May 10, 2017 - 9:12 pm PT
The forecast threatened an 80% chance of more snow but we woke to clear skies. This morning was busy with packing, digging and more packing for our move to Camp 1. We hauled our sleds out onto the main Kahiltna under a hard sun and played leapfrog with a German team. By 5 pm we were cooking dinner outside in great weather. The team suffered under the hot globe with grace and we are going to do it again tomorrow to Camp 2.
RMI Guide Leon Davis
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
We are in our tents taking a little break before dinner. About two hours ago hail and rain caught us on the tail end of our training day at Ishinca Base Camp.
Before the afternoon storm we took advantage of our incredible venue to learn knots, anchors, rope ascension and rappelling. The huge glacial erratics just outside our camp provided the perfect place to rappel and ascend on overhanging terrain. Just as we were coiling up the ropes to head back to camp, pea sized hail began to pelt us. We retired to our mess tent where we were greeted with hot chocolate and popcorn.
We're heading back there shortly for dinner, hoping it's as good as last night's feast. Hilario our cook ended dinner with one of the best chocolate mousses I've ever had- it's going to be hard to top that!
RMI Guides Zeb Blais, Chase Nelson and team
100% on the Cotopaxi summit! Everyone is safe back at the hacienda. Once we are back in Quito, we'll check in again.
Congratulations team!
RMI Guide Casey Grom
Hello!
We are checking in from high on Mt. Kilimanjaro. Here in the alpine desert there is a stark reminder that only the heartiest survive at this altitude. That is just what we are doing and in great style, mind you a hearty group we are. After a great climb of the famous Baranco wall early this morning led to the traverse below the southern side of the summit massive. We had intermittent clouds that made for nice climbing to the Karanga Camp. The Diamond, Balletto, Heim, Decken, and Kersten glaciers loom just above reminding us that we still have a ways to go. The team continues to do well, all is good
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Hello, this is the Alpamayo climbing team. We are calling from Base Camp. We had a really nice day. We went up to Camp 1, also known as Moraine Camp, to do a carry. We climbed about 600 meters of elevation, some 2,000 feet. We dropped off the gear, set up camp, and we came down. We’re now relaxing here. It’s about 1:30 local time. And we’re going to have another awesome meal prepared by our own cook, Emilio. The plan for the remainder of the day is to rest, and we will do that tomorrow, as well – a rest day before we start moving up. That’s pretty much it for now. Kensie, Parker, Tony, and Pete are doing great, and we are psyched! That’s all for now. Elías speaking here. We’ll keep you posted on our next moves tomorrow. Hope everyone’s doing well back home.
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
Elias de Andres Martos called in from Moraine Camp.
Wishing you a great climb with views that define breath taking and air that feels good to breathe deeply. Hope you all continue to feeling good as ur elevation increases. And that your weather behaves nicely through out your ascent. Happy for each step that brings you closer to the summit. And then again back down. Stay safe!
Hey gang!
Billy and Jake here checking in from the beautiful but dusty Aconcagua basecamp. Our crew rolled in today; climbing strong and feeling great. On our way up today we bumped into the other descending RMI crew and it was good to see some familiar (if not famous) faces. Our walk in from the road has been a long and hot one but the team is in great spirits nonetheless. Tomorrow's plans call for a well deserved rest day.
Everyone on the team would like to send their love to friends and family!
After waiting for the weather to clear for a few hours, we completed our climbing school. With spirits high and a clearing trend in the forecast, we decided to go for a sunset climb. We were rewarded with stunning views of the north cascades and evening light over the Pacific Ocean. All climbers reached the summit climbing in great style. We arrived back at camp just before midnight and got in bed.
This morning we sipped coffee and enjoyed the views before breaking down camp and heading downhill.
Today we woke to perfect weather for our move to 17,000 Camp. The team did well repeating the fix lines and made solid work on the Buttress. The views are spectacular being on the Buttress.There is exposure on both sides and mountains all over. It really is the best part of the mountain. We once again setup camp and got cozy. It's a bit colder up here but it's a cool place to be. Freeze dried dinners filled our empty bellies. And soon we got settled into our tents. It's gonna be a chilly night but that's what we signed up for. Enjoy your warm beds at home.
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
So glad to hear everyone made it.
Great job Team.
Looking forward to seeing you back home.
Daddy
Posted by: Roger Osmun on 12/19/2014 at 4:01 pm
Congrats….great photos and blog. And hugs to Jared from Maine.
Posted by: Crystal on 12/18/2014 at 4:51 pm
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