And our first full day in the Ishinca Valley just went by... Sunny skies woke us up this morning, and we took advantage of them by doing a thorough session of hardware function and familiarization, as well as rope work. After a good lunch from our chef, Emilio, and we were ready for the afternoon acclimatization hike to "Tocllacocha" a glacial lake at 15,200' on the northwestern flanks of impressive Tocllaraju. Tea and another superb dinner followed upon our return. Tomorrow we're headed to the glacier for our full-day mountaineering school, as well as a new dose of altitude and acclimatization exercise. Stay tuned! Our Spanish climbing word of the day is ballestrinque which means clove hitch. RMI Guides Elias de Andres Martos and Robby Young

So there we were, moving into the "Blanca". A few hours of hiking brought us to the mouth of Quebarada Ishinca. With "burros" hauling the big part of our load, we arrived in style to Ishinca Base Camp, home for the next 7 days. Unsettled weather only allowed brief glimpses of the ice-cloaked, jagged "rajus" above. If our senses weren't already overstimulated enough, we sat down to a dinner of fresh trout at 14,300'. Stormy skies passed leaving us with a magnificent sea of stars highlighted by the Southern Cross. Until tomorrow, "buenas noches". -Spanish climbing word of the day; la cumbre (the summit) RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos

Hi from Huaraz, Official Day 1 of the expedition started this morning with an excellent acclimatization hike to "Puca Ventana" some 1,800ft above town. Good weather and better views, made a great morning for the team. If any of us doubted the hike made the heart pump enough blood to start triggering the acclimatization process, we found a stopped car in need of a jump to start, so we proved to be good Samaritans, and give the guy a push. Some delicacies afterwards and a gear check to make sure we got what we need starting tomorrow, and we called it a day. A relaxed evening packing and enjoying the local food and fantastic facility of our hotel, is taking us to bed excited to start the journey into the Ishinca Valley first thing in the morning. Our next post will be via our satellite phone, untill we come out to go to Copa. Best regards, and stay tuned! RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos

Hi from Huaraz! The team united in the morning at our Lima Hotel, and shortly after, we jumped on our private bus, en route to Huaraz. From hours along the Pacific Coast, to the extensive land lots covered on drying chili peppers and corn, being baked by the sun, a visually stimulating drive greeted us as we started to go up the Conococha Pass. With 1 1/2 hours left of our bus drive, we got a first glimpse of the Cordillera Blanca, with Huascarán reigning amongst the clouds, and the Pastoruri Massif a mere stone throw from our "bladder emptying" stop in the 14K ft vicinity, right at dusk (yep, it's winter here, and it gets dark early). We met Peter, our local outfitter and third guide completing the guide team. Dinner and bed time. All is great so far!!! RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos