Last night as we prepared for our summit attempt, we could not get American football off of our minds. With Dustin and a couple others praying for a Seahawks win and myself along with all my Ecuadorian recruits pulling for the Packers, the howling winds, soaking mist and ominous cloud cap almost seemed to take a back seat. I say this because it was the mind frame I was in but in reality the weather was front and center. When we arrived in Ecuador, I gloated on our fortune of grand vistas and warm temperatures, but we all know how quickly things can change. And change they did.
With a 6:00 pm dinner and 7:00 pm lights out, we never learned the score but went to bed wondering. This is the main reason I didn’t sleep a single minute but my 11:00 pm alarm showed up unwelcomed anyway. As I ventured outside to inspect the winds, I was immediately greeted with a soaking mist ramming into me at 25 mph. This did not inspire me so I held off waking the group up for another hour thinking things might improve enough to warrant going up. And to my surprise it did! At 1:00 am the rain had turned to snow which made the prospect of climbing a bit more bearable, but the wind still screamed as it whistled through the Cayambe Refugio.
At 2:00 am five out of our eight climbers set off for what would be an uncertain ascent. The other three climbers stayed behind because of lingering chest illnesses they felt would improve with rest over cold, windy, snowy climbing.
It only took 15 minutes or so before our local guides began to express concern about ice covered rock and strong winds. We made the decision to go as high as we safely could, which led us through some steep rock steps and a sandy traverse back towards the glacier, which we visited a mere twelve hours previously. It was on this traverse we got the full taste of the wind’s furry. I know how strong a wind gust needs to be to blow me around and this giant fan was blowing at a constant, strong enough to have me leaning into it looking like Michael Jackson in mid performance, I’m guessing a steady 50 mph.
Shortly after passing this exposed spot it was clear our shot at the top was going to be thwarted. It wasn’t cold and the snow had even subsided a bit but the wind, through its howls, made the decision for us, we needed to turn around. This is never an easy decision to make but in the end it was the right one. Back at the hut we took a little cat nap and then woke to horrible instant coffee and some rope practice. We then packed up and headed out, back to the warmth of 8,000 feet and the fantastic burgers of Cafe LA Vaca, my favorite lunch place.
Now we are settled into one of the oldest haciendas in the country enjoying internet, a laundry service and hot showers. Our failure to reach the summit of Cayambe has only fueled the fire to get to Cotopaxi, also known as the jewel of Ecuador, tomorrow. We will keep you updated as we prepare for this 19,400' snow cone. Thanks for following.
Adam,
You might recall that we got blown off Cayambe the year I was with you as well!
Posted by: Dusty Dodson on 1/13/2020 at 9:42 pm
Sorry to hear the wind kept you from summiting. But glad to hear all are well and getting psyched for Cotopaxi. Again, wishing to all the very best!
-jill
RMI Guides Casey Grom, Adam Knoff and the Expedition Skills Seminar team descended from Camp Muir and arrived at Rainier Basecamp this afternoon. They learned many mountaineering skills at 10,000' during their five days on the mountain and weathered a winter snow storm that dropped three feet of new snow at Camp Muir.
Great job to all!
Hi, this is Linden checking in with the Island Peak Team from High Camp on Island Peak.
We packed up camp this morning and climbed to just shy of 18,000', to our High Camp here on Island Peak. We are camped about 1,500' feet below the glacier and will have some more moderate rock scrambling to get up to the approach to the climb.
We went up this afternoon to get the route fixed in. Everything looks good and we are planning to leave tomorrow morning about 3 a.m. for our summit bid. Our plan is to climb to the summit of Island Peak and then descend to High Camp and Base Camp and head back to Chukung.
We will give a call tomorrow night from Chukung hopefully with good news. We had a little bit of wind today so keep your fingers crossed that it will hold off until we are back at High Camp. The team is doing well and everyone is excited for the climb. We are about to head off to bed and we'll check in again tomorrow.
Hello, this is Casey Grom calling from the summit of Cotopaxi!
We are just now standing on top in perfect weather with no wind. It has been a great day but a pretty tough day with deep snow and steep ice climbing to get us to the top. Our summit attempt took almost 7 1/2 hours and we have five out of nine climbers standing on the summit with Billy and me. We will be heading down soon and will check in later today from our next hacienda.
Advanced Basecamp sits along a rocky moraine overlaying dense glacial ice.
The rock comes from Everest' immense and steep Southwest Face and a few million avalanches. Once at the base of the Face it is plowed into a neat ridge by the motion of the Khumbu Glacier. I suppose though, that the ridge is only neat in geological terms. Yesterday as we walked the 30 minutes from the tent at its lower end, to our tents near the moraine's upper end, we were treated to views of old sneakers, pots, pans, shredded tents and crushed stoves mixed in with the rock and ice. Fifty seven years worth of Advanced Basecamps in the same slow moving place have made this spot one of the worst on the mountain in terms of ecological damage. A number of those decades of mountaineering were before any ethics existed governing which items should and shouldn't be left in the hills.
Our camp was already up and running and deluxe by Camp I standards. There we were cooking in our tents - here we have Maila, the Camp II Chef, in a comfortable dome dining tent with chairs. We rested through much of yesterday afternoon when it was hot enough to fry eggs on the tents. When the sun ducked behind Nuptse, we each came out in our down suits to watch the light fade on Lhotse and Everest.
It would be normal, after a first night spent at this altitude to do some damage control. Somebody would, quite reasonably, have had a terrible night of headaches and insomnia and would be packing their gear at first light for a fast escape. Not so with our gang. In the cold 6 am shadows this morning, Seth, Kent and Erica emerged looking well rested and comfortable. Along with Ang Kaji, we ate a quick breakfast and then got out for a hike to the foot of the Lhotse Face. I wanted the team to wear their down suits - since that is what we'll wear on the next rotation when we actually tackle the Lhotse Face. We could see several dozen climbers on the new ropes on the Face - and way up high - between Camp III and the Yellow Band at 25,000 feet - we could see dots representing today's fixing team. One of those dots was our own Nga Tenji, pitching in to further the route. Nga Tenji made it all the way to the South Col, at 26,000 feet, staking out a site for our High Camp before heading back to ABC.
My small team climbed perhaps a 1,000 ft above ABC, to 22,000 ft and were treated to new views of Cho Oyu, the worlds 6th highest mountain, 20 miles distant. Nobody felt like doing cartwheels or jumping jacks at the new altitude - but such tricks weren't required. We were perfecting our one and only most important trick: walking higher when walking lower is easier. And we did fine with it. We didn't concern ourselves too much with the next big hurdle - we'll get on the Face next time, after a Basecamp rest.
For today the morning hike was enough. We spent the afternoon tinkering with the solar charging and radio systems at ABC, while drinking liter after liter of water -always trying to counteract the dehydrating effects of high dry air. Tomorrow it will be back to the comforts of Basecamp - provided we watch every single important and awkward step down through the Khumbu Icefall.
The wind and snow conspired to make for a tough and noisy night in the tents last night. A few intrepid souls got out in the storm to dig away the encroaching drifts. Morning brought less wind, but the snow continued as the guides served breakfast in bed. It was slightly surreal to have the strong smell of forest fire smoke mixed in with heavily falling snow while camped so far from trees. Eventually the snow slowed and then stopped, but by that point, several feet of it had accumulated. The clouds stayed right in on us until about 8 in the evening. We were enjoying an open air dinner when the mist fell away, the sun came out and everything got beautiful. The team stayed out well into the evening, staring at Kahiltna Dome, Mount Foraker and Denali's West Buttress. Our prospects for going up in the morning were improved as we watched several teams come down Motorcycle Hill, plowing a trail and cutting whatever tension the otherwise suspect snow-pack was under.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn and Team
Aunt Carol & Uncle Richard got your postcard. Their thoughts and prayers are with you and your team. Stay Safe. Love Aunt Carol and Uncle Richard.
Posted by: Mary Ahlbrand on 7/3/2015 at 6:31 pm
Go Team Hahn! Safe travels and hoping your weather turns. Mine certainly hasn’t. Can’t fly anywhere north of here without serious thunder. We are cheering every second that you get up that mountain. Keep Living the Dream.
Hello again everyone.
All is still well here in the Khumbu as the remaining team members made our way back into Namche. It was a super busy day on the trail with climbers, Trekkers, yaks, and porters all bound uphill to Everest Base Camp. We slowly made our way through the trail traffic and enjoyed one last good view of Everest.
Along the way we ran into several old friends from my past trips and stopped to wish everyone good luck and finished the day off with a nice reunion with one of RMI's finest Billy Nugent. Godspeed my friend!
Tomorrow we'll be moving out early on our final leg of the journey back to Lukla. So please keep you fingers crossed we have good weather and can make our flight back to Kathmandu the following morning.
RMI Casey Grom and crew
Greetings from Machame Camp,
We could not have had a better day today! This was the first day on the trail and the group did great. We had the trail to ourselves and perfect weather. We heard some very distant thunder but made it to camp without any rain. It was barely an hour later when some light rain started to fall, but fortunately we were already warm and dry in our dining tent, snacking on some tea and popcorn.
We started the day at 6,000' and made it up to camp in just under 4 1/2 hours, a solid pace. We are now settled in at camp and the mountain is teasing us with grand views as the clouds roll in and out. The team is feeling really strong and happy to finally be on the mountain.
Best regards,
RMI Guide Jeff Martin
I am so excited to relive my Kilo moments through you and Jeff. Behind every successful team is a very successful woman! Cheers to all the team. Elsie Bemiss
Posted by: Elsie Bemiss on 1/29/2014 at 6:58 pm
Cheers to Barrie on hanging with what looks to be like a lot of testosterone. Wish you all the best and enjoy each day of the hike as they are all so different.
Hello blog followers for the freshly started Ecuador Skills Seminar. Adam Knoff here, I am the team's fearless leader and occasional dispatch sender.
As our group assembled this morning for our first full team meeting, there were no delusions about rule number one of international travel- expect the unexpected. Half of us are still missing bags, one of our team members hasn't even arrived yet and the weather forecast for the next three days looks more unsettled than the streets of Quito.
I am pleased to say despite all these immediate challenges, everyone is in good spirits and excited to face the adventures ahead. But one day at a time right? After breakfast and a nice team orientation meeting, we all piled into a comfy bus and took a roundabout tour of some of Quito's classic sites. From the old town we headed north to the Mitad del Mundo, or middle of the world, for some wacky equator tricks and small history lesson of this magical line.
Now back in the hotel we are resting up for a nice family dinner tonight and our first push to altitude tomorrow.
Stay Tuned.
RMI Guide Adam Knoff
The Four Day Summit Climb June 10 - 13 and Five Day Summit Climb June 9 - 13 made their summit attempt of Mt. Rainier early this morning but were forced to turn around at approximately 11,200' due to high winds. The teams returned to Camp Muir safely and will be making their way down to Paradise later this morning.
Adam,
You might recall that we got blown off Cayambe the year I was with you as well!
Posted by: Dusty Dodson on 1/13/2020 at 9:42 pm
Sorry to hear the wind kept you from summiting. But glad to hear all are well and getting psyched for Cotopaxi. Again, wishing to all the very best!
-jill
Posted by: Jill Klores on 1/13/2020 at 8:54 pm
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