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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

Today was everything you could ask for on a rest day during a mountaineering expedition: we stayed burrowed into our sleeping bags until the sun hit the tents at Base Camp and then enjoyed a leisurely breakfast, speculating about the outcome of the weekend's games that we missed and drawing out our meal well into the mid-morning. Taking advantage of the perfect weather, we spent a few hours spreading out our equipment and once again going through our gear, culling the unnecessary items and making sure that we had everything we needed for tomorrow's move to Camp 1. In the afternoon we wandered across the moraine to an old hotel built decades ago. Now boarded up, the stone and wood structure sits awkwardly in the middle of the landscape of rocks, glaciers, and snowfields. Despite its current state of neglect, it offers phenomenal views of Aconcagua's west side and while we stood there we were fortunate to have not a cloud in sight. By late afternoon the long shadows crept back over Base Camp and the temperature immediately began to fall as we wrapped up dinner. Base Camp's 14,400' elevation is starting to feel less challenging and we are feeling well rested and ready to move up the mountain. Tomorrow we will climb to Camp 1 at 16,600' and set up camp. While we've enjoyed being at Base Camp, we are ready to move onto the next portion of the climb, we'll check in tomorrow evening from higher up! RMI Guide Linden Mallory

Great first day on the ground here in Quito. After a leisurely breakfast here at our hotel, we met up with our trusty city tour guide Jorge and hit the streets. Touring the Basilica and Old Town districts and paying the Virgin of Quito a visit, we got a pretty good set of views this morning. The afternoon took us to the Equator where we marveled at how easy it is to jump from one hemisphere to another and tested which way the water spins (or doesn't) in the North and South. Now it's time to rest before getting an early-ish start and exploring Rucu Pinchincha, an extinct volcano accessed by a Teleferico from town. Buenes noches, RMI Guide Jake Beren

Everyone has made it to Arusha, Tanzania! A few of the team arrived early and the rest of us just flew in. It's a loooong trip from the USA! All of our baggage is here so tomorrow we'll check the gear and pack up for our Kilimanjaro ascent. RMI Guide Seth Waterfall

Sunday, February 9, 2025, Day 10.

It was a bright and beautiful morning. We sat in silence, slurping our coffee, and enjoying the last bites of our final basecamp breakfast. Our last for the foreseeable future. We embraced our basecamp staff members with smiles on our faces and set out to begin our official climb on Cerro Aconcagua. "¡Buenas Suerte!" they said, as we waved goodbye. "¡Hasta luego!" we said, as we know we will get to see them again.

As we journeyed up the trail to Camp 1, we could still feel the cool breeze from the early morning freeze. It wasn't long, however, before the high altitude sun warmed us. It was another tough day getting to our destination, but we arrived in high spirits and indulged in some much needed rest. We again witnessed a stormy spectacle as we ate tasty bites for dinner. Now we're settled into the warmth of our sleeping bags, excited to see what all the hooplah is about at Camp 2 tomorrow before returning to Camp 1 for another night.

RMI Guide Ben Luedtke & Team

The team survived sleeping at 15,600 ft   In fact there were still smiles all around and everybody was into going for a hike.  It didn’t hurt that daybreak in Gokyo was beautiful… Cho Oyu, the sixth highest mountain in the world, was just up the valley and glowing magically.  We headed toward it after breakfast.  We walked for three hours along the massive Ngozumpa Glacier to a place called Fifth Lake (by those of us unable to pronounce the local name).  There, from 16,500 ft, we had a few minutes of unimpeded views of Everest and Lhotse as well as the nearby and spectacular Gyangchungkang.   Then the clouds came in and we headed back toward our comfy digs in Gokyo.  We were back before the snow flurries flew.  The day was made more enjoyable by the fact that we saw a total of two other people in the giant valley we chose to explore.

We’ve got a final night in Gokyo now before we point downhill in the morning.

Best Regards

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

A very nice day on Safari. We descended into the crater some 1,800 plus feet to get below the clouds surrounding the rim. Interesting forest of flat-topped Acacia trees surround the drop from the top. We as guests felt welcomed to this community of over 30,000 animals. Such a unique experience to be part of the tribe of the crater. The animals sense no threat so to be able to observe these creatures interaction in such a pure form is truly amazing. You can really think you understand their train of thought and why they are behaving a certain way. Probably not even close to the reason behind the action but fun to think I may be a wild animal whisperer. Great food and drink of course as we continue to enjoy the friendly local hospitality. The team continues to impress with their ability to persevere through the challenges of the day like what picture to take. Life is good, all is well, get out while you can. RMI Guide Mark Tucker

Greetings from Moscow, The team arrived in Moscow today and our Russian adventure has officially begun! There are no more trips to the store to buy that last minute item that you think you might need to bring just in case, no more chances to clear off your desk of the last few remaining to-do items. It is go time. We are headed for Mt. Elbrus. But before we fly south, we are going to explore Moscow tomorrow and all it's amazing sights. And we will get a big dose of Russian culture, food and history along the way. The perfect introduction to this country. RMI Guides Jeff Martin and Pete Van Deventer

Hello this is Elias, Robby & The Ishinca Valley team for the Peru Seminar, We are established at our Base Camp here in the Ishinca Valley at 14,400’. Everybody made it OK here to Base Camp. We had a nice day hiking through beautiful landscape that allowed us to see some our future objectives. Right now we are retiring to bed after great day of hard work. We will check in again soon!

This morning was a welcomed departure from the hustle and bustle of Ecuador's largest city. Despite the plush hotel, easy Internet access and wild night life, our team was ready to relocate to the country getting us one step closer the big mountains we came here to climb. Although we haven't seen any glaciated peaks yet because of the constant cloud coverage, the guides have thoroughly convinced the team they do exist. Such confidence was not instilled in our team when our driver today told us he knew where the trail head was to our second acclimating hike on a mountain called Fuya Fuya. Doing his best to convince us he was not indeed lost, it became undeniable when the road, if one could call it that, ended in the face of a giant bulldozer actually clearing jungle so the "road" could go further. Always expecting the unexpected, we made the best of the situation by pushing headlong up a muddy, steep trail hoping to find a lake we knew existed somewhere up in the mountains above. Surprisingly we did not find the lake but instead stumbled across the main road we should have been on in the first place. With a good laugh we headed back down the muddy trail to the waiting van and then got settled into our beautiful hacienda. Chuck, Jan, Albert and I had a great soccer match and the rest of us simply relaxed. A quick packing lesson prepared us for tomorrow's departure to the mountains and a great dinner has now prepared us for sleep. The team is doing very well and in good spirits. Hasta mañana. RMI Guides Adam Knoff & Casey Grom