After a good trip up the Relinchos Valley yesterday, the team is enjoying a well-earned rest day here at Plaza Argentina. Our night of good rest rolled into a breakfast of eggs, fried ham, peppers and onions with coffee and hot chocolate, and was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone.
After giving the team time to digest, we all went over to the medical office and got the obligatory physical check-up. Everyone passed with flying colors, and we're now poised and ready for our carry up to Camp One tomorrow, situated at 16,200'.
While we're living at about 14,000 feet, everyone is feeling tip top and acclimating perfectly. We have beautiful weather and look forward to staging for the move higher on this beautiful mountain.
Keep sending the positive energy!
RMI Aconcagua Expedition and Guides JJ Justman, Garrett Stevens and Geoff Schellens
Waking up in Barranco Camp under the massive headwalls and fading glaciers of the upper reaches of Kilimanjaro was just beautiful this morning. We slept in an hour because the hike to Karanga was just 4 hours and it gave time for many of the porters to get ahead of us ascending the Barranco Wall. Our climb up some of the Wall's scrambling sections went well, with everyone moving competently. Even the most apprehensive of us got stoked climbing this section. Three valleys later we arrive at Karanga Camp. Lots of up and down today to arrive at a camp only 130' higher than our last, but this is part of the planned magic of acclimatizing for our summit bid that's coming up pretty quickly.
It's amazing how well everyone's doing with the altitude. The fun little tests we do measuring our bodies ability to process oxygen and our pulse reveal that we're all doing better than expected. Great news with the climb looming on the horizon.
Okay, are you ready to hear about what we had for lunch when we arrived? Wiener schnitzel, German Potatoes, sauteed vegetables, vegetable soup. For dessert, watermelon and a home baked chocolate nutty fudge type thing.
Living larger at Karanga Camp,
RMI Guide Brent Okita and Team
The Four Day Climbs led by RMI Guides Steve Gately and Mike King reached the summit of Mt. Rainier at 7:30 AM PT. RMI Guide Joe Hoch reported warm weather and dying winds on the summit. Joe said, "It's finally starting to feel like July!"
The teams will spend some time on the summit before beginning their descent. They will return to Rainier BaseCamp in Ashford this afternoon.
Happy Fourth of July and congratulations climbers!
Update Saturday, May 30th 8:30 pm PDT
Summit day! We decided to do something a bit unorthodox and wake up and leave early without the sunshine. Usually it would make for a really cold couple of hours, but the temperatures have been unseasonably balmy. It had the added advantage of getting us out ahead of several other teams that were heading for the summit also. The deviation worked out perfectly and we had a nice warm morning to walk, with no other teams in front of us. The skies stayed crystal blue all day, and 6 1/2 hours or so later, we were standing on the highest thing around! We had a good half hour on the summit, snapping pictures and taking it all in, before chilly breeze convinced us to head back for camp. We are back with plenty of time to brew up dinner and watch the later teams on their descent. It was a special day and everyone's really excited. It was especially great to have the whole team make it to the top. Tomorrow we turn our sights downhill and start the journey home!
Pete, Robby, Josh and team
Saturday, May 30th 3:32 pm PDT
This is RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer calling in from the top of Mount McKinley in Alaska. We just touched the summit; it's just past after 2 o'clock in the afternoon. Our group and Mike Walter's group summited today in short order. It's a really, really nice day up here--sunny, light winds, and relatively warm as far as Alaska goes. The whole team made it up. It was awesome, Really great day and everybody is excited. [cheers] We'll give a shout when we're back at 17k Camp safely and soon we'll be back in Talkeetna before we know it, heading downhill. Alright, talk to everybody later.
RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer calls from the summit of Mt. McKinley.
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer and Geoff Schellens led the Four Day Summit Climb to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Pete reported blustery, clear, and cold conditions on the upper mountain. The teams will spend some time on top before beginning their descent to Camp Muir. We look forward to seeing the teams in Ashford this afternoon.
Congratulations on a great climb!
The guides at RMI really make the difference here! We were fortunate to have Pete and Chase who pushed us along the way and made sure that we were doing all the right things to make the summit! Thanks Guys!
Posted by: Anil on 8/14/2013 at 11:26 am
Congratulations gang! I hated to ‘bail-out’ but conditioning is the key to keeping a group on-schedule and I personally didn’t feel I had it yet. No worries… Next time! Thanks Pete for your most professional guidance…and to Chase for yours. Again thanks!... Congratulations…and ‘See you on the mountain!’ Cheers!
Posted by: Dave McLaughlin on 8/13/2013 at 12:28 pm
What a wild storm....... a month ago. I have counted about thirty downed trees near the trail since Namche. Big trees ! Word on the trail was about a three day rain event then a big wind storm and there you have it, lots of lumber on the ground. If a tree falls in the forest and nobody hears it did it make a sound? How about if somebody writes a fantastic blog dispatch but it never gets posted, is it still a blog? Kim is so nice, at least she is not making me feel too bad for deleting (on accident) her amazing dispatch of yesterday. I thought I was in the dog house, but she seems OK. It could be different after we get the summit of Island Peak and my value goes way down, maybe I will hear about it then. Regardless, she has decided to give it another shot just for you all.
Enjoy,
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
After arm wrestling the two guys yesterday, I finally won a chance to write the blog. I thought it was wonderfully written, but the men seemed unimpressed. The next thing I was told is that it was "lost" in cyberspace somewhere. Hmm. I seem to be outnumbered here. In any case, I'll try a new one today and see if it gets posted this time. . .
What a wonderful day we had! We awoke to bluebird skies and a gorgeous view of Namche Bazaar and the surrounding peaks. We departed just after breakfast and hiked up, up, and more up to Khumjung at 12,475 ft where we visited the Hillary School. We have with us a couple of special "flat" children inspired by the "Flat Stanley" book. One flat child took a peek at the school with us.
After a short stop at the bakery in Khumjung, we descended through an enchanting rhododendron forest down, down, and more down to our lunch stop in Phunkgi Thanga (nicknamed Funky Town by Mr.Tuck) at 10,800ft. With full bellies, we climbed up, up, and more up. During our climb, the clouds rolled in and a blanket of fog made our enchanting hike even more mystical. As we hiked, we could hear the gentle clanging of a yak bell calling out from the fog. An occasional person or yak would emerge from the fog, pass us, and then disappear again. Finally, we began seeing the occasional monk emerge from the fog and disappear, indicating to us that we had reached the Tengboche monastery (12,800ft). We will visit again tomorrow, hopefully when the skies are clear. Finally, we descended down, down, (well, just a little down) to Deboche at 12,325 ft. We are spending the evening warming in the teahouse while the fog begins to lift outside to reveal the surrounding hillsides. --Kim
When trekking into Everest Base Camp (BC) two weeks ago, it felt high, rugged, and hostile. Man, what a different perspective this morning, as Viesturs and I returned to BC after 5 days at Camp 1 (19,000') and Camp 2 (21,200'). What fun to enjoy the creature comforts that we did without for the last few days...thick air (yes, 17,500' feels thick compared to 21,000'), a shower, a shave, and a Coke. It never ceases to amaze me how much I appreciate the little things that we typically take for granted. A bit of suffering and "doing without" gives great contrast to our relative comforts of BC, where living on a pile of rocks and ice can seem quite luxurious.
Our 5 days on the mountain went well and we accomplished all we set out to do on this rotation. Our night at Camp 1 was uneventful though light on sleep, as we listened to icefall and rockfall crash down from Everest's west shoulder and Nuptse. Camp 1 is in a good place but you never know "if" or "when" the big one might decide to come down. At daybreak the next day, fueled by high-octane caffeine, we blasted out of there and 2 1/2 hours later arrived at Camp 2.
Camp 2 is in a much nicer place on the lateral moraine of the Khumbu glacier and is free from objective dangers...icefall, rockfall, etc. We still slept poorly, though not from worrying about things falling from above, but from the significant altitude jump we had made from BC to here...about a 3,500' increase over the last 36 hours. Altitude symptoms affect everyone, even Ed Viesturs, and I was happy to know I had a partner to share my mild discomfort with. The next two days we made forays up to 22,000' on the southwest face of Everest and to the base of the Lhotse face. These two morning climbs were not only great for acclimatization, but let us soak in the amazing beauty of the world's highest peaks. We would start walking by 8 a.m. before the sun crested Lhotse, when the entire Khumbu is arctic blue and silent...and COLD. Then, within the hour, the brilliant sunlight would ignite the snow, rock, and ice around us and our world not only brightened but warmed up considerably. Up here there are two sources of heat...what your body generates and the sun, and you quickly learn how to maximize both. At the end of our stay at Camp 2, we were feeling pretty good. Our bodies had adjusted to the altitude and we were falling into the pace and cadence of high-mountain living.
Ed and I are now back here at BC for 2-3 days of rest. Melissa stayed at Camp 2 for another day of acclimatization, and Dave Hahn and his team just headed up to Camp 1 for their first rotation on the mountain. I'm really pleased that all team members are on track and making steady progress.
Next we will head up for another rotation up high, which will include spending a night at Camp 3 (23,500'), climbing above to about 25,000' and then descending all the way to BC for more rest prior to our final push. We are one month into this expedition and so far, so good. Each day is its own challenge. My mantra is "short-term focus on a long-term goal." One step at a time, literally. But hey, I'm down here at BC resting my body and my mind, so I'm going for another Coke.
It is usually a good sign when the easy part goes smooth and easy. Our team of seven climbers and guides flew in and met up in Alaska without a hitch. It was cloudy and overcast as we drove up from Anchorage, but not so much that we couldn’t get glimpses of the big mountains up mingling with the cloud tops. We stopped briefly in Wasilla for a few final provisions from the world of supermarkets, and then cruised on up the Parks Highway to the Talkeetna spur road. After settling our gear at the airplane hangar and ourselves at the hotel, we braved mosquito hoards and labor shortages to find a fine dinner at the West Rib. A well-fed climbing team then waddled out to the banks of the great Susitna River to see if the mountains had come out. Not quite, but we judged it all to be good enough for day one.
It's been a wild day. Things were perfect this morning to move. We didn't rush out of camp, instead letting sun start to dry the frost from our tents before we packed them. The climb to 14,000' was pleasant all the way. There were some periods where a mild breeze cooled us, but in a way e were thankful for some respite from the heat of the sun. Once we got to 14,000' Camp, it got exciting. Just as we started to set up the first tents, we got hit with a blast of wind that was probably pushing 40 mph. Another was quick on its heels. And that was how it went - sudden strong blasts that weren't tied to hitting us from any one particular direction. It was a magnificent display of teamwork, as everybody came together to get tents up and then a wall built to provide some shelter from the gusts. We got a hot meal and are now deep in sleeping bags staying warm and drifting off to sleep. All in all, it was a great day and a great illustration of how Denali keeps you on your toes.
Sending positive thoughts to Cram from the CZ. You got this!
Posted by: Z on 5/29/2021 at 6:37 pm
Glad you got up there Marc! Wishing you calm and less freezing weather along the way! Felix has been learning a lot about Denali and always has questions about how big it is.
Love, Little Sis
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
Watching your trek to camp 1. Glad everything is going well. Miss You.
Posted by: Paula Hall on 1/9/2013 at 6:25 am
Greg sounds like you are all doing well and enjoying everything so far. We enjoy seeing the pix.
Posted by: mom and dad on 1/8/2013 at 10:20 pm
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