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Zdravstvuyte (hello) from Russia,
Things are good here in Russia. We left Moscow this morning and have traveled via plane and bus to the beautiful Caucus mountains.
Our flight took us to southern Russia near the Black Sea, or if you remember Sochi from the Olympics, it not too far from there. We flew into Mineralnye Vody. This part of the country is predominately rural and is responsible for much of the agriculture that the larger cities depends on. We were meet by our trustworthy guide Yuri, whom I've climbed with many times. Then hopped in our van for the 3hr drive up the
Baksan Valley to the base of Mt. Elbrus.
The small town we are in is called Cheget, and it doubles as a ski town in winter and converts to climbing in the summer. We didn't do a ton of exploring this afternoon due to the rain and the adjustment of the time that we are all still feeling.
However, tomorrow we will do our first acclimatizing hike and do a little exploring.
All is well here and the team is excited to stretch our legs a bit!
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
On The Map
May 28, 2016 - 10:27 p.m. PDT
We woke with a sigh of relief to blue bird skies and calm conditions, though the winds up above were clearly stirring up a magic potion. With the morning came just a little heat to help us continue drying out after the storm. We had a strange desire for
breakfast burritos this morning so we acted upon the urge. Given the continued strong winds up high we "just got to be" as life at 14 Camp continues. Numerous other teams took the elevator up the fixed lines to cache in hopes of taking advantage of the potential coming weather window these modern times and technology allow us to anticipate. We'd like to thank Rob Young, Sr. and Katie Van Deventer for being our personal forecasters. With views straight to the summit from where we sit, we're staring at the gold on the ceiling patiently waiting for our time to climb.
Until then, give your heart away.
RMI Guides Jess Matthews, Robby Young, Pete Van Deventer, the Team and the Black Keys
On The Map
Hello from
Moraine Camp! We just arrived to our cache, and are currently setting up our tents under the bluest skies so far on the trip. Spirits are high, and we presume we'll be moving to high camp tomorrow. Everyone sends their regards and asks for the cheering to continue on!
Best,
RMI Guide Elías de Andres Martos and crew
The sun rose and crawled across the camp warming the tents as it hit them. Once the sun's rays fell onto ours, we woke to begin our day. Today we carried to
Camp 3, our high camp. The morning started clear and sunny, but soon clouds started to build to the east. The clouds were dark and ready to release some precipitation. Mother nature taunted us with some flurries but luckily kept the clouds at bay and allowed us to make our journey to Camp 3 in the sun. At 19,600' the air is thin and everything is exhausting, but the team handled it like pros. Their performance today gives confidence for a good summit push in a few days. But before we go for the summit we are gonna rest tomorrow at Camp 2. Tomorrow will be our last relaxing day for when we leave here it will be go go go.
Keep on keeping on,
RMI Guide Hannah Smith and Team
Our rest day ended with three inches of snow falling on camp with little to no wind and some spectacular heat lightning across the
Vacas Valley. It's like one of those quiet winter nights where you wake to a yard filled with snow. We got underway by 9 am and moved camp to 18,000'. With all the new snow and still air we were roasting by the time we reached Amegino Col. The weather this trip has been atypical in that we have had three nights of snow, light to no wind and abnormally warm temperatures. The Team is currently in their tents riding out another snow fall and will hopefully have a good night's rest at the new altitude. Tomorrow we will carry food and fuel to high camp to continue our acclimatization. The Team has appreciated the blog comments, and send their love to family and friends back home.
RMI Guide Mike King
On The Map
The
Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guides Elias de Andres Martos and Christina Dale reached 11,700' before having to turn due to unconsolidated snow conditions. The team is currently at Camp Muir and will be descending for Paradise soon.
Congratulations to today's team!
RMI Guide Mike King called in from the Orizaba summit!
"This is Mike King with Team Mexico. We are standing on top of
el Pico de Orizaba, the third highest peak in North America! Light winds and visibility all the way out to Ixta and Popo. It was a great climb. We will check back in with you when we get back down to high camp."
On The Map
And just like that, RMI Aconcagua Expedition, led by Mark Tucker and Pepper Dee, is off! We enjoyed our last breakfast in civilization this morning, and then before we knew it we were piling out of the van at the
Vacas Valley trailhead and heading uphill under the blazing Argentine sun. We wound our way up the valley for about five hours, taking breaks to hydrate and generously apply sunscreen. Having settled in to our first camp at Las Leñas, tonight we were treated to a mouth watering traditional asado dinner by our support team of mule drivers. The team is adjusting rapidly and successfully to the demands of life on the trail, and look forward to tackling another stretch tomorrow.
Stay tuned for more climbing (and more steak!).
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
The
Mt. Rainier Summit Climb, led Pete Van Deventer and Mike King, is back at Camp Muir after turning on the upper mountain due to route and avalanche conditions. They encountered snow up to waist deep, providing poor footing on exposed slopes. The weather reported from Camp Muir is clear, calm, and cold. The teams will depart for Paradise soon.
Today was a rest day at high camp and the team took full advantage. Most of us have been napping, stretching, hydrating, and getting strong. A few of us, including myself, had a little bit of a rumbling gut last night and this morning but everyone seems to recovering quickly today.
Excitement is very high is we look up at the beautiful
summit face with its steep ice runnels. Like a siren it is calling to us and with calm winds and blue skies it is impossible to ignore. Our forecast for tomorrow looks perfect as well so for now, we wait.
Thanks for following us on this fantastic climb.
RMI Guide Geoff Schellens and the Alpamayo Team
You’ve been so patient and it has to be so frustrating to see the prize just a short distance away! If it’s in the cards, you’ll summit. If not, better safe than sorry.
Justin, I filled Father Daniel in. He’s praying for your safety and your success.
Love,
Mom:)
Posted by: leanne on 5/29/2016 at 10:15 pm
You guys are SOOO close ... stretch out that food as long as you can! Justin, I’m all set for my travel arrangements, so take your time on the mountain (but stay safe and warm). I’ll be waiting for you in Anchorage when you get there!!!!
Posted by: Patrice La Vigne on 5/29/2016 at 3:19 pm
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