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Today is another rest day for the team at
Plaza Argentina. After our carry to Camp 1 yesterday it serves us well to take advantage and fully acclimatize. The team is doing really well. The agenda for today is resting, eating and taking showers.
Everyone on the team says hello to family and friends...
RMI Guide JJ Justman
On The Map
At low camp, we woke to another thoroughly cloudy day. But it wasn't as cold as yesterday and there wasn't any wind up above that we could detect. We ate our usual late breakfast and checked in with
Vinson Basecamp via the radio to hear the latest forecast (the same folks at Union Glacier who try to find weather windows for the Ilyushin also take a stab at mountain weather predictions). The forecast was just plain good. Clouds diminishing, no significant winds. We packed up low camp and headed for high camp. It was 2 PM by the time we were roped up and walking toward the fixed lines. We climbed in a murky world of cloud, between murky layers of other clouds down low and up high. But we made good and steady progress, reaching high camp at 12,300 ft by 8:30 PM. We worked to get a camp built and a kitchen going. At 10 PM we got our first sunshine of the day, which, thankfully kept on beaming down through clearing skies to make dinner and going to bed a lot easier. Tomorrow could be our big day... Depending, of course on how the weather shapes up and how the climbing team looks at breakfast.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
The
Four Day Summit Climb Teams led by
RMI Guides Leon Davis and Geoff Schellens were forced to turn around at 8,000' today en route to Camp Muir. The teams experienced wet and windy weather with low visibility. They made the tough decision to descend and return to Paradise. The teams arrived at Rainier BaseCamp just before 3 pm PT.
Dobrey Vecher from Moscow,
Our Elbrus North Side Climbing Team congregated from across the world today, everyone arriving from various destinations into Moscow by late afternoon. Despite the many flights and thousands of miles travelled arrivals were smooth. There is always a moment of great anxiety when arriving at your destination on an international climbing expedition occurring immediately upon arrival: standing at the luggage carousel as unfamiliar bags sweep past waiting to see if all of your climbing gear arrived with you. Thankfully, all bags and climbing equipment appeared one by one to our relief.
After each person's transfer navigated the infamous Moscow traffic after their flights, we at last met up at our hotel. Moscow is a vibrant, chaotic melting pot that never ceases to surprise. With only twenty years since the end of the USSR, the city is a mix of old and new, of history and progress, and of dilapidation and glamour. All of this is apparent within the drive across town and it continues to present itself around every corner. We gathered as a team this evening, getting to know our fellow climbers over a few pints of local Russian beer and excellent steaks sitting on the terrace of our restaurant overshadowed by the colorful bell towers of the neighboring Russian Orthodox Church. Despite the 11 hour time difference between Moscow and the West Coast everyone seemed to be in good spirits and holding up well from the jet lag and talk quickly turned to the climb as we laid out our game plan for our time in Moscow and subsequent departure for the mountain.
With night settled in we wrapped up dinner and headed back to our hotel, situated right on the southern banks of the Moscow River across from Alexander's Gardens and the red walls of the Kremlin. We are ready for a good night's rest before heading out to visit the famous sites of Moscow tomorrow.
Our luck with good weather persisted this morning and when we woke up for our summit bid perfectly clear night skies greeted us. After pulling on our boots and gobbling down breakfast we grabbed our packs and climbing gear and headed out.
It was a gorgeous night with the stars speckling the sky. Being in the heart of the main climbing season on Elbrus dozens of other climbers were attempting their summit bid as well and their headlamps danced up and down the route, reflecting the stars above. We climbed strongly, picking our way up the broad snow slopes below the East Summit, and by dawn we were approaching 17,000'. Just before sunrise, in what seems almost cliche in retrospect, a barrage of shooting stars streaked over the mountain's shoulder, eventually obscured by the rising sun.
It was crisp climbing in the darkness and we kept our breaks short to keep from getting cold. The sun finally found us leaving the saddle between the East and West Summits at close to 18,000'. We warmed up quickly in the morning sun as we climbed the steep slopes to gain the plateau of the Western Summit and we were quickly shedding our coats and thick gloves. Around 9 am we ascended the final snow ridge to Elbrus' summit and suddenly there was no more left to climb.
Standing atop Europe's highest point, the views were nothing short of spectacular. To our south stood the chain of the Caucasus, the peaks looking a bit less imposing when viewed from above. Behind them we could peer into Georgia while looking north into Russia the rolling alpine pasture land of the Caucasus foothills stretched to the horizon. A light haze layer - most likely from the wildfires raging far to the east - hung just below us, giving the sky striking layers of different hues of blue. There was hardly a breath of wind on the summit, by far the best weather I have experienced up there.
After celebrating on the summit we turned our sights back to where we had started and began the descent. We made remarkably quick work of the 6,000' descent and by midday we were back at the Barrels, with tired legs but feeling quite content.
True to its pattern, the clouds built by midafternoon and as we rested in our bunks rain spattered the metal barrels, making the sleeping bags all the more alluring. We are tired but thrilled with the climb this morning, we couldn't have hoped for a better day. It was a fantastic climb and we feel very fortunate to have gotten so lucky on a mountain notorious for its fickle and uncertain weather.
We are staying here at the Barrels tonight before descending to Azau tomorrow for hot showers and to celebrate our climb.
Hello from Everest Basecamp! We have finally arrived! We woke to gorgeous weather and a psyched team. The trail to basecamp is rocky with little ups and downs from Gorak Shep. We are in the moraine of the glacier walking ice but it's just buried under the dirt. Many yak trains passing by brought us to the infamous rock that says Everest Base Camp. After many photos the team continued the trek into Basecamp. For us our camp happened to be on the far side. More walking but more to see with all the Everest Expeditions setting up for their teams arrivals come April. Our camp is cozy with a dining tent, bathroom tents and even a shower tent. The nights get cold so it's not too late of a night before we all crawl into our sleeping bags for warmth. Tomorrow we will
explore the glacier and do a little training for the upcoming climb on Lobuche.
Goodnight all,
RMI Guides Hannah, Abby, and Team
If you were with us last night you would have slept out under the stars of the southern hemisphere, and when you woke after midnight you’d stay up a few minutes longer watching the Milky Way stretch from ridge to ridge. You might have dreamed of this trip for years or signed up only a month ago.You might be back for your second attempt, comparing this to your trek up Denali, or counting down for an Everest attempt. After all the prep and planning you’d be settling into the pace of the mountain and getting to know our guides. You’d hear about their careers in social work, Iowan ice climbing, and physics research and be grateful both for their expertise on Aconcagua and experience guiding together before. You’d want family back home to think you’re roughing it, and might not tell them about the malbec, bistec, and fresh vegetables prepared over an open fire for dinner - then, as the morning light grew in the Vacas valley you’d laugh again about mummy 10 movies and make your way to the tent for coffee. As you linger over a first-class breakfast Jess races from the kitchen to teach us the Spanish word for toothpick - palillo – with hip and hand motions to ensure correct enunciation for each syllable.
Then, we start to hike. Tim might teach you about the physiology of mammals in the Andes mountains, David would explain the nuances of altitude’s effect on the body, and Jack points to geological features and tells you how they came to be. At breaks we sample apple-flavored kettle corn and sandwiches with every sauce mixed together, cheer as a water bottle is rescued from the glacial river, catch our first sight of guanacos traveling together, and wonder how many birds we could name if put on the spot. Most exciting, and just before camp, we catch our first glimpse of the summit. It stood proudly with the snowfield in view and a wisp of cloud scarfed near the peak. Now, we stay out of the sun, read, and rest - thinking both about those we love back home and the big push that waits for us ahead.
Trusting our training, hoping for good weather, and gaining confidence from the group we passed who made the summit, we settle in for our last night before base camp.
RMI Climber Hudson Baird & Team
P.S. Jane, Shane says hi.
The wait continues here in the rainy village of Talkeetna. We have covered a whole gamut of skills and topics. Currently we don't have a glacier under our our feet but we have many new tricks and tips to help us when our plane's skis hit the powder-covered runway at KIA (
Kahiltna International Airport), as many consider it. While the last flight in or out occurred this last Monday, our motivation is high and our spirits strong as we endure these fuzzy and rain filled skies. Maybe fishing for halibut would suit this weather well?
Our afternoon will take us to the Talkeetna Ranger Station for a documentary video that outlines the process of climbing and the reality of this difficult and rewarding climb to the summit of North America! We continue to send positive thoughts to the teams on the hill, hoping to high-five with then as we land.
Any high pressure you can send up here would be appreciated by all...
Until tomorrow,
RMI Guides
Tyler Jones,
Garrett Stevens,
Bryan Hendrick, and team
As planned, today was our hiking and acclimatizing day at Namche. Since we are now well and truly "at altitude" it pays to go slowly. We'll actually spend three nights here at 11,200 feet before ratcheting up the sleeping altitude again. Light exercise on such days can enhance acclimatization, and so we went for a fine hike. First, we climbed straight up and out of Namche to reach Syangboche, at close to 12,000 ft, then we moved East to gain ridiculously good views of Ama Dablam, Lhotse and
Everest. Combined with the already insane vistas to our South and West of Thamserku and Quangde, respectively, it was nearly overwhelming... too much to fully take in. So we walked to the Everest View Hotel, sat on an open terrace and sipped hot lemon juice while pondering the view. It looked quite windy and nasty up high on Lhotse and Everest (Nobody tries to summit in March for good reason) but where we sat it was sunny and calm. We then walked over for lunch in the village of Khumjung and finally up to Khunde before crossing the forested ridge line once again for Namche.
It was a great stretch of the legs and lungs on uncrowded and garden-like trails. The afternoon back down in Namche then seemed just perfectly made for napping.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide
Dave Hahn & Team
Buenas tardes from Plaza de Mulas, the Base Camp on
Aconcagua's western side! Plaza de Mulas sits on a big rocky glacial moraine, near the eastern side of the amphitheater that makes up the head of the main Horocones Valley. Sharp summits surround us in every direction, the deep red color of the mountains here occasionally interested with striations of yellow and grey. Most of the peaks still hold snow from last winter snowpack and fields of penitentes - sharp snow spires that form from the intense sun - are emerging in the snow patches that still reside in the shallow gullies running alongside Base Camp. The panorama is framed by the massive cliff of glacial ice of Horocones Superior to our north and the hulk of
Aconcagua rising immediately out of camp to our east. From this low on the mountain the majority of our route is obscured from view by the scree covered flanks running into camp, but far above us the steep cliffs that guard Aconcagua's twin northern and southern summits occasionally emerge from the clouds. Despite the relatively non-technical nature of this route, we still found ourselves craning our necks to look up at the mountain from Camp.
After reaching camp we quickly set up our tents and unloaded our gear that came in by mule. It was a relief to see that our gear made it unscathed after bouncing up the valley on the back of what seemed to be semi-tamed mules (whatever you do, don't stand in the trail and play chicken with an oncoming mule train!). With our camp established we explored around camp a bit before settling into our tents for some R&R right as the afternoon clouds spit a few sporadic snowflakes down on us.
The team is doing well and we are all very happy to be up high, finally eyeing the route above us and contemplating the next few days. If weather and acclimatization hold strong, we hope to carry a portion of our gear and supplies needed for the upper mountain to Camp 1 tomorrow. The sun is just starting to sink behind the ridge lines that separate us from Chile and the temperatures are getting chilly as we head off to dinner. We'll check in tomorrow after our day.
RMI Guide Linden Mallory
JJ and Team:
So very good to hear all is well as you journey along!
Praying for your spiritual journey as well as your physical safety. Take a moment if you can to…
“Fall on yours knees, and Hear the Angel voices! (On this) Night Divine!
Blessings from David’s Mom
Posted by: Ruth Sorensen on 12/24/2013 at 2:39 pm
“One does not climb to attain enlightenment, rather one climbs because he is enlightened.” - Zen Master Futomaki
Posted by: Bill Gately on 12/23/2013 at 3:47 am
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