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Friday, May 31, 2013
Excitement, trepidation, anxiousness and a whole slew of other emotions ran through the team last night and this morning as we prepared to make our carry up the
fixed ropes to 16,200' and beyond. How would we do on terrain steeper than any most of us have yet tackled? How would we do with the altitude? Everyone had similar questions that only time would answer.
Our day started in the early morning before the sun hit camp. Temps were probably around 0-5 F. But we knew we wanted to avoid any traffic jams on the fixed ropes if possible. And an early start would help insure a smooth ascent.
An hour and a half and 1,200' above camp the sun finally warmed our bodies. It amazes me still how in a five minute period it can go from bitingly cold to almost sweaty hot. With the fixed lines above we were psyched that we would have warm conditions to deal with them.
We all progressed well up the lines, so well that everyone wanted to continue further up the West Buttress to make our cache.
With climbing conditions on the ridge in great shape our progress was good, and before we knew it we were less than an hour from 17,200' camp. Although a challenge to climb at that altitude, everyone was up to going all the way to camp. Most people find just getting up to 16,200' challenge enough. But around 3:00pm we were there!
What made this day so especially memorable was the fact that this was the first time in my twenty three Mt. McKinley expeditions that the entire team had made it all the way to 17,200' camp.
We're back at 14,200' camp now and are looking forward to another well deserved rest day. After dinner we enjoyed reading all your blog replies. Thanks so much for all the support!
Good night from 14,000'
RMI Guides Brent, Logan and Leah
On The Map
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
The Mt. Baker Coleman-Deming Climb team June 21 - 23 reached the summit of Mt. Baker this morning around 7:30 am. RMI Guide Henry Coppolillo checked in to let us know the team has returned to camp and will pack up their tents and gear and continue their descent to the trail head, completing their program later this afternoon.
Congratulations to all the climbers!
From the cramped confines of
Machame Camp we headed out to our next camp, Shira. Although the rain forest below Machame was cool, the terrain on this stretch was stellar. Going thru the giant heather and moorlands the climbing became more and more interesting. Some rock outcroppings along the way provided wonderful viewpoints and lunch stops, not to mention some interesting scrambling challenges.
We have only one complaint. The food is just too darned good. Our cook staff works tirelessly on our behalf, creating prodigious quantities of cuisine that would not be out of place in a fancy restaurant. All made on a couple of two burner stoves.
As a climbing guide I'm the first person encouraging my climbers to eat to replace fuel burned on climbs. But our mountain staff take it to a whole new level. We are so spoiled! For example, on getting into camp this afternoon we were served an exquisite potato leek soup, followed by fried chicken, French fries and an avocado, pepper and tomato salad. All prepared fresh and treated to ensure everybody stays healthy. Our friends in the kitchen are magicians.
Liz has expressed interest in learning how the magic happens and has been invited back to the cook tent to watch and maybe pick up a few insights. I'll be pressing her hard for insights into their culinary genius. Until then, I guess we'll just suffer through the fact we're probably going to gain weight while climbing a 19,000' mountain.
Such are the challenges we face these days. Wish us luck.
And tomorrow: climbing to Lava Tower at 15,200' and Barranco Camp. Our team is more than ready for.
Until then,
RMI Guide Brent Okita
On The Map
It took six attempts but finally the weather cooperated for a successful acclimatization hike to the top of
La Malinche, 14,501’. A new high point for some of our Team. The ‘day hike’ is the equivalent of a Rainier summit day from Camp Muir in elevation gain. The Team did well despite having just arrived sea level more or less.
This morning we are in route to Ixta, a quick stop for breakfast and coffee then a travel day to the Altzomani Hut. There, we will pack for our hike to high camp and enjoy a nice dinner and spectacular sunset. Thanks for following along.
RMI Guide Mike King
We did it! 100% to the top of
Mt. Elbrus. We basically squeaked in the summit right between a couple of storms. We hopped out of bed at 11:45 PM last night and were loaded up in a snowcat by 1 AM. After a 45 minute ride we started our climb under starry skies.
The whole crew stayed together as we made our way up the ever steepening slopes to the summit. Good footwork and breathing techniques were mandatory as the trail was pretty much non existent due to the recent snow. We made great time to the summit and the views of the Caucasus were amazing. We were also the first group of the day so we had the summit all to ourselves. Bonus!
No less than 10 minutes after we began our descent it began snowing and the visibility decreased considerably. Our timing was perfect and that was primarily due to our excellent Russian guide Yuri. Thanks partner!
We are packing now and we'll hop on the gondolas when we are all set. Hotel rooms and kebabs for us tonight.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
On The Map
The sun doesn't set at
11,200' camp until after 9:30 sometime. Then it just passes behind a mountain to cast shadows on this place that we're now calling home. And we're soaking it all up after another nice day of climbing.
Today we made it to camp in under four hours, and for the first time had pretty reasonable sized packs. A cool down-glacier breeze offered us a change of pace from the sweat fest of the lower glacier, and I think most of the team welcomed the drop in temperature.
Pulling into camp in the early afternoon allowed us to walk into a vacated camp spot and relieved us of the tough work of building walls and excavating tent platforms. Most of us relaxed and enjoyed a well deserved break from our toils.
Another first for the trip: we enjoyed a fine meal from the comfort of our Posh House. This is a tent like thing that allows us all to sit, cook and eat, protected from the elements like the wind, cold, snow or even sun. It's cozy and makes it fun to just linger over a couple of hot drinks and enjoy each others company.
Tomorrow we'll be doing a back carry to pick up the cache we left there this morning. We're looking forward to a fairly easy day, and hopefully another great day of weather.
Before we sign off, Ayla wants to give a big shout out to her sister. Happy Birthday Eva! (By the way, your sister Ayla is a rock star - she's doing great.)
Until tomorrow ...
RMI Guide Brent Okita
On The Map
Monday, June 12, 2023 - 10:06 pm PT
Day ???
As a kid I remember snow days being a little more fun than this. The team emerged from hibernation and were greeted by less wind, but a lot more snow - both key ingredients to our second straight rest day. We spent most of the morning uncovering and digging our tents out while Chef Joey cooked up some delicious breakfast burritos - a fair trade if you ask me. The team passed the time lounging in the posh, playing games, and learning that some are much worse at spelling than others. The weather finally cleared (kinda) in the afternoon, and we crawled out of our cocooned tents to soak in the sun. Days like this are what the Bond Girls prepared for.
Hoping the sunshine continues to hold so we can venture out of our little camp tomorrow and push toward 14k.
- RMI Guide Andy Bond aka Sled Dog
The
Five Day Summit Climb May 14 - 18 led by
RMI Guide Tyler Reid reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today. The team reported moderate winds with clear skies above and a cloud deck below at around 7,000'. The team will return to Camp Muir and continue their descent this afternoon. We look forward to seeing them at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.
Congratulations to today's team!
A patchwork of clouds hung over the Caucasus this morning, diffusing the sunlight and hiding the morning sun. The almost sullen atmosphere didn't hold us back and we eagerly broke camp and hit the trail. The clouds kept the temperatures cool and we made great time, reaching our previous day's highpoint where we cached our gear by midday.
The final 800' of climbing above the cache took us off of the well worn climber's trail below and into the continually shifting slopes of scree - small, loose rock - that makes up the glacial morraine. It is full attention walking as each step must be chosen with care to avoid slipping back down in the loose rock and we carefully picked our way upwards, soon gaining the plateau where Camp 1 resides.
Perched amongst the rocky morraine alongside the Ullmalgender Glacier, Camp 1 sits at the base of the broad sweeping slopes of ice and snow that rise up to form Elbrus' twin summits and offers stunning views of the entire north side of the mountain. Off in the other direction we can gaze out across the rolling green plateaus, occasionally cut by the small dirt road that we drove along to reach the mountain. The sun had been gradually fighting its way back throughout the morning and by the time we reached camp it was another clear afternoon, interrupted every so often by gusts of wind sweeping down off of the mountain. After a solid day of climbing we set up camp and then crawled into the tents to relax for a bit before dinner.
The team climbed strongly today, making it to camp in just over six and a half hours. We are tired but happy to be here at the glacier's edge. Tomorrow we will descend back to our cache to retrieve our gear in the morning and then spend some time in the afternoon brushing up on our glacier travel skills.
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Monica and team, I hope the weather cooperates tomorrow! I’ve been calling in all my favors to Mother Nature.. Hopefully it’ll work! I’m so happy for you all to have made it to 17,200, now all on to the summit! Good luck!!! Miss you! XOXO
Posted by: Leslie on 6/4/2013 at 10:20 pm
Awesome work team. You all rock! Keep pushing on!
Posted by: Rob Carrizzo on 6/2/2013 at 6:32 am
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