Hello again,
This is the Ecuador team checking in from 15,300' on Cayambe. We have successfully made the transition from comfortable city living to our slightly less glamorous base camp, and our excitement continues to grow. Through gaps in the clouds, we are finally able to catch a few glimpses of what lies ahead, with the summit looking as good as ever!
Before heading uphill this morning, we were able to enjoy a little more of a relaxed start. We slept in a bit, partook in some fantastically hot showers, ate a good breakfast, and headed in to the Otavalo market. This market is the largest market of its kind in Ecuador, offering miles (literally) of artisanal souvenirs: paintings, textiles, wood carvings, clothing, you name it. It can almost be a bit of sensory overload when you first step in, with the endless stalls of crafts and cuisine. Our team did an admirable job of filling the extra space in the duffels with goodies!
When its all said and done, though, we were ready to move on and head to the hills. The real work starts tomorrow, so the evening tonight is all about taking it easy. We are just about to head in for a nice hot meal and then prepare for our mountaineering skills refresher course tomorrow.
Until then,
RMI Guides Nick Hunt, Steve Gately, and the rest of the RMI team
Llaima is a big mountain, deceivingly big - from beneath it looks like a reasonable couple hours of climbing...not so. I learned this my first time on Llaima four years ago.
Yesterday we had an adventurous day on Llaima. Sun, clouds, heat, cold, calm, wind, visibility, low vis...sticky snow, icy snow, sastrugi, soft snow, corn... some horrible skiing, and a lot of amazing skiing. We walked, we skinned, we climbed. There is an old pocket glacier that's usually well covered in snow, but this year there were exposed crevasses, which added to the route finding challenge. At 15:30, standing on a rough, icy slope in strong wind, we decided to call it - about an hour from the summit. This was not safe snow for skiing so we down-climbed about 1,000' before putting on our skis. The rest of the descent was super fun, and went quickly. We didn't get to stand on top, but the group consensus was that this was an even more awesome day than summiting Lonquimay.
Today we had a nice drive to the town of Pucon, with perfectly clear skies. We were able to see all four of our volcanoes - Lonquimay, Llaima, Villarica, and Lanin. We stopped in the town of Villarica for a nice lunch and to take some photos of the mountain (Villarica) towering above the lake.
Another great couple of days in Araucania.
RMI Guide Tyler Reid & the Chile Ski Team
June 6, 2015 9:15am PST
RMI Guide Adam Knoff just called into the RMI office and gave us an update. The team is at 9,000’ camp and heading toward the air strip.
They woke up yesterday and made the decision to head down to 11,000’ camp. In high winds and blowing snow they headed down and after 2.5 hours they were greeted with smiles and hots from RMI Guide Tyler Jones and team at camp. The team took a bit of a rest, packed it up and pointed their boots downhill. They then traveled through deep snow, whiteout conditions and with some help from the GPS they reached 9,000’, where they rested for the night. The Sun came out this morning and the team was all smiles! The team is packed and ready to blaze the five miles of trail in knee deep snow toward Base Camp, where with some luck they will fly off the glacier this evening or by the afternoon on Sunday.
Special request from Adam: “WISH US LUCK!”
Today (April 1st) I moved up to Camp 1 at about 17,000' from 13,800' Base Camp. Enjoyed good weather in the morning which turned to light snow in the afternoon. The route to C1 is quite a distance from BC and has some enjoyable climbing. Low angle water ice and low grade mixed climbing, also a precarious arm wrap rappel of some 200' on the most insane choss... The recent snowfall - plowing through knee deep snow - made some sections of the route very tiring. I'm hoping the weather holds and I am able to make Camp 2 tomorrow. I've got three days worth of supplies including today, so I'd like to spend the next two at Camp 2.
Hopefully the weather plays along...
When I return to BC I'll post up a few photos for a visual of the route so far.
RMI Guide Alex Barber
Summit of Antisana! Adam Knoff and team called in to let us know they were at Antisana's Basecamp after a successful summit. They had great route conditions clear skies, stars and a beautiful moonrise. The climb was engaging with steep headwalls and crevasse crossings. The team did a fantastic job. At about 17,000ft the winds picked up and temperatures dropped enveloping the summit in a cloud layer. As the team started their descent, they broke out of the clouds. They are breaking down camp and will be taking a short walk back to the bus, which will take them to Chilcabamba Eco Lodge where the team will have well-deserved rest for the night.
RMI Guide Adam Knoff
When the alarm sounded this morning we stuck our head out of the tent and saw nothing but clear skies. The wind was blowing high up near the summit, sending whisps of snow flying off the ridge lines, but conditions between 14 Camp and high camp at 17,200' (17 Camp) were perfect: it was go time! It was cold again as we at breakfast and broke down camp but the team kept to task, by now everyone is comfortable working in the cold temperatures. Just after 8 am we headed out of 14 Camp, climbing the slopes back to the fixed lines and up to our previous high point at our cache at 16,200'. We climbed well to there, managing the bigger packs on the fixed lines without any problem.
After a break to eat and drink we set out up the West Buttress proper, climbing right along the ridge line for the final 1,000' to camp. The West Buttress is widely regarded as the finest climbing of the entire route and today did not disappoint: it was a simply spectacular afternoon of climbing. The sun was out, there was hardly a breath of wind, and the snow conditions were perfect. The team climbed strongly, weaving back and forth between the outcroppings of granite that pepper the ridge line and across the intermittent stretches of thin snow ridges between where the slopes fall away several thousand feet to each side. The big packs, high altitude, and exposure kept us focused and it was a hard day of climbing, but by the time we reached camp everyone was excited and smiling.
We set to work right away upon reaching 17 Camp, shoveling out a few previously used tent platforms that we're buried under several feet of new snow, touching up the snow walls in case the winds pick up, and setting up and anchoring down our tents. It was a calm and warm evening so we sat outside afterward, eating dinner and gazing across the patchwork of clouds below that stretched off into the interior of the North Slope of Alaska.
If the perfect weather that we have right now sticks around we're hoping to take advantage and make our summit bid tomorrow. The team is tired from the day but recovering well now that we're in camp and excited about giving it a shot tomorrow. We'll let you know how it goes.
RMI Guide Linden Mallory
This is the RMI Alaska Seminar checking in from the snowy Southeast fork of the Kahiltna Glacier. Well, the storm is finally on us as we’re going to be right now. The tents are shaking and the snow is coming down. Today we built some bomber walls that are protecting the wind from our tents. The crew is settling in nicely and looking forward to weathering their first Alaskan storm up here. Hopefully the storm will precip tonight and clear out for tomorrow so we can do some crack rescue training. Stay tuned and we’ll check in tomorrow. Take care.
RMI Guide Jason Thompson
RMI Guide Jason Thompson checks in from the Kahiltna Glacier
On July 18th the Mt. Baker Easton Climb summited all climbers and guides on a sunny, windy morning around 9:30 am. We had been climbing with a forecast of possible rain in the afternoon, but the building clouds cleared for us at the top of the mountain for some great views.
Just as we returned to the tents around 2 pm, the sky opened up. Nowhere better than a dry tent after a summit to watch the rain pour down.
The hottest new restaurant in Alaska is Maureen’s, currently located at the 11K camp on Denali. Started by a trio of up-and-coming chefs (Jackson, Ray, and Seth), who also happen to moonlight as mountain guides, Maureen’s serves up delicious Tex-Mex fare with Asian and Creole inspirations, reflective of the chefs’ diverse backgrounds. “Corn is pretty much my greatest inspiration; I can turn a tortilla into just about anything,” says Chef Jackson, citing his Iowan roots. The pop-up restaurant is small, seating 9 and squatting 1.
On a busy night of service, guests can hear Chef “Sweet Baby” Ray rapping to OutKast with an inexplicably thick Eastern European accent while whipping up a jambalaya in the open kitchen. The portions are generous, much appreciated on big efforts such as caching heavy packs of gear up to 13K ft.
When not working the breakfast shift, Chef Seth runs front of house, chatting up the regulars and offering sweet words of affirmation, which they desperately need to wake up each morning. There is relatively little to complain about, except maybe the limited beverage list (despite the chefs’ weird insistence on tasting the glacial terroir — it’s just hot water), the overpowering red polyester decor (reportedly Maureen’s favorite color), and the ever-present undertones of body odor. Dress code is casual, although insulated down is highly recommended. Gluten-free options are available upon request.
The Four Day Climb June 17 - 20 led by RMI Guides Leif Bergstrom, Mitch Valaitis and Arianna Drechsler enjoyed nice weather over the course of their climb but unstable snow conditions on the upper mountain prevented the team from ascending above Ingraham Flats. The team enjoyed some additional training and spent the morning at Ingraham Flats. They plan to descend from Camp Muir at 10 am en route to Paradise.
Message for Mitch Valaitis,
Did Joe and his guide make the summit on 6/26/24, with the high winds, clouds, and cold temperatures? I would be very interested to hear.
Regards,
Tony Keyter
Tel: 253-853-3859 .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
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nice friends speak spanish add on facebook profile samanta romeo mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Posted by: samanta on 6/1/2017 at 2:16 am
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