance from the sky. Clouds have been building and descending on us all day. We are all cozy in our tents, melting snow for water, and getting ready for dinner. Tomorrow we will wake in the dark, but we will wait for the sun before we set out on our climb.
Wish us luck!
RMI Guide Hannah Smith
Namaste from Khumjung.
We are taking an extra day here, based on the wind forecast for the next few days. This way we don't find ourselves up high on
Kyajo Ri in a bad spot.
We did, regardless, go for a walk towards the pass that will take us tomorrow towards base camp; a nice way to spend the morning and continue to let the body work acclimatizing.
A local momo feast (local Nepali dumpling) near our lodge wrapped up the morning, and we chilled for the rest of the day.
Hopefully the excitement of the actual climb starts in a few hours!
RMI Guide Elías de Andres Martos
You do you muffin, you do you, is how I would describe today. We all enjoyed different activities to recharge our mind and body before we make our move uphill tomorrow. Two of us went scrambling on some not so quality rock, while others went up the rolling grass hills above Base Camp. Some enjoyed a relaxing day listening to music, reading books, making jewelry or braiding hair. This afternoon we all gathered to sort out a game plan for our climb on Sunday and for the handful of days after. We have to schedule for porters to come up and help us break down Base Camp before we head uphill. We are all rather excited for the coming days. We have been waiting for this moment to climb something for roughly two weeks, with one of those weeks spent at Base Camp. Tomorrow everyone will make their way to the High Camp at their leisure and settle in before we climb the next morning.
Talk to you all at high camp,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith
Namaste from Khumjung!
We are taking a rest day today in this beautiful village, with a true local feel and direct views of
Ama Dablam.
After arriving yesterday from Thame, we officially finished our trekking around Gokyo, and our minds are no set to climbing mode. We're spending the day chilling, prepacking, and reviewing a few things before heading up tomorrow towards Kyajo Ri.
Stay tuned for our progress up the first of our climbing objectives!
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
We heard from our team members at high camp that the route has been fixed. They reported that that the route is a mixture of blue ice and snow. They have a fixed line all the way to the ridge. The ridge, however, is too dangerous to walk along due to poor snow quality. They are optimistic though that the team can make it onto the ridge and enjoy some beautiful views. We are all excited to get the chance to climb something. As for the rest of us today, we fixed our own rope in a gully outside of camp, that had some ice in it, to give the Nepali girls more practice before the real deal. They all did great, with one of them showing real potential in the mountains. Tomorrow we rest, to give our teammates that have been working so hard to put in a route, a well-deserved break. On Saturday the whole team will move up and try our hand.
All the best,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith
Another great day in the mountains! We reached for the second time the altitude of 5000 meters in our acclimatizing trek, going over
Renjo Pass. The views from the top of 4 of the 6 tallest mountains in the world, were astonishing and motivating. Descending to Thame was energizing as the air felt thicker.
We're now ready to switch gears, and start focusing on our first objective!
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
After packing our packs, organizing our tents, and eating lunch, we were ready to head uphill. Unfortunately though, we have been stalled at Base Camp. Our team members at High Camp radioed down that they need more time and rope to fix the route. They said the route is a bit icy and not great snow, but they seem optimistic that we will be able to give it a whirl in a few days. Till then we will continuing hanging out at Base Camp, practicing more with the girls and going on hikes. It's a good thing it's so pretty here and one can easily occupy themselves.
Happy Halloween!
RMI Guide Hannah Smith
Good evening!
What a day we had... We trekked to the base of Cho Oyu, where the seldom expeditions that climb is south side set their Base Camp. Man we felt small! We also had the best views that any trekker can have of Everest and Lhotse together (without climbing any peak) from any trail in the Khumbu Region. But we had to work hard, as this was the team's first day above 5000m.
An uneventful return, and we were enjoying a nice dinner at our lodge by the shore of
Gokyo Lake. We're headed to bed, as another long day awaits tomorrow.
Stay tuned!
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
Resting and training were the theme of today. We took time to practice using the ascenders and different techniques for descending the fixed line with the Nepali girls. They did a great job and are getting more excited for the climb ahead, as are the rest of the team. Rest days can seem long but the team is pretty creative in keeping busy. Some made jewelry, while others went to the big boulder, that we call our Nepali gym to work on abs and pull-ups. We ended the day with a delicious cherry cake for dessert. The cook has done an amazing job making us delicious breakfast, lunch, and dinners. Tomorrow we will find out from our team members at our high camp whether we move up or take another test day.
Buenos noches,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith
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Thanks for the updates. Good luck this week.
Posted by: lisa maiser on 11/4/2018 at 10:28 am
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