Hey there! This is Billy calling in with our dispatch for July 3rd. The team woke up pretty early here in Quito. We got out of the hotel pretty quickly after a nice breakfast. We headed south of town to the Illinizas which is a really cool park to do another training hike. We ended up hiking for a few hours, climbing up above 15,000’. We made it to a Refugio which sits right in the saddle between Illiniza Norte and Illiniza Sur. We had some hot drinks then cruised on down. The team performed super well and so we were really psyched. After that we descended where Victor, our driver, rendezvoused with us again at the trailhead and we headed up to the Chilcabamba Eco Lodge where we had a fantastic meal and an awesome night! We are really enjoying the super, super bright full moon and amazing views of Cotopaxi which is our next big adjective. Tomorrow we are planning on heading that way, towards Cotopaxi, so we will give you a call and let you know how things are developing. That’s all for now, bye.
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
We have a rest day in Puebla - yay! The day started without any alarms and that was something we were all excited about. Everyone leisurely made their way to breakfast sometime after 9:00 am.
We all sat there together reminiscing on the trip so far - our good luck with weather, the challenge of both climbs, how many dogs we’ve accidentally fallen in love with, etc.
We kept refilling our coffees and green juice; sipping and chatting for nearly two hours. It was a lovely and relaxed time.
But that’s where the relaxing ended for this crew as they opted for a more “active” rest day. Everyone took off to enjoy as much of the city as possible and lead by Vanessa (who had done all her Puebla research) they saw over nine different sights and interesting spots in town. From art galleries to Mezcal tasting to historical sites, they never stopped walking.
It was so fun at dinner to hear about what treasures people found and how we all spent our day.
We quickly marched back to the hotel for some last minute packing before we have an early start tomorrow to Pico de Orizaba.
Well just like the Dude, Mother Nature abided (for the most part) we woke up to clear skies still air and sunshine, everything was saying go. So we did. We’re trying to hit a weather window on Sunday that looks gooood for summiting and so we chose to skip the carry up the fixed lines and give it a go in one shot.
Holy F**king Shit it was hard, but we made it. Heavy loads, steep slopes and 3000+ feet of gain with packs that could moonlight as ship anchors, we climbed to Vinson High Camp.
So absolutely proud that we were able to make it up here in such style and I’ll save you the nitty gritty for your climber to regale you with later. We take a well deserved rest day tomorrow (or today, it’s 3am) and will gear up for our summit push Sunday.
The Four Day Climb teams led by Andy Bond and Nick Scott heading up to Camp Muir for their climb tomorrow, September 16th, decided to retreat in the face of blizzard conditions. The team made it just past Pebble Creek and onto the Muir Snowfield despite heavy rains. However, at about 7,300' the heavy rains quickly turned into blowing sideways ice and snow which forced them to make the collective safety decision to turn around and head back to Paradise. The team made their descent and are back in town wearing dry layers and sipping warm drinks.
RMI Guide Robby Young checked in with us after their Pisco Oeste summit bid. They were able to summit and had a good day on the mountain. They are back at their camp for the night and will continue on to Huaraz tomorrow.
Wonderful pics! Looks like an incredibly arduous accomplishment. Congratulations to all the team; proud of you and looking forward to hearing the stories!
Hi this is Seth. We are up on the Shira Plateau headed to camp. Its been an excellent day on the trail. The weather has been fantastic and we are looking forward to a hot lunch in camp. Tomorrow we will head to the Barranco Valley.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
Cotopaxi summit!
We woke up at 11pm to a breakfast of coffee, tea, oatmeal and bread. We finished our packing in the dark with the rest of the hut's inhabitants before beginning our 9-hour summit bid. We got off to a bit of a stressful start when we realized that someone from a different climbing group had accidentally taken Adam's climbing helmet, but we weren't going to let that get in the way of our climb. (The helmet was returned later in the afternoon, once we returned to the huts after the climb.)
It was windy and snowy as we stepped outside around midnight, and that continued for the first hour during the hike up to the toe of the glacier. But soon after donning our crampons and ice axes, the weather mellowed out and the good luck we've been having with the weather on this trip continued for the rest of our ascent: the clouds cleared, the winds died down, and for the next 5 hours to the summit, the weather could only be described as mild and pleasant. At one point, we could see an active lightening storm beyond the lights of Quito and were grateful that we weren't experiencing the same.
The initial climbing on the glacier was steep, but not too difficult. These moderate angles soon gave way to steeper slopes that had us rest-stepping our way up. The dry snow made traction difficult (even with our crampons), so as the terrain became more exposed, we had to kick hard with our feet to really gain purchase. An exhausting endeavor at 19k feet!
In 6 hours and 15 minutes, we had made it to the top! The group's previous high altitude climbing on Cayambe and Antisana had definitely gotten us into shape for this climb. We moved well and as a team the entire way up! As we pulled on to the summit, the sun was just beginning to rise and we got a quick look into the summit crater. We didn't stay for long, though, since the winds picked up as we snapped our group photo. After 15 minutes up top, we began our descent.
Not only was our group strong on the ascent, but we rocked our descent, too! Despite some rather high winds at times, knocking us around a bit on narrow ridges, we continued to move well and made it back to the hut in just under three hours.
Back at the huts, we packed up our gear and descended to the parking lot, where we met up again with Victor and the magic bus. We were whisked away to La Cienega, a hotel that looks more "castle" than "hacienda", and after taking showers, we met up over dinner and a couple of games of Wits and Wagers, reflecting on our trip as a whole.
Tomorrow we head back to Quito and begin our journey back home. See you soon!
RMI Guide Nick Hunt
The RMI Mt. Elbrus team led by J.J. Justman left the hustle of Moscow and flew to Mineralnye Vody and drove to the Baksan Valley at the base of Mt. Elbrus. Check out their video below.
Our team is back in Quito, safe and sound after a successful and challenging Cotopaxi summit today. The weather looked perfect when we woke before midnight but that didn't last long, as a storm began to brew as we were climbing. Most of the climb, we were in the clouds with light precipitation and moderate winds. It never got bad enough to turn around; instead, it just made our climbing harder. We didn't need any help making the route harder, as we encountered ladders spanning crevasses, steep slopes, and open crevasses, in addition to the extreme altitude that is always present on Cotopaxi.
All in all, we had a fun and safe climb. We were climbing for more than 12 hours, so we're all bushed. Hopefully showers and a quick nap will rejuvenate everyone so that we can enjoy our celebration dinner tonight in Quito. It's been great spending the past 10 days in Ecuador with our team. We enjoyed a ton of different activities, both cultural and adventurous. Thanks team, for being an integral part of a great trip.
Hasta la próxima montaña,
Adios.
...stay tuned for the Cotopaxi Express trip's blog, starting this weekend!
RMI Guide Mike Walter
After descending to Lukla yesterday, we had a final team dinner with our Sherpa guide team and all the porters that helped make our trip possible.
We ended the night with a boom box and dancing — each song switching between USA pop songs and Nepali music. There was so much laughter and it was such a lovely evening celebrating a wonderful trip.
This morning we woke up early and made it on helicopters back to a hazy Kathmandu. People spent the afternoon resting and shopping on the bustling streets of Thamel.
One final team dinner tonight where we reminisced on an amazing experience - full of challenges, growth and pushing ourselves. One thing we all agree on is the smiles and open hearts of the Nepali people is something we’ll keep with us for a long time.
Congratulations and well done to all!!!
Posted by: Michelle on 7/26/2019 at 6:39 pm
Wonderful pics! Looks like an incredibly arduous accomplishment. Congratulations to all the team; proud of you and looking forward to hearing the stories!
Posted by: Barbara w on 7/26/2019 at 6:34 pm
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