Entries By james bealer

This weekend our Backcountry Ski and Ride course had an excellent time learning the fundamentals of backcountry skiing.  Saturday gave us a light dusting of fresh snow as we practiced our rescue skills and learned how to move as a group in the backcountry. 

The next day, we practiced making terrain decisions and students navigated the group through the ascents and descents of our long tour.  We ended up having beautiful weather for most of the course and had the whole mountain to ourselves on Sunday. 

Our students are excited to use their new skills for upcoming ski descents of local Washington mountains as well as skiing corn with their friends.  

RMI Guide James Bealer & Team

We huffed and puffed our way up to Camp 2 today, which sits at 18,300 feet. The team did a great job with the move! Arriving at camp this afternoon, everyone felt a major sense of accomplishment. Ear to ear smiles, and hugs all around! Our hard work today will be rewarded with a much deserved day of rest tomorrow. We have now situated ourselves perfectly for a summit attempt in the coming days.

Till next time,

RMI  Guide Luke Wilhelm and team

The Soul of a Climber 

The mountains hold the soul,

And light fire in the hearts of some men.

It leads them to do things,

Others don't just understand.

It's not only the summits,

Though that's what we oft speak of.

It's the journey, the effort,

And so much more that we love.

It's trekking the valleys,

That lead to the trailhead.

And the anticipation of adventures,

During the journey ahead.

It's the early morning sun,

As if it illuminates the peaks.

All through the day until sunset,

These are the beauties we seek.

We realize it will take effort,

That there will be moments of pain.

But the mountain gives more back,

It is much more of a gain.

It's the time spent with others,

Telling tales of past climbs.

And of more ventures ahead,

That excite each climber's mind.

There is time spent together,

There is tile spent alone.

But mostly it is time in the mountains,

In this place we call home.

The time comes to leave, 

It invariably does.

But our hearts and souls have been nourished,

By these sacred mountains we love. 

-Tim Cavanagh

It's easy to forget how wild it is here. Over the past several days we have been surrounded by the hustle and bustle of helicopters, mules, and other climbers rushing in and out of Aconcagua Base Camp. Today brought a lovely change. Carrying our gear higher and higher, we were reminded of how incomprehensible the land we are exploring in is. The surrounding mountains took depth and the air became noticeably thinner. It was calm. No wind, no helicopters, no loud music. Just climbing. Wonderful. 

Till next time,

RMI Guide Luke Wilhelm & Team

The team enjoyed a well deserved rest day at Basecamp. We spent the time napping, reading, and preparing gear for tomorrow.  Optimism and hope flowed out of our dining tent this evening as we were finally able to see the climbing route above us. We feel recovered and ready for what lies above. 

RMI Guides James, Luke, David & Team

The sun got a little brighter for us today, as we moved up to Plaza de Mulas. One only needed to look up from the trail to realize the unique contrast of the environment we were in. Dusty desert gave way to ice covered peaks, appearing to rocket upwards in an attempt to reach outer space. After a long day on the trail, we were greeted with good food and shade. 

Till next time,

RMI Guide Luke Wilhelm 

After two very long and tiring days, walking more than 20 miles and descending more than 14,000ft, we are finally back in civilization! Shower, clean beds, real food…oh my! We are all feeling like human beings again after a wonderful shower and a celebratory dinner out. It’s good to back in comfortable surroundings after such a trying trip, but at the same time sad that the adventure is coming to an end. Climbers are planning wine tours and sight seeing adventures during the 1 or 2 days they have left in the country. Hopefully, they return to you all, reading at home, rested and ready to retell all their stories and show you all the photos! It was one hell of a trip! 

Thanks for following along everyone.

Cheers!

RMI Guide Nick Scott

Today was the day! We woke up early to clear skies and absent winds. A first in over a week! We walked out of camp 2 at 2:30 hoping to get ahead of the numerous climbers that had stacked up waiting for the same weather window. Unfortunately, we weren’t early enough to beat all the other climbers out the door and ran into a fair amount of traffic. However, the extra traffic couldn’t spoil the perfect weather or the stoke emanating from the climbers, all of whom had been chomping at the bit for a chance to climb all week. The route felt extra steep this year, but the climbing was aided by good quality snow for much of the upper route leading to the summit. After nine hours of climbing and dodging other climbers, five out of seven of us stood on the summit of Aconcagua, the highest mountain outside of the Himalaya. It was a perfect summer day with almost no wind and clear skies for epic views all around. After enjoying our hard won success for just a few minutes, believe it or not it can be hard to breathe at 22,841 feet, we turned downhill and continued walking downhill all the way into basecamp around 7:15pm. An absolute epic of a day for those that managed to climb to the top. Despite the sore muscles and blistered toes, the crew was smiles all around the dinner table sharing stories from the day. Tomorrow we walk out to the trailhead and make our way back to Mendoza for a much needed shower and a good night sleep in a proper bed.

Congrats to all those who summited! And good luck on your next adventure!

RMI Guide Nick Scott

We hit the dusty ol' trail today! A gentle breeze at our backs encouraged us towards Aconcagua. The hike to Camp Confluencia was filled with good conversation and lots of laughter. With every step, life is getting simpler and simpler. We are all in such awe of this place. 

Till next time,

RMI Guide Luke Wilhelm

After several long days of travel, the team has fully arrived. The glowing Argentinian sun has welcomed us with open arms. With bellies full of steak, the team has enjoyed the slow pace of life here. Everyone is in high spirits as we finalize our packing for the expedition ahead. 

More to follow,

RMI Guide Luke Wilhelm