Entries from Expedition Dispatches

Sunday, December 1, 2024 - 11:45 am PT

Yesterday we had the most beautiful day, mostly calm, clear skies, warm enough. The strange thing was that it was forecasted that we would have high winds and blowing snow. It wasn’t that the forecast was wrong necessarily, it just got the timing wrong. At around midnight the winds showed up, transporting about half a foot of snow around our tents and in every nook and cranny it could find. Bitter cold, shaking our tents, and making it clear today was no summit day. So instead we woke, winds still howling, and got to work. Building higher walls, clearing the nooks of our gear of snow, and making a high camp breakfast of bacon, eggs, and hash browns. We’ll take another day to recoup, rehydrate, and eat eat eat. Crossing our fingers that tomorrow is our day! Whoever didn’t wish us luck back at home, we blame you entirely.

Till tomorrow!
RMI Guide Dominic Cifelli

Sunday, December 1, 2024 - 11:45 am PT

Yesterday we had the most beautiful day, mostly calm, clear skies, warm enough. The strange thing was that it was forecasted that we would have high winds and blowing snow. It wasn’t that the forecast was wrong necessarily, it just got the timing wrong. At around midnight the winds showed up, transporting about half a foot of snow around our tents and in every nook and cranny it could find. Bitter cold, shaking our tents, and making it clear today was no summit day. So instead we woke, winds still howling, and got to work. Building higher walls, clearing the nooks of our gear of snow, and making a high camp breakfast of bacon, eggs, and hash browns. We’ll take another day to recoup, rehydrate, and eat eat eat. Crossing our fingers that tomorrow is our day! Whoever didn’t wish us luck back at home, we blame you entirely.

Till tomorrow!
RMI Guide Dominic Cifelli

Saturday, November 30, 2024 - 5:48 pm PT

Today is rest day in Camp 2. I don’t know what Dom’s blog said about yesterday’s ‘hike’ to Camp 2, but it was hellish. Endless fixed lines, rising almost perpendicularly - a little exaggerated - and me demonstrating the art of the ascender to all. We literally died when we reached Camp 2. So today was Lazarus day - the day to bring the team back from the dead. We slept, or rested, ‘til about noon. Chris had a quick blood transfusion to overcome the odor poisoning he suffered in our tent last night.  Then it was hydration, eat, and construct our best version of the mess tent. Dom has taken over design, as he was quite put out by the excellent design the rest of the team executed in Base camp without his input or supervision, while he tunneled looking for the origin of man, or more accurately Dave Hahn. Dom is quite fussy about his cooking space, the worktop height, easy access to the spice rack - it’s a bit like Gordon Ramsey! In fairness he is an ace with the ice-saw.
We had a quick stroll to the most fantastic viewing point.  Looking down on the dot of Camp 1 in the valley below, and the most incredible view of Mt Shin, and the pinnacle ridge leading to Tyree. However it is way too cold to linger, someone said -25F.  Antartica brings a whole new definition to the word cold.  Hopefully Lazarus day works and we’ll be fit to give Vinson a shot tomorrow.

- RMI Climber Myles

November 29, 2024 - 10:15 pm PT

Well just like the Dude, Mother Nature abided (for the most part) we woke up to clear skies still air and sunshine, everything was saying go. So we did. We’re trying to hit a weather window on Sunday that looks gooood for summiting and so we chose to skip the carry up the fixed lines and give it a go in one shot.
Holy F**king Shit it was hard, but we made it. Heavy loads, steep slopes and 3000+ feet of gain with packs that could moonlight as ship anchors, we climbed to Vinson High Camp.

So absolutely proud that we were able to make it up here in such style and I’ll save you the nitty gritty for your climber to regale you with later. We take a well deserved rest day tomorrow (or today, it’s 3am) and will gear up for our summit push Sunday.

RMI Guide Dominic Cifelli

Thursday, November 28, 2024 - 8:18 pm PT

Vinson Thanksgiving

It’s 1AM here the time of day is such a backdrop in Antarctica. The sun circles overhead and the only setting we get is when it hides behind one of the many unbelievable peaks surrounding us.
Our Thanksgiving wasn’t quite the same this year, we traded turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes for frozen milky ways, rock hard Swedish fish, quesadillas and steak with mashed potatoes (microwaveable pouches from back home).
And we moved!

We traveled from Vinson Basecamp to Camp 1 with a light breeze at times and snow that made for good sled pulling. Views beneath the West face of Vinson, Shin, and Tyree have us gobsmacked every time we look up. Which admittedly I wish was more. We’ll sleep here tonight in the hopes of moving to high camp tomorrow but we will see what the weather has in store. Wish us luck!!!

- RMI Guide Dominic Cifelli
 

Wednesday, November 27, 2024 - 8:05 pm PT

Anja‘s Blog:

With the calm sound of snow falling on our tents in the ear we cosily fell asleep after a satisfying first day on Vinson basecamp. Todays morning surprises us with a pristine snow-covered landscape, the sun glimpsing at us once in a while. What a Privilege to be here and be able to observe all These changing Moody of nature in a breathtakingly beautiful scenery! But for now, there is no time for further contemplation: work must be done- we will be going up the glacier towards camp 1 to cache.

The sun pleased us the whole day: without wind we were sometimes even sweating on our way up. As we had a good pace, we overtook two teams! In the end Dominic extended our caching to one more leg : we brought our heavy packs and sleds close to Camp 1 ( uphill walking time 4.5 h, 750 elevation gain). On our way back to basecamp we almost ran: we were very happy to reach "Home sweet Home“ after two hours. Suppen was extraordinary, because from the stock we found 3 m deep in the glacier ( that is an extra Story, not for now) . We are now going to bed with a happy smile on our faces- and with the lullaby, Shackelton loved so much: "Guten Abend, gute Nacht…“ (unfortunately, we could not take an audio …)

Good night to all our beloved ones from Team Vinson 2024

We’ve officially made it to Vinson Basecamp, a significant milestone for our team as we prepare for the climb ahead. The flight into this remote corner of Antarctica is always an unforgettable experience, with vast expanses of ice and jagged peaks stretching to the horizon. We are not alone here at Basecamp, as teams from around the world make their final preparations as well. There’s a collective sense of purpose here, a shared understanding of the challenges and rewards that come with climbing the highest peak on this frozen continent.

Tomorrow, we plan to either move camp or cache supplies at the bend in the Branscomb Glacier. This marks the start of our climb, where strategy and teamwork will play a critical role. Caching supplies is a useful tool to ensure we can move efficiently while staying prepared for what lies ahead. 

Standing at basecamp, the magnitude of our shared objective is clear. This is a team effort in every sense and we're ready. We know the climb will test us, but thats what we came here for. We’re ready to take the next chess move toward the summit.

RMI Guide Dominic Cifelli & Team

Monday, November 25, 2024 - 4:55 pm PT

In the mountains, the weather isn’t just a backdrop—it’s often the main character. True to form, it wasted no time reminding us who’s in charge by throwing a wrench in our plans. With a low-pressure system on the horizon, we seized the opportunity to push forward and fly to the Ice.

Expediting our packing, organizing, and weigh-ins, the team worked efficiently to hit the narrow weather window—and nailed it. The reward? A safe landing at Union Glacier, a gateway to one of the most remote and breathtaking places on Earth.

From here, we have just one more flight before we begin our climb at Vinson Basecamp. The anticipation is palpable as we cross our fingers for favorable weather tomorrow. For now, we’re soaking in the crisp, frigid air and marveling at the stunning, otherworldly views that only Antarctica can offer.

The icy landscapes stretch endlessly, painted in a palette of whites and blues that seem to defy imagination. It’s a reminder of the raw beauty and sheer scale of this continent, and we’re humbled to be here, ready to take on the challenges ahead.

Wish us luck as we embark on the next leg of this adventure. Here’s to clear skies, strong teamwork, and the climb of a lifetime!

RMI Guide Dominic Cifelli

That's a wrap on another great trip to two of Ecuador's highest volcanoes. Unfortunately, we did not get the chance to summit Cotopaxi this time. The risk of lightning was too high for us to continue past 16800'. It was unfortunate to run into those conditions as we had a strong team who had all proven themselves on Cayambe. I felt confident we were all headed for the top of Cotopaxi as well. But it was a good moment to look inside ourselves. Sometimes more important than a summit is what we have learned about ourselves along the way and the confidence we have gained through diligent preparation. For this group, there will be many more mountains and they will be prepared when the opportunity for a summit exists.

With some spare time and due to our early finish, we did some light birding at Limpiopungo, a lake in the national park with a well-maintained trail around it. The time was spent identifying species of birds and reflecting on our experience on the mountain. This was a good reset for our minds and a nice way to round out an overall lovely trip to the Ecuadorian highlands.

Thanks for following along with us!

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier & Team

Cayambe Summit

The first six days of this trip feel like they move slowly. Acclimatization is not a quick process and it certainly makes the anticipation build. Each day it feels as if we are inching closer to Cayambe, literally. From the Hotel Mercure in Quito on day one, Cayambe occasionally pokes out in the distance. We hike Rucu Pichincha to get a slightly better view. As we drive north to go hiking, it occassionaly comes into better view, except that it often dips behind a nearby ridgeline. But then comes the day we move to the lower Cayambe hut and there it is, right in front of us in all of its beauty. We watch the sun rise and set on the mountain, the moon lights it up at night. The anticipation reaches a maximum the day we drive to the upper hut, where you can strap on your boots and climb the mountain. No more bus rides inching closer, no more distractions.

With all the time spent prepping and thinking about climbing this big mountain, the day finally came and when it did, the entire group made it to the top! We were fortunate enough to have a perfect weather day, practically windless and some slight overcast that was both picturesque and helped shade us from the intensity of the sun. The route itself was also in great shape, with just one serious crux to navigate near the top in the form of a large crevasse system at 18,500' that we had to descend into and then climb steeply out of. It honestly made for a great distraction from the difficulty of the high-altitude exercise. By 7am we were on top, high fiving, taking in the views and snagging a few photos before making what turned out to be a pretty quick descent of just under three hours.

Now we find ourselves on the move towards Cotopaxi. However, this time we do not have to repeat the same acclimatization schedule. Instead, we traveled for six hours yesterday to reach the Chilcabamba Eco Lodge, our lovely Andean home for two nights. We were jostled in pickup trucks coming down from the hut, jostled on the bus getting back to town and then fought traffic from the town of Cayambe to Machaci. Along the way we did stop to eat some lunch and resupply on snacks so that we could arrive at this peaceful place and enjoy a full rest day today. Tomorrow, we head for the Cotopaxi Hut with plans to climb in the night again. But for now, eating well, hydrating, stretching and reading are our focus.

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier

PC: Dustin Wittmier