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Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Posted by: Dominic Cifelli, Ben Luedtke, Michael Murray
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 2,449'
Today we walked.
It was a dusty, rocky, hot, and dry 15 miles from Mulas Basecamp to the park trailhead. In front of us sprawled an immense valley. Behind us, clear views of the summit we stood upon just a few short days ago.
A perfect setting for reflection.
Some thought back to the summit bid with all the challenges and struggles that came with it.
Others looked forward to the Michelin Star dinner that awaits us in Mendoza tonight. With FKTs being broken to meet the reservation.
Still others spoke of future climbing plans such as Mt. Vinson or Denali.
All in all we started this journey as strangers just a few short weeks ago. But we leave the Park as friends, by our shared experience of climbing Aconcagua.
Thank you for following along, we can't wait till we're back out in the mountains for our next objectives.
Climber Jon Honda
New Post Alerts:
Aconcagua Expedition January 12, 2024
Posted by: Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Hello everyone
Right out of camp we were faced with the only significant technical obstacle for this climb. This hurdle is the great Barranco Wall, which rises about 1,000ft and looks as intimidating as it sounds. Thankfully there is a nice narrow trail that weaves its way up and through the wall and all the way to the top. Most of it feels more like steep hiking, but there are a few places that require the use of our hands to help us climb up.
The team did a good job of moving steady and allowing a few porters through with their loads precariously balanced on their heads. Which was astonishing to see!
After reaching the top we took a nice break and enjoyed the amazing views of the ice ladened south face and valleys below. The team continued our hike for a few more hours up and down through a few valleys before reaching today's endpoint.
All in all, it took only about 4 hours for us to reach our next camp called Karanga, named for the big and beautiful valley which it overlooks.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
Looks like you are making great progress. Great job! Enjoy the journey. I will echo what Chad said, do what Casey tells you to do.
Posted by: Dylan Reingold on 9/23/2023 at 5:42 am
Great to see the progress! Love the pictures of the team! To the RKN girls proud of you, such an accomplishment and lifetime adventure! Keep safe everyone.
Posted by: Bevan on 9/22/2023 at 8:57 am
Tuesday, August 1, 2023
The walk thru the rainforest from the Machame Gate was nice with typically cloudy skies, but no rain. Freddy, a local guide who has been working with RMI for over 30 years set a perfect pace so we could all arrive in camp feeling good. The highlight of the evening was the surprise birthday cake the mtn staff carried up to celebrate Mike’s special day. We're hoping to get above these clouds tomorrow, but for now our sleeping bags beckon us to rest our tired bodies. The chatter of camp, and laughter of our staff, slowly ebbs as fatigue overcomes us after a good day.
Goodnight.
Loving the updates! Praying for you all to get great rest tonight and have a fantastic day tomorrow!
Posted by: Heidi Tully on 8/2/2023 at 7:15 am
Wednesday, November 2, 2022 - 7:10 pm PT
Today was mostly a travel day. We woke up, ate breakfast, and packed out of the hotel at a leisurely pace and headed to the Otavalo market to enjoy some local wears. This market is bustling on Thursdays and Saturdays, but seeing its Wednesday, we enjoyed a nice, quiet peruse through its pathways. A few food stops and a couple hours of driving later, we're moved into the hut at the base of Cayambe, gearing up to start our climb. Tomorrow we review and practice our glacier travel skills to prepare for our summit bid.
Yesterday’s perfect weather became today’s perfect weather. Strong sunshine, not a cloud in the sky and no sign of wind. We got good rest last night to make up for all of the travel nights and didn’t roll into breakfast until 9 AM. Murph took excellent care of us with eggs, bacon, pancakes, fresh fruit and coffee. Then we dug into our many packing and organizing chores. It is no small thing to shift from jet-setting in a sleek Gulfstream IV to old fashioned walking on a glacier with a week of supplies on our backs and in our sleds... but we managed just fine. Five rope teams of three set out at 1:50 PM. An hour later, at the first rest break, we all agreed that it was too darn hot in Antarctica. This was partly an illusion. The air temps were still well below freezing, but without a breeze and with plenty of hard work, we were sweating. Conditions were perfect for travel though. We had a well-packed and generally smooth trail in the snow without any open crevasses to negotiate. We took a second break at the start of a 90 degree turn in the glacier and a third under the 2,000 meter great western escarpment of Vinson. By then we were getting good looks at the sharp and dramatic summits north of Vinson. We had great views of Epperly, Gardner and Shinn -the fifth, fourth, and third highest peaks of Antarctica. We pulled into 9,200 ft Low Camp in 4.5 hours time and set to building tents and moving in. Lakpa, Pachi, and Namgya hosted a great dinner of chicken curry with rice in their spacious dining tent. We sat to sip hot drinks and chat for a bit but as we each began to feel the cold, we retired to warm sleeping bags. The tents are good and comfortable with sun projected to be on them until 3 AM -it then goes behind the mountain and we expect the big chill to take over. We’ll rest and do a little training and acclimatizing tomorrow.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
Best to the entire team…it looks amazing. Lots of people pulling for the team back home - be safe!
Posted by: Chris Gustafson on 12/30/2019 at 5:36 pm
Good luck guys. keep your faces upward and climb gradually and calmly. take care
Posted by: Murad Shah on 12/29/2019 at 10:25 pm
Posted by: Steve Gately, Avery Parrinello
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
Elevation: 9,131'
If this summit of Shuksan happened on July 22, 2019 between 9am and 10am, I have photos of 3 on the top. I would like to share them. Quite amazing shots considering how far away I was. I was on the roadway leading to Artist Point. The Big Glass gets the results!
Posted by: Brit Reese on 7/28/2019 at 6:06 pm
On The Map
Sounds like everything is going well so far. Banx is being a good boy but I’m sure he misses you (Charlie and Sara), because we miss you. Keep it up! Love you. Mom and Dad.
Posted by: Deb on 7/19/2019 at 3:52 pm
“Thinking of and talking about you from a hospital room at rehab!” -Uncle Terry
We love you guys!!!! Uncle Terry said he’ll do it again with you next year!
Posted by: Casey Kluttz on 7/19/2019 at 12:47 pm
Have a safe and fun climb Larry Seaton! Keeping an eye on you from So. Cal.
Posted by: Debbie & Mark Worden on 6/3/2011 at 7:10 am
good wishes for your climb Larry Seaton,
Holly
Posted by: holly on 6/2/2011 at 6:16 pm
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