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Saturday, October 22, 2016 - 8:07 am PT This is Mike with the RMI Mexico team. We are currently standing on top of Pico de Orizaba. We woke up around midnight and the weather was wet and rainy, we didn't think we were going to get it. When 2:30 am rolled around the clouds parted. Everyone is doing really well up on top. We are taking some photos and taking in the sights from the highest point in Mexico will give you guys a shout once we are down safe and sound. Talk to you later. RMI Guide Mike King

On The Map

All is good at Artesonraju Base Camp. We rested today to get used to the new altitude, as we saw the many trekkers of the Santa Cruz go by. We're headed to bed now excited for tomorrow! RMI Guide Elías de Andres Martos

And we made it! Nevado Ishinca greeted us this morning with more ice and steep terrain than any of the three guides remember. Intricate navigation on its summit pyramid required a good deal of attention to crevasses, moats and leaning seracs, but motivation and performance had us on top at 11am. We passed the only other team on the mountain before summiting, and the descent proved to be another adventure to ourselves; we decided to descend via a different route, completing a full circumnavigation of the mountain... not a piece of cake when the subject is an 18,100' prominence. We're headed to bed as we speak, and a well deserved rest day awaits tomorrow. RMI Guide Elías de Andres Martos and Team -Spanish climbing word of the day; Rimaya (bergschrund)

We are all ready to head uphill but Aconcagua has other plans for us. Last night freight trains of wind rolled down the mountain rattling our world. This morning there was no sign of the winds letting up so we decided to take another rest day here. This has proved to be a wise decision because moving to a higher camp with these cold temperatures and high winds would not be a safe and productive plan. We are all hunkering down with hot tea and good books for today with hopes of a good move tomorrow. Spending time here is making us all stronger and more acclimatized for our summit bid in a few days. The team is doing well with the variables here on the side of the mountain. Everyone is healthy and happy and sends hellos to all back home. RMI Guides Christina von Mertens and JJ Justman

On The Map

See! I told you so! Good news from Aconcagua. Our team member's missing bags are here! We left Mendoza early this afternoon and are now in "The Aspen" of the Mendoza region, named Penitentes. We had to stop at Estancia de Elias, a great restaurant for their famous empanadas. The team organized our gear while Christina and I packed all the expedition food and gear. We are lucky that we get to have the cowboys help by packing the majority of gear on mules. However, it's getting late, we are having dinner and one of the team members is eyeing my bacon and cheese stuffed chicken so I need to go before Stephanie takes a bite! Chau from Argentina, RMI Guides JJ Justman and Christina von Mertens

Snow and sleet greeted us on our arrival to our high camp on the mountain, Barafu Camp, but that didn't dampen our excitement for getting here. Because we had such a short day today, our camp staff wasn't quite ready for us as they usually are. But through their tireless efforts we were able to get under shelter in no time. The sleeping tents were ready shortly thereafter, and we had just enough time to move our packs in when lunch was announced. So, here we are at 15,200', on the eve of our climb. The team is excited, but a little nervous too. Pretty understandable emotions to be going through, and ones that most climbers go through before a big climb. We've had our summit talk, a briefing on what to bring and wear, and what to expect. We're all now preparing our kit for the summit in the time we have before dinner, We'll try to hit the sack by 6:00pm so we can get some rest before our departure just after midnight, As I write this the skies have cleared again and the ground has dried. Things are looking good for our big day. With any luck we'll be sending a quick satellite phone brief from the summit. Wish us luck! RMI Guide Brent Okita

On The Map

Hello, this is Eric Frank calling from the North Cascades. We are at the notch of the West Ridge of Forbidden tonight. We've had a long, but very well traveled day. We were almost 13 hours on the route to climb the Torment Forbidden Traverse. Everything went really well, so we're just nestling into bed up on our high bivy. We looking out over Iceberg and Tuck Lakes, and a pretty stunning sunset behind the El Dorado Peak. Hope everyone's doing well. Talk to you in the next couple days!

May 29, 2017 There isn't a whole lot new to report today. The winds started to dissipate late last night into this morning. There were still some gusty bursts that swirled snow into the air, enveloping those unlucky enough to be caught out in them. But as the morning progressed, the air calmed down, and the sun started to break though. Our brief respite of sunshine was short lived, as a 20,000' wall of cloud crept slowly towards us, finally enveloping us and triggering peaceful snowfall. It has snowed lightly for much of the day, but the wind seems to have relented for now, and the forecast seems to show our window appearing in the next couple of days. We'll be excited when it does! RMI Guides Pete, Jess, Jenny and team

On The Map

January 19, 2017 Checking in from Plaza Argentina at 4,200m on another beautiful day here in the central Andes. Our team enjoyed some tasty breakfast burritos this morning and then passed our checkup with the basecamp doctors. We are settled in nicely and the team is feeling strong and even slept well despite yesterday's sharp increase in altitude. We'll spend this afternoon arranging our group and personal gear for tomorrow's carry up to Aconcagua Camp 1. Not much else to report for now... We'll check in again tomorrow after our first foray onto the upper mountain. RMI Guide Billy Nugent January 18, 2017 We've arrived! After an early a.m. and brisk river crossing on the back of a mule our team made our way up the Relinchos Valley smoothly and steadily. We climbed the 3,000' into Plaza Argentina (Basecamp) with a little hard breathing but were otherwise unhindered by any real difficulties. Clear skies and amazing views of the mountain were a treat and a hearty welcome from the Griselda, Anita, and Juan, the Grajales Basecamp staff, was icing on the cake. After some refreshments and setting up of camp we are settling in for a tasty dinner tonight and a well deserved rest day tomorrow. Sleeping our first night at nearly 14,000' might not be the most comfortable but with time our bodies will adjust to the new altitude and hopefully start in to building our foundation of acclimatization for our climb. All for now, Billy January 17, 2017 Hola from Casa de Piedra! Last night we enjoyed an amazing asado prepared by our herrieros complete with salad plenty of steak and of course wine at our first trekking camp. After a beautiful night out under the stars our team woke to the rustling of mules and crawled out of our sleeping bags in the early dawn light. A quick trail breakfast and some coffee or tea warmed us up and we hit the trail. We moved extremely well and made short time on our move up through the Vacas Valley and were even treated to our first views of the peak. Tonight's dinner wasn't quite as grand as last night's but it'll do. Early to bed tonight in preparation for tomorrow's very early rise... We we all looking forward to making into Basecamp tomorrow afternoon but one more day on the trail and about 3,000' of vertical gain remain in our way. I'll check in tomorrow and let you know how it went. Billy

The wind battered our tents for most of the night but tapered towards the morning. Today our goal was to reach the col in between Aconcagua and Ameghino at 17,100 ft. With the winds at camp blowing at a strong 20 MPH we bumped up and prepared for the few hour climb to our destination. Shortly into our ascent we put our crampons on for the first time this trip as the brisk wind kept the snow frozen an firm. The team did great with yet another push into higher altitude and we found the winds to be very manageable. We passed through the col with little effort and walked a few more minutes to where we get a massive view of the Andes stretching out to the North. Furthest in the distance is Mercedario, the 5th tallest peak in South America at roughly 22,275 ft. It's early afternoon now and we're all back at camp safely. We'll take a few hours to rest and re-hydrate before starting the stoves for dinner. Tomorrow the winds are expected to increase yet again and we'll take this opportunity to rest and prepare for lighter winds and our move to Camp II (18,000 ft.) on Friday. RMI Guide Steve Gately and Team