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Posted by: Dominic Cifelli, Ben Luedtke, Michael Murray
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 13,800'
"Rest is the sweet sauce of labor"
-Plutarch
Today was a day of rest, as well as a day of mystery. Who is commenting on the blog anonymously? Is Alaska simultaneously the most Northern, Western, and Eastern state? Can burros actually type? Cows are eating chickens? We may have answers to some of these questions, but others remain a mystery.
Anywho, we enjoyed a delicious breakfast before taking a nice walk to stretch the legs and spent the rest of the day relaxing, charging devices, and mentally preparing to leave our sweet base camp sanctuary for the upper mountain. In the next ten days we will test ourselves mentally and physically as we come together to climb higher on this mountain with a goal of summiting the tallest mountain in South America. It will not be easy, but I have faith in this team that we can buckle down and take care of business up there. We sincerely appreciate the love and support we have been receiving from home, it truly makes a difference.
I will leave you all with a Haiku from our time at basecamp:
Wine, Steak, Starlink, Naps
We Are Not Playing Euchre?
Yeehaw, Uphill Now
- RMI Guide Michael Murray
New Post Alerts:
Aconcagua Expedition January 12, 2024
Posted by: Jake Beren, Steve Gately, Megan Budge
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 7,800'
On The Map
Hi!!! Thinking about you tons! Hope u r enjoying every minute! Can’t wait to hear all about it in person! Love Us
Posted by: Cosco Clan on 6/2/2017 at 2:51 pm
Good morning to all
Wish I could make you all my famous meatballs and homemade pasta
Be safe
You have hundreds of people sending you all good wishes and prayers
Love you Stephen
mom/dad - aka Tina and John
Posted by: Tina Zabinski on 6/2/2017 at 6:11 am
On The Map
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Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mexico
Posted by: Henry Coppolillo, Jess Wedel, Miles Watson, Tate Hughes, Simon Kearns, Mitch Valaitis, Annie Chapman, Fitz Elder
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
Happy Fourth of July!
Led by RMI Guides Henry Coppolillo and Jess Wedel, the Mt. Rainier Four Day Climbs reached the summit of Mt. Rainier around 5:35 am. The teams were approaching the top of Disappointment Cleaver on their descent, when they checked in around 7:30 am. They will continue their descent back to Camp Muir where they will pack up before descending the Muir Snowfield to Paradise. We look forward to welcoming them at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.
Congratulations climbers!
Chimborazo Summit!
We have now traveled much of Ecuador's "Avenue of Volcanoes", visiting some of the highest mountains in this country and having the fortune to stand on top of a few:
Rucu Pichincha (15,354') - A warm-up hike that often sets a new altitude record for someone on the team
Cerro Fuya Fuya (14,039') - The first agenda item after leaving Quito, another acclimatization hike
Cayambe (18,996') - Wow, the weather almost stopped us and we were the only team to summit that day
Chimborazo (20,561') - A perfect sunrise summit this morning
Tonight, we find ourselves in the city of Riobamba, recovering from a third alpine start within a two-week vacation. As it turns out, even with built-in rest days, that is a demanding schedule. On top of climbing, there are the long bus rides and the never-ending duffel shuffle. Every member of the team has two large duffels full of mountaineering gear and general travel items that are continuously being unpacked, repacked and subsequently toted around. Hacienda and hotel staff always get a chuckle when they see how much stuff we have.
As for last night's climb, the weather worked out perfectly. It has been several days of wind and humidity on Chimborazo, which has been regularly stymying climbing parties' attempts. Even yesterday, right as we arrived at camp the clouds moved in and there was hail off and on for a couple of hours. However, in the late evening the sky cleared and it was a calm, clear night and morning. It was the perfect way to cap a trip that saw us turn around on Antisana for some pretty intense weather. We can go home with a couple big summits and start thinking about our next trips!
RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier
New Post Alerts:
Ecuador Seminar February 6, 2024
Hey Dustin! That is So Awesome! Thank you for the Cool pictures!!
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 2/19/2024 at 3:33 am
We had sunshine and calm conditions at 7 AM in highcamp today... which was better than the forecast called for. There was still plenty of cloud about, but we decided to go for the summit. It took until 9:50 to get fully fueled up and geared up for climbing, and by then a few more clouds had rolled in though we still had a good feeling about the day. Vinson put up a fight, of course, and a few of the team were feeling effects of the altitude and so not everybody topped out. Those that did, made it up in about 8 hours, spent nearly an hour on the summit and came down in just a couple more for a respectable round trip under 11 hrs. The conditions swung between sunny and calm, breezy and cloudy and everything in between... all at temps of about -20 to -25 Fahrenheit, so our rest breaks were short and business like so as to keep fingers and toes flexible. We enjoyed views of the tall and jagged peaks to Vinson’s north, and when the mountains were obscured, the sculpted cloud formations covering them were spectacular. On top of Antarctica’s highest mountain, the team lucked out with calm and sunny “gloves off” conditions for photos, fist bumps and flag waving. By 8:30 PM the gang was all back together at high camp. We spent a few hours brewing up, eating, drinking and laughing. A most memorable New Years Day was had by all.
Best Regards
RMI Guides Dave Hahn
On The Map
Way to go! Be safe and see you soon!
Posted by: Chris McKinley on 1/2/2020 at 12:10 pm
Amazing accomplishment guys! Godspeed and safe travels!
Posted by: Steve Minichiello on 1/2/2020 at 12:10 pm
Posted by: Steve Gately, Nikki Champion, James Bealer
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
Incredible experience! We had a great team and fantastic leadership from the guides. I learned so much of the basic mountaineering skills needed for future climbs. Thank you RMI for an amazing trip!
Posted by: Beechard McConnell on 9/14/2019 at 12:01 pm
Posted by: Billy Nugent, Mike King, Sean Collon
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 17,200'
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RMI Guide Billy Nugent calls in from 17,200ft on Mount McKinley.
On The Map
Congrats on making it this far Rob, now is your time! Safe travels for all….........Jeff
Posted by: Jeff Austin on 7/1/2015 at 6:54 pm
Pick your moment team, wait and be great!!
Doug - I bid you fair winds and a following sea. My thoughts are with you as you wait to make your summit attempt. And just in case you need reminding…don’t forget to be awesome!
~Belladonna
Posted by: Belladonna on 7/1/2015 at 1:46 pm
Some great rest before some serious climbing. Love the haiku. I had to read the rules on Euchre and still not sure I understand what that game is all about. Here’s to the entire team working together and sharing in a joy of summiting. Get it Ben!
Posted by: Ed DaPra on 1/21/2024 at 3:34 pm
Good luck Mikayla and the rest of the team! You got this. May the weather be better than Denali ;)
Posted by: Pete Tymitz on 1/21/2024 at 11:39 am
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