Rest is important for the body and mind. It allows both to replenish the energy it has lost from hard work. And today we did just that. The morning began with a casual breakfast with copious amounts of hot water for coffee and tea. From there we enjoyed the warmth of the sun and pleasant conversation as we lounged among the rocks. Of course there was plenty of snacking all day long. As we say in the mountains lunch begins after breakfast and ends at dinner. Now that we are rested and getting a little antsy to start walking uphill again, we are ready to move to
Camp 2 tomorrow.
Buenos dias,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team
Once the sun hit the tents, camp came alive with teams rustling around, getting breakfast going and packing up. It seemed everyone was either carrying to Camp 2 or moving. We were carrying. After breakfast, we packed our bags and hit the trail once again. It was a busy day for the porters. Many of them with loads of 30-40kg cruising up the mountain as we all said, "Hola." With our own loads on our backs, we too made our way up the mountain to our future home
Guanacos Camp aka Camp 2. It felt good to go higher and breathe in the thinning air. It just means our summit push is getting closer and closer. Once again as the sun sinks behind the ridge a chill fills the air and we all go back to our tents to get warm. Tomorrow we will be enjoying a rest day before we move up to Camp 2 the following day.
Goodnight,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team
On The Map
We woke today and said goodbye to the other RMI team as they headed down valley to go enjoy a delicious carne asado dinner. A carne asado dinner and a bed sound nice, but we have a lot of mountain ahead of us, so those are going to have to wait. The team made it further up the mountain today as we established our new home at
Camp 1. It was a warm day today which made for great lounging in the sun as we kicked back and relaxed from a job well done. As dinner finished and hot drinks were sipped the sun slipped behind the ridge and a chill filled the air. Everyone casually disappeared into their sleeping bags for warmth...and so begins spending 12 hours in our tents.
Have a great day,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team
On The Map
With no agenda today but resting, we had a casual breakfast and a lazy morning. Many cups of coffee were enjoyed as we all sat around the table chit-chatting. As the afternoon rolled up
Mike King and team strolled into camp. They had a successful summit yesterday and looked eager to get out of their boots. It was great catching up with them and hearing about their climb. It just adds more excitement for the team to hear what is coming next from those who were just there. Our day is coming soon but first we have to move to
Camp 1. Tomorrow we will pack up our things and leave the joys of basecamp. Tomorrow we will be one step closer.
All the best,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team
The team showed up to play and brought their A game today. Today we made our way further up the mountain carrying a load up to
Camp 1. We piled our gear under a rock, breathed in the thinning air at 16,200' and then strolled on back down to the comforts of basecamp where juice and snacks awaited. Everyone did a fantastic job. Our team looked strong and motivated. This is going to be a good climb. After a hard day's work, we are looking forward to our rest tomorrow which is also our last day at basecamp.
Goodnight all,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team
On The Map
Rest days are the best days. Days for reading, napping, sport eating and shooting the breeze. We all did plenty of that plus a few chores. Everyone had to visit the
base-camp doctor, to which everyone received a green-light to go up the mountain. More shuffling of gear was done to get ready for our carry tomorrow. Tomorrow we will head up to Camp 1 to cache some of our gear. With nice weather in the forecast, it's going to be good day.
After while crocodile,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team
We continued feeling like a cowboy by riding a mule across the river this morning. The river is painfully cold, so it was nice to avoid walking across. After a short ride we were back to traveling by foot. We exited the Vacas Valley and entered the Relinchos Valley. The views are gorgeous with steep rock on one side and rolling hills on the other. By the end of our walk we reach
Aconcagua Basecamp just under 14,000'. Its a welcoming sight. We are greeted with juice and pizza. You feel rather civilized up here. Comfort food of shepard's pie and a welcome cake were enjoyed by all for dinner. The team is psyched and doing well.
Later alligator,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team
On The Map
We all slept under the stars last night. No tent, just a sleeping pad and sleeping bag. You feel like a cowboy. The moon shone so bright you didn't need a headlamp to see anything. The morning came, we packed up, and continued our walk down the Vacas Valley. An hour into our walk we saw our first guanaco, the Llama of Argentina. After walking for a handful of hours we arrived at
Casa de Piedra. We set up our tents and relaxed in the sunshine or down by the river until dinner. With the sun down and well fed we are all turning in. Tomorrow is big, we finally arrive to basecamp where we get to settle in for a few days.
Hasta luego,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team
Mother nature turned up the furnace today. After finishing up our final touches on our packing we loaded the van and made our way to the entrance to
Aconcagua. The ranger checked our permits and we were off on the hot dusty trail to our first camp at Pampas de las Lenas. It was a scorcher but the team arrived to camp in good style and enjoyed some down time hiding from the sun before dinner. We feasted on a carne asada dinner cooked over a fire by the mule drivers. Vegetables, bread and wine accompanied the mouth watering meat. With full bellies and the meat sweats, we are ready for bed. Tomorrow is another day on the trail as we get closer to basecamp.
adios,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team
The Team has really lucked out where the weather is concerned. We don’t have the lightest winds in the forecast but we are hoping they stay manageable. We enjoyed another warm night with a spectacular moon following whatever lunar phenomena happened a few nights ago. We are at 18,000’ and enjoying some more tent time. There comes a point where having slightly longer days would be nice, reading 300 pages of a book in two days is quite easy with how much tent time we get. Now that we are at
Camp 2, the wait for a summit window becomes more realistic. The schedule is to carry food and fuel to high camp tomorrow and rest the following day. This will get us three nights at this elevation. Ultimately, the forecasted winds might force our hand to move up a day earlier or burn a weather day in hopes of lighter wind. Until then, we have a crowded camp but with a spectacular view. Thanks for following along.
On The Map
Sounds like the team is making great progress! Congrats! Keep up the good work and fully enjoy the experience!
Posted by: Dr. J on 1/29/2019 at 10:00 pm
So proud of you Hannah! Have a great climb!
Posted by: Shannon Smith on 1/29/2019 at 5:42 pm
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