Entries By jack delaney

We have enjoyed our time at Aconcagua Base Camp these last few days. The cooks, porters and all the staff are constantly working to make our stay comfortable and doing it with the biggest smiles imaginable. We are ready to climb higher but will miss being so well taken care of.
We did get a dusting of snow today that made the mountain beautiful. Thankfully the weather forecast is to improve as we climb higher over the next few days.

RMI Guide Walter Hailes

Today the weather continued to improve as we awoke to sunny skies and the lightest winds of the trip thus far.  We headed uphill for our final carry to Camp 1 to set the stage for our time on the upper mountain. The wind wasn’t done with us yet though as we experienced several “drop you to your knees” gusts on our way up. After making it to Camp 1 and successfully caching our gear we headed back to base camp where we relaxed in the group shelter, swapped stories and enjoyed the beautiful evening alpine glow on the mountains.

RMI Guides Walter Hailes & Jack Delaney

After three nights of strong wind gust, fitful sleeping and high altitude we were all ready for a full mountain rest day today. Rest days are simple and look similar to your cat’s daily routine: eat, then nap, then casual stroll, then eat, then nap. Today, our highlights were hot quesadillas for snacks and we walked across the valley from camp to an abandoned hotel to enjoy even more spectacular views.
All around a great rest day and everyone is ready for more climbing tomorrow.

RMI Guide Walter Hailes

Monday, January 17, 2022

After a windy night with little sleep we awoke to a beautiful and sunny day. After a delicious breakfast we packed light packs to head up hill for an acclimatization hike. The wind lingered as we hiked and we remained bundled up even with the sun shining upon us. The air felt thin as we reached Aconcagua's Camp 1 at 5000m (16,000ft). After a quick lunch break the team was feeling good so we continued uphill for another hour to take full advantage of our day. Once we reached our high point we turned around and scooted downhill to a hearty meal of carne asado grilled by the porters. Tonight we hope to sleep like rocks.

RMI Guide Jack Delaney

Sunday, January 16, 2022  4:01 PM PST

After a rough first night at base camp because of the big jump in altitude, we started the day a little slow. We went for a nice casual walk to check out the local penitentes and breathe off the slight headaches that lingered from the night before. It was beautiful walking into the 15’ tall glacier spires. After lunch we got to work sprucing up our camp. The whole team worked really hard shoveling, hoeing, and raking the rock filled dirt into plush flat platforms for our tents. We will sleep better tonight partly because the tents will be more comfy and partly because making the tents more comfy was exhausting. Another beautiful day in the mountains with a great team!

RMI Guide Walt Hailes & Team

Hola Amigos! It’s finally happened, we have arrived on the mountain! After some last minute packing and eating a lot of empanadas while we waited, we got a weather window and flew into Plaza de Mulas at 14,000 feet. It was one of the most scenic and incredible helicopter flights I’ve ever been on. We settled nicely into our Basecamp, where we will spend the next several days acclimatizing. We’re happy to be here and are going to bed with full bellies thanks to the amazing food and hospitality of the staff at camp.

RMI Guides Walt Hailes & Jack Delaney

Aconcagua 2022! Yes, it’s happening. Covid delayed this trip by a full year but we are all in Argentina, healthy, happy and ready to climb.
I must thank the hard work of Jeff, Autumn, Jack and Luke for working out all the logistics of my covid related delays and making sure that this trip didn’t stop before it ever got started. The whole team is now together in the town of Uspallata, spending tonight in a beautiful hotel a few miles outside Aconcagua National Park. If the weather report holds, we will fly to Base Camp mid-day tomorrow. But until then, we are enjoying more of the friendly people, tasty food and great wine of Argentina.
Our 3 Guardsman, Alden, Brett and Chip are raising money during our climb. We welcome everyone following along with our adventure and thanks for your support and generosity.

RMI Guides Walter Hailes & Jack Delaney

We had a great day at Mt. Erie on Tuesday for the first day of our Expedition Skills Seminar - Shuksan.  We went through gear, learned knots, anchors, belaying, and rappelling. We also did a bit of top rope climbing in boots to get ready for Shuksan. We then prepped and got ready to head onto the mountain for the next few days.  We had a great day with a bit of cloud cover to keep it cool. We then moved into camp at the toe of the Sulphide Glacier with some incredible views for the next several days! 

On Friday, we made our summit attempt with 100% of the group reaching the summit at 9,131'.  It was a long day and we arrived back in camp late.  Everybody is happy. We'll train on Saturday and check in then. 

RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer

Mt. Rainier summit!  The teams led by RMI Guides Dave Hahn and Jack Delaney reached the top at 7:13 a.m.  They reported clear skies, a light breeze, and smoke to the East.  After spending some time at the crater rim marveling in the sights from the highest point in Washington, the team began their descent.

The Four Day Climb August 7 - 10 led by RMI Guides Dustin Wittmier and Avery Parrinello reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning around 6:30 am PT.  The team enjoyed a light breeze and good visibility under an overcast sky. They spent time crossing the crater to reach Columbia Crest, the highest point on Mt. Rainier and in Washington.  After taking all the photos and enjoying the views, the team left the crater rim just after 8 am PT.  They will travel 4.5 miles and 4,500' retracing their steps from early this morning to return to Camp Muir.  Once they have removed their glacier travel gear and repacked their backpacks, they will continue another 4.5 miles and 4,500' back to Paradise.

Nice work today team!  Congratulations!