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It was a sunny day, but the sun took its sweet time getting to us. It was about 10:30 before it made its way around the mountain to give us a little heat. We stayed patiently in our sleeping bags until then because it was mighty cold in the shadows. There was a little wind jetting off the ridge that
High Camp sits on, and as we ate our brunch, that wind seemed to be swirling a little onto the fixed ropes. We set out on a carry at 1:50 while keeping an eye out for changing weather. It was nice to be going out with an ice axe in hand and crampons underfoot -like climbing again- after a couple of days of "snow slogging". We spent a few minutes reviewing techniques for steep climbing before hopping on the fixed ropes. It was a hard couple of hours pushing up the firm and continuously steep snow. Luckily the wind held off on the main part of the climb, but it was obviously still gusting hard at the top of the lines. So we quit a little before the top -at perhaps 11,200 ft- and cached food and supplies. Then it was down the ropes and back into Low Camp by 8 PM.
A filling and hot dinner and it was time for bed. Rest day is in order for tomorrow.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
May 25, 2016 - 8:59 p.m. PDT
Hello from Talkeetna! Today was spent sorting through our gear in the K2 Aviation airplane hangar. We're all getting to know each other and we're beginning to feel like a team. The luggage is lined up and we're hoping for nice weather to
fly into base camp in the morning. In the meantime, we'll fill our stomachs and stay hydrated for the days ahead.
RMI Guide Tyler Jones and team
Today we carried half of our gear to the top of Windy Corner. True to it’s name, it was definitely windy. It was great to see the upper part of the mountain though and everyone did great on the carry. It’s definitely a different feeling as one moves up from the camp at 11,200 feet. Below there you feel as if you’re walking amongst mountains; above you feel like you’re really on Denali.
Conditions are really working out in our favor. The snow is great for walking and other than some wind up high the weather is very good.
On The Map
Namaste - we made it to Kathmandu!
The Lobuche climbing team has all arrived in country. We hit the ground running today with our first team meeting followed by a round of gear checks.
Before we knew it, it was time to head out to experience the sights and sounds of Kathmandu. We loaded the van and were propelled by the honks, horns and beeps from the cars and bikes around us as we made our way to the Boudhanath - our first of two UNESCO world heritage sites we visited.
We strolled around the gleaming white dome and visited an ancient silk Thangka painting school where we learned more about this vital part of the Tibetan Buddhist culture and took in the detailed and vivid paintings.
Next thing we knew, we were at Swayambhu also affectionately known as the “monkey temple”. We reveled in the views over the city and snapped wayyyy too many photos and videos of monkeys being cute as heck. Don’t worry! We kept the proper distance and no phones, water bottles or snacks were snatched by the smart little guys.
The jet leg started to hit about then so we headed to Thamel - a vibrant area of town full of shops, restaurants, trinkets and treasures galore. We powered through an early dinner, picked up some last minute gear and headed back to the hotel.
We’re all doing some final packing before we fly to Lukla early tomorrow morning. Cross your fingers for good weather!
RMI Guide Jess Wedel
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Everest Base Camp Trek & Lobuche, March 16, 2024
Hello? Can anybody hear me? Maybe not, but hopefully, you are willing to read this out loud. Our climbers are counting on YOU to keep eyes and ears on our adventure as we attempt to climb the Stone Sentinel, AKA Cerro Aconcagua, here in Argentina. But don't stress, we haven't started our walkabout just yet.
Today was a day of preparations. Pack your duffle, unpack your duffle, eat some food, drink some wine, go grocery shopping, and pack your duffels again. As we complete these final preparations, we are getting more and more excited to be part of this journey and see what the mountainside really has to offer. We know it will be fun, and we know it will be challenging, and we're gonna look good doing it.
Cheers to Mendoza for being such a gracious host, but tomorrow, the real reasons we are here begin. Climbing Aconcagua begins with a three day trek to Basecamp at Plaza Argentina, so gather your loved ones for some upcoming and intense storytelling. We look forward to starting the trip and sharing it with you all every step of the way (all puns intended).
Until tomorrow, Buenas Noches.
RMI Guides Ben and Hannah & Team
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Aconcagua Expedition January 31, 2025
Jambo everyone,
Today we visited the famous
Ngorongoro Crater. The crater is roughly 100 square miles and is known for its abundance of animals that call the crater home.
We hit the road early with hopes of catching a few of the big cats before the heat of the day.
There were many sightings today of hyenas, jackles, ostrich, and countless other birds. We didn’t manage to see too many Lions, but did get to see 3 Leopards while driving in and out of the crater, which was certainly a highlight.
We saw several Black Rhinos which have become very rare do to poaching, however, they were only viewable through binoculars.
We wrapped up the day with a visit to a Maasai village not far from the craters rim. The Maasai people are a semi-nomadic tribe that exist almost entirely off of their cattle. The team spent time asking questions and enjoyed being shown around their small and simple village.
We have just finished another wonderful meal here at the Plantation Lodge
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
Today we're having a rest day in the town of Pucon with an afternoon trip to the Termas (hot springs). Tomorrow we set out for two days on
Volcan Lanin, our final objective of the trip. We'll keep you posted on how things go the next couple of day but for now, it's time to rest.
RMI Guide Tyler Reid
Hello again everyone!
Today the team left behind the hustle and bustle of Quito and headed just north of the Equator to the comfortable and quite rural countryside. Once outside the city the landscape quickly turns into rolling farm land with farms pitched on steep slopes and isolated eucalyptus forest. Along the way we stopped by a smaller mountain called
Fuya Fuya where we stretched our legs on a acclimatization hike. Normally we like to reach the top of this mountain but cloudy skies and the occasional rain kept us off the steep and slippery upper slopes.
We are just on the outskirts of a town call Otavalo, which is known for its massive market and we are relaxing at a wonderful Hacienda called "La Casa Sol". The team is doing great and looking forward to a nice quiet night here.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
On The Map
The snow has stopped and the storm has passed. We ended up getting 3-4 feet of snow. Today was beautiful with plenty of sunshine and light winds here at 11,200' Camp. We decided to take another rest day today to let the snow settle and reduce the avalanche hazard. We spent the day drying our gear and getting ready for our cache tomorrow. Tomorrow (weather permitting) we will carry supplies up around
Windy Corner and make a cache at around 13,700'. Or at least that's the plan. We'll keep you posted.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
Yesterday we awoke to a crisp morning, with a blanket of fresh snow up high. Enough snow to stop our van in its tracks on the approach road to
Lonquimay, but we didn't mind the extra skinning. The weather was a bit stormy the top 2,000' of the mountain, so we decided to save the summit for the next day. We still got to ski a couple long, very fun laps above massive lava fields, and later our crew went for a pre-dinner soak at the local thermas.
Today we had perfect Southern Hemisphere spring weather and were able to ski from the summit. We skinned up to about 8,500', where we transitioned to boot crampons and threw our skis on our backs. Another 900' of methodical climbing and we were on top.
The big news however is that Sergio, our host here in Malalcahuello, is cooking his famous Chilean asado for us tonight - something I look forward to every year.
All is great with us.
RMI Guide Tyler Reid & the Chile Ski Team
Good luck for the summit Bob!
Hope to see more great pics from there. Quite a contrast to the 100 degree heat in Portland now.
Posted by: Dede and Andrew Vetterlein on 6/5/2016 at 9:13 am
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