Entries from Expedition Dispatches

Hello? Can anybody hear me? Maybe not, but hopefully, you are willing to read this out loud. Our climbers are counting on YOU to keep eyes and ears on our adventure as we attempt to climb the Stone Sentinel, AKA Cerro Aconcagua, here in Argentina. But don't stress, we haven't started our walkabout just yet.

Today was a day of preparations. Pack your duffle, unpack your duffle, eat some food, drink some wine, go grocery shopping, and pack your duffels again. As we complete these final preparations, we are getting more and more excited to be part of this journey and see what the mountainside really has to offer. We know it will be fun, and we know it will be challenging, and we're gonna look good doing it.

Cheers to Mendoza for being such a gracious host, but tomorrow, the real reasons we are here begin. Climbing Aconcagua begins with a three day trek to Basecamp at Plaza Argentina, so gather your loved ones for some upcoming and intense storytelling. We look forward to starting the trip and sharing it with you all every step of the way (all puns intended).

Until tomorrow, Buenas Noches.

RMI Guides Ben and Hannah & Team

Hello to our friends and family!

We talked about this as a team yesterday before we went to bed “the possibility exists that we could make it to the top!” But if we knew for sure then my job (as a guide) would be so boring and mountains wouldn’t be that fun for anyone to climb.

You don’t come here because you know you are going to succeed. You come to the mountains because you are open to both - success and failure.

Today some of the team stood on the summit of this beautiful and brutal mountain and some of us turned around. But each one of us was pushed in a different way and most definitely beyond limits we had previously set for ourselves. We endured strong, cold winds from start to finish, learned something about ourselves along the way and are all safely back in our tents at campo 3. I’ll call that a successful day - summit or not.

After such a tough climb, most everyone is snoozing in their tents. Going to 22,841 feet really takes it out of you.

Jack and I will wake everyone up soon for their favorite meal ever, FREEZE DRY (hopefully the last one of this trip) and then we’ll all head straight back to bed to sleep better than we’ve ever slept at 19,600 feet.

Big, big winds are moving in so we’ll get an early start tomorrow on our descent to base camp.

I’m so proud of each person on this team and the courage they had to try something so hard.

RMI Guide Jess Wedel

Jambo everyone!

Today was our first day of safari and we headed west to visit the beautiful Lake Manyara. The lake is known for its many migratory animals and home to more than 300 different birds. Everyone enjoyed the day cruising around in our safari vehicles with cold beverages in hand while seeing the animals up close. 

We manage to see zebras, Cape buffalo, impalas, giraffes, a few elephants and 2 lions, plus more baboons than you could imagine. 

All in all it was a really nice introduction to the incredible diversity of wildlife that Africa has and the team is looking forward to seeing more tomorrow. 

We wrapped up the evening with great conversations and a wonderful meal at our new home for a few nights. www.plantation-lodge.com see for yourself!
 
RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Safari crew

Well I am happy to report that our Mexico Volcanoes team all arrived safely as of last night. We met in the lovely lobby of our Hotel Geneve and had a nice chat about what to expect in the next few days. Followed by a classic dinner of local tacos. 

We’re headed this morning to La Malinche to begin acclimating to the elevation. 

Tomorrow we go for our first summit, La Malinche at 14,500’!

RMI Guide Joe Hoch

Hola!!

We made it to Campo 3! Got our tents set up (no easy feat at 19,600ft) and just finished a delicious freeze dry dinner - it’s just after 5:00pm and we’re headed to bed soon for an early summit start!

We’ve been so inspired by all the amazing people we have met on this mountain — who day in and day out have inspired us with their insane work ethic and positivity. Who always greet us on the trail with a smile and a word of encouragement. By far, the best part about climbing Aconcagua are the people we have met along the way. 

Anne and I were talking about this on the trail today as one of our favorite porters and climbers, Greggo, came sailing down from Camp 3 to help carry some of our tents back up. We remarked how after months on this mountain guiding, climbing, cooking, carrying loads, he always shows up with such joy and big smiles. 

We decided we want to channel that energy to tomorrow when the going gets tough, when we want to quit or when we are fed up with the cumulative suffering, instead we will remember the positivity and kindness of the Argentinians who have shared their mountain with us and carry that strength with us to a hopeful summit.

Here we go!

RMI Guide Jess Wedel and the team 

Good evening from beautiful Guanacos camp!

The sun is setting and it’s a radiant orange and pink sky surrounding our tents. This is our third night here and we are feeling good. Today we carried a load of gear up, up, up to Camp 3 - new altitude record for the whole team at 19,600 feet! The saying of the day was “stress the system, rest the system.” We stressed our bodies moving up to that altitude in the hopes that it will help us on summit day. But before our headaches were too bad, we started downhill back to Camp 2. We got back in the early afternoon and then it was time to rest the system.

We prepared for our summit push with a big talk about what to expect, what to carry, tips and tricks to stay warm and so much more. We know some anxiety is normal as there are so many unknowns as we head uphill but preparing as much as we can helps.  Jack also led us in some improv games where we laughed and joked and that helped too!

Tomorrow we head to Camp 3 with a hopeful summit on the horizon.

RMI Guide Jess Wedel and the "Skittles" team 

It has been a rewarding and exhausting week and a half traveling around Ecuador and venturing into the high mountains. Yesterday, we concluded the trip with an attempt of Cotopaxi, followed by a celebration dinner in Quito. We did not summit Cotopaxi and yet, had a meaningful and memorable experience. There are some days that the mountain does not grant reasonably safe passage and that is just how it goes. Reflecting on my own experiences climbing in this country, some of the windless, sunny days where we reached big summits have begun to blend together. On the other hand, those nights with unrelenting wind, rain, snow, rime ice or lightning really stand out. Our attempt of Cotopaxi falls into that category.

As we left the hut, the feeling was that the steady 20-30mph wind would need to relent during the early morning hours as we went higher on the mountain. Adding to this, we were occassionaly spritzed by rain or very moist clouds. I know that may sound like the same thing, but there is a subtle difference. Either way, by the time we reached the glacier our clothing was thoroughly coated in rime ice and we found ourselves in even more need of improvements in the weather. We began the long, steep traverse from the entrance of the glacier to the Yanasacha Ridge and the weather never improved. At 17600' we made the decision for the team to turn around. That is a tough call to make, albeit the right one. Most people's reflection seemed to include some continued dialing of how much weather is too much weather. I often reflect using a thought process along the lines of: if I continue to the summit in these conditions 100 times, does something catastrophic occur? Of course, we can't know for sure the answer to that, but we can begin to imagine the variety of outcomes and I think we all know a 1 in 100 chance of catastrophe is not worth the reward. We can feel proud to have pushed ourselves in adverse conditions and have had a learning experience.

Today the team is parting ways. Most are headed home to family, while some are extending their vacations or climbing plans further into South America. Wherever it is, this team now carries with them some great memories and stories to be shared.

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier & Team

Hello from Kili. 

Just a quick recap today. 

All of the the team happily and successfully stood on the “Roof of Africa” today. 

Thankfully the weather cooperated and it was pretty calm most of the day. However, the recent rain/storm deposited a boat load of snow for us to enjoy. You might say the Snows of Kilimanjaro are back, but it’s probably only temporary. 

We hiked up almost entirely on snow, which was a first for me.  The team did an incredible job of taking care of themselves and fought hard when it was needed.  

We have safely descend to our high camp where we will take a short break to eat and recharge before descending further down the mountain to our last camp on the mountain. 

RMI Guide Casey Grom and the summit crew!

The team is thriving here at Camp 2, acclimatizing at just over 18,000 feet. Spirits are high, and everyone’s feeling strong as we continue to prepare for the next steps on our journey. This altitude is no joke, it can feel like you have the flu or a fever, but with proper rest and acclimation, the team is handling it like pros.

This morning kicked off on a high note—literally and figuratively—with an incredible breakfast courtesy of guides Jess and Jack. They whipped up breakfast burritos that had everyone’s appetite soaring, proving once again that good food can work wonders at altitude.

Of course, camp life always has its quirks, and we have experienced cases of mountain “loud streaming.” For those unfamiliar, this is when someone in a nearby tent decides to play music or watch a movie at full volume without headphones, sharing their entertainment with the entire camp. While it added an unexpected movie soundtrack to our attempts to sleep, we’ve all taken it in stride and had a few laughs about it.

Aside from the impromptu movie soundtracks, the team is doing great. We’ve spent the day packing gear for tomorrow’s carry to Camp 3. The plan is to haul supplies up, then return to Camp 2 to sleep and rest. The next few days are critical as we move higher and prepare for the summit push.

The weather outlook is promising—clear skies and manageable winds—so we’re all excited to get rolling. With strong morale and solid progress, we’re ready for what’s ahead. Stay tuned as we move closer to the top!

RMI Climber Elburz Sorkhabi

Hello again everyone, 

The team had a good nights rest last night and today was just a short 3 hour hike up to 15,000ft to our high camp. Everyone is excited and maybe just a touch nervous, which is very normal! 

The team has just wrapped up lunch and discussed in great detail the plan for tomorrow’s climb. Everyone knows what we’ll be wearing, what will be in the pack, as well as the schedule. 
Our game plan will be to wake at 10:30pm and have a quick breakfast at 11, then hopefully hit the trail around 11:30pm. The weather is still being a little fickle and it’s currently sleeting here at camp. Hopefully that will taper off here soon and we’ll have a calm night for climbing. 

The team has been doing great thus far and I am expecting us to reach the summit in 7 to 8 hours if things go according to plan. 

We had another trivia challenge, and one lucky winner will get a phone call from the summit. 
So everyone back home please keep your phones handy and if you receive a call from a strange number please answer. We are 8+hrs ahead of the east coast time zone. 

RMI Guide Casey Grom and the RMI summit bound team!