RMI Expeditions Blog

If you’ve been following the blog posts, you’ve been doing some rigorous training - and it will pay off. I’m always looking for a little extra motivation or meaning in my routines and I’m often thinking about how to maintain the momentum that will carry me up the hill! As humans, we dedicate art, buildings, books and many other things. Often to loved ones, sometimes to causes. We can dedicate any effort. A mountain climb for example - to someone or something we care for. It can even be anonymous. Perhaps the person isn’t with us anymore, a team you once were part of, it could be your next-door neighbor! Personally, I’ll do it when I’m taking on something that will test my limits, or something that I’ve not had success with in the past. This process feels very tangible, “I’m grateful for what you did for me, I’m going to do this thing for you”. And it goes both ways. Someone once told me they found the stamina to go to the top of a mountain as a token of gratitude for the encouragement I gave them ... I’ll never forget that. When I start dedicating that next mile, thousand feet, workout or climb to someone who has helped me, all of a sudden I’m no longer going solo. I have a supporter, a team or my family behind me. It improves the quality of what I’m doing. Credit for this idea to Seth Godin, an inspirational out-of-the-box thinker whom I respect. - 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. Colver lives in Seattle. Questions? Comments? Share your thoughts with John and other readers on the RMI Blog!

I know I sound like a broken record but our Aconcagua team is both rocking and rolling! Today we woke up early and laced up our mountaineering boots. With hefty packs in hand we slowly made our way up to Camp 1 at 16,360 feet...officially. For Geoff and I today gave us an opportunity to visibly see how each climber is doing. And it was obvious that everyone has climbed before. And climbed well. The team was in sync with breaks, rest stepping, good footwork and most importantly everyone was having fun. We spent a half an hour at Camp 1 and we left quite a bit of gear that we will need for the upper mountain. So we are now officially ready to move up the mountain. But first we will take another rest day here at base camp. There's no need to rush. The tortoise always wins the race. RMI Guide JJ Justman

Morning at Low Camp is a tough, tough thing. The sun doesn't hit camp until about 11:15 AM and until then, things are mighty cold in the shadow of Vinson. It isn't dark at night, since the sun doesn't go below the horizon, but when it goes behind the mountain we burrow pretty deeply into our down sleeping bags. We rolled out this morning to find a lot more cloud than we expected. But there didn't seem to be any wind blowing on the high peaks and so we geared up to do our carry to high camp. We set out bright and early at 1:45 PM. It started snowing lightly as we approached the fixed ropes, but it wasn't particularly cold. The rope sections were a workout, for sure. We climbed continuously steep snow slopes that averaged about 35 degrees for hour after hour. Leaving the ropes we still had a final hour and a half of glacier climbing to reach high camp. All in all it took us about 6 and a half hours to get there. Views weren't unlimited since the cloud and intermittent snows stayed with us, but we got glimpses of the giant mountains around us. We cached supplies at high camp (12,300 ft) and then skedaddled on down reaching our tents and some good strong sunshine at 10:30 PM. Dinner and hot drinks finished the day. A fine and hard day of climbing, we all agreed. Now we look forward to a rest day at low camp. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

Hello RMI blog followers. I wish we had something really really exciting to report. I guess the biggest thing is the entire team smells like peppermint. You see, our Dr. Bronners soap is made with organic peppermint, good for the environment. With the winds picking up we all took showers and broke down our Cabela's shower tent. With team fresh and clean we spent the rest of the day triple checking our food and gear that we will carry up the mountain. Our route on Aconcagua will utilize three camps. So you can imagine, we need a good amount of food, fuel and personal gear. So tomorrow we begin the process of acclimatizing and caching gear higher up the mountain. On a health note, the entire team has high oxygen saturation levels, which is fantastic. We are all acclimatizing very well. The forecast is for stronger winds, which I like...you might as well get the bad weather out of the way down low. Stay tuned and we will let all of you know how our carry to 16,200 feet goes. For now, this is JJ saying ciao from 14,000'. RMI Guide JJ Justman

Moving up the mountain, bit by bit. We seemed to make pretty quick work of the move from Vinson Base to Camp One today. It didn't hurt that we had another day of perfect, sunny and calm weather. The team seems to be getting into the swing of things now and the climbing seems easy and familiar... marching along low angled glacier carrying heavy packs and hauling sleds full of gear and supplies. But now, having established camp at 9,300 ft on the Branscomb Glacier, the approach is over and tomorrow the climb begins. If all goes well we'll tackle the steep fixed rope section and try to make a carry to high camp. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

Base Camp accomplished. We have arrived! The day started out El Gaucho style as we saddled up our mules and crossed the Vacas River. I mean... C'mon, that water was polar ice cold. Especially at 7:30 in the morning. After the teams John Wayne moment we enjoyed our final day of trekking. The last day into Base Camp ascends steeply at first until it gently rolls out to a gradual uphill. We even caught sight of two guanacos, which resemble a llama but actually have roots to the camel family. After arriving in camp we got busy relaxing. At 14,000 feet we all deserve to just kick back, relax and enjoy. We set up our shower tent and rinsed off the dust before we had another exquisite Argentine meal. Everyone is feeling well and we are acclimatizing perfectly. Tomorrow is a well deserved day of rest. Stay tuned! RMI Guide JJ Justman

On The Map

Hello from Vinson Base camp where the winds are calm and the midnight sun is in full force. Today was our first full day of climbing! We carried food and fuel mostly and cached it at camp one. The sun doesn't really go down here but when it goes behind the mountain it gets very cold. Due to that we have had to alter our days slightly to take advantage of the warmer times. It's a little bit of an adjustment but it seems to have suited the group just fine. Everyone did an awesome job today and if all goes well we'll be moving our camp up the mountain tomorrow. RMI Guide Seth Waterfall

On The Map

Another great day! Sometimes I am hesitant at writing these blogs. I am lying here in my sleeping bag under the stars watching a meteor shower. And I know some of you are sitting at your desks staring out the window dreaming of adventure. So please live vicariously through us! The team had a great day. We woke up and had croissants, coffee and Argentinian scrambled eggs. You cannot trek for five hours on an empty stomach. The scenery on the second day gets more spectacular in the Vacas Valley. However, our journey in the Vacas is over at 11,000 feet. Tomorrow we turn left and trek up the Relinchos Valley towards Plaza Argentina, our Base Camp at 14,000 feet. The entire team is doing great and we are filled up on grilled chicken, which we had this evening. Tomorrow we will describe the community of Plaza Argentina which will be home for many days as we continue to properly acclimatize. RMI Guide JJ Justman

On The Map

Another important milestone, easily achieved. We woke at Union Glacier in perfect weather, ate our breakfast and boarded two ski equipped Twin Otter airplanes bound for Vinson Basecamp. Our flight through the Ellsworth Mountains was memorable as we passed hundreds of sharp and dramatic glaciated peaks. A big right turn brought us into the valley of the Branscomb Glacier at the foot of Mount Vinson. We landed while flying up a hill at a little over 7000 ft elevation. The entire team set to work dragging duffels and building Basecamp. We spent this perfect weather day reviewing roped climbing techniques and getting settled in. An afternoon hike served to stretch legs and jog memories of mountaineering difficulties and pleasures. We ate dinner in our newly built dining tent under the blazing evening sun, forgetting that the air temperature was likely hovering around zero degrees Fahrenheit. We enjoyed seeing the climbers from the previous round on Vinson come into camp pleased with their summit of the mountain just yesterday and relieved to find airplanes waiting to take them away today. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

Hello everyone, this is Team 1 on Aconcagua. Well, not just yet. Today the team left the comfort of civilization and we hit the dusty trail towards base camp of Aconcagua. The trek in is amazing. You are surrounded by giant mountain cliffs, a roaring river and occasionally a soaring condor. With light packs we enjoyed the warm weather while tanning our pasty legs. After a picnic lunch by the Vacas River we arrived at our first trekking camp at 9500 feet. If anyone can guess the name of this camp I will personally carry your pack next year into Aconcagua's base camp! The team is doing great! This evening we enjoyed hanging out with the Cowboys who work with our mules and gear to get into base. We enjoyed an authentic asado steak dinner cooked over an open fire, topped off with an avocado tomato salad. Life is good in the mountains! RMI Guide JJ Justman

On The Map