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Today was another rest day at
Aconcagua Basecamp and we could not have picked a better day! The wind is howling, the sky is obsolete shrouded in clouds. But! And it's a big But! The team is doing great! We are sleeping, reading, eating quesadillas and simply enjoying being in the mountains. After all, isn't that what it's all about?!!
RMI Guide JJ Justman
Rest: A period of time when you relax, sleep, or do nothing after being active.
Although this sounds nice, it's not all sunshine and rainbows doing nothing at almost 14,000 feet. Fortunately for us, we did get to sleep in this morning, but we also got to go on a short climb along the first leg of our route to Camp 1. Active rest days are important. We take the time we need to rest our bodies and our minds, but it helps a lot to also keep those muscles busy with small activities. Mindfully, we also packed our large backpacks for our first big carry day tomorrow. It may be heavy, but we're feeling ready. We are excited to start our second half of the trip: the climb.
Per request, a huge congratulations to Daniel and Sydney on the new baby!
RMI Guides Ben Luedtke, Hannah Blum, & Team
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Aconcagua Expedition January 31, 2025
The Four Day Climb led by RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier reached the summit of Mt. Rainer early this morning. The team climbed above the heavy marine layer, and Dustin reported clear skies and calm winds. It took the team 6 hours and 35 minutes to reach the summit from Camp Muir, and they are now on the descent.
Congratulations Team!
Thursday, May 23, 2019 9:31 am PT
We had a good, long day of climbing on the West Buttress yesterday, pushing all the way the
17,200' camp with our cache.
The day started early and cold as we fired up our stoves hours before the sun was on our tents. After an efficient breakfast of granola and hot drinks, we prepared for our day of climbing. Except the mountain had different plans for our early start: a lenticular cloud cap had formed, indicating high winds. Plumes of blowing snow were visible from the summit down to the top of the fixed ropes (16,200'). So we pumped the breaks, stayed warm in our tents, and watched the weather unfold. Finally the winds seemed to abate and we left camp at 10:15. We encountered good climbing conditions and perfectly cool temperatures as we ascended out of camp and then up the fixed ropes. The lower part of the West Buttress was equally enjoyable. Once we topped Washburn's Thumb, around 17,000' we were met with 15-20 mph winds. Those wind speeds are generally not that alarming for mountain climbers, but at this altitude and the cold temps of
Denali it made the climbing cold and more challenging.
Six hours after leaving camp we arrived at the 17,200' camp where we spent and hour and a half digging a cache hole, sorting gear, and breathing the rare air of altitude. The descent back to camp took us three hours, so vestibule to vestibule we had a 10 1/2 hour day--good training for summit day!
Today we are resting and I am about to fire the stoves for breakfast--this time a more leisurely affair with smoked salmon and cream cheese on toasted bagels, a true luxury at 14,200' on Denali.
The weather forecast is calling for a strong storm through the weekend. We'll watch how that develops, and hopefully get a weather window for an unmitigated bid early next week. But for now we will rest and fortify camp in anticipation of the weekend's storm.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
On The Map
May 13, 2017 - 8:21 pm PT
We woke up this morning when the cold bites the hardest and wasted little time making hot water for cereal and tea. Today we went to venture up the
Kahiltna Dome ridge with good weather on our side. The work we did yesterday breaking trail was worth it as we made quick work of the steep slope. Once atop the ridge the sun made its appearance coming from behind the west buttress and warming our bones. We began walking the ridge crest in deep snow and quickly found the maze of cracks shooting across. Progress was slow climbing with an axe in one hand and a probe in the other. The deep snow and one too many crevasse falls stopped us and so we headed down to camp but not before enjoying the sunrise from our 11,000' perch. Now the snow has started and we plan to make the long walk to base camp in the early Alaska twilight.
RMI Guide Leon Davis
Greetings from
Alpamayo Base Camp! Pretty uneventful day... aside from an incredible hike through beautiful country, fueled by outstanding food from our cook and blessed by perfect weather. Yes it was an uneventful day on the mountains today.
Quite a few teams are populating BC, some going, some going down. We're planning on doing a carry up to C1 in the morning, and take it from there. Time to go to bed now,
RMI Guide Elías de Andres Martos and team
The
Four Day Summit Climb teams led by
RMI Guides Mike Walter and Mike King were unable to reach the summit of Mt. Rainier today. Last night the teams left from Camp Muir but decided to turn back at Cathedral Gap due to high winds. The teams returned to Camp Muir and will begin their descent to Paradise around 8:30 am
The Expedition Skills Seminar – Muir led by RMI Guides
Seth Waterfall and
Mike King reached the crater rim of Mt. Rainier around 7 am PDT. Seth reported crystal clear skies and light wind. From the summit the teams can see down to 6,000’ where the cloud deck begins. The teams will spend a little time on the summit before beginning their descent back to
Camp Muir for their final night on the mountain. We look forward to seeing them in Ashford tomorrow afternoon.
Congratulations climbers!
The Four Day
Summit Climb teams led by RMI Guides Brent Okita and Billy Nugent reached the summit of Mt. Rainier early this morning. Brent reported a gorgeous day with clear skies and winds 25-30 mph on the summit but 15 - 20 mph throughout the climb. The teams began their descent from the crater rim around 7 am and will return to Cam Muir before continuing down to Paradise.
The
Expeditions Skills Seminar - Kautz led by Jake Beren also reached the summit this morning. At 8:30 am they began their descent and will return to their camp where they will spend another night on the mountain.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
Another day of hiking under blue skies has finally brought us into Aconcagua Base Camp. A 5 am wakeup ensured that our crossing of the Vacas River was during low flow, long before the heat of the day accelerated snowmelt. Unfortunately, such an early crossing makes for some seriously numb feet! After fording the river we began our ascent up the Relinchos Valley, 3,000 vertical feet later we rolled into Plaza Argentina. And after a nap and a fat spaghetti dinner, we're ready for a well-deserved rest day tomorrow.
Until then, ciao ciao bacalao!
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Best of luck to the team, especially to Debbie!
Posted by: Barbara Schwarz on 12/22/2014 at 7:53 am
Let your mind have the dream it desires and let your body have the peace it deserves.
Posted by: Chris on 12/21/2014 at 10:17 pm
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