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Hello from
Shira! We're all in camp and we're relaxing. It was nice and sunny for most of the day which was a pleasant change from yesterday.
It was actually one of the nicer days I've had on this mountain. Usually there is some point in the day that's uncomfortable temperature-wise. Today there was none of that. It was nice and warm in the morning and then as we got higher the clouds came in and out and that kept us from getting too hot.
We had excellent views of Mt. Meru (15,180') and even got a few glimpses of Kilimanjaro's summit.
We all made it into camp in time for lunch and now we're spending the afternoon chilling out in camp.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
On The Map
Yesterday we had a great acclimatization hike up to the climbers' hut on the Iliniza mountains. This hike brought us up to an altitude above 15,000' once again, and will help prepare us for moving higher on Cotopaxi. After the hike, we transferred to the wonderful Hacienda Chilcabamba for the night. Chilcabamba is a beautiful, tranquil hacienda located just outside of
Cotopaxi National Park. With the quiet surroundings and the great food, it's a perfect place to relax before heading up to Cotopaxi.
Today, we're off to the climbers' hut on Cotopaxi, where we'll spend two nights preparing for our summit attempt. Everyone is doing well, and we seem to be acclimatizing well to the high altitude. We'll keep you posted from Cotopaxi.
Hast luego...
RMI Guide Mike Walter
Hello everyone,
Today the weather was beautiful again here on Elbrus, and the team went on another acclimatization hike. This time we set a few new altitude records by climbing up to about 15,000. The team did great and even made better time than yesterday, which is a sure sign that everyone is adjusting to the altitude.
We spent most of the afternoon relaxing here in camp, people watching and socializing with all the climbers. We've even managed to befriend the local cat, who we are calling Brus, short for the mountain we are hoping to climb, Elbrus. Not much else to report. Everyone is in good health and seems to be having a great time.
Hi, this is Linden calling with a dispatch from Island Peak Base Camp.
We left Chukung this morning and walked for several hours up the Imja Khola Valley through big piles of old glacial moraine eventually making our way to the base of Island Peak where our base Camp is set up. It is tucked right between a giant glacial lake and the slopes of Island Peak right above us.
After rolling in to camp and getting settled we had a top notch lunch and spent a couple hours in the afternoon finishing up some trainining and getting the team dialed in for the climb. Everyone is showing their experience in the mountains and looking very prepared for the climb.
We are moving to High Camp tomorrow with plans to summit the following morning pretty early. The weather has been really nice so far and we are keeping our fingers crossed that it stays that way. We will give you a call tomorrow from High Camp.
After a well deserved snooze in the Grajales Dome at base camp, the team started the day with our typical Grajales breakfast - cheesy bread, eggs, and a new edition, palta! We said our goodbyes to our incredible base camp staff, and began our trek down from the mountain.
Around noon, we bid farewell to Aconcagua proper and entered the Vacas Valley. Guide Jack stopped us for a lunch break at a small spring adjacent to our final river crossing.
Finally, after sixteen miles of undulating hills, sticker plants, and rocks of all shapes and sizes, we arrived at our final camp of the trip. We were greeted by familiar Grajales staff faces, jugo, and apples! The team rallied for a delicious dinner in the Grajales dome, and is now setting up sleep systems for one last night in the mountains. Bittersweet feelings all around, yet we know this mountain has held so much for us and will be here for those of us yearning to return.
Climber Anne Bradford
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Aconcagua Expedition January 18, 2025
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
It's just another day in the tents here on
Mt. Elbrus. We've been getting snow since about 3am last night. Fortunately we have not had much wind so that has kept our sanity mostly intact.
We are nearing the end of our trip now. With only a couple more days left before we need to be back in basecamp, we're trying to come up with a plan that could still put us on top without risking us missing our flights to
St. Petersburg. What we're thinking of right now is a single push from Camp 1 to the summit and back tonight. That will allow us to descend to basecamp the following day. Barring that we may have to return home safe and sound but without the summit.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
On The Map
The gang is all here in beautiful Moscow. It is a long, tiring flight to get here but we made it and it's nice just to relax in our comfortable hotel near
Red Square. A good night's sleep is needed before we partake in our first objective...a city tour of this giant world city.
Stay tuned for a great video dispatch tomorrow to see what we explore!
RMI Guide JJ Justman
RMI Guides Adam Knoff and Tyler Jones led their teams to the
Mt. Rainier summit this morning! A cloud cap was snuggled over the top of the mountain, which brought on some 30-40 mph winds. Both teams are doing well and began their descent at 7:30 a.m.
Congratulations to today's summit climbers!
After a glorious day game viewing in the
Ngorongoro crater, the team made a stop by a Masai village.
We received the full tour and were able to help support the local economy. These folk are tough. Who is to say what life you live is better than one or another, I can sure tell you it is a different sort out here in the bush than most of the USA.
Our plan is to pack up in the morning and drive about an hour and a half to our next park, Tarangire National Park. We will be on the look out for the elusive leopard. Our safari staff has promised us a barbecue in the bush and we are looking forward to that. We end up in a tented camp tomorrow night and I can tell you I know tents and this is as far from any tent I ever stay in. Lets just say a king sized bed, toilet and shower are not the norm after I pitch a tent.
Once again the word is out..........Roughing it in Africa is all relative.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Another once-in-a-lifetime experience! Excited for all!
Posted by: Frances on 8/9/2013 at 8:04 am
What a site to see. mark it looks like you are wearing a white hat. take care love mom
Posted by: cornelia miller on 8/9/2013 at 7:44 am
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