After two long days trekking through the Vacas Valley we rode mules across the river and our trail turned uphill into the Relinchos Valley as we gained 3000'+ to arrive at Base Camp on Aconcagua. The Team was surprised at the amenities offered at Plaza Argentina including refreshments, Internet hotspots, showers and perhaps the biggest hit, plastic chairs to relax in.
These long expeditions don't have to be all pain and suffering, the early pioneers suffered plenty for all of us. We will take the remainder of the day to rest and re-hydrate after the hot & dusty trek. Some of the Team have showered and some are waiting for our 1st rest day on Tuesday. From here the trek is over and the climb begins, with preparing gear and group loads to carry to Camp 1.
A consistent comment from everyone is just how blue the sky is in contrast with the multicolored rock bands that form this section of the Andes. It looks like the ridge lines have been cut with an exacto knife.
We will check in on the rest day but for now everyone sends their best to friends and loved ones back home.
RMI Guide Mike King
it must have really been great with the mules carrying both you and your gear. And showers?? How fabulous. Love seeing the photos. As usual, safe and fun travels.
Posted by: Betty (Art's sister) on 1/3/2017 at 5:21 am
Switching gears... We walked hard every day for the last week. Today we rode around like royalty. We pulled out of the Dik Dik hotel by 9 AM and cruised in two modified Toyota Landcruisers through the outskirts of Arusha. Traffic thinned as we pushed westward toward Lake Manyara National Park. We spent a great afternoon seeing hippos, baboons, monkeys, flamingos, storks, giraffes, Cape buffalo and elephants... And of course a pair of Dik Diks... The smallest of the antelope family. Most thought the elephants were the highlight of the day, but they were nearly upstaged by whatever it was that we didn't see. At one point, the monkeys were sounding alarms, the elephants were trumpeting and charging and we found fresh big cat tracks in the road. But we didn't see the leopard or lion causing all the commotion. We looked, but were catless for safari day one. Beautiful day in a Tanzanian National Park though, and a fine evening relaxing at the luxurious Plantation Lodge. We already seem worlds away from our grubby Kili climbing days.
Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
What an exciting day for you and the animals! Here’s to seeing a “Big Cat” tomorrow. Loving the pics and blogs.
Posted by: Jen (Jason's sister) on 8/30/2016 at 6:39 pm
Deborah Beggan and whole team,
Congratulations on your thrilling, bad ass climb!!! I am awed by your adventure!!!!! Enjoy a very Happy Anniversary and Safari with Tom!!
Love, Aunt Ginny
Our 14,000 feet home here in the Ishinca Valley was draped in sunshine for most of today as we did some technical training right outside our tents. A thorough knots review and a gear prep session has prepared us for our first day on the ice tomorrow. We even had the time to sneak in an acclimatization hike this afternoon up the moraine to the overlook into Laguna Tocllacoccha. The views from there proved spectacular, as always. From our 15,200' perch, we were able to see where glacier meets lake, deep within the surrounding moraines carved out by the most recent glaciation, below the 6000m summit of Tocllaraju. For some of us, this was an exciting new high altitude record. Light rain is audible on our tent flies as we're bedding down for the night. An early wake up is in store tomorrow as we plan to spend the day reviewing glacier travel and ice climbing at the toe of the Ishinca Glacier. Stay tuned, friends.
Buenos Noches,
RMI Guides Robby Young, Eric Frank, Edwin, and the Peru Seminar Crew
P.S. Spanish climbing term of the day is "Ballestrinque", which means Clove Hitch.
May 28, 2016 - 12:06 am PT
'The Great One' once again showed her might. Another night of hammering winds kept us from deep sleep. Despite unrelenting gales, Denali Storm Evans finally gifted us with sunny skies this morning. Today was a day to lick our wounds, repair and fortify camp, and dry our clothes; wet from the rigors of battling the passing storm. It was a day to be grateful for the sun.
Cinnamon Toast Crunch provided a dose of childhood nostalgia, followed up by Pete's world famous power dinner; quinoa, lentils, squash, beans, and mustard. Our bodies and our minds still await our chance to experience the upper slopes of this great mountain. With mother nature's cooperation, we're hopeful this shall soon come to fruition.
Until then, Namaste.
RMI Guides Robby, Pete, Jess, and Team
Ditto what Leanne said ... we are all anxiously awaiting what’s next for you all and the news can’t come soon enough. Nine days at Camp 3. Is that a record? I know you are doing your best to keep your spirits up together and give it all you’ve got. Justin, can I promise you a foot rub for all your efforts? Hopefully that gives you just a little more stamina ...
Posted by: Patrice La Vigne on 5/28/2016 at 2:24 pm
Oh, the simple pleasures of life - sunshine, dry clothes, deep sleep. I hope all these things stay with you until you reach your goal and return home safely. Your friends in the lower half have been praying nonstop for your safety and health.
These blog posts are like letters from heaven. Thanks for keeping us informed. It’s our lifeline.
Hey Everyone,
This is JJ Justman and Pepper Dee and Team 3 Aconcagua. We had one heck of a day you can probably hear the wind here. We fought the battle and we got up here to Camp One at 16,500 feet. Pretty adverse conditions, but the team just did a fantastic job! Actually Pepper and I are really impressed with these guys, none of them hired any porters and when we got to camp they set up the tents themselves. They're anchoring them out right now and getting moved, it's been a long day. I wanted to write a dispatch to let you know how great the team is doing, but we're running a little bit behind schedule. We've got some stoves to get going and get some snow melt into water to get re-hydrated and make sure these folks are doing well. Everyone's doing great! Thanks for Following along, Tough day to get up here at Camp One, but everyone safe and sound. As usual we're still having fun and the views are only getting better! We're probably going to have a couple of lazy days here. The forecast is calling for a quite a bit of wind for the next several days, so we're not in a huge rush to go running up hill. It is nice to get a little higher and improve on our acclimatization.
Again, thanks for following along and we'll touch base soon.
JJ Justman and Pepper Dee Checking in from Camp One on Aconcagua.
Brian and Brad: I hate to hear that the weather isn’t cooperating…y’all will have to make the most of it - swapping stories while you’re holed up in the tents.
Posted by: Johnny on 1/7/2016 at 10:33 am
Congratulations, everyone!!! Please continue to hydrate and to err on the side of caution.
God bless every single one of you. Mama Kucik
Hola from Ecuador!
After some very long flights and a little bit of sleep the team is doing well. We started our day with a team meeting where we did our usual round of introductions and discussed the game plan for our upcoming adventure.
After the meeting we headed out on the town to explore this beautiful historical city with our tour guide Foulsto. We first headed north to visit the Equator from which Ecuador gets its name, then headed to the older part of town where we visited several old cathedrals, and the colonial town square. Next we headed up to a small hill called La Panacia that over looks this beautiful city before returning to the hotel for a little break.
We wrapped up the day with a quick gear check to make sure everyone has all the gear needed for our climbs. Then it was off to dinner at a nice restaurant where we enjoyed getting to know each other better.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
Back at Base Camp! And What a day we had! Our ascent to the summit of Copa was everything but ordinary; intricate navigation to avoid a blocking bergschund, trail breaking at 20,000ft, steep slopes in the dark... and a corniced summit ridge, among other factors, provided a great graduation climb in this, our second Peru Seminar. We managed to descend to the safety of Base Camp in a long push, picking high camp on the way. Everyone is pretty tired, but feeling well and accomplished. We are turning to our tents now, and will check in again tomorrow from Huaraz.
Best regards,
RMI Guide Elías de Andres Martos and team.
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!
This camp has an amazing view, especially when we have so much moonlight with a near full moon. If you can get yourself out of the tent during the night, the light illuminates the Polish Glacier and all the surrounding peaks. This Team has enjoyed the plentiful stars and seemingly 3D Milky Way during the first part of the trip and now the moon light will brighten the path early on our summit day.
The rest day has been fairly standard, big breakfast and lots of reading and hanging out in the tents. There have been some high clouds that have made the day cooler than previous and we have been fortunate with such favorable weather. Tomorrow we will pack up camp and move up to 19,600’. The day will go by fast as we get tents set up, make lots of water and prepare for a summit attempt on Saturday morning. The next five days include a lot of effort and ground to cover, fingers crossed the winds are light and the sun burns bright.
RMI Guide Mike King
The Four Day Summit Climb August 25 - 28 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. RMI Guides Brent Okita and Jenny Konway led the teams and were approaching the crater rim just before 7 AM PT. Brent reported a beautiful day on the mountain with clear skies and low winds. They will spend some time in the crater before starting their descent. Upon their return to Paradise they will transfer to Rainier BaseCamp and conclude their program with a short celebration.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
You did it Scott!! I’m so proud of you, and I’m sure your grandfather is feeling the same! You where just that much closer to him at the top! What a beautiful day for a summit! Love you!
Posted by: Sophia on 8/28/2018 at 6:45 pm
Great job Scott! I’m so proud of you. Can’t wait to see pics.
Posted by: Jennifer Martin on 8/28/2018 at 6:31 pm
it must have really been great with the mules carrying both you and your gear. And showers?? How fabulous. Love seeing the photos. As usual, safe and fun travels.
Posted by: Betty (Art's sister) on 1/3/2017 at 5:21 am
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