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The RMI Aconcagua Team led by RMI Guides Billy Nugent and Katrina Bloemsma were unable to make a summit attempt and are en route to Mendoza. The team left Base Camp today and is camped at Pampa de Las Lenas where they will spend the night. They will finish their trek to the trail head tomorrow and return to Mendoza.
Everyone slept well last night; the effects of international travel are rapidly disappearing. We woke up this morning at Machame camp to fine weather. We left camp early this morning and experienced great route conditions on our 4.5 hour climb to
Shira Camp. A hot lunch greeted us once we arrived at camp, delicious! Now the team is resting and exploring our camp on the
Shira Plateau. At 12,000 plus feet on Kilimanjaro, there isn't too much in the way of plant life but there are incredible views of the Great Rift Valley and the summit of Kilimanjaro.
The team is in good shape and high spirits. We will keep you posted as we continue to progress up the mountain.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
On The Map
Hello from
Barranco Camp on Kilimanjaro.
We are set up in this beautiful valley with the Giant Senecia trees all around. The crew did great today on our 6.5 hour hike. The day started off cloudy, cold and windy after a little weather system moved in overnight. But by the time we reached our high point at 14,900' the wind was dying and the sun was out. The temperature crept up and up as we descended to camp and it is quite comfortable now. We will relax for the rest of the afternoon and evening and get fueled up for the Barranco Wall tomorrow.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
On The Map
Good evening all, the team is doing great. Today we carried up to
Moraine Camp, 16,300'. After a leisurely pancake breakfast, we packed our climbing gear under blue skies and started hiking around ten o'clock. Unfortunately high clouds rolled in and by mid morning, though this made for a less-impressive view, we were glad for the cooler temperatures as we made our way up the rocky slopes to Moraine Camp. Everyone did a great job with the moderate loads and the new altitude, 16,300 feet. After caching our gear we made our way back to Base Camp for lunch and a relaxing afternoon. Tomorrow we will sleep in and enjoy a full rest day.
Thanks for following along,
RMI Guide Geoff Schellens and the
Alpamayo team
Greetings!
We're ready for our next objective,
Nevado Urus. We all appreciated a rest day today, after yesterday's summit on Ishinca. We spent the day learning and practicing rappelling as well as fixed line ascension in the vicinity of base camp. We also had a thorough discussion regarding expedition planning. Now we're packing for tomorrow's alpine start, hoping to tackle Nevado Urus before the forecasted weather pattern hits - grapple to snow in the mid-afternoon. That's it for now!
Wish us luck tomorrow,
RMI Guide
Elías and team
I woke up to check the weather early this morning (last night, actually) and was pleased to see a clear sky full of stars. The problem was that it was so windy outside I could barely stand up. So, back into the hut I went to wait for the weather to improve.
Winds died down a bit (it's all relative) and we began to prepare to climb around 2:00 am. We were on the move by around 3:30 am. Everyone climbed very strong, despite fighting the wind to keep our balance. Clouds were interspersed with stars as we ascended. By the time we reached 17,500 ft. we had walked into a cloud cap with winds gusting into the 50 mph range with about 100 ft. of visibility. It was time to throw in the towel and start our descent. Everything went smoothly and soon we arrived at the climbers' hut.
We enjoyed a fun and challenging day of climbing, even though we came up a bit shy of the summit. Now we're headed for the
Papallacta Hot Springs where we'll get a good night's rest before heading out tomorrow on another climbing objective.
We'll keep you abreast of the latest.
RMI Guide Mike Walter
Saturday, May 30th 2:45 am PDT
Hello all! We have our gear and groceries moved up to
10,000 feet. Life is good out on the glacier for our team. Today the high pressure over the area made for very hot conditions in the low altitudes so we delayed our departure until the heat subsided late this afternoon. We are doing our best to save energy and avoid getting cooked like lobsters from the sun.
Our plan worked great and after a number of hours working our way to the cache site, we quickly dug a large hole to store our gear until after we move the camp up to 11,000 feet. On our descent we enjoyed fabulous evening light while carrying our sled like a turtle shell strapped on our backs. Hot soup and a meal warmed our souls as we settle in for the night.
Tomorrow evening if the hot and blue-bird weather continues, we will try to move up to our second camp and gain some acclimatization over the next few days. Stay tuned and we'll have a report when more progress has been made!
RMI Guide Tyler Jones
On The Map
Started today before sunrise with a 6:00 a.m. departure from the hotel. We drove along scenic roads high into the hills around Quito and were rewarded with beautiful views of the city and some of the surrounding volcanoes, including our future objectives: Cayambe and Cotopaxi! When the road ended and we reached the trailhead, we began hiking toward Rucu Pichincha. We walked through gorgeous grasslands and scrambled over rocks, moving in and out of the clouds all day. A few hours and a few thousand feet later, we reached the summit (15,407 ft). After a quick descent back into warmer weather, we arrived at the top of the TelefériQo just before some afternoon thunder. We waited out a brief storm while enjoying coffee in the restaurant before taking the gondola back into town. Most of the team spent some time at the spa, testing their mental fortitude in the cold plunge before dinner. Another great day enjoying Ecuador and acclimating to the altitude!
Thanks for following along—we’re all looking forward to tomorrow’s adventures!
RMI Guide Jackson Breen & Team
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New Post Alerts:
Ecuador Volcanoes November 4 - 14, 2025
Our coldest night this trip and it still wasn’t that cold. The sun hits camp closer to 8 am so after breakfast and a little time in the tents to warm up we headed for 19,600’. Our
High Camp is called Colera, named after the fierce winds that frequent that part of the mountain, not the contagion. The Team definitely noticed the 1,600’ difference in how their lungs and legs felt. We spent about 45 minutes there and headed down for a restful afternoon. Paperback books have been read and are now being passed around the group. We will have our last scheduled rest day tomorrow so that we can sleep one more night at 18,000' before moving up. The weather is holding steady with 20-30 mph winds forecast. We need to take advantage and not wait for a “better” day that might not materialize. Thanks for following along, we are all eager for our summit bid on the 26th.
RMI Guide Mike King
On The Map
The
Five Day Summit Climb July 21 - 25 enjoyed two nights on the mountain before making their summit attempt today.
RMI Guide Jess Matthews and team reached the summit this morning under clear skies and warm temperatures. The team will return to Camp Muir, pack up their camp and continue their descent to Paradise.
Congratulations Climbers!
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Jake and Doug. ..amazing trip I’m sure. ..can’t wait to hear all about it but more anxious to get you back home! Love you burly, hairy mountain men!!
Posted by: Marsha and jeremy on 1/27/2016 at 5:05 pm
To: Branchflower
Bummer…...
Sorry to hear you had to “turn-back”. At least you were’nt one in 1974!
Have a safe trip home!
Lozier sends
Posted by: Tom Lozier on 1/27/2016 at 10:12 am
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