RMI Expeditions Blog
Posted by: Hannah Smith
Categories: Guide News
Today the team walked to two of our team members' villages. First we stopped at Laxmi's village. It took us 1.5 hours and we were greeted by Laxmi's daughter and family. They made us noodles, showed us a game that resembles pool and we were on our way. Next we stopped at Sangita's village, which is four hours from Laxmi. She is the last village in the valley. Her father is the chairman of the village. They greeted us with tea and a feast for dinner. We started with fresh veggies and local apples. Next they made us French fries. The main course consisted of fried blue sheep, greens, yogurt, and millet bread with local honey. It was delicious. Custom to their culture is treating their guests as gods and we sure felt like one. It's been a great day exploring more of far western Nepal. It is quite beautiful.
Tomorrow we explore more,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith
We had a relaxing day in historic Puebla yesterday. The Team spent the day walking around the markets and taking in the beautiful buildings and cathedrals. The city was founded in 1531 and is a busy commercial hub filled with murals, colorful buildings, delicious food and several ornate cathedrals.
Today we are headed East through rolling Mexican farm land to the small village of Tlachichuca near the base of Pico de Orizaba. After we pack our gear, 4x4 trucks drive us up to Piedra Grande hut at 14,000’. From there we will get ready for a summit bid tomorrow.
The weather looks promising and recent snowfall should make for great climbing. Everyone is doing well and looking forward to the main objective, 18,491’ Orizaba.
RMI Guide Mike King
On The Map
Posted by: Elias de Andres Martos
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ama Dablam
Hello from Khumjung.
We did retraced our steps from the mountain and we are back in this guide's favorite Sherpa village of the Khumbu. We're going to earn some good rest before starting our approach to Ama Dablam.
The climb of Kyajo Ri remains now as an incredible challenge that we overcame with determination, and we know that while an objective worth a trip to the Himalaya on its own, it has been the best preparation for Ama Dablam.
Now it's time to sleep, eat & repeat!
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
Posted by: Hannah Smith
Categories: Guide News
Smoke dances from a fire under a lean two as a mother cooks breakfast for her children. The little boy wanders among the team curious about everything. He giggles as we make silly faces at him. Little huts and makeshift homes are scattered among the hillside and along the trail we are walking. The trail exist between the villages and where the silkworm hunters go. Today we walked four hours down valley along the river to a small establishment made up of three buildings. It is a tea house between villages. It is a crossroad for us with one direction leading back to Chaipur, where we will ultimately go and the other direction to the village of Sangita and Laxmi, two of the Nepali girls on our team. Tomorrow we will go see their villages and watch/learn as they celebrate brother and sister day. For tonight we are nestled in to what appears to be a cornfield/potato field.
RMI Guide Hannah Smith
We got an early start to our summit day. The first section is a steep scree slope, a big bite to chew when you wake up at midnight. As we gained the ridge we were surprised by the amount of snow, making for efficient climbing. The weather was warm for 15,000’+ and light winds allowed us to wear a few layers and stay comfortable while winding up and down the five false summits of Ixtaccihuatl.
With the city lights glowing in each direction and shooting stars across the horizon the Team kept plugging away until we reached the summit.
So many climbs ascend with the sunrise to thier backs. The unplanned benefit to summiting in the dark was that we descended into the rising sun with stellar views of Orizaba poking through the clouds. Alpineglow on the snow flanked sides of Ixta was a nice reward.
We are back down and headed to Puebla for a day of rest, culture and tacos al pastor. Thanks for following along.
RMI Guide Mike King
On The Map
Excellent. Get some rest for Saturday!!
Posted by: Jon & Lynda Jones on 11/7/2018 at 12:38 pm
Greetings from Kyajo Ri Camp 1. What a day we had!!! We departed with headlamps and returned with headlamps... Having to forego our move to Camp 2 yesterday due to the high winds, delivered not only a beautiful day today, but a marathon one. Regardless, we wanted to reach the elevation of Kyajo's summit to better prepare for Ama Dablam. So we did!
Now everyone is very tired, and we look forward to some rest coming up.
Regards,
RMI Guide Elías de Andres Martos
Well deserved rest!!!! Omg!!
Be safe!
Posted by: lisa maiser on 11/7/2018 at 4:45 pm
Posted by: Hannah Smith
Categories: Guide News
We woke this morning to a gorgeous view. With the help of daylight, we found a water source and enjoyed a cup of coffee. Perched on a grassy valley hillside, you could see snow capped mountains across the way. We all pointed at the ones we would climb if we had time, but unfortunately we do not. The col we went up and over steepened to a degree we were not comfortable going down so we headed back uphill. We arrived back at our Base Camp, but this time nothing was there. Everything has been packed up and headed downhill. We said goodbye to our home for the last 18 days, and made our way to what we call our jungle camp. Tomorrow we keep heading down hill back towards civilization, but on our way we are going to make a couple pit stops at the villages of two of the girls. Our sleeping bags our calling us. It's been a long day and last nights sleep wasn't the most comfy.
Have a lovely day,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith
Love reading your story Hannah. You are a terrific writer!
Posted by: Shannon Smith on 11/7/2018 at 1:29 pm
Today we woke to what might be the clearest morning of the Mexican countryside one might ever see. With the massive populations of Mexico City and Puebla the view is usually obscured with smoke, volcanic fog, smog. This morning we could make out high rise buildings and had a crystal clear view of Orizaba.
The Team took four hours to ascend to High Camp, located at 15,500’. We had warm weather and heavy packs. Everyone is relaxing in their tents as afternoon clouds roll through.
We will have some dinner and prepare for our summit bid tomorrow morning. Should be a nice day if the recent weather holds.
RMI Guide Mike King
On The Map
Hello from Kyajo Ri Camp 1,
All is good here, except that we had an extraordinarily windy day, preventing us from moving up to Camp 2. We did, however, take some of our gear to the base of the gullie that provides access to it, as we plan on attempting the summit from here.
The sun is shining and the spirits are high! We are going to bed early, so cheer for us on our push to summit our first objective here.
Regards,
RMI Guide Elías de Andres Martos
Hoping for optimal weather for you all. Sounds like a great crew that can prevail no matter what!
Stay safe
Posted by: lisa maiser on 11/6/2018 at 8:53 am
Hoping for optimal weather for you all. Sounds like a great crew that can prevail no matter what!
Stay safe
Posted by: lisa maiser on 11/6/2018 at 8:53 am
Posted by: Hannah Smith
Categories: Guide News
Sometimes you find yourself in a place you didn't expect. One of those places is on the side of a grassy hill in Western Nepal squished in a tent with three other people sharing your snacks. We decided to leave Base Camp and try to go up over a col to another valley to attempt to climb a peak. It turns out our eyes for the mountains are bigger than the desire and fitness of the team. We started too late. We took too long to get to the pass. And we found ourselves entering steep grassy terrain with consequences on both sides as night time crept in. We were not going to get to the valley below. It's been a long day. We decided to find the flattest spot, which is not flat at all, and put up the tents. The conditions aren't ideal, with no water or snow to make water. But with all that has happened today, you find the fun and happiness in the little things, like sharing snacks with your friends and eating a hard boiled egg.
We will see what happens tomorrow,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith
Well I love your attitudes! You should get a reward for finding the positive in every day. Keep on chugging. I hope the snacks hold out.
Mich
Posted by: michelle the mom on 11/6/2018 at 11:16 pm
Awesome, chica! Enjoying your journey from afar
Posted by: Christy Mycroft on 11/8/2018 at 12:31 pm
View All Comments