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The sun has been shining on us all day, and the temperatures are pleasant, but something has changed: early this morning the tents gave a foretelling rattle, and then the wind settled in. While the wind hasn't been too strong yet, mostly it just makes a lot of noise, the forecast is hinting that the winds may strengthen tonight, and that they may persist for at least a week. We are hoping that they allow us to move up tomorrow, and that a forecasted lull may give us our shot. At this point, everything is ready for us and we are in Dr. Suess' proverbial waiting place, so we just have our fingers crossed for our summit window to show itself. Keep your fingers crossed for us,
RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer, Juan, Alex, and team
On The Map
Hi all. Billy here with the last installment from our riveting series of blog posts documenting one of this year's
RMI Aconcagua expeditions. We officially wrapped up our program last evening with an amazing dinner at Francesco Barbera complete with all of the pageantry you'd expect from a fine dining experience in Argentina: cocktails, wine, delicious handmade pastas, dessert, coffee. We deserved a little luxury after so much hard work in such a harsh environment and indeed there was much rejoicing. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all the members of the team for their patience, dedication, and hard work all along the way and to thank
Katrina and
Billy Haas for being exceptional guides and teammates the whole trip too.
I've had tons of fun and can't wait to come back next year...
Til then.
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
Sometimes the most difficult part of any expedition is just getting on the mountain. Today, our
Elbrus team got one step closer.
We jumped on a flight from Moscow and arrived in Mineralnye Vody and then had a 2 1/2 hour shuttle ride to arrive in Cheget.
We are now sitting under the glistening Caucasus Mountains that surround the valley. Some of our team are exploring the shops in town while others are sorting mountaineering gear.
Thanks for catching up with is and stay tuned for some photos and video of this wonderful area.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
On The Map
Waking up at Balloon Camp, deep within Tarangire National Park, was a treat. We breakfasted and were saying goodbye to the friendly hotel staff by 7 AM. The team was looking for wildlife before we’d gotten a hundred feet from the hotel reception desk. Michael and Francis took us down along the great marsh along Tarangire’s Eastern edge. We saw eagles, kudus, hippos and all of the “usual” animals that -just a few days ago- were exotic and foreign. What we didn’t see was any other Safari vehicles. We had it all to ourselves for hours. But inevitably we had to start making our way toward the front gate of the park. Even so, we were treated to another leopard sighting on the way. A handsome but sleepy fellow conked out on a tree limb.
By midday we were on the highway pointed toward Arusha and our Tanzanian home base at the Arumeru River Lodge, which we reached by 3 pm. This left plenty of time for repacking and showers and even an early dinner before we said “so long” to our friends at the lodge who’d taken excellent care of us... and “so long” to the Dik Diks and monkeys in the yard. We didn’t get a final glimpse of Kilimanjaro on the drive to the airport. It was hidden in clouds. So we’ll just go away recalling the view we had from the top looking down.
Thank You for following our trip... until next climb.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team
Wednesday, June 5, 2019 - 9:30 PM PT
We had it all today. Sunshine, snow, raging snow, more sun, and even some thunderstorms...aka thunder snow. Regardless, our team snuck in our carry to Windy Corner at 13,000’. Progress! It was really nice to make some progress after a couple days of rest here at
11,000' Camp. The forecast is calling for more of the same for remainder of the week, so we’ll do what we’ve been doing everyday, we’ll wake up and stick our heads out of the tent early, and see if the mountain will allow us to make our move to 14,000’ Camp tomorrow. Fingers crossed!
RMI Guides Robby, Nick, Joe and Team Mountain Zen
On The Map
Monday, June 3, 2019 - 9:11 PM PT
And on the sixth day, we rested. Boy it felt good to just stay in one place for a day. We woke up to some winds and a little bit of snow, and we were due for our annual rest day here at
11,000' Camp, so we took full advantage. There was no up and attem this morning, as we let our bodies sleep, and waited until 9am to indulge in a eggs and hashers feast. We had a little bit of sun midday, but most of the day the mountain seemed to spit snow and coat us in clouds as we practiced some climbing skills that are pivotal for the coming days. Not much else to report from a day of rest, and that’s a beautiful thing. We’re hopeful to carry tomorrow to a cache site at 13,600’, but the mountain will make the call in the morning.
Until then, stay tuned.
RMI Guides Robby, Nick, Joe, and Team Tasty Bite
On The Map
The Four Day Summit Climb led by
RMI Guides Seth Waterfall, Christina Dale, and Katrina Bloemsma reached the summit of Mt. Rainier just before 7:00 a.m. PDT. Katrina reported clear, breezy skies above Disappointment Cleaver. The teams will spend some time celebrating on the summit before beginning their descent. We look forward to seeing them in
Ashford this afternoon.
Congratulations climbers!
The group has made it to charming
Talkeetna for burgers, beers, and packing. We spent the day yesterday dialing in our 100 liter packs and duffels with sleds. The food for 22 days is packed and our spirits are high. Now that we are all ready the weather needs to cooperate. We were scheduled to fly this morning but are in a waiting pattern at the moment, well, I guess it's back to the coffee shop.
All is well!
RMI Guide
Jake Beren & Team
Friday, May 29th 11:00 pm PDT
Expedition life lends itself to improvisation and today gave us the perfect opportunity to think on our feet. Our original plan was to carry a load of group gear to the top of the fixed lines at 16,500' and rest a full day tomorrow. However, a strong high pressure system moved over the mountain, opening the gates to the upper mountain for all of the other teams that have been stuck at 14,000' for days. As a result, camp was extremely active today as well over a hundred climbers woke up early and began a move to high camp. The fixed lines were jammed up all day with climbers, and rather than wait in that line ourselves, our team formulated a new plan.
Today became our rest day. We relaxed in the beautiful weather at camp and took an afternoon stroll to the
Edge of the World. Guides Adam and Andy, studs that they are, completed the high cache on their own in the evening once the fixed lines cleared up from the folks that were moving up. Our goal tomorrow is to pack up camp early, and move ahead to high camp, putting ourselves in the perfect position to attempt a summit bid in the next few days while the good weather lasts.
The team is in high spirits and feeling strong! Goodnight!
RMI Guide Nick Hunt and the rest of the team
On The Map
Billy and Jake here checking in on the team's first night in Argentina together. Most of the crew is a little travel weary but full of enthusiasm about the upcoming adventure. After a general team meeting and a round of introductions we spent most of the afternoon with a thorough gear check. Later this evening the team dined at a new parilla in town, enjoying delicious salads, Argentine beef, and vino tinto. The weather here in Mendoza is beautiful: clear, sunny, and warm during the day and cool at night. Perfect for growing grapes, or just living! I am pretty sure none of us are missing the North American winter. Anyways, we're resting up from those several days of traveling and gearing up for a super busy day tomorrow. Lots of loose ends to tie together before we split town for the mountains and Los Penitentes!
Have a good night, and we'll check back in tomorrow!
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Fingers are crossed!
Sending calming vibes your way.
Good luck PBB and Team Van Deventer!!
Posted by: Joyce Pully on 1/31/2015 at 6:23 pm
Go Team Van Deventer and shout out to Bro Kevin Stitely.. wishing you fair skies, fair winds and strong backs, Stick the Flag in that one!!!! J Dienes
Posted by: John Dienes on 1/31/2015 at 6:10 pm
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