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
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!
The Four Day Summit Climb August 28 - 31, 2016 teams led by RMI Guides Jake Beren and Christina Dale were approaching the crater rim at 7:15 am. Jake reported moderate winds and cold temperatures but overall a very nice day for climbing. We look forward to seeing the groups at Rainier BaseCamp this afternoon.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
And we are at Base Camp! The second day of the approach was incredible, as the scenery went from beautiful to dramatic... The climb up to Punta Union pass at 4750m greeted us with the views of Taulliraju, one of the most radical peaks in the range, with a sheer west face that made our jaws drop just thinking of how could it be even possible to climb. On the other side, Artesonraju, our objective reigned over the valley with its top amongst the clouds. Now it is time to spend some time acclimating, all while enjoying the comforts and gourmet food of camp.
Best regards,
RMI Guide Elías de Andres Martos and team
P.S. Rich wishes happy B-day to his wife Christina.
Hi Kim, WOW….Can’t wait to see the amazing photos! This climb sounds wonderful! We will be heading back home this evening from our terrific trip out West. We will continue to follow your progress. Love, Dad
An early rise gave way to a groggy ride to the airport this morning that was fortunately on the quicker side because the majority of Moscow had yet to wake. After navigating Aeroflot's slightly confusing baggage system our team was relieved to settle into an airport restaurant and enjoy a decent breakfast and more importantly a decent cup (or two) of coffee. A slight delay, a quick flight to Mineralnye Vody, and a longer bus ride to Cheget completed our traveling for the day. On our drive we watched the rolling hills of farmland become more pronounced, eventually turning into mountains, and finally turning quite impressive with huge relief as we drove up a craggy canyon. Cheget is a little outpost of sorts but our hotel is pretty cool, complete with beautiful views of glaciers above from the forest below and even a medieval motif to the dining room. A bit weary from travel, we're all excited to get out and stretch our legs on our first acclimatization hike tomorrow.
We'll let you know how it goes.
Over and out,
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
Today we woke to slightly milder winds that allowed us to breakdown our camp at 16,400ft and move Guanaco 3 camp, our second camp at 18,000' on Aconcagua. All teams above Base Camp are trying to figure if the current weather system will allow for a summit bid. The Team has been updated on the weather pattern that is moving onto the mountain.
From the beginning of the expedition the guides have been stressing taking care of daily items that are in our control like hydration, rest, proper clothing choices and breathing, a lot. At the same time this expedition has been marked by items we have no control over, for example, tall penitentes to navigate, hot temperatures, wind and a deteriorating weather pattern.
We will continue to evaluate our options, in the meantime, It's New Years Eve on Aconcagua. We'll miss the party at base camp, but not the pan flute chiming in during the porter drum circle until 4am.
RMI Guide Mike King
Hello, this is Elías and the Alpamayo team calling again from High Camp. Today, at the base of the Alpamayo Head Wall, we are taking a rest day, as we'd let you know yesterday. The weather looks really good, we are in good spirits and health, and we're just relaxing and waiting for our summit push tonight. So tomorrow, this time, check in, and hopefully we will have a summit report from you. Otherwise, stay tuned until then, and best regards to everybody back home. Bye.
RMI Guide Elías de Andres Martos
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos checks in from High Camp on Alpamayo.
K-So nice to hear from you -the call made my day!!! So I am thinking that when you get back maybe you can tackle Campbell Hill (1550’) in Logan County—-Race ya to the top!! Mike
Posted by: Michael on 7/21/2015 at 6:44 pm
Dear Team, have a good rest and some serious sleep hours and all the best for the summit push! Thinking of you all and sending a BIG hug, Feli
Posted by: felicitas funke-riehle on 7/21/2015 at 6:16 pm
We are perched on the side of La Malinche this evening settling into our nice but chilly cabin. We took a walk this afternoon to see how our bodies feel after being rudely moved to 10 thousand feet and it felt great. Tomorrow we'll head up 4,400 feet to the summit and hopefully get nice views over to Pico de Orizaba, our next objective. Quick shout out to Norm from the mountains of Mexico!
RMI Guide Christina Dale
Today was not going to be our day, because when it snows on Ixtaccihuatl there is apparently thunder and lightning. We spent a few hours at high camp with electrical storms pulsing through, while we held tight yesterday afternoon. Around 1 am there were clear skies all around and no wind to speak of. After climbing up the ‘knees’ of Ixta we stared out into a developing storm near La Malinche (our day hike from Day 2). watching the storm continue to spread out among the horizon, the guides decided that descending to camp and packing up would be the best call.
Even though we only had 1,500 vertical feet to climb the linear distance was too long to justify staying on the ridge, should the storm pick up steam.
With a slow descent through the ‘knees’ due to frozen scree and snow we arrived back in camp, packed up and headed to the trail head. As with most decisions, there is a moment of regret and asking yourself if you made the right call. Our walk down hill was sunny and bluebird that is until it wasn’t and the billowing dark clouds overtook the summit ridge.
We are headed to Puebla for the evening and tomorrow we will get to explore the historic city center. After a couple nights sleep in nice beds we’ll head out for our Orizaba climb, the third highest peak in North America. While a little disappointed, everyone is glad to not be in an electrical storm and is doing well.
RMI Guides Mike King & Jenny Konway
This is Christina with the Torres del Paine Trek. We had another perfect day in Patagonia with winds, light rain, showers, hot sun and beautiful views around every corner. We walked up the Paine River today to the Dickson Hut where we got our first views of the towers and some tremendous views of the Dickson Glacier as it flows from the Patagonian ice cap to the river that we walk along. The group is enjoying the photo opportunities, great lunches and stimulating trail conversations about which political figure or popstar we would go backpacking with. This trip is truly about the landscape that we travel through. Even the best photographers could not capture the 360-degree panoramas with the crisp air and smell of lupine in the breeze. Truly a place to have the "see for yourself" to understand. Now we're off for hot showers, fresh bread, and a nice dinner.
RMI Guide Christina Dale
RMI Guide Christina Dale calls in from the Torres del Paine Trek.
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Hope you’re staying warmer than we’ve been in NJ! Good luck team!! Keep it up! Love to Ross :)
Posted by: Jen Rapach on 1/23/2019 at 3:18 pm
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