Friday, May 24, 2019 11:03 PM PT
There is nothing better than starting your day with a pancake bigger than your face and your morning commute on an otter plane. The clouds stayed at bay and we were able to fly on to the Kahiltna Glacier. The views are mesmerizing. Words cant explain how beautiful it all is. We gathered are things from the plane, said goodbye to our pilots, and settled into camp. Excitement continues to grow for what is to come in the next week. But for now we are snuggled into out tents ready to catch some Z's.
Talk to you all tomorrow,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team
January 26, 2019 - 11:09 am PT
Polar opposite weather for the summit team’s return to Colera. At this point yesterday we were in a ground blizzard and wondering if we’d get an opportunity to climb. The guides got up at 1:00 am to see clear skies but strong wind. We wouldn’t start then anyway, too cold. At 3:00 the skies were still clear and the winds had calmed. We set off from Camp with a mix of snow and scree. The forecasted 30 mph winds out of the west were present and account for the entire climb.
The route switchbacks for a while and then you arrive at the defunct storm shelter, Independencia Hut at 21,000’. From the hut, the climb ascends a moderate snow slope and then transitions into a long ascending traverse. We had about 60% frozen scree and 40% snow. After feeling like you’ve walked forever without gaining much ground the climbers arrive at “the cave”, it’s not a cave. From the cave the climb is a steep ribbon of winter snow in a feature called the Candeleta. After crossover stepping for what seems like enough time for someone to recite an epic poem you hit the Guanacos Ridge. This ridge goes up, down and never flat; however, towards the end you get a spectacular view of the South face of Aconcagua. Just 10-15 minutes more and your standing on top of the highest mountain outside of the Himalayas.
We are back in camp and will begin the process of heading to Mendoza tomorrow morning. Starting with a down carry of our gear and remaining food to Plaza Argentina. From base camp, mules take our equipment to Penitentes while we stop for one last Argentine asado (Cookout) at Pampa Las Lenas. The following morning after a night of meatmares and red wine to celebrate, we will return to Mendoza for a wine tour or some much needed pool time. Thanks for following along!
RMI Guide Mike KingJanuary 26, 2019 - 7:25 am PT
This is Mike, we reached the summit of Aconcagua just a few minutes ago. The storm blew out around midnight and we hit the trail at 3:45am. I’ll write more once we are back in camp safely, we have a long descent ahead of us.
RMI Guide Mike King
Namaste from Kathmandu,
Everyone arrived on time, bags made it no problem... and jet lag, as expected, kicked in early. We met at our hotel, Yak & Yeti, and headed out for lunch and coffee, as the first activity as a team. It was funny to see how we all were craving bed shortly after, as the massive time difference started to trigger a need for sleep at an awkward local time.
With not much else to report, we're scheduled to have a good day tomorrow of touring some of the city's historical landmarks, and of course, getting excited to start our mountainous journey.
That's all for now, the adventure begins!
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
Thursday, June 7, 2018 - 2:21 PM PT
We awoke to a little bit of new snow at Illimani Base Camp, which further reinforced our decision to make our high point yesterday. We quickly packed our gear and headed out to our land cruisers in which an adventure ensued. Driving around the high country side we enjoyed splendid views as well as picking up dinner from road side vegetable farmers. Ultimately we find ourselves camping at a low elevation of 8000’ on the side of river at a retired police officers house. Surrounded by tropical fruit trees we’re looking forward to having a fire, sipping on some beers and reminiscing about the last two weeks!
RMI Guide Eric Frank
Great Job and congrats to team Eric and Andy
Enjoy your beautiful night in Bolivia
Safe trip home to all
Stephen and Julie - love to you both
Hope to see you soon
Posted by: Tina and John Zabinski on 6/7/2018 at 6:33 pm
Sounds like a perfect way to end the trip! Hope you all have safe travels home.
Dani
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.
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!
Good evening!
We're on the move to Camp 1, spending the night at Depot Camp at the moment. It is hard to describe how small we feel, at the feet of this colossal peak, within a stone throw of its northwest glacier, flanked by huge penitentes of disproportionate dimensions, which we'll have to cross tomorrow. The winds stopped shortly after dinner, and the plumes from the summit disappeared, allowing us to get a glimpse of the top, right before we crawled into our sleeping bags.
Two of our Sherpa just came by, descending from setting up Camp 1 and reporting good snow conditions, while the other three will remain there for the night, hoping to reach Camp 2 tomorrow while we climb to Camp 1. The plan is to all sleep together at 1, and descend to Base Camp the following day. As you can imagine, with this first rotation, we're all in "game on" mode, and the anticipation is getting us semi-ecstatic.
More tomorrow from Camp 1,
RMI Guide Elías de Andres Martos and the Shishapangma crew
Thursday, July 2, 2015 - 3:15 pm PT
RMI Guide Mike King called the RMI Office from high camp at 17,200 ft on Mt. McKinley. The team spend a snowy and windy night at camp last night. Today they spent the day resting and drying their gear. The team has received the forecast for tomorrow and are hoping the weather will allow them to make a summit attempt. If the weather permits, they will be heading up hill.
We wish the team luck!
The team spent Thanksgiving Day at 7,000 ft above sea level on the Branscomb Glacier. "VBC" at the foot of Mount Vinson. Most took it on faith that Vinson was towering over us, since we couldn't see it, or much of anything today. We were clagged in with cloud and light snow throughout the day. All were thankful to have come so far yesterday, via buses, two exotic airplanes, and a big wheeled van at Union Glacier. The team would have been even more grateful if JJ Justman had been able to fly into VBC with us. He was scheduled for the next flight, due to lack of space on our ski-equipped Twin Otter, but that next flight didn't go when the weather deteriorated. We muddled on without him today, reviewing some safety procedures with climbing harnesses and Avalanche beacons, and generally getting set for glacier travel. It was quite cold for most of the day, with many of the team choosing to wear the big puffy down garments brought more specifically for the summit. We enjoyed a visit and briefing given by David Hamilton, ALE's basecamp manager. In late afternoon, our gang took a little time to rest and to consider how all the football games back home might be going. We then assembled on the snow benches of our dining tent for a five course meal.
Happy Thanksgiving to all those back home sitting on real furniture.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Hi Guys! Wish I was down there on the ice with you. Say hello to the ALE folks for me. Have a safe climb.
-Larry Seaton
Posted by: Larry Seaton on 11/28/2014 at 12:04 pm
Wishing Greg Barber and the RMI team a Happy Thanksgiving. It’s going to be cold here in Vancouver Greg, going down to -2C. Brrrrr…. Stay warm and safe buddy!
Up at 2:30 AM this morning to start the stoves and go for a climb. It had been a still and calm night until around midnight when a wind began, but it wasn't a very strong wind and we considered ourselves quite lucky as we set out around 4 AM under starry and clear skies. The team wore crampons from the outset as our "trail" was packed snow on a long traverse to a camp called "Black Rock" on the normal Aconcagua route. We have been climbing the "False Polish" route and this is where it joins the Routa Normal. Everybody was climbing well, the production teams got their sunrise shots (sunrise on the rest of the planet, we were in shadow) and we were making good progress. It seemed just a matter of time until the whole team stood on the summit, but as we reached 21,400 ft we saw the first signs of wind-driven clouds ripping from the summit ridge and the odd sheet of low cloud scudding over the summits far below us. We began the traverse to the Canaleta, the key gulley giving access to the summit ridge, but we were turned back by wind and cold. Peter made the decision to wait for sun in a sheltered spot at around 21,300 ft where the team could recharge and get ready for either a brutal push up into the wind or a quick descent should conditions deteriorate. Conditions worsened before our eyes as a cloud cap built and lowered on the mountain. The smart and easy call to head for high camp was made and we were easily in camp again by 9:15 AM. The snow started at around 10:30 AM and we climbed into our tents to rest and relax. Our hope, of course, is that today's foray, a record breaker in altitude terms for some of the team, will turn into the perfect rehearsal for our successful summit bid... maybe tomorrow. For now, we are safe and sound and warm... the winds seem to be calming and although it is still snowing, there is plenty of reason for optimism.
Today was a well-earned rest day, and the team made the most of it. After yesterday’s tough carry, a day to recharge was just what we needed. We kicked things off with a short walk to a local bouldering site around basecamp and stretched out our tired legs. The rest of the day was low-key and full of laughs as we hung out together, played cards, and got to know each other even better.
Of course, rest days aren’t just about relaxing. We also took care of some camp chores to set ourselves up for success tomorrow. Laundry being taken care of around camp, and gear was shuffled and repacked as we prepped for the move to Camp 1. After feeling the weight of yesterday’s packs, everyone was eager to pare down and lighten the load wherever possible.
The team is in great spirits and feeling ready to tackle tomorrow’s move. Rest, good company, and a bit of laughter really are the perfect combination to recharge after hard days on the mountain.
Happy to hear you made it to the glacier. We’re excited to hear what you learn.
Posted by: JShears on 5/25/2019 at 6:06 pm
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