RMI Expeditions Blog

RMI Blog - 10/06 - 4:44 pm PT

Buenos Dias blog readers! It was a cool, cloudy day here in Central Mexico. Sleep last night was not great but serviceable; nothing a hot cup of coffee and a nourishing breakfast couldn't fix

Today we traveled from El Centro Vacacional de Malinzi to La Joya at 13,000 feet. After making a quick pit stop in the village of Amecameca, we ascended the windy and pot-hole-ridden road to El Paso de Cortez while fighting back nausea. After checking into the national park, we continued onward and upward to La Joya where we set up camp, met our guide Morizio, had a delicious lunch graciously prepared for us by our local staff, and stretched our legs with another bushwhacky day hike. We also encountered more mountain dogs, which made at least one of us very happy.

En route to Amecameca, we caught our first glimpse of our second obiective, Ixtaccihuatl or Ixta, as well as her restless neighbor Popocatépetl or Popo; their upper slopes just barely visible above the clouds. Even from more than 20 miles away, their presence was palpable: dominating over a quarter of the horizon while still 10,000 feet above us,

"Seeing them for the first time made me ponder the Aztec legend, which gave the sibling Volcanoes their names, According to myth, Ixtaccíhuatl was a beautiful ‣princess who fell in love with the great warrior Popocatépetl, Upon learning of their affections, the emperor agreed told Popo he may only marry her if he went to war with his enemies and returned victorious. Popo agreed and embarked on a long campaign, promising his lover they would be married upon his return. However, Popo was not Ixta's only suitor. One day, a rival warrior told Ixta that Popo had died in battle having the intent of convincing her to marry him instead,. Overwhelmed with grief and anger, Ixta died of her sorrows shortly thereafter. When Popo returned, he brought her body far beyond the shores of Lake Texcoco, erected a funeral pyre and perished with his lover in his arms. Moved by their devotion, the Gods transformed their bodies into the massive mountains we know today. In Nahuatl, "Ixtaccihuatl' translates to "white lady," her long summit ridge bearing resemblance to the figure of her namesake lying peacefully on her back. Conversely, "Popocatépet!" translates to "the smokey one," his frequent eruptions representing the great warrior's wrath, strength, and restless energy.

Writing these words, I feel nervous and excited at the same time. Every step that I'lI take will be the highest l've ever been. I keep asking myself "Am I ready?", "Do I have what it takes to do this?" But at the end of the day, all that matters is giving it an honest effort and making it down safe and sound, Whatever happens tomorrow, meeting, hiking with, and getting to know my team members has already made this trip worth it so iBuena suerte a todos!

RMI Climber Benjamin Wolf

It was an alpine start for our team today.  We set out walking by headlight in the cool 5AM mountain air.  The goal was to reach the 16,000 ft lakes below the Renjo La.  Short of being able to go through the pass, we wanted to at least see the high ground.  And we did.  Some steady climbing brought us up into the snow just as sunrise came on.  We found a set of mysterious tracks in the snow.  Possibly leopard, possibly dog.  Ultimately we sat in the sun at 16k, eating snacks, drinking water and mugging for pictures.  We put on our yak track boot chains and descended carefully down the slippery path back toward our adopted home in Lungdhen, reaching it around 11:30 in a still sunny morning. 
We had a great lunch and dried our boots outside until the clouds came over.  Some went for an afternoon snooze, some were treated to an impromptu concert in the dining room as Harrison sang and played guitar.  The afternoon card games got going at about the same time that the yak dung fire got lit in the iron stove in the center of the room. 
This will be our last night up high, we’ll start our gradual descent tomorrow. 

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

10.5.26

Hello blog readers!! 

(special attention to my mom, Lauri) 

Today, everyone on our team summited La Malinche! We couldn’t have asked for a better day! No wind, a few big clouds, and just enough sun to give us some incredible views before reaching the summit. I honestly thought it was the absolute perfect day.

While we were sitting on the summit, I said out loud, “The only thing that could make this day better would be if a dog was here.”

and then… I kid you not.. SIX DOGS APPEARED. ON THE SUMMIT. IN THE EXACT MINUTE I WISHED FOR ONE. The universe really heard me on that one. We gave them hugs, pets, and snacks! I think that’s what my heaven would look like.

After enjoying the summit, we headed back down for some much enjoyed showers and relaxation. 

Before I left for this trip my mom specifically asked me to “please not pet the dogs…” Mom, I am sorry to inform you but I am indeed petting a ton of dogs. 

I couldn’t have imagined a better summit day or a better surprise at the top!

RMI Climber Alexa Franks and Team

This was to be a rest day at Lungdhen.  And mostly it was.  Most of the team walked a few miles north toward the Nangpa La  -the pass into Tibet.  They reported no people but a number of good yaks.  A couple of us went up to scout out the Renjo La -the 17,600 ft pass separating us from Gokyo -our intended next village.  We found too much snow left over from the recent cyclone.  We were able to get to the pass on our reconnaissance but it just wouldn’t be suitable for a bigger group with porters carrying loads.  We’ll come up with an alternate itinerary on this side of the pass.  Plenty still to see.  The day turned cloudy fairly early on today, we hope that is just a blip and not another system moving in.

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Sunday October 4

Good morning followers! Yesterday, we made the long travel to the beautiful Malintzi Resort. After a short bushwacky hike because the park trail was closed due to weather, we enjoyed a "relaxing" afternoon of Monopoly Deal before dinner in our cabana. We've decided to leave what happens in M Deal at the table. Today, we climb Malinche! Stay tuned for more of our adventure. 

RMI Guide Ben Luedtke & Team

Hola amigos, amigas, y las familias!

Bienvenidos a Mexico!!

Thank you all for tuning in. We are very excited to have you join us all on our adventure as we climb 3 new volcanoes here in Mexico. Last night we all officially arrived in Mexico City, got settled in, met for the first time and enjoyed a true Mexican dinner before sleeping off the jetlag. We are currently on our way to climb our first volcano called La Malinche. Today we will get checked into our cabin and enjoy a small warm up hike, but tomorrow will be our climb. Stay tuned with us one day at a time. We are excited to share our adventures with everyone.

RMI Guide Ben Luedtke & Team

All agreed that it was a beautiful day to be walking in the Himalaya.  As expected, it was a little cooler waking up in Thame but the sun came around and made everything cheerful and warm.  We walked north toward Tibet for about six hours along a charging, churning, frothing glacial river.  We finally got high enough to see real live yaks and marveled at the labor that had gone into their stone corals and pens.  It was a day spent above tree line and the morning sun was intense.  That gave way to dramatic clouds by afternoon.  They only seemed to exaggerate the height and steepness of the peaks towering on all sides.  Our own path today was just a steady and gradual gain to 14,300 ft.  Relatively easy walking compared to yesterday’s ups and downs.  The snowline from the recent cyclone that hit Nepal is just a few hundred feet above us now. 

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Another day, another high, beautiful valley.  We came up from Namche to Thame, passing about 500 waterfalls and getting first views of another dozen 22,000 foot mountains. 
It was a pleasure to walk out of Namche in the opposite direction of most tourists and trekkers. We’ve been alongside wonderful people, but today it was just great to be by ourselves on the path less traveled.  We got our last chance (for a while at least) to walk in the shade of trees as we passed through lush pine forests.  We crossed another high cable bridge over the angriest of rivers just before reaching Thame.  It took about five hours, with a nice stop for tea, but then we rolled in to Paradise -our tea house at 12,600 ft.  The walls of this valley are the kind that hurt your neck to look at… but they are pretty good for the soul. 

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

We called it a rest day, but there wasn’t much rest. It was the perfect morning for acclimatizing though, and so we hiked to the top of town for a grand view of Mt Everest and Lhotse and Ama Dablam, to say nothing of Tawoche and Thamserku and Kwangde.  We went a bit higher to around 12,600 ft for tea in a relaxing yard in the strong sunshine.  Then it was down to Namche to rest.  But still nobody actually rested.  It was too much fun strolling the “streets” of Namche and shopping. 

Tomorrow it is back to work, we’ll be moving on.

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

With excitement to return to the comforts of our homes and the companionship of our loved ones back home, we leave this expedition behind. Our final day in Tanzania began at an eco lodge, where we were greeted by watching the sun rise in bed and listening to the birds chirp through the walls of our tents. One final game drive yielded an elusive cheetah sighting (which cost me $35 on the spot, a long story about an excellent safari guide) before heading back towards Arusha and eventually the airport.

We have all had some time to reflect along the way, but perhaps the magnitude of it all may set in later. We often had little time to catch our breath, proverbially and perhaps a bit literally. Journaling fell behind and books remain unfinished, a telltale sign of an action-packed adventure. 

This entire group deserves recognition for sticking with it through the challenging times and reaching the summit of Kilimanjaro. It would have been easy enough to let all of the difficulties add up and have thrown in the towel, but nobody did that. Give them a congratulations yourself the next time you see them!

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier