This is Mike, we had a long descent from the Ixta summit and high camp. Everyone is well and getting cleaned up in Puebla. Tomorrow is a day off to rest, eat tacos and hangout at the beautiful square in historic Puebla. Your loved ones have Internet and cell coverage, hit them up for details on the trip thus far. Friday we are off to Piedra Grande to prep for our Orizaba attempt!
RMI Guide Mike King
RMI Guide Mike King called from the summit of Ixtaccihuatl (17,340') at 6:15 am PT today. His team was taking photos and enjoying the views from the summit. They will descend to High Camp, pack their gear and continue their descent from the mountain. The team will travel to Puebla later today.
Congratulations to the team!
We are all nestled in at our high camp on Ixta at 15,500ft. The team carried heavy packs while taking in the amazing vistas with a cool breeze keeping the temperature manageable.
We will plan on getting an early start for our summit bid so the team can pack up camp and descend into the rest day and tacos al pastor that awaits us in Puebla. Getting to the top of Ixta is just another step in acclimating for our chance at standing on top of Pico de Orizaba, the third highest peak in North America.
Everyone is doing well and sends their best back home.
RMI Guide Mike King
Monday, February 20, 2017 - 5:32 pm PT
The Team continues to enjoy the food and rolling countryside here in Mexico. We are spending the night at the Altzomoni Hut, at 13,200' that overlooks Popo, the neighboring volcano. While today was mostly a travel day between La Malinche and Ixtaccihuatl, we did manage to hike for 2 hours through the lower slopes surrounded by dry bunch grass and a cool breeze.
We spent the afternoon sorting gear and getting ready for our move up to high camp in the morning. Everyone is acclimating well and eager to start our first climb of the trip. The mountain is dry this time of year and we have some high winds forecasted. We will keep our fingers crossed for clear skies and calm winds.
RMI Guide Mike King
Day two in Mexico was very successful. We climbed to 13,400 feet for our acclimatization hike on La Malinche then made it back to the cabins at the old Olympic training facility for time to shower and lounge on the grass. For dinner we had sizzling cactus and steak served on hot coals. The group is healthy and happy and starting a game of counting stray dogs. Off to Ixta tomorrow! Here's a photo of lounging in front of La Malinche.
RMI Guide Christina Dale
Saturday, February 18, 2017 8:35 pm PT
This is Mike with RMI's Mexico Volcanoes trip. All the climbers arrived in Mexico City with luggage and enthusiasm. We had a nice team dinner and got to know each other a bit. From here we will leave the sprawling grasp of Mexico City for the scenic and rolling country side of La Malinche. Tomorrow's plan is to have an acclimatization hike to stretch the legs and lungs so the Team is prepared for our first objective, Ixtaccihuatl 17,340'. We'll check in each day and update those back home.
RMI Guide Mike King
The team arrived to Base Camp early afternoon and in the commotion of celebrating, showers and packing for the mules we forgot to check in. We are heading for Pampa Las Lenas in a few minutes. The walk will retrace our first two days of the Trek and will culminate with an asado dinner and another beautiful night sleeping under the stars. The team is eager to get back to town and looking forward to lighter backpacks. This dispatch will conclude our expedition. We had amazing weather and a great group of climbers! Thanks for following along.
RMI Guides Mike King and JM Gorum
This is Mike, JM and Mauricio letting you all know that the Aconcagua Summit Team is back safely at Cholera. We had a warm morning but due to a 20mph wind most of the day, we climbed in our parkas and warm pants. The route was desolate considering 100+ people went up on Thursday. We got to take in the magnificent South Face along with hundreds of glaciated Andean peaks.
Team members are hydrating, eating and napping. The summit day is always difficult but the route conditions make a sizable difference. We were fortunate to have snow and frozen scree/mud for the majority of the Gran Traverse and Canaleta which makes for a more direct and cramponable route. Yes, We just made up 'cramponable'; we are at 19,600' with five camp stoves cranking out memory reducing gases.
Tomorrow we head back to Base Camp to de-rig the climb and transition to trekking mode. Steak, red wine, empanadas, laundry mats and pool time is what preoccupies our minds.
"La Montania abrio sus puertas para nosotros" - Mauricio
Congratulations on the effort and reward. Hope all arrive back safe. Kevin please fill any space in your pack vacated by food with snow. Our winter here has been abysmal since you’ve left and the snow is badly needed for the Nordic trails.
JV
Posted by: Jan Vanderdonk on 1/14/2017 at 6:45 am
Congratulations to you Kevin, your guides and team for this extrodinary achievement. BZ
Posted by: Lloyd &smart;-Lou Graham on 1/14/2017 at 6:22 am
This is Mike with RMI's Aconcagua Team 2. We are currently standing on top of the tallest mountain in the Western and Southern hemisphere. The team did great, we reached the top in 7 hours from High Camp. We are going to hang out just for a little bit and then head on down. We have about 20 mph cold winds all day. The team is ecstatic and we will check in from Camp once we get back down from the top. Thanks. Bye.
RMI Guide Mike King
RMI Guide Mike King calls from the summit of Aconcagua.
Wow! What a calm and relatively warm night at 18,000'. The Team got it's last good night for sleep before moving to 19,600' where sleep is hard to come by. We took a little over three hours to move up here, the Team did a fantastic job keeping the guides pace and working on their breathing. The phrase we are using is, "if you don't sound like the Little Engine that Could, you'll perform like the Little Engine that Couldn't".
We will rest and eat some dinner before beginning our summit attempt in the early morning. Fingers crossed and well wishes for our Team. It will not be easy but hopefully the Team can grit their teeth and find a happy place tomorrow. The next time you hear from us, should be on top of the highest point in the Western Hemisphere.
Thanks for following along.
RMI Guides Mike King, JM Gorum, Mauricio and the team
Time for huevos rancheros and cerveza, the breakfast of champions.
Congratulations.
Posted by: Art Muir on 2/24/2017 at 1:26 pm
It looks like some awesome scenery! Best of luck! Enjoy the experience!
Posted by: Debbi Ersch on 2/23/2017 at 5:28 pm
View All Comments