Bueno dias from Ecuador. Yesterday our team reached the summit of (the nearly 20,000') Cotopaxi! When we awoke at midnight, it was snowing lightly. By the time we had breakfast and were ready to start climbing, the snow had let up; some clouds lingered, but stars were visible. The weather for our climb remained excellent: mostly clear skies, calm wind, and relatively mild temperatures. Our team stood on the summit at 7:15 a.m., and was treated to excellent views of the 20,700' Chimborazo, the Ilinizas, and the active volcanos, the Pinchinchas, which rise above Quito. After descending, we traveled out of Cotopaxi National Park to our current location of the hacienda La Cienega. This beautiful hacienda was built in the late 16th century, and has a rich and interesting history, including having housed the first volcanological study of Cotopaxi, and a European geographical expedition to measure the meridians.
We all enjoyed hot showers and a great dinner, before getting some much needed rest. Today we will travel north to our next hacienda, Guachala. We'll rest our legs today before starting our next climb, Cayambe. Tomorrow morning before heading to the climbers' hut on Cayambe, we'll visit the world famous market at Otovalo.
We'll keep you up-to-date with our whereabouts.
The Mongolia team has made the jump from Olgii in Western Mongolia back to the capital, Ulaanbataar. We are enjoying the cosmopolitan feel of the city and a final cultural event today - visiting a 13th century recreation of Chinggus (Ghengis) Khan's kingdom and palace. Tomorrow morning we all catch flight home to our love ones.
Thanks for following along!!
RMI Guide Eric Frank
Sunday, June 23, 2019 - 8:50 PM PT
What a beautiful day! We are so thankful that the weather has been amazing so far. We will definitely not be fooled into thinking that the mountain won't throw some weather our way soon!
We had a long day bringing a bunch of food, fuel, CMC's, and extra warm clothing up to our next camp at 14,000'. The climbing was great and the crew had a good time. It was nice to be able to see Denali again since our view is obstructed at our camp at 11k.
We all earned our afternoon naps before a hearty dinner of Tasty Bites Indian food with rice.
We are all excited to move up to 14k tomorrow... if the weather is nice to us!
RMI Guide Mike Haugen & Team Siete
It was shower day for the climbing team. This was our designated "day off" so that all could get a good night's sleep without any nervousness about what might be demanded of another training/climbing day. It seemed to do the trick... we all showed up late for the pre-breakfast coffee and tea session. There was a pretty good procession of old friends and fellow guides coming to say hello and exchange radio frequencies today. Climbing teams are now pouring in, the Puja flags are going up everywhere and brightly colored tents are blossoming in every direction.
We'll make our first push through the icefall tomorrow... Sherpas and guides, at least. Our goal will be to check out the route and to establish Camp 1 at close to 20,000 ft.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Inspired by your courage and praying for all Sherpas and climbers - from Maryland, USA.
Posted by: Carol Clancey on 4/18/2015 at 11:53 am
Peter we miss you and love you and hope you are doing well! I love the email updates and look forward to them! Wishing you and the rest of the team the best of luck on the ice fall. Love you!
Hello from Barranco Camp,
The team did great today, and everybody is feeling strong and healthy.
The unsettled weather continues for our third day on the mountain. Last night, the winds started to pick up after we arrived in camp and were still blowing when we woke up this morning. Fortunately, it was only winds today, as we stayed dry all day and the sun made a brief appearance when we got to camp.
We are definitely into our mountain routines, going to bed fairly early and waking up with enough time to pack, eat breakfast, and be walking by 8:00 am. That is exactly what happened this morning. With packs on we started the climb up the Shira Plateau. We climbed directly towards the mountain for the entire morning, slowly leaving behind all plant life as we got close to Lava Tower camp. It was the first time most of this group had been to 14,900' and everybody was grinning when we got to our high point. We had some lunch and took a little extra time to just let our bodies feel what it is like being at this altitude. Then we started our descent to Barranco camp, approximately 2000' below us. This was the first downhill section of the trip so far, and since half of this climb is spent descending, you have to be able to walk downhill efficiently. This group can definitely walk downhill. A couple hours later we were pulling into camp. The highlight of the the day, besides climbing to 14,900', was the last 15 minutes of walking before we reached camp. Giant Senecios line the trial on both sides and it such a unique plant, that you can't help to feel that you might be on a different planet. Especially as the clouds roll by blocking out everything around you except for these very strange looking trees.
Once in camp, it was time to get moved into our tents and relax for the afternoon. We are now all accustomed to the snacking and tea drinking that pretty much begins right after we get to camp and ends right before dinner.
Tomorrow we head up the Barranco Wall. It's hard to miss as it looms above us, but everyone is excited to be standing on top of it by mid-morning.
Best regards,
RMI Guide Jeff Martin & Team
Happy Valentine’s Day, Russ! Great job with the climb! And, Thanks for our lovely Valentines present! The Yorkies are pushing you up that mountain with all 8 paws…from Sausalito, CA! Attack that mountain! We love you, Jody, Belle & Bliss!
Posted by: Jody Frederickson on 2/14/2014 at 7:11 am
Hey Sarah, We are enjoying the posts and look forward to hearing all. Happy Valentines Day. Love Pf
We woke today to a blend of blue and white swirls, but with more blue above and more white down low--And with our team still charging strong--we made the push to cache food and gear at 13,600'. This trek takes us onto a different aspect of the mountain, with views over to the "Father and Sons Wall" and the glaciers to the west, which feed north to the Bering Strait. Pushing upward to 13,000' we could see the tops of Foraker (17,000') and Crosson (12,000') poking out above a thick sea of clouds around 11k--we were happy to be above it all. After caching our gear we headed down (a much quicker trip!) and we're now back at camp just as the sun has begun burning through the clouds--perfect timing!
RMI Guide Kel Rossiter
Our Four Day Summit Climbs led by RMI Guides JJ Justman and Pete Van Deventer called from the “tippy tippy top of Columbia Crest” this morning. Pete reported his team reached the summit of Mt. Rainier at 6:45 and the teams began their descent just before 8:00am. Pete reported the conditions as: light wind, sunny, clear skies, super nice, and relatively warm.
Congratulations to today's teams!
Greetings from Casa de Piedra, at 10,600' in the Vacas valley.
We woke this morning to clear blue skies and cool temperatures after yesterday's rain. The cloudless day lifted our spirits and dried our gear as we had a delicious breakfast of eggs with cheese & peppers, fresh oranges, and hot chocolate. We packed our gear for the mules and loaded up our day packs for the trek from Leñas to Casa de Piedra, and headed up the valley.
The sunny skies kept us warm as we passed guanacos and liebres (Argentine jackrabbits), and the team strolled into camp feeling strong and excited for the challenges ahead. While the wind has picked up since our arrival, we're anticipating another beautiful day tomorrow on our way to Basecamp at 13,800'. It will be an early night tonight and an early morning tomorrow, but the stoke is high and we feel good about what lies ahead. We'll check in tomorrow - until then, keep sending the positive vibes!
Cheers,
Garrett and the RMI Aconcagua Expedition
Not a whole lot to report from Camp 2. Our night was noisy with wind, which didn't let up till later in the afternoon. With the winds blowing in the morning making the camp look all sparkly we decided to stay put and not participate in the windy day.The carry is not a crucial part of our agenda so it is OK that we opted not to carry to high camp. We spent out day watching the snow Dance off the ridges and the top.Tomorrow will be another rest day before we make the move to high camp where we launch for the summit. The winds should be lessening as our day approaches. For now we snuggle into our sleeping bags for warmth and enjoy a other hypoxic sleep at 18,000'.
And we flew out!
We got in a day early, and flew out a day early too, as to secure our exit off the glacier with the great weather we had: the runway at the Root Canal Glacier is no major airport where to secure a flight under the action of the elements.
The trip ran very smoothly, and we're happy to have tackled this ultra classic line, "Ham and Eggs" up the Moose's Tooth, which is without a doubt, a haunting peak in the Alaska Range.
Vanessa and Taylor trained the necessary technical skills not only to overcome the difficulties of the route, but to shine for the hours on end that climbing 3,000ft of steep ice, snow and mixed terrain entails in the remoteness of this environment. Now the team has parted ways, and we feel proud and accomplished.
Regards from Anchorage!
RMI Guide Elías de Andrés Martos
Dearest Meghan- How’s the blondtourage holding up?
xoxoxo
Posted by: Lisa Miller on 6/25/2019 at 2:13 pm
Happy birthday Zach and Ian! The optimum way to spend a birthday!!
Happy mountaineering to all.
Posted by: Kathy on 6/24/2019 at 9:21 am
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