RMI Expeditions Blog
We've arrived at High Camp! Summit push tonight.
It was a short and uneventful move from Karanga Camp up to Barafu Camp, which is our launching point for the summit. The team did great and we arrived in just over three hours with sprinkles of snow falling most of the way.
We've had our summit talk where we discussed our plan and the teams strategy for tomorrow. Final packing is taking place as I write this and we'll have dinner shortly, then it's off to bed for a little sleep before the climb. Weather permitting, we'll be up at 11 pm, have breakfast, and hopefully hit the trail around midnight. As per usual, I'm expecting the ascent to take around eight hours with breaks to the "Roof of Africa".
Keep your fingers crossed for us, and there's a chance, if time allows, some of you back home might receive a satellite phone call from the summit. So keep your phones handy. My best guess is we'll be on the summit around 8 in the morning, Tanzania time.
RMI Guide Casey Grom
On The Map
Hello again friends and family!
Today was another wonderful day! We officially moved out of the big city of Quito, heading towards our first big objective of the trip: Cayambe. As beautiful as Quito is, it's nice to finally be underway and heading toward the hills.
Our long drive to the city of Otavalo was broken up with our second acclimatization hike of the trip, Cerro Fuya Fuya. Despite the gray skies and light sprinkles when we arrived at the trailhead, we geared up and headed uphill, and boy did it pay off!
Although never quite turning to blue skies, the rain stopped almost immediately and the clouds dipped in and out, giving us alternating views of beautiful vistas and white nothingness. We pushed on, and the entire team was able to celebrate our second minor summit of the trip, at just over 14,000'. This team is looking strong!
Once down from our successful hike, we headed to La Casa Sol for the night. Our plans for this evening include packing up for our move to Cayambe tomorrow, and practicing a variety of climbing knots before dinner.
Spirits are high and we're looking good! We'll check in tomorrow from our 15,000' basecamp on Cayambe.
Until then,
RMI Guides Nick Hunt, Steve Gately and the rest of the team
Posted by: Billy Nugent, Hannah Smith
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 19,600'
Hey there. It's Billy. I am checking in from 19,600 feet on Aconcagua. Our crew just rolled in, actually we didn't just roll in, we rolled in a while ago to Plaza Colera, Camp 3, which is going to be our high camp. We're planning on taking a crack at the summit tonight. Everyone moved super well from Camp 2 to Camp 3. We were able to make good work of that leg in under three hours. Right now the team is lounging around, enjoying the calm weather and blue skies, and resting and gearing up for a late or early, depending on how you want to look at it, wake up tonight for our summit attempt. Wish us luck. We'll hopefully check in with you guys again on the top of South America.
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
RMI Guide Billy Nugent calls in from Aconcagua High Camp.
On The Map
Jambo from Kilimanjaro
Today the team did a fantastic job climbing the intimidating looking Barranco Wall. It is the technical hurdle of this expedition and everyone did great and almost everyone enjoyed the challenge, of course the porters made it look easy as the climbed the wall with their loads carefully balanced on their heads.
Once above the wall we took a well deserved break to enjoy the views of the valleys below, but unfortunately the upper mountain was obscured by clouds. The team climbed slow and steady as we made our way up and down a few ridges before finally arriving in the Karanga Valley where we'll camp for the night.
We also got to celebrate Rob Junell's 70th birthday here with him! And our gracious staff surprised him with a wonderful cake this evening.
Everyone is in good spirits and are looking forward to heading to our high camp tomorrow where we will start our summit bid from.
RMI Guide Casey Grom
On The Map
Push on…..you all got this!!!
Posted by: Kris on 1/28/2017 at 3:53 pm
You guys rock! You’re almost there! Hope you’re having a blast, can’t wait to hear all about it!! Go Team!
Posted by: Morgan on 1/27/2017 at 10:06 pm
Posted by: Elias de Andres Martos
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Torres del Paine
Good evening from "Los Perros Camp". Our third day marked a before and after on our trip; the start of the journeys along the less crowded "back side of the park" which is walked by a fraction of a percentage of the visitors, the narrower and more primitive trails, the more frequent but also elusive fauna (indigenous ducks, woodpeckers or owls were seen along the path...) are now our territory. But it also marked a change in the weather, which has confined us to our tents since we arrived to camp. Being in Patagonia, is a synonym for mysticism, and glacial lakes, towering peaks and dense forests wouldn't be the same without its clouds, misty rain and restless winds. With the gradual climb that we started in the morning, we arrived at the highest camp of all where we'll spend a night. Not too wet, and in great spirits, we had dinner under the covered structure that the park service erected here, and we're now headed to bed in anticipation of the big day ahead tomorrow.
More to come from our adventure,
RMI Guide ElÃas de Andres Martos and team
Sounds like y’all are having a lot of fun! I hope it’s not too rainy and that you’re getting some incredible pictures :) I am so jealous of everything y’all have achieved so far! Go Mommy!!! Xoxo
Posted by: Allie on 1/28/2017 at 9:32 am
Lucy - Sounds great, except for the wind and rain and clouds and altitude and the “start of our gradual climb” and being “confined to our tents”, of course. I am sincerely hoping this isn’t guide-speak. I know you are loving this and are truly in your element. We miss you and I anxiously await your return and the rewards of St Barth. Much love, C
Posted by: Carter on 1/27/2017 at 6:01 pm
This morning the team woke again in Quito, had a short breakfast provided by the Hotel Mercure Alameda and meet in the lobby at 8:30AM. Today's agenda took us a short distance from downtown to the Quito Teleferico where we would take the Gondola to 13,200ft and begin our acclimatization hike to the summit of Rucu Pichincha. The old extinct volcano sits at a height of 15,700ft and offers an excellent opportunity for our team to begin its acclimatization.Â
The acclimatization process consists of climbing to a higher elevation, in our case 15,700ft and only spending a short amount of time there. This provokes the body into producing more blood red cells to help carry more oxygen throughout the body. We then return to a lower elevation to sleep in order to recover and allow our bodies time to readjust.Â
The day started off slightly overcast with a few sprinkles but by the time we made it to the top of the gondola the weather was dry and cool. Perfect for hiking! We enjoyed a short glimpse at the Northwestern flanks of the stratovolcano Cotopaxi, which is still currently closed to climbing due to recent activity. The trail takes us over rolling terrain and a few short but exciting easy rock steps before climbing moderately to its summit block. From there the trail dissipates and we begin picking the path of least resistance through blocky terrain. At this time the clouds descending upon us and a light rain began falling. We summitted Rucu Pichincha at around noon in a white out.
The team did fantastic with the new altitude and enjoyed getting out of the city, seeing more of the country and stretching the legs. We're now back from dinner feeling a little guilty about the amount of pizza we just all consumed and are looking forward to some sleep. Tomorrow takes us a few hours out of the city where we will enjoy another acclimatization hike up Fuya Fuya (13,980ft) and a night in the city of Cayambe.Â
Thanks for following along. Stay tuned for more!
RMI Guide Steve Gately
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TED PORTER!
Posted by: Denise reynolds on 1/27/2017 at 9:56 am
Safe and happy on your first ascent! Great job!
Posted by: Denise Reynolds on 1/27/2017 at 9:54 am
Posted by: Ben Liken, Adam Knoff
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Hola From Quito,
What a change from 24 hours ago.  As I write this the horns from Quito's busy streets blare below our window and the team is preparing with hot showers and clean clothes for a dinner on the town. Â
This wasn't the case last night.  Twenty-four hours ago we were camped at 17,500 feet on a small perch located on Ecuador's highest peak.  For weeks now Chimborazo has thwarted climbers attempting a summit push with unusually bad weather and deep snow.  I am sorry to say things haven't changed. Â
After a solid meal of freeze dried chicken and rice we hit the tents for a few hours and tossed and turned until the alarm went off at 11:30, pm that is. From here we ate a hasty breakfast and geared up. The sky was clear so hopes were high. The first two stretches of climbing were going well until we hit the end of the trail made by climbers the previous night.
We took a break at 19,000' and had a long discussion about what was happening with the snow conditions and how that played into an ever-steepening route.  In the end we could not justify continuing up into the unknown with a team of 13 climbers. All the other teams on the mountain had already turned around but we held onto hope for just a bit longer. Finally we had to make the call to turn around. Chimborazo has not seen a successful ascent yet in 2017 and for now it will stay that way. Â
Even though the team did not summit we gave it a serious shot which our bodies will confirm.  So after dinner I'm sure we will toast a great journey and then crash hard for a restful 12-hour snooze. We are all looking forward to coming home to see our families.
Thanks for following along.
Hast Pronto- or until next time.
Team Ecuador saying adios.
RMI Guide Adam Knoff
Posted by: Billy Nugent, Hannah Smith
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 18,000'
Well, not literally. But yes figuratively. Our weather forecast is looking great and we are waiting out what will likely be our last rest day of the program here at Camp 2. The calm winds and sunny skies should persist through our summit push which is set to start with tomorrow's move to Camp 3 at Plaza Cólera (19,600'). If the weather holds true to the forecast we'll be taking a crack at the summit the following morning! I think some nervous butterflies are settling in with the team right now as all we have to do is sit around and finish out our acclimatization process. Too much tent time can be a tough thing to handle but in actuality we are slightly ahead of schedule. We're trying to keep that in mind as we finish off our rest day and begin what will be at least five busy days of hard work that will eventually bring us back to the milk and honey of Mendoza.
We'll do our best to keep checking in along the way!
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
On The Map
Good luck guys on continued good weather. I’m with you all in spirit, especially Scott!
Posted by: ROGER COFFEY on 1/26/2017 at 2:41 pm
Hello again
We had another nice day here in Africa with a few views of Kilimanjaro this morning, before the clouds closed in and thankfully protected us from the intense sun. We left Shira camp and slowly climbed uphill before we started our traverse over to Barranco Valley across the volcanic plateau and just below the remaining glaciers that cling to Kilimanjaro's slopes, which sadly we didn't get to see up close, but there's always tomorrow!
As we approached camp we were all amazed to the giant Groundsels and famous Senecio trees that look like something out of a Dr. Suess book and were relieved to be at camp after about 5hrs of hiking.
Everyone is doing very well and are looking forward to tomorrow's climb up the Barranco wall which sits just above camp.
RMI Guide Casey Grom
On The Map
What a way to spend your 70th! Happy birthday rocket! Looks amazing over there, wishing you and your team the best on your way to the top!
Posted by: Aaron on 1/27/2017 at 9:35 am
Sounds like all is well for team and climb. Pay close attention to the Judge today… he’s 70 !!!!! Happy Birthday ! Jayne, you look great and really add to the ‘team’ pictures !!! Way to go !
Posted by: Ernie & Victoria on 1/27/2017 at 7:42 am
Posted by: Mark Tucker, Pepper Dee
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
The whole team has returned to city life.
A spectacular accomplishment on this, the tallest mountain outside the Himalayas. We spent our last night on the mountain looking up at the sky sleeping tent less under the stars,it's amazing to take in such a view--without the obstruction of any city lights. We were all awestruck as we looked out at the breathtaking scene--imagining the others worlds out there, just like the one we experienced at over 22,000 feet on the summit of Aconcagua.
The day hike to what was our first camp and our last was a healthy 18-miles. Upon arrival an amazing open fire meal of filet and chicken with potatoes, corn and onions thrown on the fire by our gear-carrying mule drivers. We gulped back various beverages and ate barehanded with Neanderthal dining manners!
At the end of it all, we had a four-hour hike to the trail head, where our local service folks Grajales Expeditions had a perfect hand off, gathering us up and transferring us on to the our three-hour drive to Mendoza. Thankfully, that included a snack of 60 empanadas along the way.
What we come away with from these sometimes grueling, expedition style climbs is tough to explain. As the team members make there way home the folks at security check at the airport can't imagine what immense power is being brought on board the plane today
Congrats team!
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Congratulations Pepper and the entire team on your incredible success!! An outstanding accomplishment to be celebrated and cherished.
Posted by: Chi Dees on 1/26/2017 at 12:28 pm
Team,
You did a fantastic job. To get everyone, just think about that: everyone, to the top of the highest mountain outside of the Himalayas, is just outstanding.
Congratulations indeed. Well done.
Art Muir
Posted by: Art Muir on 1/26/2017 at 8:08 am
You are unreal. Your strength and calm inspire me. Go crush tomorrow!!!!
Posted by: Maude Lebowski on 1/27/2017 at 9:57 pm
Good luck Brian!! Wishing you and the team a safe summit push. Keep smiling!
Love from Australia - Renee.
Posted by: Renee Duvoisin on 1/27/2017 at 3:36 pm
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