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Today we will spend a couple of hours at the Otavalo Market looking for souvenirs and getting last-minute supplies for Cayambe. The afternoon will then be spent in pickup trucks on the bumpiest road you can imagine.

The team is doing great so far and staying patient with the acclimatization process. Over the past two days we did our warmup hikes on Rucu Pichincha and Fuya Fuya, getting us to elevations of 15,354’ and 13,986’, respectively. There was some off and on drizzle, but overall, both hikes went smoothly.

Tomorrow we will refresh basic mountaineering skills before making our attempt on Cayambe the following morning. Check back in the next couple of days for an update and wish us luck!

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier & Team

We said goodbye to Quito this morning and made our way north out of the city. Patchwork buildings turned to patchwork farms and lush green at every turn. We eventually made our way up a cobblestone road to start with our day’s objective - an acclimatization hike on Fuya Fuya. Our arrival on the shores of Laguna de Mojanda had everyone excited to get out of the bus and get moving. We hiked for the next couple hours through the tall grass accompanied by our local Ecuadorian guide, Pablo, and found ourselves perched on the eastern summit of Fuya Fuya feeling strong at almost 14,000’. The clouds and rain were kind to us on our ascent as we took in some amazing views of the lake and surrounding hills. The rain finally caught up with us, but only briefly as we made it back to our shuttle only a little damp and headed downhill. We’re now enjoying hacienda life tucked into a eucalyptus grove in the hills above Otavalo. Tomorrow we’ll visit the most famous Indian market in Ecuador to explore and shop, then point our shuttle southeast in the direction of our first big objective. The team is feeling strong and excited to make the switch to climbing mode. We’ll check in again tomorrow from the lower slopes of Cayambe! 

RMI Guides Mike, Jess and Team

On The Map

On The Map

Why do we climb mountains? It’s a pretty common question anybody in the mountain community gets asked. The beauty of the answer is that for each of us, it’s different. There is a common thread though. Being in the mountains, for all its tropes about toughness, grit, and partial insanity,  is uniquely vulnerable. Among the towering peaks and grand vistas it’s easy to feel small and that’s what we like about it. When you step out the door for an expedition you don’t know if you’ll come back successful, but the unknown and discomfort in each step is the allure that draws us back again and again. We find truths  about ourselves in the discomfort and vulnerability of mountain life that we can’t tap into in our everyday lives. The real truth is,  that being comfortable is overrated, and being vulnerable, the opposite. We summitted Aconcagua today. It was the best summit day I’ve ever had on the mountain. Windy, shaded traverses, that usually get my toes numb just thinking about them, were calm and warm (ish). Instead of hiding behind a buff or neoprene face mask to save skin, it was swapped with sun screen and lip balm. We made our way up the Stone Sentinel slowly, but surely, and stood atop at around 2:30pm local time. We were likely the highest people touching earth at the time. As we descended the clouds came in and by the time we were back in the safety of our tent we were happy to not hold that title any longer. Thunder, lightning, grapple the size of marbles started as soon as the last zipper zipped. We had timed the day perfectly. We will sleep well tonight, or as well as you can at 19,600 ft. Tomorrow we will descend to Basecamp and enjoy the food, warmth, and company.

RMI Guide Dominic Cifelli

On The Map

Tuesday, June 21, 2022 - 8:49 pm PT

The weather couldn’t make up its mind today-  it was cold, it was hot, it was sunny, it was cloudy, it was clear, it was snowy, it was windy, and it was still. It literally couldn’t make up its mind from minute to minute. This of course necessitated putting on and taking off layers, putting on sunscreen, and opening and closing the vestibules. Our heads are still spinning.

Today was what we called a reverse carry day which means we headed down hill to retrieve our cache from 10,000' and hoofed it back up the hill to camp. Andy called this a rest day. His idea of a rest day is a little demented in my opinion. On the Appalachian trail, we would have called this a Nero day (translation- nearly a zero day). 

We also prepped for tomorrow by deciding what we are going to carry up to 14,000' Camp for caching. The strategy is to split our load so no one day is heavier than the other.

Camp life today involved consuming large volumes of food while we still have an appetite which also means we don’t have to carry it. Many of us are finding out that we packed way too much food and are excited when anybody is willing to eat some of it. We also tossed around some deep questions like -if you could go back in any period of history when would it be? My answer was the future, specifically the day we summit this massive mountain. You may have also heard that one member of our team is carrying a hula hoop up the mountain. After a little research project from our followers, we learned that if our team member is successful in hula hooping for 30 seconds on the summit, they will break the record for the highest hula hooping. The current record is on Kilimanjaro at 19,300'.  Stayed tuned.

RMI Climber Mary-Beth

Monday, June 20, 2022 - 8:39 a.m. PDT

So we did it, well almost. We’re right back where we began our journey but this time we are stuck here. I’m of course talking about Kahiltna International Airport. How did this happen? Let’s start at the beginning of our day.

BEEP BEEP BEEP. The 1:00 a.mm alarm goes off, the guides rub the sleep / snow out of their eyes. Oh wait, did you say snow? Yes, yes I did because the guides decided to roll the dice and open bivy instead of set up a tent for our “last” night out. Anyways not a big deal, snow brushes off and sleeping bags dry eventually.

The rest of the team quickly rallied and broke down camp and we headed out on the mushy trail. Slightly less mushy though thanks to a slight refreeze from the night. Thank goodness for that because we crossed a lot of snow bridges over crevasses. The walking was easy and the team was traveling well, until Heartbreak Hill, the final slope up to the airstrip. It’s just steep enough to be terrible and just shallow enough grade to last for what feels like forever.

Finally, finally we made it to the airstrip. Our time to get back to civilization was here! Except not, because we didn’t fly out. Now here’s how we got stuck. Clouds. Clouds everywhere. First clouds at the airstrip prevented them from flying, then clouds in Talkeetna, then more clouds at the airstrip, then clouds both places.

So as I write this we’ve missed our window for flying out today and await patiently for a break in the weather tomorrow. Let’s hope the next dispatch is a picture of us clinking glasses and celebrating in Talkeetna!

To be continued….

RMI Guides Avery Parrinello, Jack Delaney, Liam Weed and the team

Everyone arrived with all bags in tow. That is as much of a win as we can ask for on day one.

Today, we ventured out on a tour of Quito and La Mitad del Mundo (literally, The Middle of the World). It was a particularly sunny day, and we spent a little time enjoying the variety of flowers at El Museo de Intiñan, the indigenous equatorial museum.

From there, our tour heads to El Panecillo, a small hill just south of the old town. Panecillo basically translates to "little bread loaf" as it is just a small rise that affords a person a nice view of Quito. If you make an early morning trip here, you can usually see Cayambe, Antisana and/or Cotopaxi from atop the hill. In the afternoon, mounting clouds tend to obscure the view.

We, then, headed down into the old town to have a look around at some statues, historic buildings, and old churches. But perhaps more importantly, there was a quick stop for empanadas and ice cream. Much of culture can be absorbed through food and discovering the taste of fresh guanabana ice cream is certainly a cultural experience.

Today is just the beginning of what we all hope is a safe, successful climbing trip!

Dustin

The Emmons Seminar began their summit bid this morning at 9:30.  They were able to reach a height of 13,600' before weather kept them from safely continuing on to the summit.  The team is working their way back to Camp Schurman where they will spend the night.  Tomorrow morning they will pack up camp and start their descent back to the trailhead.