Entries By mike king

Aconcagua: Nugent & Team at Pampas de Lenas

February 4, 2013

Posted by: Billy Nugent, Mike King

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua

Elevation: 9,000'

Greetings from Pampa de Leñas! Our team enjoyed one last night in a bed and awoke this morning to beautiful sunny skies. Seemingly, a great day to begin our long journey. The team thus far has been exceptionally well organized and we were able to enjoy a relatively stress free morning putting the finishing touches on our packing and stashing a bunch of city clothes in the Grajales packing facility. We caught a quick ride over to the trailhead at Punta de Vacas and after checking in with the guardaparques began our journey. Relatively calm winds and scorching temperatures in the nineties caught us all a little off guard and forced us to stop frequently and soak our clothes in the river to cool off! Even after a complete soaking, our shirts were dried off completely in ten minutes! Well, despite the heat we persevered and even made good time into our first camp. More info to come as our expedition develops, RMI Guide Billy Nugent

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Aconcagua Expedition: Van Deventer & Team Back to Camp

February 3, 2013

Posted by: Leon Davis, Mike King, Pete Van Deventer

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua

Elevation: 19,000'

We are all back at the tents after a beautiful summit day on Aconcagua! The weather was even better than forecasted, with no wind, clear skies, and warm temps. This let us leave a bit later, just as the sun was rising, and we enjoyed its warmth for the whole day. I personally have never had better conditions on the summit than today: just a light fleece, no gloves, and a vista that stretched for hundreds of miles in all directions. Congratulations to the team for a huge effort, and standing on the roof of South America. The guides would like to thank the whole team for such a successful and fun trip. Tomorrow we descend back to base camp, and get ready for the trek out and a return to Mendoza. Cheers RMI Guides Pete, Leon, Mike, and the climbers

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

congrats Leon and team!

Posted by: dawn on 2/6/2013 at 11:44 am

Rick can’t wait to hear your voice and hear all about your adventure. XOXOX Carol

Posted by: Carol Crye Popp on 2/5/2013 at 9:10 pm

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Aconcagua: Van Deventer & Team in Position for Summit Bid

February 2, 2013

Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Leon Davis, Mike King

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua

Elevation: 19,600'

We made the big trek to Camp 3 today! It's not actually that far, about three hours of walking, but there aren't too many O's at 19,000 feet, and we had a pretty decent wind gusting at us from all directions. Needless to say, we are happy to be in our tents in camp, and pumped for the summit push tomorrow morning. We'll see how much sleep we can get in the thin air up here first, and hopefully we'll give a call from the summit tomorrow afternoon. Cheers, RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, Leon Davis, Mike King, and gang

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Rick is my favorite person named Rick Popp! Congrats to you and your team!

Posted by: Ben Gadd on 2/3/2013 at 12:48 pm

Thinking of you and your team today as you make the summit. XOXOXO Carol

Posted by: carol Crye Popp on 2/3/2013 at 5:25 am

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Aconcagua: Van Deventer & Team Experience Groundhog Day

February 1, 2013

Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Leon Davis, Mike King

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua

Elevation: 18,000'

Groundhog Day here at Aconcagua Camp 2. A windy night and windy day here confirmed our decision to wait a day before moving up. It's hard to spend two days just hanging in tents though, and the group is psyched to move tomorrow and get closer to our objective. As the forecasts keep coming in (we get pretty OCD as guides right around now) things are looking great for Sunday! Onward and upward, RMI Guides Pete, Leon, Mike, and team

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Wow! Mountain Climbing is an incredible feat! Godspeed Joe & George!

Posted by: Daniel Nolan on 2/2/2013 at 7:42 pm

Hang in there team. Relax! When it is right you will move on and summit when it is time.

Love you Tony and David!

Posted by: Laura Rito on 2/2/2013 at 5:22 pm

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Aconcagua: Van Deventer & Team Resting at Camp 2

January 31, 2013

Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Leon Davis, Mike King

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua

Elevation: 18,000

Hey all, We had a fabulous rest day at Camp 2 today. We went for a short walk to look at the route above us, ate, and napped. We did get a new forecast today, and with the new info, we've decided to rest tomorrow again at Camp 2, then move up Saturday to summit Sunday. This sets us up better for winds, and Camp 2 is a great place to acclimate and get strong. So tomorrow: Groundhog Day! We'll be in touch soon. Cheers, The Aconcagua crew

Aconcagua: Van Deventer & Team Move to Camp 2

January 30, 2013

Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Leon Davis, Mike King

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua

Elevation: 18,000'

We made the jump! Camp One was old news and folks were sick of the same old scenery, so we decided to move to Camp Two at 18,000' today. We had beautiful climbing conditions: a light breeze and sunshine, and arrived at camp to find it mostly empty. We got our pick of tent sites before several groups rolled in after us. Because RMI Guide JJ Justman's team was kind enough to leave us a cache of food and fuel at Camp 3, we have decided not to carry tomorrow, but to rest instead. That sets us up to potentially move to Camp 3 on Friday, and potentially summit on Saturday. There are a lot of ifs in that sentence, and we have to remain flexible up here, but we have our fingers crossed. We'll keep you updated. Cheers, RMI Guides Pete, Leon, Mike, and the crew

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Best of luck for good weather on the big push. Love to Fatima and enjoy the adventure.

Posted by: Peter Williamson on 1/31/2013 at 2:29 pm

Following along anxiously .... Stay safe… Love you and can’t wait till you get home so I can hear all about your adventure first hand.

Posted by: Carol Crye Popp on 1/31/2013 at 7:05 am

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Aconcagua: Van Deventer & Team Good Day for Rest

January 29, 2013

Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Leon Davis, Mike King

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua

Elevation: 16,200'

Just as planned, we spent today lounging at Camp 1. Snow plumes off of the col above us indicated high winds this morning, and made us glad we had gotten our carry out of the way yesterday. Otherwise, the sky was clear, and the sun we had been missing for the last couple days made things pleasantly warm. Today was a day for recovery, organizing for tomorrow, and eating all of the extra lunch food we could. Tomorrow will be our move to Camp 2 (18,000 ft)! We'll check from there. Cheers, RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer and the RMI Aconcagua team

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“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go.”
—T.S. Eliot

Posted by: Janet on 1/30/2013 at 11:51 am

Wishing you all a calm & clear day for the next big push - Best of luck tomorrow! Lots of Love, Mom & Dad

Posted by: Paula & Bill VanDeventer on 1/29/2013 at 5:18 pm

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Aconcagua: Van Deventer & Team Carry to Camp 2

January 28, 2013

Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Leon Davis, Mike King

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua

Elevation: 16,200'

Last night was a windy one, though when we woke we realized that it sounded much worse inside the tents than it was outside. A couple centimeters of new snow fell overnight freshening up our surroundings, but it was quickly transported by the wind with much of it ending up in the vestibules of our tents. With some sun above and winds not too bad, we decided to make our carry to Camp 2 to cache food and personal gear. As we hoped, the winds stayed relatively light, and we had a pleasant climb. Throughout this climb, we have been just behind a large crowd, so that we hear rumors of camps being full, but arrive to find them deserted. It appeared today that everyone had just vacated Camp 2 for high camp. This works in our favor as we don't have to fight for tent sites. As we began our descent, the winds strengthened, with several strong gusts. We were all happy to get back to the tents and crawl into fluffy sleeping bags for the afternoon to recover from yet another big effort. With a great meal of tortellini sticking to our ribs, everyone is psyched for the scheduled rest day tomorrow. Cheers, Aconcagua Campo Uno residents

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Hey Pete…Another 2012 Climber checking in…Great to read your colorful 2013 accounts…Spent last three weeks daily reading my journal entries from last year…Why is your name on every other page !...Thx again for all your support…Godspeed…Waltero

Posted by: Waltero on 1/29/2013 at 7:33 am

Hi Pete!
Hard to believe it’s been a year since we were down there together (makes me want to start coughing). I leave in two weeks to join Casey Grom on Kilimanjaro.

I wish you and the team a safe journey up and down that big rock pile.

-Larry Seaton

Posted by: Larry Seaton on 1/28/2013 at 5:16 pm

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Aconcagua: Van Deventer & Team Move to Camp 1

January 27, 2013

Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Leon Davis, Mike King

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua

Elevation: 16,200'

We made the move to Aconcagua Camp 1! We're now resting in our tents at 16800' or so. The group did great and climbed strong. When we woke, there were clouds over the summit, and towards the end of our first stretch, a sudden snow squall blew threw, sending us scrambling for our hard shells. For the next couple of hours, sun alternated with clouds, making it hard to choose the correct layers. Just as we got ready for the last hard climb up a scree hill to camp, the snow set in in earnest. The group did great getting camp set quickly so everyone could get into shelter. We're settled in for the night now, and our hope is to wake to nice weather so that we can bump a cache of food and gear to Camp 2 tomorrow. Wish us luck! RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer and crew

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Following your progress St. James. BSDDAS ! Captain

Posted by: The Captain on 1/28/2013 at 1:49 pm

HI RICK POPP AND COMPANY, I HOPE YOU ARE WARM AND WELL, TAKE IT ALL IN SO THAT YOU CAN TELL US ALL ABOUT IT WHEN YOU COME HOME. TAKE PIX. ARE YOU HAVING FUN YET? LOVE AND WARM HUGS, MOM

Posted by: JOY POPP on 1/28/2013 at 11:55 am

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Aconcagua: Van Deventer & Team Rest Day at Basecamp

January 26, 2013

Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Leon Davis, Mike King

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua

Elevation: 13,800'

It's been a lazy day here at Plaza Argentina, which was exactly what the doctor ordered after the group's big effort yesterday. We woke late, cooked up a big batch of crêpes stuffed with bacon, fried apples, and dulce de leche for brunch. A few hours later, after books, more jokes, and a card game, we fried up some croque monsieur (sense the French food theme today?), and then went for a nice hour-long stroll up towards Ibañez, a sub peak outside of Basecamp. As hard as it can be to motivate for a hike after a day like yesterday, it really does aid and speed recovery. Our gear that will stay at Basecamp is sorted, and we are very ready for our move to Camp 1 tomorrow! Just one more delicious Argentine meal first... Hasta luego, RMI Guides Pete, Leon, Mike, and the team

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

This is so incredible to hear of your climb! I know this blog helps out the families knowing y’all are safe! I look forward to your next entry! Take more pictures of the hikers!!

Posted by: Debra Shaughnessy on 1/27/2013 at 5:59 am

Thanks for the update and the call :) miss you…. Keep safe. XOXO

Posted by: Carol Crye Popp on 1/27/2013 at 5:44 am

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Entries By mike king

Aconcagua: Nugent & Team at Pampas de Lenas

On The Map

Aconcagua Expedition: Van Deventer & Team Back to Camp

Aconcagua: Van Deventer & Team in Position for Summit Bid

On The Map

Aconcagua: Van Deventer & Team Experience Groundhog Day

On The Map

Aconcagua: Van Deventer & Team Resting at Camp 2

Aconcagua: Van Deventer & Team Move to Camp 2

On The Map

Aconcagua: Van Deventer & Team Good Day for Rest

Aconcagua: Van Deventer & Team Carry to Camp 2

On The Map

Aconcagua: Van Deventer & Team Move to Camp 1

On The Map

Aconcagua: Van Deventer & Team Rest Day at Basecamp

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