Entries By emma lyddan

July 15, 2022

We had a long restful night of sleep at base camp and took our time in the morning as we eased into bacon and eggs while enjoying many cups of coffee and tea. In the afternoon we found a good crag near camp where we could work on more rope skills and set up rappel stations. The backdrop of the Ishinca valley and Tocllaraju made for a nice classroom setting. A quick but delicious dinner and early to bed for another alpine start as we put in our bids of Urus Este tomorrow morning.

RMI Guide Alan Davis and team

July 14, 2022

After waking to wild horses outside our tents in search for scraps, we gulped down some coffee and porridge and began walking uphill in the cold of the night at 2:00 a.m. We made the toe of the glacier by 5:30 a.m. and donned our crampons and climbing gear. Due to the melting out of the glacier we attempted a new route over a rocky ridge where we began climbing two pitches of firm nevé to the cruzy glacial traverse toward the steep summit ramp. The team dug deep through the heat of the morning and reached the summit of Ishinca where we were surrounded by cobalt skies and beautiful snowy peaks. Back at camp, the team was tired and ready for bed. We enjoyed fresh avocado salads and asada then quickly got horizontal under a clear starry night. Ready for a well deserved rest day tomorrow!

RMI Guide Alan Davis and Team

July 11, 2022 - Huaraz to BC: The team loaded up the bus from the hotel this morning and after about an hour through pleasantly rough and rocky roads arrived at Pashpa. Here we loaded up our burros with duffels, food, climbing gear, and base camp infrastructure then promptly began our 4-hour trek up the Ishinca Valley. Through high grassy knolls, green forests, and boulder fields leftover from glaciers many millennia ago, we reached our basecamp at just over 14,000.’ Ishinca Base Camp is quite the spot. Surrounded by steep rocky walls with the mighty Tocllaraju sitting in front as a majestic skyline at just under 6,000m (19,797ft).

After we got our tents set up and moved in, we enjoyed a delicious meal of fresh caught trout and potatoes, prepared by our wonderful camp cook Emilio and his assistant Romel. With tired eyes and full bellies, we happily crawled into our sleeping bags and drifted off to the sound of babbling glacial stream

July 12, 2022 - BC Training Day: Today we slept in and let the warmth of the sun wake us up. After a breakfast of omelets, we began working on some rope skills and practice with knots and hitches. We took advantage of good weather and did another acclimatization hike after lunch up the moraine to Laguna Milluacocha. Along the way we saw views of Ranrapalca and our objective Urus Este. We were welcomed back with some afternoon tea and popcorn. Not a bad day living at 14,000’

July 13, 2022 - Snow School: We left basecamp early this morning to head up 2,000’ to the toe of the Ishinca glacier to get some more acclimatization in before we attempt our summit bid of Ishinca tomorrow. There we practiced cramponing, roped travel, anchor building, and crevasse rescue at 16,000’.  It was back to basecamp for an afternoon of rest and an early dinner of Lomo Saltado before bed. Tomorrow (tonight will come early) …

RMI Guides Alan Davis, Emma Lyddan & Team

RMI Guide Alan Davis checked in via inReach. The team arrived at the western end of the Ishinca Glacier at 14,400' yesterday. They will spend a couple of days building on the skills in preparation for our first summit bid, Ishinca at 18,143'.

All is well, no hiccups! 

Acclimatization has been going well thus far here in Huaraz. Not only have we been sleeping at 10,000', but yesterday, we went for a hike a few hours round-trip walk from our hotel to the "Puca Ventana" or "Red Window" which overlooks the city. Today, we went up to 14,700' on another hike to the beautiful turquoise Laguna which sits in front of the 18,000' "Nevado Churup." After packing for the week ahead, we all enjoyed another delicious meal at the Hotel Andino. Early to bed for some rest before we begin the 6-day adventure that awaits in the Ishinca Valley where we will set up our basecamp and attempt our two objectives (Nevado Ishinca, and Urus Oeste). Stay tuned!

RMI Guides Alan Davis and Emma Lyddan

Hello from Huaraz!

After a few years of hiatus due to the pandemic, we were welcomed back graciously into the beautiful country of Peru. It was such a treat to again be able to enjoy the bustling coastal grandeur of Lima while sampling delicious ceviche and other fine Peruvian cuisine last night after some long flights. We began our eight-hour bus ride to the climbing and trekking hamlet of Huaraz promptly this morning after breakfast and were greeted by the always friendly staff at the Andino Club Hotel. A true climbers hotel with some Swiss roots. It was so great to catch up with our local partner and IFMGA guide Peter as well as some of the other support staff with whom we hadn't seen in a few years. Tired from multiple days of travel via busses and planes we quickly enjoyed dinner and got settled into our rooms for a full nights rest where we will begin acclimatizing by sleeping at 10,000'.

Buenas Noches! 

RMI Guides Alan Davis, Emma Lyddan and Team

The Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons team stood on the summit of Mt. Rainier at 10:15 am today. The high winds from yesterday and overnight calmed in the early hours, it was cold, so the team waited for the temperatures to warm before starting their summit attempt.  The waiting paid off and the team had a clear beautiful summit day via the Emmons Glacier. They will spend the last night on the mountain training, before returning to Ashford Basecamp tomorrow afternoon.

Congratulations Team! 

Saturday June 11th, 2022 – 9:04pm PT

After making our way from 17 camp to 14 camp, we crawled back into our tents and took a nap. Around 10pm, we woke up for either a late dinner or early breakfast of Ramen noodles and began packing up camp for what we thought would be the very last time. While we had walked into 14 camp in a whiteout, during our nap the clouds had settled below us and it had become a beautiful brisk night.

With camp packed up, we headed towards Basecamp and the airstrip. While we arrived in decent weather, we got word that clouds kept the planes from flying all day. We've now crawled back into our tents and await a weather window that allows us to fly back to Talkeetna.

Think good weather thoughts!

RMI Guide Nikki Champion and Team

Saturday June 11 - 11:59am PT

The last few days have been a blur.

Yesterday we had a hard but a rewarding summit day. The autobahn was mild, but the summit ridge greeted us with high winds, and blowing snow. Despite the mountains best efforts, our entire team made it to the summit and safely back to 17k camp for a late dinner.

Even though we all wanted to sleep in following the summit - we woke up around 9:30am, had a quick hot breakfast, and tore down camp to begin the long process of descending back to the airstrip.

RMI Guide Nikki Champion and Team

Thursday, June 9, 2022 9:42pm PT

RMI Guide Nikki Champion let us know that their Denali Team was 100% on the summit! They are back at camp resting and will give us full details of their climb soon! 

Congratulations Team!