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This morning we woke up early had breakfast, packed and then waited. We experienced some logistical snafus in communications with our donkey drivers and horse handlers, but only a minor hiccup. We started hiking down valley and in a couple hours came across our animals. While the donkeys continued on to base camp to collect our duffle bags we mounted our horses and began riding down valley. It turns out our team of expert climbers are also amazing rodeo cowboys. We all laughed and hollered riding our horses we named Mr Ed, Alpa- caballo, EFrank, Stumbles, and Chuck. We arrived to Cashapampa, the trail head, a couple hours before our donkeys and found a beautiful shady porch to rest on and enjoyed a couple cervezas. A three hour van ride had us back to our hotel in Huaraz where we quickly showered and are currently enjoying a delicious dinner. Thanks for following along on our incredible trip. We'll see you all soon, RMI Guide Geoff Schellens

June 21, 2015 2:37 pm PT Well the team has disbanded for more solo projects after an incredible climb of Denali. We worked hard together for a few weeks and were lucky enough to see that hard work pay off and stand on top together. I'm proud of the effort and camaraderie that made a successful trip for everyone. So much goes in to a good adventure and the main ingredient is the people who choose to undertake it. Thanks to everyone who offered up their loved ones for a few weeks while we tried to match an exceptional mountain. See you all soon and great job Team. RMI Guides Jake, Andrew and Christina

Summit! RMI Guide Dave Hahn reached the Mount Rainier summit at 7:45 this morning. With beautiful blue skies and 10-15 mph winds, the team enjoyed the summit views for over an hour before beginning their descent at 9:00 a.m.

June 18, 2014 - 12:24am PT Today we got some news that a window may come our way in the next few days! We woke with the sun warming us. Granola and coffee got our day started at 14k camp. We saw fairly good weather throughout the day, yet a forecast for another big pulse of heavy snow for the near hours! Our equipment, attitudes, and stoke for the future are high and our methods of getting there are well calculated. We wait another day hanging in there for the final push up the mountain. This season has not given many opportunities for a summit push but if we try and give it our whole effort we may just succeed! Tomorrow we will make our final preparation to stay or plan our departure Keep your eye on us and think high pressure weather. Cheers, RMI Guides Garrett, Tyler, Geoff and the No Troubles Team

After a long day moving from 11 Camp yesterday we took advantage of some excellent snow walls left for us by Mike Haugen and the RMI team ahead of us as we set up camp at 14 Camp. After a quick dinner we were soon sawing logs in the tents, a rest well deserved after the day. We had a relaxed agenda this morning, hanging out in the kitchen tent over breakfast as we waited for the sun to climb higher in the sky and warm up the basin where 14 Camp sits a bit. Around mid morning we grabbed our mostly empty packs and clipped into the ropes, heading back down the route to the cache of gear we left near Windy Corner at 13,600' back on Tuesday. We made great time down there, retrieved everything from beneath the snow surface where we buried it, loaded our packs, and headed back up to camp. It was another perfect day for climbing, occasional clouds swirling up from below and obscuring the sun helped keep the temperatures moderate and I never got too hot on the climb back to camp. We returned to the tents just after lunch and then spent a few hours training, rigging up our mechanical ascender systems and practicing how to safely use them on fixed ropes. This is in preparation for our next carry of gear to 16,200' which will bring us up the fixed lines that sit above 14 Camp. We hope to accomplish this in the next day or two, after which we will be able to turn our attention to moving to high camp at 17,200' and making a subsequent summit bid. We will check in tomorrow and let you know if we are able to pull it off. Happy July 1st to everyone back home, we're pretty sure those backyard barbecues aren't nearly as exciting as our snow kitchen and camping stoves...! RMI Guide Linden Mallory

100% Summit! Billy called from the summit this morning. Everyone did well and they are starting their descent back to high camp. Congratulations Team!

10/2

With inclement weather including high winds forecasted for the coming days, we pivoted and rallied over to the Nevados de Vilcun Refugio to ski off of Volcan Llaima, the second most active volcano in Chile. 

After a great to-go breakfast at Casa Esquina, we hopped in the van and said goodbye to Malalcahuello. We zigzagged south along dirt roads and dense forests to Nevados de Vilcun, where we donned ski boots and climbing skins on the porch of the refugio. 

With just over 5,000 ft of elevation gain, today would be our biggest ski day of the trip. We skinned over the expansive plateaus formed by the last volcanic eruption in 2008 and our shadows danced behind us from the rising sun as we climbed. 

After a few hours the angle increased and we donned ski crampons to combat the firm slopes that make up the west shoulder of Volcan Llaima. The wind began to pick up and after another 1500 feet of climbing we switched to boot crampons and ice axes before cresting onto the rime covered summit ridge line. The winds were strong and we fought our way to the summit, finding refuge in a large fumerol “pot.”

We snapped a few selfies, took in the view and clicked into our skis just below the summit. Our descent was cold, chalky and downright fun. We arced turns down the expansive rolling terrain left behind from previous volcanic eruptions and back down to Nevados de Vilcun for a celebratory kombucha and a relaxing night.

10/3 

A rest day was on the initial plan, but with stormy weather forecasted for our next two volcanoes (Villarica and Osorno) we pivoted to Volcan Sollipulli to take advantage of the last day of sunny weather. 

We left Nevados de Vilcun bright and early and circumnavigated Volcan Llaima to the south and over to Nevados de Sollipulli Lodge. There we were met with friendly faces and a large buggy ready to transport us up through a natural Arunacia forest to the snowline where we’d put on skis and skin to the top of Volcan Sollipulli. 

The virgin forest of Aranucia rose high above us as we creeped our way up the steep dirt road and up towards the snow. We passed tall cascading waterfalls and an abandoned locomotive. Finally we reached the snow and continued skiing above tree line and up past snow covered lagoons. 

Volcan Sollipulli was once active and the result of its activity is a 9km wide crater with an actively growing glacier inside. Our goal today was to climb to the rim before skiing back down the snowline. 

The winds began to increase as we climbed higher and by the time we began to crest onto the crater rim we leaned and fought against the 40km winds.

Our time on the rim was short lived and we snapped a few photos before gingerly ripping skins in the high winds and skiing beautiful fall line terrain back to our stashed shoes. We returned to Nevados de Sollipuli for a celebratory lunch and pisco sours before loading up the van and driving back to Nevados de Vilcun for our second and final night.

10/4

We awoke to fresh snow and cold temps this morning. After a great breakfast we loaded up the van and drove south towards Pucon. 

There we’ll spend two nights resting and enjoying the town before an attempt on Volcan Villarica.

Food was eaten, shops were explored and naps were taken. Following an afternoon of exploring the city, we sat down for an awesome dinner at Trawen in the heart of Pucon. We plan to explore some natural hot springs and take a second rest day as we wait out stormy weather.

10/5

Today we explored the natural hot springs of Termas Geometricas and let our muscles relax. With over 15 pools ranging in temperatures of 35 to 45 degrees celsius there was much to explore. 

The lush jungle created the perfect backdrop for a day of rest and we left with our cups full and muscles relaxed. 

After an afternoon of napping we enjoyed another lovely evening of dinner at Trawen. Tomorrow we head to Volcan Villarica for another day of climbing and skiing!

10/6

Today we got an early start at 6:30am and headed up towards Volcan Villarica. With new snow and cold temps today would be interesting! We packed up our bags for the day and began skinning up the lower flanks of Ski Pucon (the local ski resort) and up towards Villarica. 

After about 2500 ft of climbing we encountered heavy snow and white out conditions. With no points of reference and zero visibility, we decided to call 7120’ our high point and ski back down to the van.

The skiing was engaging and dizzying as we tictaced our way down the steep slopes of Villarica. Eventually we made it back to the closed lifts of Ski Pucon and enjoyed dense, surfy skiing back down to the car. 

From there, we continued 4 hours south to Refugio Teski where we enjoyed the misty evening and prepared for a ski descent of Volcan Osorno in the morning.

10/7

With lots of precipitation overnight and low visibility, we slept in and waited for the clouds to burn off before we headed out for a ski attempt on Volcan Osorno. 

With a below average snow pack and the previous night's rain, some snow had melted which forced us to walk the initial 1000 ft of our climb to reach the snowline. From there, we began skinning up through the mist and onto the glacial plateau that marks the beginning of the glacier and steeper terrain ahead.

We zigzagged up the increasingly steep terrain and finally the clouds parted to reveal the summit and upper mountain! We took a break, attached our skis to our packs and put on our crampons. From here we only had about 1200 ft left! As we transitioned we were greeted and subsequently passed by a group of three Argentine climbers and ten Italian skiers! After a morning of solitude in the mist, Volcan Osorno suddenly felt more like the Alps than rural Chile. 

We boot packed up the rimed summit ridgeline and made one more traverse across the summit plateau to the tippy top. There we high fived, snapped photos and began preparing for our 5,000 foot ski descent back down to the refuge. 

After negotiating some rime mushrooms off of the summit, we enjoyed some of the best skiing of the trip! With the expansive lake region below our ski tips we party skied all the way back down to the valley to cold beers and pisco sours at Refugio Teski! Tonight we plan to pack up and transfer just over an hour to Puerto Varas where we’ll spend one more night together before we have flights to catch in the morning. 

10/8

Today we enjoyed one last breakfast and slow morning here in Puerto Varas before we said goodbye and headed to the airport. I can confidently say for everyone that this trip was such a joy to be on and in 11 days we enjoyed a lifetime of Chilean volcano skiing! Thanks to everyone involved and soon we will be back in the US enjoying fall and dreaming of future ski days for this upcoming winter!

RMI Guide Sam Marjerison

 

Today we attempted to hike up the 14,600’ peak of La Malinche. The drive to the park entrance goes through a nice pine forest. We got to tree line around 1:45pm at 12,800’ and storm clouds had been sitting on the summit all day. There was thunder and billowing clouds for the next hour. The guides decided that being on an exposed ridge line with a building electrical storm on the horizon wasn't the best scenario. We started the descent with views of the surrounding countryside coming and going between dark clouds. We are back at the cabins having had a delicious meal and eager to get started on the Ixta portion of our trip.

RMI Guide Mike King

Tuesday, May 28, 2019 - 8:50 PM PT What a day! We woke to great weather, so we saddled up and hit the glacier towards Radio Tower. Felt great to stretch the legs and walk up hill. We zigged and zagged around crevasses, booted up some steeper terrain, and walked a narrow ridge. At the end of it all was great views of the surrounding peaks. Such a fun day to use the skills we have learned and be rewarded by jaw dropping beauty. After walking down in what felt like a microwave of heat, we all took a well-deserved nap before dinner. Nothing like laying down in a warm tent full of down to make you doze off into a dreamy state. Tomorrow we plan on packing up and moving camp up glacier to go explore more of the area. We will see what we get to play on or in in the next coming days. Talk to you all later, RMI Guide Hannah Smith and team

This one is going to be brief, I apologize but its been a long day! We were graced with good weather this morning and we rose early to break down camp and move to 11,000'. The team did a great job moving through the terrain. Light snow flurries kept the temps cool and good for climbing. The final hill into 11,000' Camp is a total butt kicker and the team styled it like pros. The team spent the afternoon building camp and setting up tents before enjoying a well earned meal and a good nights rest. Tomorrow we will travel back down glacier to about 10,000' to retrieve our cached gear and then enjoy having the afternoon free. All is well and the team is doing great! RMI Guide Steve Gately & Team