May 29, 2015 10:41am PST
As the sun hit our tent we woke up ready for our back carry to above windy corner. We could hear the wind in the distance scouring the buttress above us. But here at camp it was calm and brisk. Since we worked hard on our move to 14 camp and our back carry would only take a few hours, we opted for a relaxing morning before our work had to be done. After lounging in the posh till late morning we geared up and retrieved our cashed equipment and food.
When we got back it was only mid afternoon, so the next task was to fortify camp with walls in case the wind decided to give us trouble. Little did we know that our team consisted of Egyptian craftsman. In no time or camp was secure.With much of the day left we took a solid break and made some fresh coffee, which is a real amenity up here. After being properly caffeinated we practice fixed line travel which will be a well needed review before cashing at 16,200.
We are feeling good and are putting ourselves in a position to head higher on the mountain. With a little more acclimation and calm weather we will be ready for high camp and a bid at the summit. We are all very excited.
RMI Guide Adam Knoff & Team
Though the tents shook with the wind again last night, the gusts came fewer and further between. As the sun rose this morning the gusts became rarer, and we decided that this was our day to move to our high camp at Colera (Spanish for anger, not the disease). We were still prepared to face strong winds as we moved into more exposed terrain on the way, but Aconcagua gave us a pass and we climbed with gentle breezes and brilliant sunshine the whole way. We are now settled in, working on heating water for dinner- which takes a long time at 19,600'- before we rack out early to prep for a hopeful summit attempt tomorrow. All of the days of hard work have gotten us here, and everyone is excited to be in place for the final push to our objective. We'll be in touch tomorrow to let you know how it goes.
Best,
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, Alex Barber, Juan, and the team
Windy today... After an all-things-considered-decent night last evening at Camp 1 we woke this morning to clear skies and calm winds. Perfect, we thought, for a push up to Camp 2 to drop off another cache of supplies. The team made good time and dispatched the uphill portion of the carry in three stretches moving smoothly and in good style. The wind beat us up a little bit but in the end it was nothing but a nuisance as we passed through Ameghino Col. We saw some of our first views of other big peaks in the range as we passed underneath the toe of the Polish Glacier. The mountain is VERY dry right now and we've heard that getting snow for water up at high camp is problematic, at least there's still a good flow of water coming through the stream at Camp 2. We are all back down at Camp 1 safe and sound, looking forward to a rest/acclimatization day tomorrow!
Ciao, for now.
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
Thank you for the updates. I loved your song!
Lots of Love from 8000
Babs xox
Posted by: Barbara Lynn Bloemsma on 1/22/2015 at 9:18 am
Linz - I’m getting a desperate feeling that I need to walk on some rocks. Does walking down the gravel road in Indiana qualify as scree? Wish I was there. Rock on girl! Pop
Buenas tardes from Huaraz!
What a day we had! We were greeted by a sunny morning in Huaraz, with excellent views of the Huascaran and Copa mountains right from our hotel. After breakfast, we headed without hesitation to the "Laguna Churup" trailhead for a morning stroll (which by the way, felt really good after two days of flying and riding a bus.) It was the perfect acclimatization hike, since we were taken from 0' to 10,000' by a bus, so exercising a bit at this elevation we found very beneficial. From the trailhead at 13,000' we hiked a good 2 1/2 hours towards this glacial lake at around 14,400' (oddly enough, similar height of Mount Rainier) and we all got a better chance to start getting to know each other a bit better. Governed by "Nevado Churup", a small but steep peak on the southern end of the Cordillera Blanca, the turquoise of its waters, inspired the better picture moments of the day. After a short snack, we began our descent to the trailhead. Once back in town, we run the logistics of buying some extra snack food, a couple gear items and final arrangements with our outfitter to hit the trail towards Ishinca Valley tomorrow at 8am sharp.
Our next dispatch will be from Base Camp and from our satphone. Best regards to everyone back home!
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
Greetings from Talkeetna!
So we made it off the glacier just in time! This morning we woke at 3:30 am to start the 5.5-mile walk back to basecamp. The forecasted storm was slowly creeping in from the southwest and as we walked down glacier in the twilight, clouds came spilling over Mt. Foraker, threatening to shut down visibility. At 11:30 we could hear the mosquito hum of K2's Otter as Randy flew in just below the cloud ceiling and set the plane down on the runway. Forty-five minutes later we were in sandals and t-shirts in downtown Talkeetna enjoying the warm air and flowering fauna. It has been an excellent experience for our folks. As we dry our gear on the lawn, everyone is quietly reflecting on the last six days spent in the Alaska range.
RMI Guide Leon Davis
After that slight worry that the weather was going to fall apart on us yesterday, we experienced our calmest and warmest night of the trip so far. Followed by a perfect and cloudless morning at Camp One while we knocked the tents down and loaded up for the move to high camp. The route is now familiar and we chugged along with very few other climbers in our vicinity. First to the pass between Aconcagua and its neighbor, Ameghino, and then up a broad shoulder until we traversed slightly to the North and made our way into high camp in virtually windless conditions. We got our tents up, tried to drink a bunch of water and did some easy review of the climbing techniques we'll rely on for our ascent tomorrow. We sat out in the strong sun for dinner with the Aconcagua veterans on the team explaining that they'd rarely experienced such perfect summer weather so high on the hill. The views are tremendous from this camp, and the remaining slopes of Aconcagua are formidable- towering steeply above us, but the team did great moving up today and everybody seems primed for an alpine start and a chance at the summit tomorrow.
Fingers Crossed,
Dave
Today was the first day of safari for us and we headed east to visit Lake Manyara, which is know for its tree climbing lions, flamingos, and more than 400 different species of birds.
We had a nice day viewing the wildlife that hardly seemed to notice us, despite being only feet away at times.
We didn't manage to see any of those famous lions, but we had a very close encounter with Elephants. Nothing dangerous, but they passed close enough that we could have almost touched them.
We did manage to see zebras, Cape buffalo, giraffe, baboons, impalas and so many birds we lost count. It was a pretty nice introduction to the incredible bio-diversity that Africa has, and everyone enjoyed the day riding around in our safari vehicles.
We wrapped up the evening here at the beautiful Plantation Lodge with a wonderful meal and great conversations.
Hello again everyone.
All is still well here in the Khumbu as the 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 maze of 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.
Tomorrow we'll be moving out early on our final leg of the journey back to Lukla. Please keep you fingers crossed we have good weather and can make our flight back to Kathmandu the following morning.
RMI Guide Casey Grom
Namaste Everyone
Today we bumped up to Gorak Shep, which is our last camp before Everest Base Camp. It was a pretty short day of hiking, only 2.5 hours.
Gorak Shep is sort of like the last outpost in a bad western film. It’s a little run down and the locals look a little rough. And they should as it sits at nearly 17,000', so life is not easy to say the least.
Pretty sure the music stopped when we strolled into town.
Just kidding. It’s not so bad here.
Our team is doing well and everyone is looking forward to reaching Base Camp.
RMI Guide Casey Grom
June 4, 2017
Today was our hardest day yet! The team did another outstanding job on our climb up to High Camp at 17,200 ft. The crew also managed to return the favor to Brent's climb by bumping the last of their equipment and food from 16,600' as well as prep their arrival to high camp un-burying their caches from a few days ago. We had perfect weather and amazing views of the whole south side of the Alaska range. The descent was a bit of a traffic jam but all went well and the snow has begun as we arrived back to our tents in 14,000' Camp. Our plan for now is to rest and recover tomorrow. Then we will just wait for our summit opportunity! Fingers crossed for nice weather Tuesday and beyond!
RMI Guide Tyler Jones
Great progress John (and team). We can’t wait to hear your first hand account. Truly the adventure of a lifetime. We’re all so proud.
Posted by: SoCal Gunns on 6/6/2017 at 7:30 am
Amir: René told me about this latest adventure. Wow, this must be such an amazing experience (but, reading about the mountain a bit, I’m glad it’s you on the mountain and not me)! You never cease to amaze me with the goals you set and your tenacity in pursuing them. I wish you and the team a successful completion of the expedition and look forward to hearing all about it when you return! You make us proud! All the best! Martin
I think I know who one of those Egyptian craftsmen is!
Posted by: Jessie on 5/29/2015 at 9:58 pm
Enjoy the moment. Following each blog and the breathtaking photos. Much love
Posted by: Carolyn Walllgren on 5/29/2015 at 5:48 pm
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