Entries By ben luedtke
Ahhh, Orizaba! The climactic conclusion to our Mexican Volcano sojourn.
But before we recount the day I feel it important to regale the dear RMI blog post reader with events of this illustrious RMI sponsored event!
The trip begins with a meeting of strangers, aficionados of adventure if you will, led by our mountain guide whose skill and competence is only exceeded by his devilish good looks and excellent calves.
After meeting in Mexico City, we headed to conquer La Malinche; our mission successful and quite moist, we Summited the beast and befriended a cadre of stray dogs- LFB you have a home in America whenever you see fit.
Our journey then took us to Ixta High Camp in a single day. After a few hours of sleep a few of us conquered the salacious Medusa of a mountain.
Our next two days we spent in Puebla. To be honest, nothing to report but everything was incredible! Unfortunately, it was over too quickly, and we were off to Orizaba.
After a brief stop at an old soap factory run by a lovely old man, we were off to Orizaba base camp….what awaited was an alpine start- for the uninitiated, alpine start is a euphemism for the following “I don’t care if it’s midnight, wake up we gonna go summit that monster”-……after 7 hours of suffering and straight uphill trudging at 5 am in the dark on a glacier with a steep pitch, Orizaba was conquered! The remarkable thing is everyone in our group made it to the top! We headed down back to the soap factory for dinner and now pack to head home on Sunday!
To our new friends I will say this….
It was a true pleasure getting to know all of you. Very rarely does a group of complete strangers absolutely click and find so many commonalities. From sharing jokes to gaining intimate knowledge of each other, it was an experience of a life time. Serendipity never ceases to amaze.
Sure Does!
RMI Client Joe Musial
Sign Up For Mexico's Volcanoes November 2, 2024 Emails
RMI Guide Ben Luedtke and Team checked in today at 6:49 am PST letting us know that the entire team was standing on the summit of Orizaba. When they get settled this evening they will have a great summit day story to tell!
Sign Up For Mexico's Volcanoes November 2, 2024 Emails
After a well-earned siesta and with bellies full of mole, we are off to Orizaba! We left this morning and have arrived in Tlachichuca. We are carefully packing and unpacking and repacking, making sure we have everything we need. After enjoying another nice lunch served by the wonderful Servimont staff, we are ready to hit the 4x4 trail up to Refugio Piedra Grande.
Upon arrival, we will go out for a "light" hike, enjoy dinner, and be off to bed early in preparation for an alpine start on Orizaba.
¡Hasta Mañana!
RMI Guide Ben Luedtke and Team
Sign Up For Mexico's Volcanoes November 2, 2024 Emails
Hola de Puebla! Yesterday, the team woke up early for our summit attempt on Ixta. It was a long day. After having some breakfast and hot drinks, we set out on the Ayoloco route. Crossing some difficult terrain on loose dirt, over boulders, and up a steep snow slope, we eventually made the summit just before sunrise! After enjoying the beauty of the morning sun, we descended back to high camp. Once we were packed up, we continued descending back down to La Joyita, enjoyed some lunch prepared by the wonderful Servimont staff, and loaded the van for our drive to Puebla. We all enjoyed a good rest and much deserved shower.
Today we are enjoying the sights in Puebla for a much needed rest. Stay tuned for one more adventure as we make our way towards Orizaba tomorrow!
RMI Guide Ben Luedtke and Team
Sign Up For Mexico's Volcanoes November 2, 2024 Emails
RMI Guide Ben Luedtke and team reached High Camp on Ixta yesterday afternoon. It was a long day of travelling from La Malinche.
This morning with an alpine start the team reached the summit of Ixtaccihuatl.
Congratulations to the team!
Sign Up For Mexico's Volcanoes November 2, 2024 Emails
Monday, November 4, 2024 - 5:44 pm PT
Today was the bees knees!
After our rainy hike yesterday, we popped onto the same trail to attempt the summit of La Malinche. On the way up, we got more comfy with one another telling a plethora of jokes. We found that we all have a similar sense of humor. It was a steep climb of 4,500 feet in 4.3 miles, picking through screen and boulder fields, but we all made the summit and nobody threw up or passed out, so that's a win!
We rested on the summit and then started slowly making our way down the loose dirt and rocks. We finished out night with beer and a hot meal. Off to Ixta tomorrow!
RMI Climber Emily Bowling
Sign Up For Mexico's Volcanoes November 2, 2024 Emails
Sunday, November 3, 2024
Hola amigas y familias! Thank you all for tuning in to our blog; we are officially underway here in Mexico. After everyone arrived in Mexico City last night, we had an informative team meeting, savored a delicious dinner that included Nutella pizza, and enjoyed some of the local Dia de Muertos festivities.
This morning, we had an early breakfast and began our van quest towards the volcanoes. Arriving at La Malintzi, we got checked into our rooms and headed out promptly for a hike up Malinche towards the treeline. Just as we were enjoying the scenery, CRACK! BOOM! Lightning, thunder, rain, hail. It was enough to call it a day and head back down the slippery slopes. Hungry and ready for dinner, we plan to hike to the summit of Malinche tomorrow. Buenas noches!
RMI Guide Ben Luedtke and Team
Sign Up For Mexico's Volcanoes November 2, 2024 Emails
August 30, 2024
Posted by: Ben Luedtke, George Hedreen, Margo Kerr
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Climb led by RMI Guide Ben Luedtke reached the Summit of Mt. Rainier at 5am PDT. The team climbed six hours on the Route via Disappointment Cleaver to reach the top. Ben reported clear blue skies and beautiful views.
Congratulations Team!
July 23, 2024
Posted by: Ben Luedtke, Erika Birkeland
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
Elevation: 10,541'
Today, we achieved what we sought after and more. Waking up to a pool of mist, we were happy to be carrying feather light packs, compared to the last 2 days. With a break in the clouds and the moon to help light the way, we set off. It was everything we could do to catch a view, but we finally caught a glimpse and climbed high above the clouds just past Glacier Gap. The morning brought views our eyes couldn't believe. Passing onto the Cool Glacier, we new we were close. We pushed on through the switchbacks and snow on the final ridge until 100% of our team stood on top. It was 5 for 5 volcanoes in WA for some, and a first for others. Huge congratulations to our team for pushing through! We are now back at camp resting before we load up our heavy packs again and descend back to White Pass for the evening.
RMI Guides Ben Luedtke, Erika Birkeland, and team.
July 23, 2024
Posted by: Ben Luedtke, Erika Birkeland
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
Elevation: 7,300'
July 22, 2024 - 5:48 pm PT
We started the morning with riddles from Ben. We continued to make our way up steep terrain and sandy trails, seeing our first patches of snow. We shooed a brave marmot (Jerry) away at snack time. Rock hopping, we made our way to high camp. Setting up camp in a beautiful snowy basin, we spent the afternoon honing our snow travel skills.
-RMI Climber, Miranda Chisholm
PC: Ben Luedtke
Congratulations to you all! You did it Bubba! We miss you!
Posted by: Tanya Benavidez on 7/24/2024 at 11:07 am
Great Job Miranda!!
(And everyone else)
Posted by: Jim Chisholm on 7/23/2024 at 2:06 pm
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