Entries from Aconcagua
Posted by: Walter Hailes, Jack Delaney
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 14,500'
Today the weather continued to improve as we awoke to sunny skies and the lightest winds of the trip thus far. We headed uphill for our final carry to Camp 1 to set the stage for our time on the upper mountain. The wind wasn’t done with us yet though as we experienced several “drop you to your knees” gusts on our way up. After making it to Camp 1 and successfully caching our gear we headed back to base camp where we relaxed in the group shelter, swapped stories and enjoyed the beautiful evening alpine glow on the mountains.
RMI Guides Walter Hailes & Jack Delaney
Posted by: Nick Scott, James Bealer
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
We woke to another windy day here at basecamp. After reinforcing our tent anchors, we had a delicious breakfast. The meal was leisurely and delicious, and everyone was in high spirits. We took a walk mid day to stretch our legs and get an incredible view of the mountain. The rest of the day was spent resting and sorting gear. Tomorrow the weather is supposed to become more favorable, and we plan on moving to Camp 2 in order to best position ourselves for the summit.
RMI Guide Nick Scott & Team
Posted by: James Bealer, Nick Scott
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
January 18, 2022
Today we rested at basecamp, avoiding the high winds as much as possible. The team read books, watched some movies, and ate lots of snacks. We are waiting for a break in the winds to try and make a final move up the mountain.
RMI Guide James Bealer
Admire your perseverance! Keep on truckin guys.
Posted by: Tom Dietz on 1/20/2022 at 5:24 am
Sending prayers for my brother Rahim and the rest of the team. Love you ghada kahi ka.
Posted by: Sheri Kindred on 1/19/2022 at 11:49 am
Posted by: Walter Hailes, Jack Delaney
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
After three nights of strong wind gust, fitful sleeping and high altitude we were all ready for a full mountain rest day today. Rest days are simple and look similar to your cat’s daily routine: eat, then nap, then casual stroll, then eat, then nap. Today, our highlights were hot quesadillas for snacks and we walked across the valley from camp to an abandoned hotel to enjoy even more spectacular views.
All around a great rest day and everyone is ready for more climbing tomorrow.
Let’s go Boys! Congrats on your progress, see you at the TOP!
Posted by: Craig Straub on 1/19/2022 at 1:59 pm
Great job fellas! You will make it!
“The wonderful things in life are the things you do, not the things you have.” Reinhold Messner
Posted by: Dirk Gilliard on 1/19/2022 at 1:37 pm
Posted by: Nick Scott, James Bealer
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Monday, January 17, 2022
What a crazy 36 hours! We arrived at Aconcagua Camp 1 excited for the true expedition to begin, but little did we know, the mountain had other plans. We crawled in our tents after dinner with moderate winds slapping the tent walls, but what began as moderate mountain winds soon grew into freight train roars. Gust after gust battered the tents as we scrambled to secure more guy lines and add more rocks to the anchors. What started as 40 mph gusts soon grew to 80 mph and greater! It felt as if the mountain was unhappy with our presence on its flanks. The wind was relentless all night, making the guide's job tireless as we constantly left the safety of our tent to check on the security of the others. No one slept a wink as we all constantly felt the need brace the walls of our tent as the roar of the train built high in the mountain and finally crashed angrily into our camp. As the sun rose, the wind flowed unabated but with less severity as it had throughout the night. With the light increasing we were able to survey the damage. One out of the three tents didn’t survive, but all climbers woke unscathed, albeit a little sleep deprived. Despite their experience, it was the guides whose tent was left broken and battered and who had to seek shelter in the emergency dome tent set up by our logistics company for just such an occasion. With the sun rising, the group sipped coffee with 1,000-yard stares until the caffeine kicked in and we were able to process what just happened. With a broken tent and the forecast changing for the worst, the mountain forced our hand. The guides made the tactical decision to retreat back to basecamp to regroup and pick up our spare tent we had left behind. However, this does not mean the adventure is over. We plan to rest where the air is thicker, wait out the bad weather, and continue on up the mountain in two days. Everyone is tired, but in good spirits after such a trying night on Aconcagua. Wind is what this mountain is famous for and it delivered in spades. Two nights of good sleep in basecamp will have us rested and ready to give it another go. Let’s just hope the mountain decides to let us pass.
Wow! So happy everyone is safe and sound! Will be praying for better weather and mild winds for the rest of your trip!!
Posted by: Coeli Scott on 1/19/2022 at 12:24 pm
Since this is Wednesday, I’m hoping that Steve and team are back on track and making that mountain their B*tch! Stay safe. Love, Susan
Posted by: Susan Dietz on 1/19/2022 at 4:49 am
Posted by: Walter Hailes, Jack Delaney
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Monday, January 17, 2022
After a windy night with little sleep we awoke to a beautiful and sunny day. After a delicious breakfast we packed light packs to head up hill for an acclimatization hike. The wind lingered as we hiked and we remained bundled up even with the sun shining upon us. The air felt thin as we reached Aconcagua's Camp 1 at 5000m (16,000ft). After a quick lunch break the team was feeling good so we continued uphill for another hour to take full advantage of our day. Once we reached our high point we turned around and scooted downhill to a hearty meal of carne asado grilled by the porters. Tonight we hope to sleep like rocks.
We are so glad the winds calmed so that you and the team were able to hike yesterday! We are so proud of you and we love following the blog and updating everyone on your progress! Go Team Aconcagua!
Posted by: Rahim's Cintas Family on 1/18/2022 at 6:29 am
We are living your adventure vicariously except we are not having the pleasure of your company, the weather, great meals etc. Pace yourselves, which I am sure you are doing and stay safe. All well at our end.
Hugs to you all
Posted by: Norman and Phyllis on 1/18/2022 at 4:31 am
Posted by: Walter Hailes, Jack Delaney
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Sunday, January 16, 2022 4:01 PM PST
After a rough first night at base camp because of the big jump in altitude, we started the day a little slow. We went for a nice casual walk to check out the local penitentes and breathe off the slight headaches that lingered from the night before. It was beautiful walking into the 15’ tall glacier spires. After lunch we got to work sprucing up our camp. The whole team worked really hard shoveling, hoeing, and raking the rock filled dirt into plush flat platforms for our tents. We will sleep better tonight partly because the tents will be more comfy and partly because making the tents more comfy was exhausting. Another beautiful day in the mountains with a great team!
RMI Guide Walt Hailes & Team
Sunday, January 16, 2021 - 11:18 AM PST
The team moved up to Camp 1 at Plaza Canada today, situated at 16,500 feet. Our packs were noticeably lighter after carrying most of our gear up to camp a few days ago. We quickly got settled in and shored our tents against the upcoming wind. Everyone is happy to be above basecamp and starting our push towards the summit.
RMI Guide Nick Scott & Team
Be safe! It’s so much fun to see your progress!
Posted by: Kendall Snow on 1/17/2022 at 5:53 pm
Hope those high winds settle for you! Stay safe!
Posted by: Jill Snow on 1/17/2022 at 2:39 pm
Posted by: Walter Hailes, Jack Delaney
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 14,500'
Hola Amigos! It’s finally happened, we have arrived on the mountain! After some last minute packing and eating a lot of empanadas while we waited, we got a weather window and flew into Plaza de Mulas at 14,000 feet. It was one of the most scenic and incredible helicopter flights I’ve ever been on. We settled nicely into our Basecamp, where we will spend the next several days acclimatizing. We’re happy to be here and are going to bed with full bellies thanks to the amazing food and hospitality of the staff at camp.
RMI Guides Walt Hailes & Jack Delaney
Walt,
Good to seeing you on the Blog. Looking forward to climbing with you again someday.
Stay safe.
Pat and Lynn Morrison
Posted by: Pat Morrison on 1/16/2022 at 9:07 am
After an impressive showing on our Carry Day we decided to let the group rest their weary muscles at before we begin our progression up the mountain. Lots of eating and sleeping are being done today at Basecamp before the meal quality decreases and the altitude does it’s best to rob you of valuable shut eye. I can definitely feel the excitement in the group as all of us are eager to move higher and test our mettle against the mountain. Send good vibes out to the weather gods for us. We are hoping for sunny skies and light winds from here on out. Two things Aconcagua does not provide often.
Well done guys. Such a great adventure. I’m living Vicariously. “I can make it two more steps” Wishing you the best.
Posted by: Saxby on 1/20/2022 at 2:27 pm
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