Entries By ben luedtke

Hello from High Camp on Aconcagua!

The team woke to some light breeze and an eagerness to move to Camp Colera. A simple breakfast of oatmeal would fuel us up the 1,600' to our new home for the the next two nights. With each step we could tell we were taking in less oxygen. It is a weird feeling exerting one self while hypoxic. After a few hours of walking uphill we rolled into a busy High Camp. We found four spots to set up our tents and get settled in. This camp has no running water so most of the afternoon is spent making water. It will be early to bed for us since we have an early morning making our way to the summit. The winds have increased but fingers crossed we can stay protected from them and stay warm enough to make the tippy top. Wish us luck as we get ready for our big day!

We got this,

RMI Guides Hannah, Ben, Dan and Team

Hello all,

Another chill day on Aconcagua for the team. Since we had the time we had a fun breakfast of pancakes with white chocolate chips (the grocery was out of milk chocolate chips). After enjoying are delightful breakfast we stretched our legs on the first stretch of our hike tomorrow. It was good to fill the lungs and get the blood going and to get eyes on tomorrow's terrain. We spent most of the afternoon resting, enjoying the scenery, starring at the mountain and sorting gear for our move. Everyone is ready for our next move. This move is significant because once we leave this camp we are go go go for the next five days. The team is ready and looking strong. So here is our last Goodnight from Guanacos Camp. Next chat is from our high camp.

RMI Guides Hannah, Ben, Dan and Team

Good evening,

Not a whole lot to report from Camp 2. Our night was noisy with wind, which didn't let up till later in the afternoon. With the winds blowing in the morning making the camp look all sparkly we decided to stay put and not participate in the windy day.The carry is not a crucial part of our agenda so it is OK that we opted not to carry to high camp. We spent out day watching the snow Dance off the ridges and the top.Tomorrow will be another rest day before we make the move to high camp where we launch for the summit. The winds should be lessening as our day approaches. For now we snuggle into our sleeping bags for warmth and enjoy a other hypoxic sleep at 18,000'.

Goodnight all,

RMI Guides Hannah, Ben, Dan and Team

Hello from Guanacos 3 camp,

Today we made the move further up the mountain. The winds rattled the tents through the night. By the morning, they eased up. After sorting some logistics, we made our way up the mountain getting closer to our final goal, the tippy top.

The team did a fantastic job, making good time to the camp.

I knew it was going to be a good day because as I went to the bathroom, I saw a fox. Foxes have been a good omen for me on big mountains like Denali. I'm sure it will be one here too. This is my fourth trip seeing a fox on this mountain. Any who, we are keeping an eye on the winds as we get in position for our move to high camp and summit bid. We are looking at going for the top on Monday. Tomorrow, we are going to carry some gear to high camp and acclimatize.

To those reading, please ask mother nature to cool her jets with the wind and allow us a calm next few days. For now, we shall be lulled to sleep by the sound of tents flapping in the wind.

Thanks for reading,

Hannah, Ben, Dan, and Team

Good evening loyal readers,

Today was our rest day. These days can be tough mentally as the day creeps by slowly. A lot of reading, listening to podcasts, and music, watching TV shows, and simply looking at our surroundings to pass the time. The winds stayed calm for most of the day making for a toasty sit in the tents. Tomorrow the winds are supposed to ramp up which could make our move to Camp 2 a little sporty. Everyone is excited for the move because it gets us 1600' closer to the top. We are all tucked into our sleeping Bags ready for some sleep so we can walk uphill.

Buenos noches,

RMI Guides Hannah, Ben, Dan, and Team

Hola Family and Friends!

What a day it was. After waking up from a night of heavy wind gusts and having breakfast, we took a few extra minutes sipping our (dulce de leche) coffee to allow the winds to calm down and the sun to get higher in the sky. Feeling warmed up, we did some last-minute packing, doublechecked the tie downs on our tents and headed up to Camp 2, AKA Guanacos 3, for our carry day. As we crisscrossed on rocky and snowy terrain, we took in our first amazing views of Cerro Ameghino. Once we passed through the saddle, we began the long traverse below the Polish glacier, and enjoyed more amazing views of the Andes Mountain range to the north.

Arriving at camp, we took the time to take pictures, unload our packs, and headed downhill back to Camp One. With our bellies full of quesadillas, we are currently weathering more winds and looking forward to a well-earned rest day tomorrow.

RMI Guides Hannah, Ben, Dan, and Team

Hola amigos!

This morning we bid farewell to our fellow RMI team as they headed back down the Relinchos Valley, one day closer to civilization. We on the other hand shouldered our heavy packs and began our move to Camp 1 at 16,000ft. Blue skies and a light breeze accompanied the team up toward camp. We arrived in good style, feeling and looking good, happy to be making our way to the upper mountain. The night ended with our very own high altitude rendition of Pad Thai. The sun dipped below the ridgeline, the wind picked up, and we all took the cue and retreated to our warm sleeping bags. An early night's rest will do wonders for our carry to camp 2 (Guanacos 3) tomorrow!

Cheers!

RMI Guides Hannah, Ben, Dan and the team

Good evening readers,

After a high effort day of carrying to Camp One, the team enjoyed our last rest day at Basecamp. cups of coffee were enjoyed as the sun warmed up camp. Today was a leisure day. Time was spent watching TV shows, reading books, chatting with teammates, and showers. We also sorted gear for the move to Camp One. We don't want to be too heavy when we head back downhill, so luxury items like sweatpants, jeans, sweatshirts, need to stay behind.

A highlight of the day was welcoming the other RMI team back to Basecamp. We got useful information about the route and conditions and now feel ready to have our go at the upper mountain. Tomorrow, we say bye to the wonderful basecamp staff that have been taking good care of us and move to Camp One.

We are ready and excited to progress up this mountain.

Adios,
RMI Guides Hannah, Ben, Dan, and Team

We woke to another brisk morning. The sun slowly creeps down the mountain. Once it hits the dome tent, everything/everyone warms up.

Today we made progress up the mountain. We sorted our gear to carry all the group food, fuel, kitchen items, our mountain snacks, and upper mountain equipment. Without doing carries, our packs would be far too heavy. Carries also help with acclimatization. With our heavy packs ready and the sun shining, we made our way to 16,400'. The team did great maneuvering through the moon scape like terrain. A final steep hill brought us into Camp One. We unloaded our packs and pile everything against a rock. We will be reunited with this gear on Monday when we leave the comforts of basecamp. After hanging at Camp One for 30 minutes letting our bodies exist at this altitude, we made quick work getting back to Basecamp where we were greeted with pizza and treats.

One final day resting at basecamp tomorrow and getting ready for our move up to Camp One tomorrow. RMI's First Aconcagua team comes down from 19k camp after a successful summit yesterday. It will be nice to see familiar faces and hear about their trip. The sun has disappeared so it’s time for the sleeping bag and tent.

Goodnight all,

RMI Guides Hannah, Ben, Dan, and team

Good evening everybody! Today we awoke well rested and ready to enjoy a full day of intense lounging. It wasn't all sunshine, we needed to sort all of our group gear and get ready for our carry day tomorrow. Then we had to report for duty and get checked out by the Basecamp Doctor. Don't worry,we've all had plenty of Dulce de leche treats and the doc says we're all in tip top shape. We spent the rest of the day taking in the beautiful views at Basecamp, had another incredible dinner served by Grajales, and are ready to see what all the hype is about up at Camp 1.

RMI Guide Ben Luedtke