After a successful summit of Aconcagua the team is safely back at high camp. Everyone did a wonderful job today. Aside from some sore knees and tired feet the day couldn't have gone better. The team is now enjoying some hot soups and a warm meal to recover from today's effort as tomorrow has us packing up and heading back down to basecamp for a fantastic home cooked meal by our lovely basecamp staff!
RMI Guide Steve Gately
Hey Everyone –
This is JJ and Steve with Team #1. Guess where we are? No, we are not sitting by the pool in Mendoza. We are on the summit of Aconcagua. The entire team is up here right now. They did a really great job. This is my 19th summit of Aconcagua and I have to tell you this, is the most beautiful day I have ever seen up here. But hey, you have heard enough from me. I am going to pass the phone around, so hopefully this will work. Some folks want to hi and etc to some people back at home. So here we go.
[Listen to audio]
Alright, so hopefully that work and we didn’t get cut out. This is Team #1 on the summit of Aconcagua. A beautiful day up here. We have a little more work to do. But I can’t tell you how great of team this was. What do you say team [Cheers]. We are tired. But we are going down hill, so that is the good news.
Chao from the summit,
RMI Guide JJ Justman
RMI Guide JJ Justman and the team call in from the summit of Aconcagua.
Congrats Matt! Sounded a bit winded though, need to train harder. Jimmy, Ross and I really appreciated the shout out ;).
Posted by: Michael Beck on 12/29/2014 at 9:17 am
There is a difference between interest and commitment. When you are interested in doing something, you do it only when it’s convenient. When you are committed to something, you accept no excuses; only results.
The Guiding Life!! It's not so glamorous. Steve, and I are sitting at high camp 19,600' feet on Aconcagua with the team. They are all doing great. The guides however are pulling their hair out (ok, ok, I'm not)! But Steve is because our stoves are being very temperamental. We are working hard to make water, hot drinks and dinner. All is well and we are excited for a great summit day tomorrow. Stay tuned!!
RMI Guide JJ Justman
Team 1 is back!!! Thanks to Steve's genius technology skills. The team is resting today at Camp 2 which is at 18,000 feet. Everyone is doing great! As a matter if fact, I can't remember another team that was on equal level in terms of strength. If all goes well we should have a fantastic summit day. We are shooting for the summit on the 28th so keep your fingers crossed!
RMI Guide JJ Justman
December 24th, 11:30 am PT
The team is enjoying Christmas Eve this year at 15,500ft on the tallest mountain outside of the Himalaya, not to shabby, eh? Temperatures are still warm and the winds mild. Today we rest and prepare for the real work of moving up to Aconcagu's Camp 2 tomorrow. Keep our climbers in mind tomorrow, Christmas Day, as we'll be hauling 50-pound packs to 18,000ft. I know the team wishes they could be home with.... Well why don't I just let them tell you themselves....
Wishing all of my Hawaii peeps a blessed holiday season! I'm in good spirits and feeling well physically (and more important, mentally) to summit soon. Let's celebrate when I return! Love, Del.
All's well! Wishing a Merry Christmas to Taegan, family and fellow climbing buddies hanging at lower elevations for the holiday! Love you all--Matt
Having a great time. All is well! Enjoying the views, steaks and a great team. Merry Christmas to all! Love Nigel
Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas! Wish I could join you but Christmas at 18,000 is not too bad. Claud - I hope you're behaving yourself! Love,
Marek
I AM ON AN ADVENTURE!!!
Mammut
Pogoda przepiekna, super samopoczucie, towarzystwo wysmienite!!! Wesolych Swiay i Szczesliwego Nowego Roku - Pawel
Missing you very much this Christmas Bea! Wish I was there with you and the girls and Grant. Keep those good thoughts coming my way. Love ya, Jemes.
My dear Alex, you motivate and encourage me every step of the way, as always in front of me leading the way. Thank you for being the most amazing part of my life. Merry Christmas my love. I'm yours always. Ruben
Hey everyone. This is JJ and Steve here with Team One on Aconcagua. Merry Christmas everyone. Happy Holidays. We had a great day moving camp from Camp 1 to Camp 2. We made it here early afternoon at 18,000 feet, set up camp and have some hot soup on the stove. And now we're just relaxing and taking it easy on a nice sunny day here on Aconcagua. The team is doing really, really well. The weather is pretty darn nice and we have a decent forecast. It's looking like after the 28th, the winds might pick up a little bit, so hopefully, we're knocking on wood, keeping our fingers crossed. We have a little bit more work to do but the team is really, really strong and really, really fun to hang out these guys on Christmas and we of course want to say hi and hello and give our love to family and friends back at home. We will send another dispatch here on the days to come. But tomorrow our plan is to take a nice rest day and relax here at 18,000 feet. Take care everyone. Again, Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas and stay tuned.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
RMI Guide JJ Justman calls in from Aconcagua Camp 2
Hey everyone. This is JJ with Team One Aconcagua. The team is up here at Camp One; we're doing great. We actually all wrote an elaborate email wishing family and friends Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, etc. But wouldn't you know it, we're having a little bit of technical difficulty sending that email so I'm calling in this dispatch instead. Everyone here sends their love to all their family and friends. We'll get this little glitch sorted out, and we'll send that email so all of you can read the words of of your loved ones here on Aconcagua. The team is doing great. We had a rest day today, but tomorrow it's back to business. We're gonna enjoy a great Christmas Eve dinner here at 15,500 feet. And then tomorrow we're going to head on up to Camp 2, which is at 18,000 feet. Everyone, like I said is doing wonderful and they all say hello. Happy Holidays and they send their love to all their family and friends. You guys take care. Stay tuned and hopefully will have some more exciting news for you in the days to come. Take care everyone, bye.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
RMI Guide JJ Justman calls in from Aconcagua Camp One.
New scenery is always a welcome site on an expedition and the carry to Aconcagua Camp 2 (18,000ft) is always one of my favorite parts of the trip! The route from Camp 1 had us traveling west across the flanks of a broad basin until we eventually made a sharp turn north and headed towards the col between Aconcagua and fellow neighboring peak Cerro Ameghino. This is where it gets good! Crossing over the col the high Andes open up in front of us and we're left with stunning views of big glaciers and 6,000m peaks.
Everyone woke this morning to the sound of silence... Ah, yes! The winds finally died down and we were left with a breathless morning and we couldn't have been more thrilled. Higher elevation, new views, warm temperatures and no wind. Couldn't have asked for a better day! The crew did a fantastic job navigating new terrain and thinner air today and with a rest day planned for tomorrow the team will prepare for the move to Camp 2 on Christmas Day! What better way to spend Christmas than with a headache and a rough nights sleep!? No, in all seriousness the team has been handling the altitude like champs and they're excited to be just a little bit closer to the summit. Everyone sends their best regards to their loved ones and stay tuned for the always riveting rest day blog update!
RMI Guide Steve Gately
Team One Aconcagua has made great strides! We are at Camp one at 15,700 feet. Everyone did a great job today in moderate winds. The forecast calls for decreasing winds which is a welcome for us. Tents are up and we are organizing gear for a carry day to Camp Two. Stay tuned!
RMI Guide JJ Justman
Today was another rest day at Aconcagua Basecamp and we could not have picked a better day! The wind is howling, the sky is obsolete shrouded in clouds. But! And it's a big But! The team is doing great! We are sleeping, reading, eating quesadillas and simply enjoying being in the mountains. After all, isn't that what it's all about?!!
RMI Guide JJ Justman
Congrats Matt! Sounded a bit winded though, need to train harder. Jimmy, Ross and I really appreciated the shout out ;).
Posted by: Michael Beck on 12/29/2014 at 9:17 am
There is a difference between interest and commitment. When you are interested in doing something, you do it only when it’s convenient. When you are committed to something, you accept no excuses; only results.
Happy Summit day!!! Congrats!!!
Posted by: Chris on 12/28/2014 at 10:12 pm
View All Comments