RMI Expeditions Blog
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Leon Davis, Mike King
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 13,800'
We made it to our base camp at Plaza Argentina! We got an early start this morning in order to take advantage of the muleteers offer to ferry us across the Vacas River. For some, it was their first time riding a mule, and it was a much more pleasant start to the morning than wading the four frosty channels would have been.
It's a pleasant walk up the canyon of the Relinchos River, and before we knew it, we were walking into Base Camp to be greeted with juice and fresh melon from our excellent outfitter, Grajales. They cooked a wonderful dinner for us tonight and will handle our meals for our stay at Base Camp.
On tap for tomorrow is a well deserved rest day. We'll use the time to sort gear for the carry to Camp 1 the following day. Before all that though: a big breakfast of breakfast burritos.
Hasta luego.
RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer and the RMI Aconcagua team
On The Map
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Leon Davis, Mike King
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 10,550'
Hola from Casa de Piedras! Today's weather was a total contrast to yesterday's, as we wound our way further up the Vacas Valley. We woke this morning to clear skies that turned to sun as it cleared the canyon walls. It made for a pleasant walk as we covered the nine miles or so from camp last night. A light breeze helped to keep things from getting too hot.
The trail crosses the river over a small foot bridge immediately out of camp. Once on the opposite bank, it alternates between following the river bank, and rising over a chain of small bluffs. Casa de Piedras is located at the mouth of the Relinchos Valley and river. Tomorrow we will cross the Vacas, and leave this valley behind as we ascend the Relinchos to base camp at 14,000 feet. Everyone is in great spirits (it's amazing the power that big orb in the sky has) and sends their best. Tomorrow we'll touch base from Plaza Argentina!
Cheers,
RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer and Team
Posted by: Adam Knoff, Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Ecuador Skills Seminar 2013 is coming to a close. Although we did not attempt to climb the tallest of our three chosen mountains which should have taken place today, we settled for a 17,500 foot consolation prize, Illiniza Sur. We left our hostel this morning at 1 am and began the two hour approach to the hut at 1:45. Forty five minutes into the hike we had to stop and don rain gear to ward off the cold mist that was beginning to soak us. By the time we reached the hut the mist had turned to snow. Sadly the weather was not the only thing going south. By the time we were ready to depart, Jaime our local guide was too ill to continue, Suzanne was too knackered from her battle with a loose gut and Jan began to have stomach cramps. By the time we filed out, only Gary and Clark were able to ascend with both Casey and myself. With a one to one ratio the steep, technical terrain we encountered was greatly entertaining. Not to mention the weather broke just as we were approaching the glacier. From bottom to top and back again, this climb was a fantastic way to end our time together as a climbing team. I am really bummed we could not all stand on top together but tonight we become a party team. It is always important to remember the summit isn't everything. Tonight we are all ready for a grand fiesta of both food and spirits. Our time in Ecuador has been packed with good laughs, good climbing and great people. We will miss it. But now we are all deeply anticipating the reunion with family friends and ice climbing. Thanks to everyone who followed along and gave support. Hasta mañana.
RMI Guide Adam Knoff
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Leon Davis, Mike King
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 9,000'
Good evening ladies and gentlemen from the team at Pampa de Leñas. Yesterday we left the hot and humid climate in Mendoza for Los Penitentes where we enjoyed our last night in a warm bed and feasted in the Hotel Ayelen dining hall. This morning we began our hike into the Vacas Valley under some un-characteristic weather indeed. Instead of a clear blue sky and unrelenting sun, we left Punta de Vacas in a light rain and cool breeze. But as we pressed on, the rain soon subsided and we enjoyed a pleasant hike into camp where we had our tents up by 4:30 and dinner by 6:30. The team did a great job on this first day and we look forward to sunny skies tomorrow as we continue up the Vacas Valley to our next camp at the 'House of Stone'.
Hope everyone enjoyed their Monday; we certainly enjoyed ours.
Until Tuesday...
RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer
On The Map
Posted by:
Categories: Mountaineering Fitness & Training
As we focus forward on the training for this year’s climbing adventures, we know we’ll be hiking, climbing, probably doing some stair interval training with heavy packs, and developing strength training routines.
The training adventures need not be boring though, cross-training keeps us both balanced and motivated.
I like to categorize my cross training by asking, “Is this a direct benefit to mountain climbing or is this activity more general conditioning focused?” Sports like cycling, cross-country skiing or skating have a very direct benefit in building endurance for the mountains, in fact a bike ride can be a perfect substitute for a hike.
Other sports like soccer, kickboxing, or activities like dancing and yoga, while perhaps not as directly related to mountain climbing, can have wonderful benefits for overall conditioning.
Thinking out of the box completely, I met a person last week who did remarkably well on a training hike despite not having ‘trained’ very much. I asked him where he thought his fitness came from and he said, “I’m a UPS driver, I use a pedometer to track my steps and generally do 15,000 steps each day - most of them carrying boxes.” 15,000 steps equals about 5 miles walking! I think he’s going to have a big head-start on his 16 week training program!
Cross training is an important part of your training program, keeping you mentally engaged and physically healthy. Beyond the cornerstones of your regular training program that includes long hikes, short intense sessions, and strength training, what fun things do you enjoy to do to which add to your fitness? Are you lucky enough to have one of those jobs which gets you walking during the day? How can you plan your days to add an activity or sneak in a few extra miles from place to place?
Get outside and be creative with your cross training!
- John Colver
John Colver is a longtime climber, former mountain guide, and certified personal trainer with the American Council of Exercise. Colver introduced outdoor fitness classes to athletic clubs throughout the greater Puget Sound region before creating his adventX brand. Currently, adventX leads training programs in Seattle and Colver presents clinics on outdoor fitness at companies such as Microsoft, Boeing, the American Lung Association, and REI.
Questions? Comments? Share your thoughts with John and other readers on the RMI Blog!
Hi Jesse,
Please see the post below for more information on Stair Interval Training:
http://www.rmiguides.com/blog/2013/02/28/mountaineering_training_answers_to_common_questions_from_fit_to_climb
- The RMI Team
Posted by: RMI Expeditions on 3/4/2013 at 7:42 am
“stair interval training (40 min)” appeared in Week 3 of the Rainier Fit to Climb Program, but I don’t see any description of what should be done for this.
Posted by: Jesse Cude on 2/28/2013 at 8:23 am
Posted by: Seth Waterfall
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mexico
Shhhh everyone is sleeping... We're all back in Tlachichuca and everyone has retired after our final team dinner. Today we climbed to the summit of Pico de Orizaba in fantastic weather, the best I've ever had on this mountain. Last night when I went to bed it looked like a storm front was moving towards us but when my alarm went off at 12:30am there wasn't a cloud in the sky and no wind to speak of either.
We made it from the hut at 13,990' to the 18,701' summit and back in twelve and a half hours which was a long enough day to ensure that after showers and dinner all the climbers headed for bed.
We all agreed that the last 8 days have gone by extremely quickly and that we've had some great climbs. Tomorrow we'll head back to Mexico City for our flights home.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
Posted by: Leon Davis, Mike King, Pete Van Deventer
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Hello all!
The whole team is finally in Mendoza and assembled! Due to several flight delays, today has been a bit chaotic, as we raced around to get through the park permit registration process, and buy last minute lunch food. In the end, we decided to cool our heels in Mendoza for one more night, rather than push up to Los Penitentes. This will allow us to organize, let a few folks get their first good nights sleep in a few days, and finish up the permits for a few folks. So it goes on a major international expedition.
Tomorrow, we get back on track, leaving in the late morning for Los Penitentes. Once there, we will sort gear for the mules, and get ready to begin our trek the next day!
In the meantime, we're going to enjoy another fantastic dinner in Mendoza. Best wishes to everybody back home, and we'll be in touch soon, this time from 9000 feet!
RMI Guides Pete, Leon, Mike, and team
Good Luck James “Kingpin” Beckerich and the rest of the team! I am following your blogs and wishing you all a safe and successful summit.
Thomas “The Hammer” Goham
Posted by: Thomas Goham on 1/27/2013 at 11:56 am
Just wasting some time late at night and found your email about this trip. Don’t know if your home by now or not but look forward to hearing about it all sometime. Enjoy
Posted by: Josh Eaton on 1/26/2013 at 11:35 pm
Hey, this is Seth checking in from the summit of Pico de Orizaba, tallest mountain in Mexico, fourth tallest in North America. Got the whole team with me. We've got a beautiful day. No wind up here, sunny skies, everybody's psyched. We're going to take a bunch of photos. Do some high fivin' then we'll check in once we peel back. Here's the shouts from everybody. [Team shouts!] They are very excited. It's just hard to breathe up here. We'll check in from high camp.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall calls from the Orizaba summit
On The Map
Just a quick check in from Piedra Grande. Today was smooth as silk for our move to the hut on Orizaba. We left Puebla just after 8am and arrived at the Servimont compound at 10:15. That gave us plenty of time to pack and have a nice lunch. After that we loaded in the big 4x4 for the steep drive to the hut. We had great views of the mountain all day and everything seems to be coming together for a good climb tonight. We'll check in tomorrow morning, hopefully from the summit!
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
On The Map
Posted by: JJ Justman, Geoff Schellens
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 13,800'
Hello everyone, It's JJ with Team 3 on Aconcagua. We are all back safe and sound in Base Camp. This will be our last dispatch. Out plan is to walk out part way tomorrow, have an asado dinner with the cowboys, then wake up and head to Mendoza on the 20th.
I would like to take the opportunity to allow our climbers to write a little something on the blog:
Hey guys its Greg. Well it looks like I've got a new addiction with headaches nausea and exhaustion what's not to like. Thanks so much for the messages of love and support it really means a lot out here. See you when I get home.
Hey Paula & Gang - We summited yesterday - it was awesome. We are back at base camp looking forward to the trek out and getting a shower in Mendoza. Love you all tons and thanks for all of the support - a big thanks to the RMI Team who helped with our success!!!
Hi Fam and Friends, its Mike! Thank you all for the love and support along the way, your comments helped gin up the brute doggedness it took to make the summit yesterday. I'll send pictures from Mendoza, cheers!
Hey everyone in sunny Florida! Todd here. Love to you all, especially Sally and baby girl McClurem. We are hanging out back at Base Camp after descending 4600 feet today. Trying to stay hydrated and warm. Thanks for all the comments. It was so great to know that we have family and friends who are following this crazy adventure. See ya soon!
As the resident geezer on this trip, I would like to thank not only our guides but my fellow climbers as well - a truly great bunch of men. And all my love to those at home for their support and patience. Hello FrontPoint!
Well folks, from all the guides we would like to thank all who followed us. Geoff, Garrett and myself would like to thank all of our family at the RMI Headquarters in Ashford, WA. Without all of you we would not be as successful as we are.
RMI Guides JJ, Geoff, Garrett and Team
What a great adventure for all of us as well, who’ve been following you on the blog. So grateful everyone was able to summit and make it back to base camp safely. A huge group hug! Love you bunches Mike, Mom and Dad
Posted by: Maralee McHugh on 1/18/2013 at 1:14 pm
The mountains were his masters. They rimmed in life. They were the cup of reality, beyond growth, beyond struggle and death. They were his absolute unity in the midst of eternal change.”
― Thomas Wolfe, Look Homeward, Angel
Posted by: Janet on 1/23/2013 at 6:15 am
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