Most Popular Entries
Posted by: Pete Van Deventer, Abby Westling, Emma Lyddan
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 11,000'
Wednesday, May 17, 2023 - 7:54 pm PT
The forecast was for this weather system to begin to clear out today, and when we got up this morning we were hopeful that the trend was going in the right direction. We could see down below, had sunshine in camp, though it was still plenty windy. We dragged our feet to make sure it kept getting better by making a blueberry pancake breakfast. As we enjoyed that we listened to the wind get stronger and watched the tent get darker as clouds pushed up and we lost the sun. We continued to kick the can and see if we would get a chance to head downhill and grab our cache, but it continued to deteriorate. Eventually we pulled the plug and went to our weather day rhythm of tent hang, reading, cards, etc. Over dinner the sun finally poked back out so hopefully this system is finally moving out and we'll get our shot tomorrow.
RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Ben Luedtke, Daniel May
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 18,000'
Hola Family and Friends!
What a day it was. After waking up from a night of heavy wind gusts and having breakfast, we took a few extra minutes sipping our (dulce de leche) coffee to allow the winds to calm down and the sun to get higher in the sky. Feeling warmed up, we did some last-minute packing, doublechecked the tie downs on our tents and headed up to Camp 2, AKA Guanacos 3, for our carry day. As we crisscrossed on rocky and snowy terrain, we took in our first amazing views of Cerro Ameghino. Once we passed through the saddle, we began the long traverse below the Polish glacier, and enjoyed more amazing views of the Andes Mountain range to the north.
Arriving at camp, we took the time to take pictures, unload our packs, and headed downhill back to Camp One. With our bellies full of quesadillas, we are currently weathering more winds and looking forward to a well-earned rest day tomorrow.
RMI Guides Hannah, Ben, Dan, and Team
Posted by: Hannah Smith, Avery Parrinello
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 13,800'
What goes up, must go down! Our uphill travel is over and it is now time for us to make our way downhill. What took us 12 days to get up to, would only take us a handful of hours to get back down. We broke down our camp at 19,600' and began our walk down to the much thicker air at 13,800'. It was a fantastic sight to see the Grajales staff welcome us back to basecamp. They greeted us with yummy snacks and a bottle of sparkling wine to celebrate our achievement. We could not ask for a more friendly group of people. After enjoying sitting in chairs and filling our bellies with fruit and various snacks, we had some chores to do. We sorted our gear and packed our duffles for the mules tomorrow. Our journey and long days are not over yet. Tomorrow we have a long hike to Pampa de Lenas. The promise of a carne asada BBQ will keep the team going and a promise of showers will keep us going the following day. The end is near where we can wash off all the dirt.
Just two more nights in sleeping bags,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team
I am betting there will be several enjoyable showers and a full plate for each of you! What a wonderful adventure! A lifelong memory! ENJOY!
Posted by: Judy & Dale Collins on 1/23/2020 at 6:48 am
Enjoy those well-deserved rewards! The carne asada and showers are probably particularly enticing and will lure you downhill. :) So happy to hear you’ve made it to Base Camp. Safe travels.
Posted by: Heather Collins on 1/22/2020 at 7:10 pm
Congratulations to the entire team! It sounds like and looks like you’re having the time of your lives!
Rest up, eat some good food, sleep well, & continue with this fabulous journey!
Chris and Adam, thank you for taking such good care of this fabulous team !
Love you Paul!
Posted by: Susan Matthews on 1/28/2019 at 2:53 pm
Posted by: Hannah Smith
Categories: Guide News
Posted by: Dustin Wittmier, Daniel May, Lacie Smith
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 20,310'
Friday May 31, 2024 7:16pm PDT
On Summit!
Saturday, June 1, 2024 12:55am PDT
Returned to 17,000' Camp safely at 10pm and planning to begin descent tomorrow morning.
RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier & Team
New Post Alerts:
Denali Expedition, May 12, 2024
Sharon and Sarah,
Congratulations On quite the accomplishment. Waiting word from you to come pick you up in Talkeetna.
Hope the descent is going well.
John/Margaret
Posted by: John on 6/1/2024 at 5:48 pm
Congratulations Dustin and Team!!
That is Just Awesome!!!!
Posted by: Dave Kestel on 6/1/2024 at 12:43 pm
Posted by: Dominic Cifelli, Ben Luedtke, Michael Murray
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 18,000'
“It’s a funny thing about life, if you refuse to accept anything but the best you very often get it.” W. Somerset Maugham
And that’s what we have with this group, the best. Each person brings something unique which together creates something greater, something which makes the team keep giving their all as we make consistent progress on our push towards the summit.
Today, the team bid goodbye to Camp One and moved to Camp Two on Aconcagua. We had a “record-breaking“ moment right before we left Camp One. The team looked forward to moving to Camp Two as we had caught a brief glimpse of the camp yesterday, dropping off our cache, refueling our bodies, maybe sneaking in a little internet and finally heading back down the mountain while surfing the scree on our boots. Now, camp two is our home for the next few nights.
This trip, at least for me and I’m sure this also echoes the sentiments of a few others, has been all about learning, not only learning about each other, but learning about our own individual physical and mental obstacles we face and have overcome and yet to be overcome. The mountain is only there to test the fortitude we already have inside and to make us stronger.
One of my favorite books is Robert Fulghum’s “Everything I Needed To Know I Learned In Kindergarten”, and so, in the spirit of learning, I now present to you “Everything I Didn’t Want To Know But Learned Anyway On Aconcagua”
1. The words Chardonnay and shower can sound remarkably similar at high altitude.
2. Adults still love story time.
3. When you’re having a hard time with the climb and searching for reasons to continue, all you have to do is remember Guide Michael’s words “Whatever motivates you”
4. No matter what you do, no matter what people may say, always keep your spoon……..and in some cases, your fork.
5. Be wary of unknown salt shakers.
6. Make sure you pass food around the table until it gets back to the person who it was originally handed to.
7. And finally, the most important thing to remember, the one thing that you must always keep in mind, especially when you need someone in your corner to help you with that final push to the summit…… Andy Always Wins.
Climber Benjamin Koch
New Post Alerts:
Aconcagua Expedition January 12, 2024
Powerful post and you all have the fortitude to reach the top. Now I’m really curious what is in that salt shaker. Crushed Diamox?
Posted by: Ed DaPra on 1/24/2024 at 6:56 pm
This has been amazing to read through! What grit you all have and I am truly inspired! I have no doubt that you are all strong, prepared and will get ‘er done! Looking forward to following the rest of the adventure :-) “Somewhere between the bottom of the climb and the summit is the answer to the mystery why we climb.” ~ Greg Child
Ben. Also in the spirit of learning I leave you with this, “Learning is the only thing the mind never exhausts, never fears and never regrets.” ~ Leonardo Da Vinci
Be badass!
So proud of you!
Posted by: Donna (Mackinac/Philly) Scialanca on 1/24/2024 at 8:51 am
Posted by: Mark Tucker
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
You all are AMAZING! I hope you’re having the best time ever!
Posted by: Keri on 7/19/2019 at 6:23 pm
You all are amazing. Have a great hike and stay safe. I cant wait to see pictures.
Posted by: Susie Yonkers on 7/17/2019 at 8:40 am
RMI Guide Casey Grom checks in from Shira Camp.
On The Map
Catherine Deb and Kaki— So glad to get the updates via the blog! You’ve got this! Get in some more photos!
Posted by: Linda Morrison on 1/12/2017 at 3:42 am
Jeff and Sean, hope you are having a great time. Is anything sore yet?
Posted by: Maureen McCroskey on 1/11/2017 at 7:06 pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poO2BsVGdIU
Posted by: Terry Reilly on 1/18/2023 at 9:11 am
View All Comments