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Entries By ben luedtke


Aconcagua Expedition: Cifelli & Team Carry Gear and Supplies to Camp 1 without mules

El burro sabe mas nosotros?

The mules don’t go past Base Camp but we do. We carried half our supplies and equipment from base camp to Camp 1 today at 16,400ft. Our heavy loads, the elevation and lose footing challenged all of us. We all made it and hopefully will sleep well tonight. The return to Base Camp was much faster and more fun. 

The mules do this for room and board.  Seven of us paid to sleep in a tent and haul gear/supplies up abd down the mountain. 

Personally I am impressed and extremely thankful for the team dynamics. Everyone is so supportive, encouraging, concerned for each other. We met less than a week ago but everyone truly cares for each other. We all have the same goal- for All of Us to have fun and reach the summit. 

Some of the mules don’t seem to play as well together, so, even if we are not smarter, we have that over them.

XXOO,

Climber Norm Cognetto 

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Yeah, carry your own gear

Posted by: The Burros on 1/20/2024 at 6:22 am

You wouldn’t happen to have an extra dome tent would you?

Posted by: Your Polish Friends on 1/20/2024 at 4:42 am


Aconcagua Expedition: Cifelli & Team Enjoy Rest Day At Base Camp

A day of rest, a lie in, coffee in bed, maybe a bagel, a nice long hot shower, a day at the spa for some, a day without kids, we all have our definition, our dream.  A day of rest at 13,800 ft is a little different.  Today is the day where you plan for the carry to Camp 1, gear is divided and camp essentials are split between us all.   It’s first come first served - do I want a frying pan, a grill, 3 bottles of fuel, or 2000 bags of dried spaghetti bolognese?   What will fit in my bag?  One person who has it all sorted is Ben, he’s called in Rob to carry his bag. 

The part of the body that doesn’t get a rest day is your brain - have I packed everything, have I included enough food, can I carry that monster a.k.a 100-liter rucksack, should I snag a porter?  And this is supposed to be a vacation.  

The wind at base camp was pretty raucous today - a couple of tents (not ours) were seen blowing across the camp being hastily pursued by wildly gesticulating would have been mountaineers. 

All in all, a good restful (?) day, only interrupted by a vigorous stroll up to the start of the glacier at 14,500ft - a new high for a member of the team. However, the altitude is having an impact.  Last night the team was playing cards, after about 1 hour of playing rummy Andy commented

“is this Rummy, I thought it was Euchre, it’s seem a lot like rummy”.  It was time for bed. 

Climber Myles O'Neill

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Simply Amaze me today!!!!

Posted by: Julie Couturier on 1/19/2024 at 6:27 am

One more question for some of you, ‘should I have trained more?!’ But you are all experienced and will be awesome. What a marvelous experience. Ultreia!

Posted by: Mary McKinley on 1/19/2024 at 6:19 am


Aconcagua: Cifelli & Team Finish Trek to Base Camp and Enjoy the Luxuries

Day three of our trek to base camp began with an alpine start, getting up before sunrise. After breaking camp and a quick breakfast we were at our first, of two, river crossings just as the sun was rising. The glacier-cold water caused a sudden shock to the senses, making it painful and difficult to continue crossing. As the water got up to our knees, the painful cold made it impossible to move our legs, and we needed the encouragement of our fearless guides to get us across.  

After that we were wide awake and ready to leave the Vacas valley and spend the day hiking up the Ralenchos valley. Not long after the river crossing we soon got our first glimpse of the size and grandeur of Aconcagua. After hiking up the narrow valley, safely getting through a few exposed sections above the river, and our last river crossing, the valley opened up to high desert plains dotted with large boulders and low thorny bushes.

A few times throughout the day, we had to move out of the way of the stedfast burros carrying gear to and from base camp. Mostly following the path, some would misbehave and try to go another direction, requiring the gauchos to yell and whistle to get them back in line. 

After making it to base camp, we were greeted by the wonderful Grajales staff. We all sat down in the dome tent where we eat, and were brought fresh fruit, sodas, and we made coffee and yerba mate (a local highly-caffeinated tea that guide Ben introduced us to). This was followed by a delicious lunch of pan-fried pork belly, potato salad, zucchini, and cup of fruit for dessert. 

We then set up all our tents at our campsites, got settled in, and relaxed as we are getting used to the thin air of 13,800ft. 

Base camp is even better than our prior two camps. In addition to the dome tents to eat and hang out in, bathrooms (which can be a challenge for some to get out of), solar-panel power to charge our electronics, and wifi that is faster than at home, there are showers! At 13,800ft!

This evening's dinner was exceptional as always! 

Broccoli soup, steak, wine, and crepes (Myles did not have wine, Fionnuala). 

We'll all sleep well tonight, now that everyone has their sleeping bags.

Shout out to Eddie!

Climber Andy Green 

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

You know it’s getting real with a 50lb pack on your back and a glacier-melt river up to your knees. I also heard that Ben is willing to assist the porters with any additional gear needing to get to carried to the next camp.

Posted by: Ed DaPra on 1/18/2024 at 6:28 am

I love these posts!  Thank you for keeping those of us who are with you in spirit in the loop and with all the detail.  The river crossings sound so painfully cold. Now rest and recharge as you acclimate to the altitude. Buen Camino Mikayla!

Posted by: Michelle DeMers on 1/18/2024 at 5:11 am


Aconcagua: Cifelli & Team Enjoy Their Trek through the Vacas Valley

Life is a series of stories, so you might as well make them good ones. We’re only three days, but pretty sure this will be a good one. 

Fueled by last night’s asada feast and our bellies full of Malbec, and well rested after a night slept tentless under a show of stars unrivaled by any planetarium or AI manipulation, we set out this morning for 11 miles of the high desert’s finest. 

Led by the galloping gait of our fine Irishman, an unreasonably large number of doctors, the poet who engineered yesterday’s post, a reformed lawyer and our hockey-stick-wielding air force officer, we owned the trail like the parking lot scene in Reservoir Dogs. 

The Vacas valley treated us to long views of the mountains to come, galloping burrows, a lone guanaco and the Rio Vacas flowing with enough force to make us eager to walk upon the snow that must be powering it. 

That same river forced us into our first sketchy scramble and our first bit of exposure. Good to get the juices flowing.  

After finally rolling into our campsite - with another posh welcoming spread - Dominic choreographed a photoshoot in front of our first view of the great mountain we hope to summit. 

All in all, today we showed that although we are dirty,  and sweaty, and stinky … this group is STRONG and worthy of this mountain. 

We are not, however, without weakness. In the last few days our greatest fears have temporarily shifted from “how are we going to handle the extreme altitude?” to irrational anxiety about the elusive scorpions, the phlebotomist black flies and whether we lost our toothbrushes. 

Until tomorrow … onward!

Postscript: Best snack of the day - yellow bell pepper stuffed with leftover carne asada. 

Climber Chris Lind

Leave a Comment For the Team (1)

Seems like the start of a great joke: “a doctor, a lawyer, and a poet go into a bar.”  What’s not a joke is your team’s pace. You all are crushing it.  Keep up the great work!

Posted by: Ed DaPra on 1/17/2024 at 2:57 am


Aconcagua: Cifelli & Team Begin Trek to Base Camp

Greetings from Pampa de Lena's! We awoke this morning at the rustic Hotel Ayelene eager to start our way up Aconcagua. We busily made final adjustments to our packs as questions about readiness filled our minds. Are we trained enough? Do we have the right gear packed? Will those croissants from this morning make it till break tomorrow? Will present Chris get in the way of past Chris helping future Chris pack?

But as we started walking questions like these fade away. Fueled by sweet bell peppers as we arrive at camp in style.

Climber Jon Honda

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Aconcagua: Cifelli & Team Arrive Mendoza, Prepare Gear

Welcome to the Blog! This first one will be written by me, Dominic Cifelli, but throughout the trip we pass the torch to all the climbers in order to gain different perspective on the day in/day out of the trip. Keep a lookout for your loved one's name on the blog and please enjoy!

We're off! Landing in Mendoza, we were greeted with the warm temps and long days of the South American summer. A far cry from the cold snap our loved ones are experiencing in the U.S.A. The day was filled with long lunches, a siesta or two, and perusing the local markets for gifts and very late Christmas presents.

The first days of an expedition are exciting and quite hectic as we prepare, check, and recheck our equipment for the journey ahead. I always find that once we start walking, everything gets simpler because we can no longer quadruple check that we packed that favorite pair of socks or brought the right mittens. What's packed is packed and the job will become putting one front in front of the other.

That's for tomorrow's enjoyment, however. The rest of the day will be filled with prepping the duffels and food for the rough ride they take on the mules to Basecamp.

We do this in the "town" of Penitentes, close to the entrance to Aconcagua Provincial Park.

Stay tuned and wish us luck as we try to finish up the monstrous task of packing for a three-week trip.

Adios!

RMI Guide Dominic Cifelli

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Get it!  Wishing you all enjoyable and safe travels.  You all trained and prepped so diligently, now it’s time to enjoy the trek to the top. Prayer and encouragement from Seattle.

Posted by: Ed DaPra on 1/16/2024 at 6:18 am

Good luck!  Praying for a safe summit!

Posted by: Michelle DeMers on 1/15/2024 at 4:38 am


Four Day Climb: August 19th Team Update

The Four Day Climb with RMI Guides Casey Grom and Ben Luedtke climbed to Ingraham Flats early this morning. The team enjyoyed the sunrise and a beautiful morning soaking in all the views. They are back at Camp Muir and will be starting their descent to Paradise soon. 

Leave a Comment For the Team (1)

Amazing!!!! Congrats guys!

Posted by: Carol Wiesner on 8/19/2023 at 9:56 am


Mt. Rainier: Paradise Seminar Team Reaches Summit

The Expedition Skills Seminar - Paradise August 8 - 13 team met last Tuesday at Rainier BaseCamp for their first day of Technical Skills training.  On Wednesday, led by RMI Guides Ben Luedtke, Jackson Breen and Joey Manship they headed to Paradise and hiked to their first camp.  The team spent the next several days learning and practicing glacier travel skills, crevasse rescue and expedition style climbing.  Yesterday they bumped camp to 10,080' Camp Muir and with an alpine start this morning they reached the summit of Mt. Rainier.  The team is safely back at Camp Muir where they will have a short break to repack and re-fuel for the remaining 4,500' down to Paradise.  They will conclude their program with a celebration at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.

Congratulations to the team!

Leave a Comment For the Team

Mt. Rainier: August 5th Team on Top!

The Four Day Climb led by RMI Guides Casey Grom and Ben Luedtke reached the summit of Mt. Rainier and were greeted with Snow!  A summer storm with clouds, snow, and low visability kept the team from spending too much time on the summit. The team is on the descent, and in route to Camp Muir where the weather is currently a mix of rain and sleet.

Congratulations Team!

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Mt. Rainier: August 3rd Summit!

The Four Day Climb led by RMI Guides Steve Gately and Ben Luedtke reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. RMI Guide Ben Luedtke captured the team in this photo on the upper mountian as they were ascending under clear blue skies. They are on the descent in route back to Camp Muir. 

Congratulations Team! 

Leave a Comment For the Team
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