With our departure from Aconcagua Basecamp imminent, the group took full advantage of the amenities today, ordering pizzas for lunch, taking showers, and sipping coca colas. Cards came out and heated games ensued. A few folks headed back down the trail to take photos and stretch their legs, but ironically, the blue sky turned dark gray and a short but intense hail storm chased everyone back to cover. We enjoyed our last base camp dinner for a little while, with several people heading back for seconds on lasagna. As dinner wrapped up, we stepped outside to another gorgeous pink sunset, but today the shadow of Aconcagua imprinted itself on the sky as well. We're heading to bed ready and excited for the move to Camp 1 and the continuation towards our goal that it signals.
We'll be in touch,
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, Alex Barber, Juan, and team
Best of luck and fair skies to everyone on the team, with a shout out to my good friend Kevin Stitely. Tag one for the Slingers Kevin. We are following your progress from here where all is well. Have fun and be safe. We leave for Mexico on Friday. 83 in Puerto Vallarta. Just sayin….....Big D
Posted by: Dick Greenbaum on 1/27/2015 at 5:22 pm
Let the adventure continue! Hope the climb to Camp 1 went well and you are all safe and sound. The kids are enjoying the daily blog updates and taking them into their 5th grade classes at Nativity Elementary in Fargo ND- so you have 50+ 11 year olds cheering you all on every day! All my love to Lee - so proud of you each and every day!
Team 1 is back!!! Thanks to Steve's genius technology skills. The team is resting today at Camp 2 which is at 18,000 feet. Everyone is doing great! As a matter if fact, I can't remember another team that was on equal level in terms of strength. If all goes well we should have a fantastic summit day. We are shooting for the summit on the 28th so keep your fingers crossed!
RMI Guide JJ Justman
Well, after a rest day yesterday with crappy weather we awoke this morning to blue skies and very little wind for our carry up to camp 2. The team climbed strongly and it seems after our move uphill tomorrow we should be in a good position to launch our assault on the upper mountain!
Hopefully this high pressure will hold.
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!
Same weather. Snow and low cloud. Nobody went anywhere. But there is hope that the weather will improve tomorrow and that we’ll fly to South America.
We had a big brunch at 11 AM and a Christmas procession involving vehicles, costumes, dancing and hot wine. Then it was lectures and reading and napping as usual. Dinner was special. None of us expected to be in Antarctica for Christmas... all of us are, as it turns out. So we made the most of it. A great dinner with friends. And then a suspense filled game of trivia in which our sturdy Vinson team took second place out of six teams.
By night time, it was still snowing, but ever so lightly and the clouds were lifting. Things may indeed start happening tomorrow.
Merry Christmas to all at home and we’ll see you soon.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Merry Christmas to you all! It wasn’t the same without you but things happen for a reason. Maybe, for example, it was to form bonds that will never be broken. In any case, the welcome home will have that much more joy. Here’s to getting off the ground tomorrow.
July 2, 2017 6:32 pm PST
Hey, this is Dave Hahn, guiding the last RMI Denali trip for 2017. We're on the summit. We are up top on a beautiful day. Everybody's climbing strong. There are ten out of our original twelve, and we're quite proud of ourselves and feeling very lucky. It's a beautiful day, and we're going to climb safe and strong back down to High Camp and then give you a dispatch to let you know we got there safe. Thanks for following.
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Namaste from Camp 1! A gelid evening is already in place here at 6,500m, but the warmth of our bags, the water boiled in the vestibule of the guides' tent, and camaraderie around, are definitely bringing up the adventure temperature.
We had a long day climbing to here, as crossing the penitentes field is no joke; a super involved section that gains you no elevation but puts your endurance to the test. But we made it and now is time to go to bed, all while contemplating the summit, and in closer proximity, the location of Camp 2. "Suva Rattri"!!!
RMI Guide Elías de Andres Martos and Team
Seeing the Harvest moon last night and again early this morning, I could not help but think what it must like for you all to see the sky at night. I am jealous, for sure. Save travels.
Posted by: Betty (Art's sister) on 9/17/2016 at 5:17 am
Seeing the beautiful Harvest moon last night and again early this morning, I could not help but think of what it must be like for you all to see the sky at night. I am jealous, for sure. Safe travels.
Posted by: Betty (Art's sister) on 9/17/2016 at 5:15 am
The Mount Rainier summit climb teams, led by RMI Guides Eric Frank and Zeb Blais, were unable to summit this morning and turned on the Disappointment Cleaver. Although the weather was clear, calm, and cold, the avalanche danger and new snow kept the team from continuing their summit bid. Both teams are safely back at Camp Muir and are planning a 9:00 a.m. departure to begin their descent to Paradise.
We had a very nice morning at La Malinche. We were well fed and watered for the couple hour commute to Ixtaccihuatl, also known as "The Sleeping Woman" volcano. A stop on the way at the Italian coffeehouse.. in Mexico, then onto the rural town of Amecameca located at the base of the mountain. We picked up some fresh food and now just above 12,000 feet at the Altzomoni Hut. Lots of going over gear and more training till the wind and rain came in strong. A big dinner with my California-style guacamole that received a thumbs up from the local staff. Team still needs to catch up on some missed sleep so off to bed for us.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
The Mount Rainier Summit Climb team led by JJ Justman topped out on Columbia Crest at about 7:30 this morning. JJ reported great weather and light winds of about 15 – 20 mph. After spending some time on the summit, the team began their descent about 8:20 a.m.
Congratulations summit team!
Best of luck and fair skies to everyone on the team, with a shout out to my good friend Kevin Stitely. Tag one for the Slingers Kevin. We are following your progress from here where all is well. Have fun and be safe. We leave for Mexico on Friday. 83 in Puerto Vallarta. Just sayin….....Big D
Posted by: Dick Greenbaum on 1/27/2015 at 5:22 pm
Let the adventure continue! Hope the climb to Camp 1 went well and you are all safe and sound. The kids are enjoying the daily blog updates and taking them into their 5th grade classes at Nativity Elementary in Fargo ND- so you have 50+ 11 year olds cheering you all on every day! All my love to Lee - so proud of you each and every day!
Posted by: Di Hoedl on 1/27/2015 at 7:28 am
View All Comments