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We had a nice warm night in our Dome tent thanks to Jim who kept the fire stoked. The morning brought clearer weather and a nice dry day. Paine Grande and it's massive glacier came into view after yesterday's blizzard. 

As the team closed the "O" circuit with 10.5 miles of rolling terrain we were fortunate to see 20+ condors flying in close proximity to the trail, often in groups of 5-6. The trail brings us back into the estancia sector to where we began hiking eight days ago. This was a nice way to wrap up what's been an overcast & at times windy and damp trip. Tomorrow we will get an early start to beat the day hiking crowd up to the Towers. Keeping our fingers crossed for clear skies and dry weather.

Thanks for following along,

RMI Guide Mike King

On The Map

We made good time to Camp 1 at 16,300'. There were some clouds that kept the temps comfortable. Heavy snowfall began as we setup camp. The team got their cached items and ducked into the tents for a little rest before dinner. Tomorrow we will continue our ascent of Aconcagua with a carry of food & fuel to Camp 2 at 17,000'.

Fingers crossed that the snow stops tonight and winds do not get too high. We'll check in tomorrow after our carry.

Thanks for following along.

RMI Guide Mike King

On The Map

On The Map

On The Map

We’re excited to share that the Four-Day Climb led by Tatum Whatford and Eric Frank reached the summit early this morning! The team reported encountering some wind but otherwise enjoyed a beautiful morning high on the mountain.

After taking in the views from the summit, the climbers began their descent and are currently en route back to Camp Muir. They’re expected to return to Basecamp in Ashford, Washington, later this afternoon.

Congratulations to the entire team on a successful climb and summit!

Hello readers,

Sorry for the delay in dispatches. With some wonky internet and busy days it looks like we forgot Tuesday. So here is a recap of Tuesday and Wednesday. 

Tuesday we left Pheriche for Lobuche (the town). We woke to a new dusting of snow over the trail and mountains. The new coat made everything so white and fresh looking. The sun quickly started to melt the frozen earth as we made our way further uptrail. One teahouse stood between our two towns, so we stopped there for some tea and popcorn before we tackled a 700' vertical hill. On top of this hill is an emotional place, a climber's memorial. Many climber's names sit here. They came to climb the mountain but never made it back home. We all know how luckily we are to come out here and be among this beauty but also know this beauty has a wicked side and our ultimate goal is to make it home to our loved ones. It's a quick flattish walk to our next teahouse. It emerges from the rocks without warning. We rested for the afternoon before gathering for dinner and doing it all over again the next day. 

Today we picked up where we left off and left Lobuche for the last town before Everest Base Camp, Gorak Shep. There terrain takes on a different look as we get closer to the start of this valley. It's rocky and moon scape. Reminents of glaciers carving their paths. It's a relatively short distance vertically and horizontally to get to Gorak Shep. We make fast work of it and arrive for an early lunch. After lunch we do one more acclimatization hike up Kala Patar. On this hike we get amazing views of Everest and partial views of the ice fall. It is so beautiful and scary all at the same time. A scamper down as clouds roll in and a few snowflakes dance from the sky, wraps up our day. The team optimizes on a rest before dinner. It's cold and frosty up here when the sun disappears. Teams gather in the dining hall where the wood burning stove are but there is no wood to burn up here so instead dried Yak dung does the trick (and no it does not smell). After warming our bodies and filling our water bottles with hot water we lay down for one final rest in a teahouse before we hit Base Camp. 

Tomorrow is our day and Base Camp is our destination.

RMI Guides Hannah, Abby, and Team