We were treated to another wonderfully calm, clear ... and cold night last night at Camp 1. The almost full moon hung huge in the western sky, just above the edges of the Horocones Glacier below us when we poked our heads out of the tents this morning. We dragged our feet a bit getting out of the tents but once the sun reached us we warmed right up and soon had our packs loaded and were heading up the trail. The climbing today was perfect, not too warm and hardly a breeze. Our acclimatization at Camp 1 was noticeable as we moved smoothly across the difficult sections of trail where the bedrock is covered by a thin veneer of gravel and loose stones. The time and the altitude ticked by with us hardly noticing until we found ourselves weaving between the large boulders that mark the entrance to Camp 2 at 18,330'.
No afternoon clouds were forming in the west and the weather was perfect so we took our time setting up camp, soaking in the views, sipping on water, and erecting large rock walls around our tents in case the do winds pick up. The rest of the afternoon passed with little action other than relaxing in camp and getting used to the new elevations. The approach of the longest day of the year down here (tomorrow!) means that even approaching 8 o'clock in the evening the sun still hangs high in the sky right now and is keeping the tents pleasantly warm.
We are all definite feeling the new jump in altitude up here - everything takes just a bit more effort - but are all feeling good. It is exciting to be moving higher on the mountain and suddenly the summit doesn't look, or feel, as far away now. We are planning on taking a stroll above Camp tomorrow but largely using it as a rest day to adjust to the new elevations and recover a bit from the days we've had since leaving Base Camp. We'll check in tomorrow afternoon.
RMI Guide Linden Mallory
Another day closer to the one we fly on... But not noticeably. The weather in Punta Arenas -which is not the problem for flying to Antarctica- was just slightly ridiculous today. Rain and snow showers alternated with sun and wind bursts, over and over again. We still got in some great walks, going south to the wreck of The Lord Lonsdale... a great hulking steel square rigger, beached and evocative of bygone eras. We sampled coffee shops and dining spots. We waited patiently. Conditions at Union Glacier are not yet good... But they will be soon enough and we will go climbing.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Hola from Ecuador. We're all safely back in Quito, on the last day of our climbing trip. We hoped to climb Cayambe this morning, but the weather took a turn for the worse. All night the wind howled; by the time I woke at 11:00 pm, a cloud had descended upon the climbers' hut, and everything was covered in ice. I monitored the weather all night and early morning, but it wasn't improving at all. It was so icy outside that we struggled to stay upright just walking outside to get into our jeeps for the drive back to Quito. We were all excited for the ascent of Cayambe, but such is life in the mountains. We had great weather for Cotopaxi, and we wouldn't have traded that for anything.
So now we're all resting and packing, enjoying Quito this afternoon. We'll be on our way back north to the states shortly. Tonight we'll have our final dinner together as a team, and celebrate our experiences on the trip.
Thanks for keeping track of our journey!
This morning, we woke up, ate breakfast and shuffled our duffels back down to the lobby. After a few hours on the road, we arrived at La Malintzi, a beautiful resort nestled at the base of La Malinche. It was a bustling Sunday afternoon, filled with hikers and campers enjoying the outdoors.
We stepped out of the van and took a leisurely stroll on the trail. We desperately needed to stretch our legs and breathe in the fresh, invigorating air. As the weekend traffic cleared, we found ourselves playing like carefree children on the playground. We bounced up and down on the teeter totters, laughing and laughing. It’s always good to let loose and be silly!
After checking in to our cozy cabins for the night, we headed to dinner. Since we were one of the only groups left at La Malintzi, we enjoyed a leisurely meal with soup, the most incredible guacamole we’ve ever tasted, rice, tortillas, and carnes asados. The food kept coming out to the table, and we couldn’t get enough.
With our bellies full and our spirits high, we are all settled in to sleep, preparing for our early morning adventure to climb Malinche.
RMI Guides Jess Wedel, Josh Geiser, and Los Chivos
This is Zeb Blais and team checking in from our first camp on Mount Baker. We're gearing up to do a little training this afternoon, and then tuck in early to get to bed. We will make our summit push on the North Ridge tomorrow. We're crossing our fingers, hoping that the weather is going to hold out for us. If not, we have some great fall back plans, but until then we're doing some training and resting up.
RMI Guide Zeb Blais
RMI Guide Zeb Blais calls in from Hogsback Camp, Mt. Baker.
July 4, 2014 - 9:44 pm PT
The move to Mt. McKinley's high camp is like stepping into the ring with a heavy weight larger than King Kong. Thing is, he really likes to throw things at you in one long grueling round. That round our team won. It could not have been a more perfect day to come to high camp. Now the question becomes how much strength does the team have for round two which comes in the form of Godzilla. Tomorrow we will attempt to climb to the summit, weather permitting. Wish us well.
RMI Guide Adam Knoff and team signing off from high camp.
This is from your mother, Mark…and I suppose me, too!
Lots of love Mark..so glad things are going well. Good luck and success to you and your teams.Thrilled that you might reach the summit today! Love, Mom…and Merabeth
Posted by: Merabeth Lurie on 7/5/2014 at 1:15 pm
Congrats on making it to High camp. You guys are like Rocky and keep going no matter what is thrown at you! Can’t wait to read your next blog from the summit!!
Posted by: Jerry Hildebrand on 7/5/2014 at 12:04 pm
Hey Mark Tucker at Everest Base Camp, checking in. Woke up to clear blue, not a cloud in the sky. Here in the early evening, we've got a little light snow- not unusual. The team is doing well. We had a very productive day: some showers, lots of writing, reading... I don't know about arithmetic, lots of photos, and a venture into the Icefall. We are sharing our camp with Jeff Martin, the RMI Operations Manager. It's a pleasure he is setting everything up for the team that's coming in. Actually the bags that went straight from Kathmandu to Base Camp just arrived for the climbing team. I'm sure they are posting on the website. But their gear is all here and that is always a nice thing. A little bit chilly, as you can imagine. My hands are freezing on this phone but we are going to duck into the dining tent where we will have another three to five course meal and have a little heater in there. Play a little bit of cards and relax and we are already gearing up for tomorrow. Our descent will begin back back towards Lukla. So we are keeping that fresh in our mind. Everybody is doing well and thanks for following. We'll talk later.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
RMI Guide Mark Tucker checks in from Everest Base Camp.
Adversity. It's what high altitude climbing is all about. And here we are, sitting on a rest day at 18,000 feet in a snowstorm. It was predicted and we are actually glad. Because today is supposed to be the last day of adverse weather. Tomorrow is forecasted to be nice and as a matter of fact, the next four to five days. The team is feeling great so in the meantime, Katrina and I have 36 quesadillas to make.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
Dear, Ken McKenna/Dad.
We have a five day weekend from school because of the holiday. So, we’re having a McKenna PJ Day Marathon. Day 2 is going well! It looks like you’re having a PJ Day, too. Miss you a lot and hope you are having fun.
Love, Aidan
Posted by: Aidan on 2/16/2014 at 3:49 pm
Best wishes as you continue to the top, especially you, Frank. Blog sounds good. Be Safe
Fred
RMI's Four Day Summit Climb Teams led by Seth Waterfall and Jason Thompson reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today at 7:20 a.m. PT. It was a cold and clear day on the mountain with very high winds. The team took photos and a quick break on top before starting their descent.
The Expedition Skills Seminar - Kautz led by Nate Disser also reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning via the Kautz Glacier. The team will return to high camp for their final night on the mountain.
Congratulations to today's team on their successful ascent of Mt. Rainier!
I probably shouldn't have accepted the toast from Dave Hahn...after all, red wine with antibiotics to treat a deep-seated chest infection is perhaps not doctor recommended. But, how could I pass it up?
It was nearly 10 years ago that Dave and I and three others - Conrad Anker, Andy Politz, and Tap Richards - stood on a lonely patch of rock at nearly 27,000 feet on Everest's North Face, each in stunned silence, for lying at our feet were the remains of a legend, a hero, a mystery: George Leigh Mallory. He and his climbing companion, Andrew Irvine, had disappeared 75 years before, virtually without a trace, some 800 feet below the summit.
Yup, this is definitely an anniversary worth toasting, antibiotics or not.
That day was, and is now, the most poignant day in my climbing career, far surpassing the fleeting moments I've spent on top of the world, or on top of other peaks around the world. Far removed from personal achievement, our discovery of Mallory was a collision with history, a step back in time, and a humbling, welcome reminder that our goals and accomplishments, successes and failures in the mountains - and in life - are predicated on the efforts of remarkable people who came before. We are, as I wrote in Issue 1000 of Trail & Timberline Magazine, standing on the shoulders of giants.
Indeed, as I sit in my basecamp tent reflecting on May 1, 1999, I can't help but think about my predecessors on this side of the mountain...May 1, 1963, when Jim Whittaker and Nawang Gombu (clad in Eddie Bauer down) struggled through deep snow and blasting winds to stand on the summit of Everest, Jim becoming the first American to reach the top. (Two years later, Gombu would reach the summit again on an Indian expedition, becoming the first person to reach the summit twice.)
Whittaker and Gombu's ascent was made no less impressive by the tracks that came before: Hillary and Tenzin in 1953, the Swiss in 1956 and the oft-forgotten Swiss expedition of 1952, which put Raymond Lambert and Tenzin Norgay within 800 feet of the summit. And, of course, their tracks were only made possible by the reconnaissance expeditions of '50 and '51. And, those, in turn, were enabled by the efforts of the pioneering Everesters of the pre-World War II expeditions of 1938, '36, '35, '33, '24, '22, and 1921. None of those would have happened without Sir Martin Conway, the Duke of Abruzzi, Fanny Bullock Workman, General Bruce, Sir Francis Younghusband, John Noel, and countless others who pushed the limits years before. And...the tracks go back through the ages, each generation standing on the shoulders of the giants who came before.
To some, that may be demoralizing...to them, the idea that someone had climbed the route before takes something essential away from the enterprise today. For me, however, it is far from demoralizing, and rather is invigorating. To look around me high in the Western Cwm, and see hidden in the layers of snow the footsteps of Hillary and Tenzin, the toil of Whittaker and Gombu, the inspiration of those who came before...well, it inspires me to push on against the demon of the day, against the gnawing forces of inertia, lethargy, and the want of comfort, rest, food, and air. Seeing the giants in these hills, the things they accomplished and all they endured, pushes me onward, upward, and forward.
May 1, 1999, was an amazing day, a direct interaction with one of the many giants on whose shoulders we all stand. Tonight, perhaps another toast...
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Happy winter solstice!! Stay strong and take lots of wide angle shots of Aconcagua. You can never have too many (-;
Posted by: Monsieur Homme on 12/21/2013 at 8:28 am
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