Entries from Expedition Dispatches

After leaving La Malinche we drove towards Amecameca to gather last minute supplies before starting our climb to Ixtaccihuatl 17,340.’ 

We drove up a windy rode to the national park gate, then continued up a bumpy dirt road to La Joya, ~ 13,047’.  There, we were greeted with warm soup and tacos (great fuel before a big climb!) 

The team tidied up their packs -and spent the afternoon climbing to high camp ~ 14,500ft. 

We ate ramen, fresh quesadillas and made a plan to have an alpine start of 1:30 am. The little hours we layed horizontally was just enough to rest our bodies and minds for the summit push. The morning shuffle included coffee, oatmeal, perfect weather and many constellations in the sky to keep us company. The climb was tough and long but all worth it once we gained the ridge in time for sunrise! From the summit we were able to see where we came from, La malinche, and our next goal, Pico De Orizaba!

The team now arrives in Puebla for some much-needed rest, site seeing and great food! 

RMI Guides Lacie Smith, Joe Hoch, and Team 

Today was just all-around lovely!

We woke up with the sun, packed our tents and headed to breakfast. We have discovered this wonderful thing called Dulce de leche and now we smother all of our toast in it.

We hit the trail on our way to our next camp, Casa de Piedra. We weaved up through the valley for 10 miles today - always keeping our eyes out from Guanacos. Just when we were convinced we might not get a glimpse, we looked up and saw three majestic Guanacos staring right back at us. Yay!

Soon after, we popped up over a little hill and saw the yellow and white dome tents of our next camp. Just before we walked into camp, we were greeted with our first views of "The Stone Sentinel", Aconcagua.

Tomorrow we’ll head to Base camp where we can’t wait to greet our fellow RMI climbers who stood on the summit today.

RMI Guides Jess Wedel, Jack Delaney and the Magnificent 7.

January 22, 2025 - 7:24 am PT

Good news!  RMI Guide Dominic Cifelli along with climbers Eric, Brian, and Ethan reached the top of Aconcagua at 12:15 local time. Reporting light winds and sunny. Beautiful day.

RMI Guide Ben Luedtke

At our first break, I walked over to Tom and said “how are you doing?” and he looked up at me from the only bit of shade we had seen in the last hour and said “good, this feels like home.” And that’s the best way to describe this whole day.

We’re finally on the trail - after all this time planning, all the big travel days and this morning’s final packing shenanigans. Even though the first few hours were hot, hot, hot there was a sense of ease.

Sometimes we walked in silence and I’d look back and see everyone just taking it in, sometimes we chatted about life and our jobs as we strolled along surrounded by vivid cliffs of rosy rock.

I’ve laughed more in the last few days than in the last few months combined as we’ve gotten to know each other. A few days ago we were all strangers and now we are a unified team ready to climb, ready to face the excitement and unknowns of the mountain.

After five hours of hiking, we arrived at our first camp, Pampa de las Lenas, just as some (welcomed) clouds rolled in. At dinner, we peppered Bill with questions about teeth (he’s a dentist) and he gleefully educated us. We decided maybe every night we’d just deep dive into someone else’s profession. There’s so much curiosity and so much life!

Off to bed we go for our first night of many in our little tent homes.

RMI Guides Jess Wedel, Jack Delaney and the Aconcagua climbing team

Hello darkness my only friend. 

Today I woke up feeling it the hardest. Tossed and turned all night, couldn’t breathe through my nose, and headaches was part of the nightly routine. Our modern motivation to obtain charging stations was first of the list. Battling all of the other climbers only to find out that there wasn’t any electricity. Soon after, Ben arrived with spam and bread.. the only way to start your day proper.

After breakfast, we decommissioned our camp with high hopes for Camp 3 at 19,600.’  It was a slow and steady pace to the top with breathing techniques that would only be found in a yoga class. We arrived to our new home around 2 pm and were greeted with stunning views all around. Our group quickly got to work to stake our claim and raise our tents.

After some nice R&R, we ate our mountain house meals to fuel ourselves for our biggest and main objective of the trip… an Aconcagua summit. So sleep tight everyone our job is not done yet. We hope to have dreams of celebrations back at base camp and home with family and friends. In the words of Lion King, “can you feel the love tonight.”

RMI Climber Ethan Pickett

Well, it wouldn’t be an international climbing expedition without some unexpected adventures. So as we drove up a mountain pass outside Mexico City on our way to our first volcano, La Malinche, and our minibus motor essentially exploded, team Mexico Volcanoes took it all in stride. 

Three hours of quality suntanning time later, our new van arrived, we gear exploded and were on our way. 

We were greeted at our cabin resort with everyone’s favorite dinner, a tower of meat, cheese and grilled cactus. The Torre de Carne righted any troubles of the day, and everyone went to bed ready to get up early and climb 14,500’ La Malinche. 

Our summit day dawned clear and beautiful and we made great time up the lower part of the mountain. People started to feel the elevation around 13000’, but the stoke was high, and around 12 noon our entire climbing team stood on the summit of La Malinche!

We celebrated at dinner with yet another tower of meat, and got ready for our next volcano, 17,159’ Iztaccihautl!

RMI Guide Joe Hoch

Hello everyone,

Today we headed to Tarangire National Park know for its abundant animals and beautiful views of the savanna. We saw all the unusual suspects, elephants, giraffes, impalas, monkeys, ostriches, and many others. It was a hot one today, probably high 80’s, but thankfully dry. 

We are spending our last night here in Africa at Nyikani camp, which has beautiful tented rooms with screened windows to allow the sounds of the African night in.

Everyone is doing great and hoping to see a few elusive cats as we make our way out tomorrow. Then it will be back to our main lodge near Arusha for a quick shower before catching our evening flights home. 

Your love ones will be home soon!

RMI Guide Casey Grom and the safari crew

Well, that's a wrap on the entire trip. Our final day also coincided with a 40th birthday party, so we celebrated at La Briciola, a nice Italian restaurant in Quito. We shared laughs as people recounted funny moments from the trip and even had a couple laughs about things that felt more serious in the moment; mountaineering is fun, but can also be stressful.

This trip was a success before we even stepped foot on any of the mountains. Each member of the team prepared diligently and showed up in Ecuador ready to climb, if the mountains would allow safe passage. In the end, all three big mountains allowed such and we had the privilege of visiting three beautiful summits. Had we reached none of these summits, I would be equally proud of this team for all the mental and physical training they accomplished before arriving here. A job well done team.

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier

Hello to all our friends and family at home!

I’m happy to report we ALL made it to Argentina and with our gear (some bags took a little longer than others to arrive but they’re all here now!)

We’ve spent the last two days in Mendoza getting to know each other, checking gear, packing, repacking, learning about what the next few weeks will look like and enjoying as much of the Mendoza-life as possible. We are headed to bed with duffels ready, full stomachs of delicious Argentinian cuisine, and a lot of excitement to finally hit the trail tomorrow.

It’s going to be an incredible adventure and after so much time planning and preparing, we can’t wait for it to begin.

RMI Guides Jess Wedel, Jack Delaney and the Aconcagua climbing team

To all of those who have been following our climb; this is our creed:

There's no room in the dome, but we make a dash,

To secure a spot, for our breakfast hash.

Echoes from strangers across the room,

Embarrassing moments might be our doom.

Blue bags are missing, or so we think,

But the lung juice is dripping, no one dares blink.

All that matters now, is who wins at farkle,

For the highest champion, is sure to sparkle.

Out for a walk, we endeavor with pleasure,

Many photos were taken, that was our treasure.

Back at Camp 2, we rest and we wait.

We ponder our bets, about our own weight.

Back in the dome, we need to recharge,

There goes Nate, he is now at large. 

We spotted some birds, going mach Jesus.

But we finish our night, with pizzas full of cheeses.

RMI Guide Ben Luedtke & Team