Entries By hannah smith
Posted by: JM Gorum, Hannah Smith, Avery Parrinello
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
The team has arrived in Mendoza! Most of the luggage arrived as well, with a few straggling bags to be accounted for. After introductions and a quick orientation, we set off to complete our climbing permits and a gear check. Dinner was fantastic, and at eight pm we were the first ones in the restaurant. Traditionally, people eat much later in Argentina, but after long travel days we need some sleep. Tomorrow we leave the big city behind, and head to Penitentes. We are excited to get this trip rolling!
RMI Guides JM Gorum, Hannah Smith & Avery Parrinello
Posted by: Hannah Smith
Categories: Guide News
We call it mountain climbing not mountain summiting. Sometimes you travel long distances and spend many days preparing and you dont get to climb. We didnt get to climb anything on this trip. It turned into a high altitude cultural trek. But that is all ok. I know I have, and I'm sure the rest of the team, has learned some things. We will all remember this experience forever. We took many nationalities, languages, personalities, and experience levels onto this expedition. We got to experience rituals, sacrifices, festivals, home cooked meals and more. We saw and experienced the far west Nepal region in a way nobody gets to. I will remember all the people I have met along the way and shared delicious meals with. This will not be my last time in Nepal. I already look forward to coming back and drinking my weight in milk tea. Till next time Nepal. I look forward to climbing one of your beautiful mountains in the near future.
Namaste,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith
Congratulations on your venture learning experience. I am in awe of you all!
Mich
Posted by: Michelle the Mom on 11/13/2018 at 9:59 pm
Posted by: Hannah Smith
Categories:
Today we could see the light at the end of the tunnel. By the end of the day we would be back in civilization, back using the wifi. All that stood between us was seven hours of walking and a two hour jeep ride. All went well on our walk out, besides a sprained ankle. But with a good tape job by our doctor Jorge and some ibuprofen we made it. Promptness isn't much of a thing around here, so after waiting for just over two hours our jeeps arrived and we made the bumpy ride back to our holiday inn in Talkot. Tomorrow we will take a bus back to Dahngadi where we fly back to Kathmandu. We are quite excited for our showers tonight and a bed.
What a journey,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith
Posted by: Hannah Smith
Categories: Guide News
We ate cookies for breakfast in a smokey room with tea. Shortly after we said goodbye to Laxmi and started our walk back to where we left our duffles. The only communication in these parts in by a messenger, word of mouth. When we left our duffles, the plan was that some duffles would keep going to Chainpur and our trekking duffles would be left waiting for us. We also thought the rest of our team would be there waiting. But the plan has clearly changed with no message for there were no duffles where we left them and all the porters and team members gone. We aren't sure exactly where they are or when we will see the rest of our team and duffles. But for now we are staying at another homestay. We will all sleep up in the attic and enjoy a home cooked meal of Dahl baht and chapati bread with black tea. From day one this journey has been fluid and unpredictable, so we will see what tomorrow brings.
Goodnight,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith
Posted by: Hannah Smith
Categories: Guide News
Dogs barking, goats baaing, cows mooing , and roosters crowing was our alarm clock today. We were greeted with tea and made our way up to Sangitas house for breakfast. The village was alive with children running around and chores being done. It appeared today was roof repair day. The old grayish brown hay was thrown down off the roof and new golden hay was tossed up. We enjoyed breakfast with the family, then soaked in the sun before enjoying some lunch too. It was the best Dahl we have had thus far and was delicious on top of the chapati bread. After filling our bellies we hiked back to Laxmis house. Clouds rolled in and we finished our hike in a bit of rain. The forest colors and smells popped with the freshness the rain brought. Experiencing the food and culture of these small villages has been amazing. It is an area everyone should come and see. Tomorrow we make our way back to where we had the medical camp on our way in. A handful of hours of walking should get us there. Hopefully the clouds will have dispersed and the weather is back to being sunny.
Adios,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith
Posted by: Hannah Smith
Categories: Guide News
Today the team walked to two of our team members' villages. First we stopped at Laxmi's village. It took us 1.5 hours and we were greeted by Laxmi's daughter and family. They made us noodles, showed us a game that resembles pool and we were on our way. Next we stopped at Sangita's village, which is four hours from Laxmi. She is the last village in the valley. Her father is the chairman of the village. They greeted us with tea and a feast for dinner. We started with fresh veggies and local apples. Next they made us French fries. The main course consisted of fried blue sheep, greens, yogurt, and millet bread with local honey. It was delicious. Custom to their culture is treating their guests as gods and we sure felt like one. It's been a great day exploring more of far western Nepal. It is quite beautiful.
Tomorrow we explore more,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith
Posted by: Hannah Smith
Categories: Guide News
Smoke dances from a fire under a lean two as a mother cooks breakfast for her children. The little boy wanders among the team curious about everything. He giggles as we make silly faces at him. Little huts and makeshift homes are scattered among the hillside and along the trail we are walking. The trail exist between the villages and where the silkworm hunters go. Today we walked four hours down valley along the river to a small establishment made up of three buildings. It is a tea house between villages. It is a crossroad for us with one direction leading back to Chaipur, where we will ultimately go and the other direction to the village of Sangita and Laxmi, two of the Nepali girls on our team. Tomorrow we will go see their villages and watch/learn as they celebrate brother and sister day. For tonight we are nestled in to what appears to be a cornfield/potato field.
RMI Guide Hannah Smith
Awesome, chica! Enjoying your journey from afar
Posted by: Christy Mycroft on 11/8/2018 at 12:31 pm
Posted by: Hannah Smith
Categories: Guide News
We woke this morning to a gorgeous view. With the help of daylight, we found a water source and enjoyed a cup of coffee. Perched on a grassy valley hillside, you could see snow capped mountains across the way. We all pointed at the ones we would climb if we had time, but unfortunately we do not. The col we went up and over steepened to a degree we were not comfortable going down so we headed back uphill. We arrived back at our Base Camp, but this time nothing was there. Everything has been packed up and headed downhill. We said goodbye to our home for the last 18 days, and made our way to what we call our jungle camp. Tomorrow we keep heading down hill back towards civilization, but on our way we are going to make a couple pit stops at the villages of two of the girls. Our sleeping bags our calling us. It's been a long day and last nights sleep wasn't the most comfy.
Have a lovely day,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith
Love reading your story Hannah. You are a terrific writer!
Posted by: Shannon Smith on 11/7/2018 at 1:29 pm
Posted by: Hannah Smith
Categories: Guide News
Sometimes you find yourself in a place you didn't expect. One of those places is on the side of a grassy hill in Western Nepal squished in a tent with three other people sharing your snacks. We decided to leave Base Camp and try to go up over a col to another valley to attempt to climb a peak. It turns out our eyes for the mountains are bigger than the desire and fitness of the team. We started too late. We took too long to get to the pass. And we found ourselves entering steep grassy terrain with consequences on both sides as night time crept in. We were not going to get to the valley below. It's been a long day. We decided to find the flattest spot, which is not flat at all, and put up the tents. The conditions aren't ideal, with no water or snow to make water. But with all that has happened today, you find the fun and happiness in the little things, like sharing snacks with your friends and eating a hard boiled egg.
We will see what happens tomorrow,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith
Well I love your attitudes! You should get a reward for finding the positive in every day. Keep on chugging. I hope the snacks hold out.
Mich
Posted by: michelle the mom on 11/6/2018 at 11:16 pm
Posted by: Hannah Smith
Categories: Guide News
After getting pushed back down to Base Camp by poor weather we said good bye to a few team members who are headed home today. Our team is getting smaller and smaller as we near the end of our time here. It's been almost two weeks at Base Camp, and although we unfortunately did not get to climb our objective, it's been a worth while experience. I believe everyone will be walking away from this expedition having learned something. Our journey in this valley is over but our journey in general isn't. Tomorrow we will head to the valley to our east and try our hand at a peak over there. We are hopeful that we can find a smaller peak to teach more mountaineering skills to the Nepali girls and to be able to stand on top of peak.
Here's to some lady luck,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith
If only we could control the weather…
Good Lady Luck on alternate peak!
-MA
Posted by: Mary Ann on 11/5/2018 at 9:49 pm
Hey you gave it your best shot! I’m sure the Team all benefited from the incredible experience! You are all my heroes.
Mich
Posted by: michelle the mom on 11/5/2018 at 8:23 pm
Good luck Gorum team!! Looking good Andrew and Nik!! Will be following along
Posted by: Ridhi and Arjun on 12/30/2018 at 1:59 pm
Best of Luck to all on Gorum Team!!!! Love Nik and Andrew!!!!
Masi
Posted by: Usha Katariya on 12/30/2018 at 11:40 am
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