Entries from Peru Seminar
July 21, 2016
Posted by: Robby Young, Eric Frank
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Peru Seminar
Elevation: 16,200'
Greetings all! This is the Peru Expedition Skills Seminar team. We are currently sitting at high camp, Moraine Camp, on our last objective of our trip, Pisco Oeste. We're sitting here at 16,200 feet or so and just enjoyed a nice dinner and a beautiful sunset over some of the highest peaks here in the Cordillera Blanca of Peru. And we're now in bed getting ready for a climb, which we will wake up for in a couple hours to go to the summit of Pisco Oeste at 18,741 feet. The weather here is beautiful so we're looking forward to a good day of climbing tomorrow, and we will check in once we get down back to base camp sometime tomorrow afternoon or evening. We will talk to you then. Ciao.
RMI Guide Robby Young
RMI Guide Robby Young checks in from Moraine Camp on Pisco Oeste.
July 21, 2016
Posted by: Elias de Andres Martos
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Peru Seminar
Elevation: 14,270'
Hola! We are back at base camp safe and sound, tired but happy. A frigid, clear dawn kept us in our tents a bit longer this morning. With the first rays of sun peeking over the southwest face of Alpamayo, we knew our descent had to happen. We needed to be off the glacier before any ascending climbers reached the bergschrund over the col, otherwise we would be stuck waiting for the bottleneck to clear. We packed, and started our descent. An uneventful journey brought us to the warmth of the meadow where our cook Raúl was waiting for us with lunch ready to eat. After a couple nights of freeze dried food at our high camp; sweet potato fries, quinoa soup and a local dish "causa;" never tasted so good! Even at 14,000'. We spent the afternoon packing for tomorrow's departure towards town, and finished the day with a jump into the river for some needed hygiene (Yeap, these guys are classy, even in the mountains!). Our next post will be tomorrow from our hotel in Huaraz.
Best regards,
ElÃas and team.
This morning we gathered for breakfast, drank our fill of coffee, and then hopped on our van for a 45 minute bumpy ride out of Huaraz. Once at our trail head we dawned our light packs and began hiking. Soon the rolling grass hills gave way to steeper rock steps and eventually Laguna Churup. Laguna Churup is a stunning alpine lake at 14,200' with fantastic views of the central Cordillera Blanca. Under perfectly blue skies and a light wind we had lunch and soon everyone stretched out on the rocks for a little nap. After a little siesta we started our descent back to the TH and then on to the hotel. The whole team did a great job today, I had to rein them in a few times as the excitement cranked up the pace.
We are resting and doing some shopping this afternoon before dinner. Spirits are high and we are all excited to get on the trail tomorrow.
Thanks for following along,
RMI Guide Geoff Schellens & Team
July 21, 2016
Posted by: Geoff Schellens
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Peru Seminar
Elevation: 10,000'
Our RMI Alpamayo July 19th team has arrived. Late last and into the wee hours of the morning the team arrived in Lima and headed for our hotel. We met for breakfast and then loaded our van and began our 8 hour journey to Huaraz. We were all sound asleep before the van had left the busy streets of Lima. We traveled north along to coast for four hours before stopping for lunch. In the afternoon we started climbing up the narrow mountain road and eventually descended into the town of Huaraz. Huaraz is like the Chamonix of Peru, this beautiful town is at 10,000' and offers some amazing views of the central Cordillera Blanca.
After settling into our very nice hotel we met our local guide, William, who showed us around the town and soon found ourselves at the Cafe Andino, the climbers Mecca in Huaraz, so we stopped in for dinner. We are all still tired and jet lagged so we are heading to bed early. Tomorrow we will go for a nice day hike to stretch the legs a bit. Everyone is doing great and the excitement is high. Thanks for following along.
RMI Guide Geoff Schellens
July 20, 2016
Posted by: Robby Young, Eric Frank
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Peru Seminar
Elevation: 15,400'
Greetings loyal RMI Blog Followers,
Today, our team had the privilege of driving up the Quebrada Llanganuco. It is surely one of the most beautiful places in the world. Laguna (Lake) Llanganuco is the centerpiece, a massive alpine lake right along the road, with the most vibrant turquoise color any of our team members have ever seen. From one of the switchbacks in the road, we met our donkeys and their drivers, and made quick moves up to 15,400' to Pisco Base Camp. From here, the highest peaks of the cordillera are on display, including Huascaran, Chopicalqui, Chacraaju, the Huandoy massif, and our objective, Pisco Oeste. Tonight's dinner of Chifa (Peruvian Chinese dish) nourished our bodies as we prepare for a move to our 16,200' high camp tomorrow. Stay tuned for more! Our highest summit attempt of the trip is only 2 days away!
Todo es tranquilo. Buenos Noches,
RMI Guides Robby Young, Eric Frank, and your Peru Seminar Crew
PS - Spanish climbing word of the day is "guantes" which means gloves.
July 20, 2016
Posted by: Elias de Andres Martos
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Peru Seminar
Elevation: 19,512'
-(P3).jpg)
Original Post | July 20, 2016 - 11:38 a.m. PDT
Hello! This is Elias and the Alpamayo team we are on top! A great crew - some excitement out there. We got to the top here in four hours and a half. We keep beating the time every year! So, the RMI Alpamayo Climb is getting better and better every year! Peter, I, and the guys here are pretty psyched. We're going to enjoy the views a little longer and then start our descent. We'll give you a shout later on tonight from camp. We will head for base camp tomorrow. That's it for now!
Update | July 20, 2016 - 3:16 p.m. PDT
And we did it! Everybody reached the summit of Alpamayo today. We were on the fence about climbing and almost didn't leave camp. Starting around 11:00 p.m., we experienced unusually strong winds which lasted pretty much all night and all morning. We dragged our feet, and decided to give it a go after a delayed breakfast. With no one on the wall, we could have the luxury of climbing this surreal face without headlamps.
With better conditions than usual, the plethora of of nevé provided pure joy on our steep upward progression. By 19,000', crystal ice demanded more focus and conscious delivery of every swing with our ice tools. With the incredible training and preparation by the team, we reached the airy summit a mere four and a half hour after departure. We celebrated on the summit and started our descent. Eight 60 meter rappels brought us to the overhanging bergschrund and deposited us back on the glacier, a stones throw to our tents.
Now we're enjoying dinner at our high camp. Our two porters, Leoncio and Miguel, greeted with a huge smile and bows of soup. We climb hard, and we climb in style. We'll be checking in from Base Camp tomorrow!
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos and team
Elias de Andres Martos & Team on Summit of Alpamayo July 20, 2016
Awesome work guys. Way to set an impossible bar for next year’s group!
Posted by: Brian P on 7/21/2016 at 9:05 pm
Phenomenal job everyone - well done!!!!!!
Posted by: John Horgan on 7/20/2016 at 4:42 pm
July 19, 2016
Posted by: Robby Young, Eric Frank
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Peru Seminar
Elevation: 10,000'
Greetings from Huaraz!
The ESS-Peru team is back in the bustling city of Huaraz after a wonderful week in the Ishinca Valley. Perfect climbing weather allowed for successful summits of both Nevada Ishinca (18,143') and Urus Este (17,600'). After a wonderful breakfast of eggs and bacon (at 14,200'!), we made quick work of our descent out of the valley this morning. Town life brought more great eating, shopping, and resting here at the Hotel Andino, all in preparation for our next objective, Pisco Oeste. Tomorrow morning we depart Huaraz for the stunning Quebrada Llanganuco (Llanganuco Valley) and make our move to Pisco Base Camp at 15,400'. Our well acclimatized bodies should take to this altitude well as we set our sights on Pisco, our highest objective of the trip at 18,741'. We'll check in again tomorrow evening from our perch in the Llanganuco. For now, enjoy the "best of" from Robby and Eric's cellphone photo galleries.
Buenos Noches,
RMI Guides Robby Young, Eric Frank, and the ESS-Peru Team
P.S. The Spanish climbing term of the day is "tocino", which means bacon.
July 19, 2016
Posted by: Elias de Andres Martos
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Peru Seminar
Elevation: 17,880'
-(P3).jpg)
Buenas tardes from High Camp of Alpamayo! We arrived one hour ago and are currently resting and making water and dinner. The word out is that we might go for it tonight! Everyone did a terrific job getting to here, and this year is no joke, as the bergschrund to gain the col (to then drop to the northside of the mountain) is as broken and steep as l have ever seen it. Climbing 200 meters of steep, broken glacial ice with heavy packs at 17,000 feet is a task, but now that's behind us. Now we have the joy of straight up 70-degree ice, on one of the most beautiful runnels in the world, with no packs, lays ahead. It is beautiful up here, folks, we just can't get enough.
Stay tuned,
RMI Guide ElÃas de Andres Martos and team
Hi to all the expedition members, MartÃn is following and suporting Elias from Spain!!!!
Take care and enjoy!!!!!! good luck
Posted by: MartÃn de Andrés on 7/20/2016 at 12:36 pm
WOW! You guys are killing it. Sounds like a strong group.
Staying close to my phone hoping David wins a Summit Call!!
Posted by: Katrina Stainton on 7/20/2016 at 10:53 am
Good afternoon from Camp 1 again. We changed our plan just a touch, and instead of moving this morning, we did a carry to the Col. We are back to rest for the afternoon, as we continue to trigger our acclimatization process, and having lighten our loads will pay back with hopefully an earlier arrival to high camp tomorrow. We got eyes on the wall as we approached the Col this morning, and everyone got really excited, at the same time as they felt good for the ice climbing training over the last couple winters; the French Direct to Alpamayo is no joke!
Stay tuned for tomorrow's progress,
RMI Guide ElÃas and Team.
July 18, 2016
Posted by: Robby Young, Eric Frank
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Peru Seminar
Elevation: 17,600'
Greetings loyal RMI blog followers! This is your Expedition Skills Seminar - Peru team calling from the summit of Nevado Urus at 17,600 feet. It's a sunny day as usual in the Cordillera Blanca range of Peru; we are so spoiled down here with perfect weather. We're going to enjoy the sunshine with views of the beautiful turquoise lakes and get down safely, hopefully in a fast order of time and enjoy some home cooked meals. That's all for now. Ciao!
RMI Guides Robby Young, Eric Frank, and team
Previous Page
Next Page
RMI Guide Robby Young calls from the summit of Nevado Urus.
Hi Bob, these blogs are THRILLING!
Posted by: Pat Pritz on 7/22/2016 at 5:51 am
I love and miss you Daddy. Can’t wait to see you soon.
Posted by: Kate Stainton on 7/21/2016 at 9:27 pm
View All Comments