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On the road again! We woke this morning to the hustle and bustle of the other teams packing up their camp. The sun creeped into camp warming our tents. This was our alarm to get up. Everyone had a good night and were feeling good this morning, so we continued with our plan to carry gear to Camp 2. Group piles were made while the stoves roared. Toasted bagels with cream cheese and bacon would fuel us to 18,000' and make the rest of camp jealous with its aroma. It was a busy day on the trail with almost all of Camp 1 occupants moving to Camp 2. After a few hours of walking and getting new views of snowy mountains we arrived at Camp 2. A new sea of tents scattered the rocky camp like skittles. We cached our gear, watched the other teams set up their camp, and then we packed up our things to head down hill. We arrived back to a peaceful Camp 1 with only our tents plus one other still standing. The rest of the afternoon we enjoyed the warm sun and fresh popped popcorn for an afternoon snack.
Having the camp to ourselves is nice and will be even nicer tomorrow on our rest day. The quiet will be much appreciated for sleeping in. The air is chilly now, so we are all off to bed to get warm.
Till next time,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team
On The Map
The weather changed overnight. It was still perfectly calm and reasonable at Karanga Camp this morning, but the upper mountain was caught in a cloud cap and we could see there’d been a dusting of new snow from about 16,000 ft up. Some of our team reported being aware of a short-lived shower of some sort rattling on the tents in the darkness. We went for the same lazy start as yesterday because today’s expected time on the trail was even less. At 9 AM Naiman led the team upward on gently sloping, wide open terrain. The vegetation didn’t last very long, in fact it was mostly played out by our first rest break at 14,000 ft. We were under cloud for a good chunk of the walk (with the usual solid cloud layer forming a floor below us) but conditions weren’t bad at all for walking. Things steepened some just before we reached camp, but our now seasoned team of ten tough climbers just chugged right on up without much trouble, arriving at
15,200 ft Barafu Camp at 12:15 PM. The altitude didn’t seem to give Tosha, our chef, any problems, he put out a fine lunch at 1:30. In a sign that they are all doing quite well, our team ate every last bit of that fine lunch.
The afternoon was spent resting and prepping to climb. We’re headed for an early dinner and an early bedtime, although it might be tough to take our eyes off the sunset. We’ll be getting up early (or more properly -late tonight) There is a mountain to climb!
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team
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
Feliz Navidad from Mendoza! Yesterday was a whirlwind day for our team. We woke up at high camp after a much needed night's sleep. Still tired from our push the day before, it was an effort to haul ourselves out of the sleeping bags and begin packing up - despite the call of the little luxuries found at lower altitudes. A round of coffee helped motivate us (Via tastes amazing at 19,000'+!!) and we soon had our pack loaded up and began walking downhill.
Descending all the way to Base Camp put into perspective the distances and elevations we covered over the past week. It was a long walk down the sides of
Aconcagua and we were more than relieved to finally hit flat ground when we stepped into Base Camp. We dropped our packs and sought out shade underneath the tents, along with some deliciously cold instant orange juice!
We were fortunate to spend only a few hours at Base Camp before catching a ride in helicopter out to the trailhead. Within a few minutes we were bound for Mendoza as the sun was setting over the Andes. We reached Mendoza well after dark but town was buzzing with Christmas Eve festivities. The courtyard of a church just down from our street was filled with practitioners sharing a meal beneath strings of lights and decorations, families strolling through the main square, and palm trees wrapped in Christmas lights. After well-earned showers, we collapsed into our beds and promptly fell asleep, relishing the feel of sheets and pillows!
This morning we took full advantage of the breakfast buffet before Tom and Thomas left for the airport. It was a wonderful Christmas morning and we enjoyed all of the little things like cotton t-shirts, fresh fruit, and warm sunshine. It's always a strange experience to step off of a mountain as big as
Aconcagua back into the hustle of life in town, but a pleasant one. The expedition over the past few weeks was a true adventure and we're looking forward to heading home to share more stories.
RMI Guide Linden Mallory
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
Greetings from our high camp on Ixta at 14,700 feet above sea level. Today we hiked from our hut to this high camp below the Ayoloco Glacier, known here as the Stomach of Ixta, the 'White Woman.' Everyone did very well today and seems to be handling our new high point very well.
This afternoon we are reviewing crampons, ice axes and rope travel around camp before an early dinner. For dinner's entertainment we will go over the plan for tomorrow's attempt on Ixta, looking at our route and discussing our strategies for the day. Then it's off to bed for an early start for summit day. Wish us luck!
RMI Guide Jake Beren
Leaving La Malinche this morning our team had a great breakfast en route to Amecameca where we took a quick look around and picked up some fresh food to cook this evening. It's always good to fill up before heading off on a climb. We drove up to the Altzimoni hut at 12,000 feet to acclimatize and stage for the beginning of our climb of Ixta. Tonight we will rest up for a big day tomorrow as we push up to our high camp below the Ayoloco glacier. Everyone is feeling great and ready to start to climb our first big objective. 'Til tomorrow.
Tuesday, July 20, 2021 2:48 pm PT
We are back in camp with tired legs and full minds after a windy but successful summit bid. We will wrap up our training this afternoon and hike back to trailhead in the morning.
RMI Guide Alex Halliday & Team
May 4, 2015, 9:46 pm PT
Good evening friends & family! The first
RMI Alaska Seminar of 2015 is on the SE fork of the Kahiltna Glacier. Our team spent today buffing out camp, which overlooks the airstrip, with snow block walls and a bathroom. We taught a clinic on climbing fundamentals, watched Mt. Hunter shed some large ice blocks and enjoyed a nice dinner of burritos in the cook tent. Tomorrow we will venture to the north side of Horiskey's Hump for some more training and climbing. Good night from a cold sunny glacier far far away.
RMI Guide Leon Davis
On The Map
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You all are amazing! Stay safe and enjoy. Tell Tim hi for me!!
Posted by: Connie Riddle on 1/16/2020 at 4:34 pm
Amazing work out there everyone! Happy to hear you get a rest day. I’m sure it’s much needed. Enjoy and stay warm. So nice to hear your progress.
Love, Noel, Xander, Nora
We love you and miss you Pops!
Posted by: Noel Imfeld on 1/15/2020 at 8:55 pm
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