RMI Expeditions Blog
Yesterday the team started the day with a leisurely breakfast at La Casa Sol followed by a trip to the Otavalo Market to do a little shopping. The market was full of color and everyone was able to find a few souvenirs to bring home. In the afternoon it was time to head to the climber’s hut on
Cayambe. The heavy rains down low brought a significant amount of snow to the mountain. So, again we had to rent 4x4 trucks and see how high they could take us. Our packs were loaded heavy, and we were ready for a long hike. One by one our trucks pushed snow out of our path. Thanks to our adventurous drivers, this left is with only abut 20 minutes of hiking to get to the hut. A lot further than most of us thought! By mid-afternoon we were settled into the hut. We spent the rest of our evening relaxing and going over more knots. We had our first restless night’s sleep as we are all getting used to life above 15,000’.
This morning we were treated to an excellent breakfast prepared by our Cayambe Hut staff before starting our training day. In all the times I have visited this hut, I have never seen so much snow! With crampons on we headed out to the toe of the glacier to refresh our mountaineering skills. The new snow made for great glacier travel and setting anchors. Everyone did a great job! We are back at the hut now listening to the thunder, lightning, and light rain. It is an 11pm wake up call for us. The summit awaits!
Wish us luck!
RMI Guide Adam Knoff & Team
We have shifted back to city life, and the intent of the blog has shifted as well. Some of the team members have changed their flights and gone home early, and while we miss them dearly, we want nothing more than to make them jealous, because that's what friends are for.
So Kevin, Casey, and Patty, we're glad you made it home safely, and we hope you're enjoying the below zero temperatures in Minnesota and the NE. Because today we sat by the pool, soaked up some sun, and enjoyed a delicious southern summer feast for dinner. Tomorrow I think we might travel around and sample the
Mendoza regions fine wines, while enjoying the sun's warming rays, and a nice cool breeze. We'll let you know how it goes.
RMI Guide JM Gorum
Hello from Expedition Skills Seminar Ecuador.
Today we finally packed our duffels, checked out of our nice hotel and headed for the mountains. It may sound a bit confusing that we stood in ankle-deep snow yesterday at 15,200 feet but weren't actually "in the mountains". Strangely enough, yesterday's mountain took ten minutes by taxi to get to followed by two hours of hiking. Not exactly the adventure one thinks of when breaking the 15,000-foot barrier.
Today was a different story. By 8:00am, we were packed and ready to load all 22 duffel bags into Victor's magic bus, point that thing north and drive for three hours toward a large concentration of volcanoes which includes the 19,000-foot
Cayambe, famous for being the only location on the actual equator to hold year-round snow. Things started smoothly, picking our way slowly through heavy Quito morning traffic. By 11am we had reached our turn off in the renowned market town of Otavalo. From the main road our plan was to turn off and head up a large extinct volcano to a beautiful crater lake and then hike 2,000' to the sharp summit of
Fuya Fuya.
Two miles up the road we ran head on into a sign that read Detour! We quickly asked another driver what the road was like and he responded by saying no big buses could make it to the lake. With some quick phone calls, a bit of luck and some willing participants, we hired two 4x4 trucks, loaded them full of 12 climbers and powered upward. Thirty minutes later we arrived at Laguna Mojando. From the lake, two hours of strenuous hiking brought us to our first Ecuadorian summit. We had light rain and distant thunder but overall very pleasant hiking conditions.
The team did great sticking together reaching the summit in very good style. Although this summit was only 14,000', we still felt the strain and know it will play an important role in preparation for our bigger objective starting tomorrow.
After the hike our trucks returned and carted us back to town where Victor and all of our things were waiting.
Once regrouped, we drove directly to the "House of Sun" or Casa Sol, where we enjoyed learning knots by the fire and had a fabulous traditional Ecuadorian dinner.
Reports keep coming in from the higher mountains of deep snow and abnormally bad road conditions. We have plans around these challenges but it should keep things interesting. Stay tuned for what's to come......
Everyone sends their best to loved ones back home.
Buenas Noches,
RMI Guide Adam Knoff
We were up before the sun having breakfast by headlamp and quickly packed up camp to catch our mule ride across the Relinchos River. Shortly after 7am, we were making our way up the narrow Relinchos Valley on our way to thinner air. After two days of gentle terrain in the Vacas Valley, it felt good to head uphill and gain some elevation. We enjoyed another pleasant, sunny day with a light breeze that stayed with us all the way to Basecamp, and we had another brief Guanaco sighting. We are now all settled at
Aconcagua Basecamp and getting ready to switch gears for the days to come. Everyone is in good spirits and looking forward to seeing what the upper mountain has in store for us.
RMI Guide Mike King
On The Map
This morning we awoke to steady rain in Quito. Despite the conditions and the midnight fireworks disrupting slumber, the team rallied in the lobby of Hotel Mercure excited for our first acclimatization trek up
Rucu Pinchincha (15,700ft). As we loaded up on coffee and croissants the rain began to taper to a drizzle and we embarked on a short taxi ride to the Teleferico, a gondola that carried us high above the city to 13,000 feet. We began our trek towards the summit with a light rain and snow mix and good visibility. We may not have had bluebird skies but we did get the unique experience of undercast clouds wafting in out of the peaks around Quito. The team cruised the rolling alpine meadow ridge that makes up the first half of the climb, showing their prowess at the high elevation by chatting the whole way. We stopped to take a break just before the route changes character and shifts to steeper, rockier traversing leading around the spiny pinnacle to a saddle just before the final ridge scramble. As we entered this more challenging terrain we encountered snow that had managed to accumulate, a rare occurrence on Pinchincha. As we continued the snow deepened to about 6”, increasing the challenge of the already demanding terrain. The team took these obstacles in stride and made it to the saddle just shy of 15,300’ in style. We decided to make this our high point having accomplished our goal of acclimatization and not wanting to risk the decreased friction on the third-class scramble to the summit. The wet snow and muddy ground demanded our attention on the descent, but we made it back to the Teleferico in good time with only a few muddy hands and backsides. After some much deserved rest we’re off to explore the local cuisine of Quito. Tomorrow will take us up Cerro Fuya Fuya for another round of acclimatization then our first big one, Cayambe!
RMI Guide Jordan Cargill
Happy New Year from Argentina. The Team made short work of the hike today, partially due to cloud cover which kept the temperatures and wind low and because they were eager to get our first glimpse of
Aconcagua! We got to see some wildlife on the hike with a fox and some guanacos (Alpacas' smaller cousin) hanging out along the way. True to form, Casa de Piedra is HOT in the midday sun. Team members are busy napping, reading and trying to stay cool for the remainder of the afternoon.
We will have dinner and get to bed so that we can catch an early mule ride across the Vacas River tomorrow morning. One more day to finish our trek to Plaza Argentina. Not a bad way to spend the beginning of another trip around the sun!
RMI Guide Mike King
On The Map
Guess who's back, back again...we are. We finished the
walk out to Penitentes this morning, and are now eating hamburgers, french fries, and salads, believe it or not. After lunch, we're going to load up our bags, and fall asleep on the van ride to Mendoza. Once we get to Mendoza, we're going to eat even more. The summit is great and all, but this is the best part of the trip. Time to gain back all that weight we lost.
RMI Guide JM Gorum
Happy New Year from Quito, Ecuador. I am happy to report the entire
Expedition Skills Seminar team has arrived safely and is ready for a fun evening enjoying local culture and spirits. Our fiesta will come on the heels of a great day which involved a number of interesting and fun activities.
To begin our first official day together we met after breakfast going through a quick team introduction and itinerary overview. At 9 am the streets outside were already filling with eager New Year’s enthusiasts, some dressing in drag and some wearing colorful wigs, but we passed on joining them and loaded onto our tour bus bound for the middle of the world. Once at the equator, we observed fun physical anomalies only present on the actual equatorial line. Much of our group earned their “Egg Master” awards, balancing an egg on a nail, while others tried to shut their eyes and walk the line without tipping over. Why an egg will balance on a nail but a human can’t balance with their eyes closed is beyond me but proves to be the case.
Outside of the museum, the team encountered a group of locals partaking in the local custom of burning large dolls supposedly filled with the year’s bad energy. As it burns you are supposed to make a wish for better things to come, then leap over the burning pile to make that wish come true. Stephanie showed no fear in giving her wish the best chance.
From the equator we traveled south into the old town of Quito where we gained beautiful vistas of this 40 mile long city atop a hill called El Panacillo. Unfortunately, there were no views of our snow capped peaks but we know they are out there. After this we descended into the old town where we toured some traditional shops and streets then finished in the main square of Quito directly across from the presidential palace.
Despite most of the team feeling a bit tired from traveling and jumping straight to 9000', we left time to have a late lunch at a great little micro-brewery trying it’s best to replicated those in the states. Although the IPA needs a bit more hoppiness, the stout proved our favorite.
Tomorrow we gear up for our first acclimation hike. Stay tuned to see if a few in the group break their previous altitude high points. Late night or not, I have high hopes…..
Happy New Year once more. Salud.
RMI Guide Adam Knoff
Happy New Years from
Pampa de Las Lenas! Today was the first day of the trek to Aconcagua Basecamp and we had a sunny day with a consistent 'breeze' that kept it cool and at times made walking a little difficult. Our trek follows the Vacas River which looks like it's filled with delicious chocolate milk and I don't even drink milk. The team enjoyed the five-hour hike and arrived in good spirits until the light rain set in. I learned long ago from a mentor that it never....keeps raining at Lenas Camp. True to form some group members put on rain gear and set up tents and the rain stopped almost immediately. We all met up with the descending RMI crew and celebrated the New Year's with the best steak asado dinner ever prepared on the Planet...since man learned to cook with fire. . . Yeah it's that good! The group is nestled in their tents thinking of the coming weeks and how good that steak was. We will get an early start tomorrow, bask in the remaining portions of shade offered on this climb while we hike to Casa de Piedra. Thanks for following along.
RMI Guide Mike King
We are all in Mendoza...the last 2 bags arrived late this evening and the Team is turned in and getting their last night of artificial air conditioning before heading out tomorrow. We will head to Los Penitentes to pack for the mules and sleep around 8,000'. Everyone is excited to begin the trek and escape the 100 degree weather here in town. Will be sending updates on our trip each day. Leave comments for your friends and loved ones in the blog comments, the moral support from back home goes a long way.
RMI Guides Mike King, Jess Matthews and Nick Scott
Glad to hear you are now truly on your way now, good luck to all of you.,Rogan I bet you can’t wait for the snow? It’s boiling at home, Mel and kids having fun at the river. All return from holidays on Monday, agh, more traffic!
Keep going upwards, it’s the only way to go.
Love , mom
Posted by: Daphne Carew on 1/4/2018 at 10:26 pm
Wishing best of luck to the whole team. We in Boston are getting pounded by snow! LaLa
Posted by: Karen Norris on 1/4/2018 at 2:42 pm
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