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Hello to those following our Ecuador climbing adventure.
I will begin by saying we did not summit Cayambe yesterday because of difficult route conditions. The morning started as most climb mornings do. An eleven pm wake up call, a bathroom visit the body doesn't ask for, hot liquid, cold bread and and the ever present feeling of "why the heck am I doing this?"
The weather outside was clear and the temps warm. As we ascended the clouds rolled in giving us light snow and a wet mist.
As we got higher the temps dropped and the snow became more difficult to walk in. The wind was blowing 10 mph and a light snow was falling. With only 400 feet to climb before gaining the summit ridge we turned around because of deep post holing and deteriorating weather.
The team was disappointed but understood the reason.
After the climb we regrouped, packed up and loaded the trucks ready to bounce our way back to civilization. The road to and from the Cayambe Refugio is the roughest I've ever been on. Usually a great way to start and end the adventure of climbing the highest point on the Equator.
Once the adventure ended we met our bus at a gas station where we loaded up on post climb necessities such as Pringles, coke and ice cream. This held us over until dinner.
Five hours after leaving the mountain we arrived at our hacienda called, Chilcabamba, tucked quietly away in the beautiful countryside under the shadow of Cotopaxi.
After a well deserved shower, beer and honest night's sleep, we awoke to appreciate this lodge's full beauty. Although we couldn't see the mountain, the surroundings offered enough to observe. Hummingbirds floated outside the windows and flowered trees waived in the wind.
The rest of today will be spent resting, drying gear and preparing for the climb to come. There is nothing better than a full day's rest after an exhausting day in the mountains.
Stay tuned for more mountain climbing.
RMI Guide Adam Knoff saying Buenas noches from Chilcabamba.
Posted by: Mike Haugen, Pepper Dee, Gloria Roe
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,200'
June 24, 2017 10:36 pm PST
And today we rested. After our big move day yesterday we felt we deserved a day of kicking back and recovering. We made a point of emerging from our tents no earlier than 10 am and got the day started out right by consuming a mountain of pancakes. Kudos to Caleb for consuming the largest pancake of the morning! By 1 pm we were wrapping up the pancake party and as you may imagine, that long of a breakfast can really take it out of you .... So we rested a bit more. Once we felt we had properly digested we reviewed fixed line travel and running belays in preparation for our carry tomorrow. After practice for a few hours it was nearly time for dinner! Funny how time flies on a rest day. We had an early dinner of gourmet Ramen and before the sun could go down on us and give way to the chill of 14 Camp we headed to bed. Tomorrow we have our first go at the fixed lines!
Goodnight from 14!
Hasta Manana
RMI Guide Mike Haugen
Mother Nature has been on your side. Good luck Marc, Tucker and team. Brenda
Posted by: Brenda on 6/29/2017 at 8:36 am
Cumbre! Today we successfully summited Cayambe, our first big objective of this seminar.
We woke up this morning (last night?) at 11PM and were greeted with the closest thing to ideal climbing conditions: clear skies, no wind, and cool temperatures. Whatever sacrifices were made to the weather gods last night clearly worked out for us!
After a quick breakfast in the hut, we geared up, turned on the headlamps, and began our long day of climbing. We started our climb with about an hour of scrambling over rocky terrain, making our way to the toe of the glacier. Once there, we donned our crampons, ice axes and climbing ropes to begin the technical climbing. Unlike most mountaineering routes in the United States that utilize many switchbacks to ease the pain of ascending steep slopes, the route on Cayambe is fairly direct, cutting straight up "the gut" of the slopes. You gain altitude quicker, but the climbing is bit more strenuous.
Our team persevered, however, and as we neared the summit ridge, we were ready to tackle the crux of this climb: a steep, exposed traverse through a maze of seracs and crevasses. Although the traverse is relatively short, gaining roughly 200 feet of vertical elevation, managing that type of terrain at 18,800' above sea level is never easy. This team handled it in good style, though, and we gained the summit ridge just after sunrise this morning, giving us stunning views of Antisana, Cotopaxi, and Chimborazo as we walked the final 15 minutes along the ridge to the summit of Cayambe.
We successfully made our way down, and we are now relaxing at the oldest hacienda in Ecuador, giving our bodies a chance to recover as we prepare to move tomorrow to the base camp of Antisana, our second objective of this trip. I'm sure the entire team is looking forward to a good night's sleep tonight!
Until tomorrow,
RMI Guides Nick Hunt and Steve Gately, and the rest of the Ecuador team
On The Map
I am ecstatic to read this news this morning! Congrats to everyone, and sincere thank yo to the weather gods!
Posted by: Denise reynolds on 1/31/2017 at 8:20 am
Nice work ! Congrats Nick and team !
Posted by: Jim Nixon on 1/30/2017 at 8:26 pm
Posted by: Casey Grom, Leon Davis
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Ecuador
Hola from Ecuador!
Today the team left the busy city of Quito and headed north to the much smaller and far more rural town of Otavalo. We were hoping to do a acclimatization hike on a small mountain called Fuya Fuya, but due to a little rain, thunder and lightning, we opted for a little acclimatization while eating pizza! And based on what happened to all the pizza, it was a huge success.
It was an enjoyable drive along the Pan-American highway through the Ecuadorian countryside. We passed many farms magically perched on hillsides and what seemed to be endless rose plantations. We spent the remainder of the afternoon playing cards, reading, taking naps and a review of all the gear we'll need for our upcoming climb. We are currently relaxing in the comfort of La Casa Sol.
Everyone is doing great and looking forward to tomorrow's adventure.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew.
Go Team! Wishing all a safe and successful climb.
Go Doug- be safe and climb with grace…is that all you’ve got!:)
Love, Belladonna
Posted by: Donna on 12/14/2014 at 8:25 am
Hey team, I hope you had a wonderful day. Send us updates when you can. Go Dale!!
Love, Erin
Posted by: Erin C on 12/13/2014 at 11:00 pm
RMI Guide Jake Beren checked in from their 6,400' camp on Mt. Shuksan where they stayed last night. The team is planning to do some training today and spend another night at their current camp. They will be making their summit attempt tomorrow morning via the Sulphide Glacier.
Have a grand summit adventure, Sarah et al!
Posted by: Maggie on 8/4/2014 at 9:47 pm
I am very excited for all of you, I wish I could be up there to enjoy the beauty of the mountains. Congratulation and have the best day tomorrow. Best wishes Tom from your friend, Nikki
Posted by: Nikki P. on 8/4/2014 at 1:39 pm
Good evening!
We're writing from our hotel in Cuzco after a full day of visits along the Sacred Valley of the Incas. With the city of Ollantaytambo as the pinnacle of the day, we also had the time to pet the llamas and alpacas of a South American Cammel's zoo we visited. The walking we did among the different Inca ruins we visited along the Urubamba river, between elevations of 9,000 and 12,000 ft, continued to help us acclimate to the altitude.
Tomorrow, an early departure (4am) will bring us to the trail head to start our trek towards Machu Picchu... a week filled with great trail hiking awaits!
Our next post will be from the trails.
Best regards,
RMI Guide Elías and the team
The RMI Mount Elbrus Southside team departed Moscow. We jumped on a plane and wound up in the ski town of Cheget. Let the climb begin!
Check out the video below.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
On The Map
Mike have a good time & have fun Poppy
Posted by: Bruce Archer on 7/8/2014 at 6:56 am
Live the Rocky like film! Peter and friends - Good luck on your ascent! Looks like quite a challenge, which is what you all want! Have fun, too.
Posted by: Diana Olney on 7/8/2014 at 5:38 am
Posted by: Solveig Waterfall, Mike Walter, Steve Gately
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mt. McKinley
Elevation: 14,000'
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It's a bit colder up here at 14,000' than it was at 11K Camp this morning, but we are all excited to be moving uphill again and enjoying new surroundings. We left a an hour earlier than our usual time in anticipation of the extensive work of building a solid camp once we arrived at our destination.
It took us just over five hours to get here, and as is normal this time of the season, there were no established camps that had been vacated and available for us to move into. Everyone fueled up and we spent the next four and a half hours building tent platforms and cutting and stacking blocks of snow to build walls and protect us from the wind.
It's been breezy and snowing on and off throughout the day, and after a quick dinner of potatoes, gravy, and Hormel Retorts, we have all jumped into the warmth and shelter of our nylon chateaus. Tomorrow we plan to return to our cache at Windy Corner and retrieve our additional food, gas, and personal snacks. Everyone is excited about this!
All the best from RMI Guides Solveig, Mike, Steve and the team here at 14K!
On The Map
Steve and Team,
Glad to hear all is well.
Sounds like lots if work to build each camp. Too bad you have to leave them behind!
Meghan had a great graduation yesterday. We all missed you.
Hike well and be safe.
Dad
Posted by: Bill Gately on 5/17/2014 at 3:25 am
This is Dave Hahn checking in from the familiar surroundings of Advance Base Camp at 14,000'. Life is good here, but we're not so sure that's the case at 17,000'. A cloud cap formed over the summit of Denali this morning, indicating high wind and changing weather conditions. Sometimes a cap will blow off, followed by settled weather. On the other hand, it may be a harbinger of worsening weather. At any rate, we're sitting tight for the moment, watching and waiting. We'll keep you posted.
The sun hit our tents just after 7 AM and we got out fast for our carry to high camp. There was a distinct change in the weather as we saw a wind sculpted cloud cap hovering above the mountain's summit for much of the day. We were walking by 8:30 AM in any case, fully prepared for big winds to begin... but they never really did. It was novel to have the trail to ourselves as most other groups seemed to be on a slightly later schedule. As usual, our production teams were leapfrogging and ambushing all the way, but we made fine time anyway. The goal was to carry gear and food to our intended high camp, but also to get in a day of exercise at altitude... mission accomplished. Along the way, we enjoyed views of a few other Andean giants and some new valleys below. The sky grew progressively more cloudy, but we retained our great views of Aconcagua's formidable summit pyramid. We'd reached 19,200 ft by mid-day and all seemed reasonably comfortable with the altitude. It didn't take long to cache the gear and head back down the crushed lava and pumice trail to low camp where we relaxed through an easy afternoon in the tents. Resting up for our big move tomorrow... weather permitting.
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This post is misleading — factually accurate but not the full story. It was not just “difficult route conditions” that prevented the team from summitting. A three-person rope team (one guide, two clients) fell into a crevasse near the summit of Cayambe as the result of an avalanche after the team was trail breaking on a steep slope. Thanks to the skill and professionalism of RMI and local guides, the injured climber safely made it to the hut for further evaluation.
Either post the full story or suspend posting after accidents. RMI otherwise runs outstanding expeditions and the guides are fantastic, but fluffy posts hurt the blog’s credibility and disrespect those involved.
Posted by: CS on 1/25/2018 at 9:39 am
Praying the weather gods give you a second summit as beautiful as you had before!
Posted by: Jane on 1/21/2018 at 5:38 am
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