Entries By ben luedtke

In the land of mountains, where peaks touch the sky,

We started the day, with a breakfast to try.

At Camp 1, the feast was a wondrous delight,

Eggs and bacon, oh my, a savory morning sight!

Ben burst into song, with a voice so bold,

He rapped like Eminem, stories untold!

We cheered and we clapped, with joy in our eyes,

What a way to start the day, with a musical surprise!

We packed up our gear, and set off with zest,

A 6-hour hike ahead, to Camp 2, we did our best.

Ten miles of trails, winding and steep,

But the scenery was breathtaking, our spirits did leap!

At last we arrived, at Camp 2's friendly door,

Where staff greeted us warmly, with treats galore!

Fruit and charcuterie, a mountain delight,

We savored each bite, in the warm sun's light.

But the best part of the day, the most wonderful sight,

Was seeing Aconcagua, our goal, shining so bright!

From afar, we gazed, with hearts full of cheer,

Our destination, so grand, drawing us near!

To William, Alina, and Julia, three silly little friends,

I hope you're having adventures that never end!

May your days be filled with laughter and glee,

And may your dreams be big, like the mountain we see!

RMI Climber James Loudin

You’re back! Let me tell you about our day. 

We woke up early after a night of fun. We finished our packing, ate a fabulous breakfast, and hit the road. Vamonos! Not to the playa. To start our trek amidst some of the biggest mountains in the world. 

Today we walked eight miles, along a roaring river, in the blazing sun. Hoods up, sweat dripping, mouths like cotton. Overwhelmingly beautiful and entirely humbling, we made our way to Trek Camp 1. 

We were greeted at camp with fresh, juicy watermelon, lemonade, and beautiful smiles. We milled around for a bit and soaked up the place while we waited for dinner. The grill was fired up, and by early evening, we were chowing on endless meats and grilled vegetables. Such luxury! 

Of course, we ended the day with an exciting and strategic game of Farkle. Laughter, followed by big yawns, and then off to bed. Another good day awaits! 

And per special request, a very Happy Birthday to Michael & Daniel! 

RMI Guide Hannah Blum

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

Today was a bitter sweet day for all of us.  Post decent day after celebrating a successful summit push, descending 4500’ from Camp 3 to thicker air with post celebrations at base camp, and waking up in the dome tent with the team sprawled out on the floor catching up on some much need rest as well as a reset for the journey back down through the Relinchos Valley and Vacas Valley and into the comforts at Pampas de Leñas at 9582’ in total a 19 mile hike.  Along the way, we saw a heard of Guanacos, a quick glimpse of the infamous poisonous tailed mouse, stopped by this mysterious spring coming out from the side of the mountain, and was able to cool down at the Fountain of Youth.  A much needed reset and  everyone, seems to have knocked off a couple years as the youth came out in everyone with lots of laughter and a nice reset!  After the 7.5 hour trek, we as a team celebrated with cervesas, fresh fruit, juices, and a delicious BBQ to replenish the calories we consumed during the grind through group suffering.  The group ended the night discussing how to properly eat hotdogs, the origins of a sandwich, and many other important topics that makes the world turn. 

Time for more Andes Origen Rubia cervesas and celebrating the successful trip as well as reminiscing on what this journey meant to each one of use. It sure has been memorable and one for the books! One more four hour leg back to Los Penitentes and our expedition will come to and end when we arrive back to Mendoza, Argentina.

Back to a mad game of Farkle and hopefully a first win for me.

RMI Guide Dominic Cifelli & Team

After a beautiful day on the mountain  yesterday bookended with exhaustion and adrenaline, we awoke to the reality that Aconcagua can be an incredibly uninviting environment.  The 25 feet of snow that feel the previous night was being drifted by intense winds into every corner of our tents, packs, boots and any other unfortunate item we had left out. Any hint of moisture inside our tents had turned to ice and snow making the inside of our tents look like a winter wonderland.  

After staying in our sleeping bags as long as possible, we all eventually summoned the courage to peel ourselves out, put on our cold boots, break camp and get out of Cholera as quickly as possible.  As soon as we descended over the ridge,conditions improved.  The winds calmed some and the fresh snow made for a relatively quick decent to Camp 2.  

When we reached Camp 2 we were welcomed by a group of climbers headed up the mountain.  After some R & R and good conversation we grabbed our bags and proceeded down to the mountain.  We took in the last, beautiful views and bid farewell to the mountains before we cruised down the scree to Camp 1.  There the oxygen was more plentiful and our spirits were high. We enjoyed a few laughs in the shade of the Grajales dome, shed some unnecessary layers, ditched our boots and welcomed our sneakers as we readied for the final push to base camp. 

Boy was Basecamp a welcome site! We were greeted with the same enthusiasm we had parted with, hugs and congrats all around!  We quickly shed our packs and were treated with what may be one of the best meals in recent memory.  As we sat in our warm dome, indulging in empanadas, meats and cheeses, cerveza, and a variety of other goodies we reminisced about the adventure we had just experienced.  We talked about how a challenge such as Aconcagua is as much mental as it is physical.  

This conversation made me think about what brings five people from varying backgrounds together,  thousands of miles from home for this common, incredibly challenging goal.  We all have our individual reasons, but it’s undeniable we are all individuals that enjoy type 2 fun.  

Type 2 fun climbing Aconcagua means embracing an experience that is challenging, uncomfortable, and even miserable in the moment, but immensely rewarding in hindsight. It’s about pushing through biting winds, freezing temperatures, and altitudes none of us are accustomed to that left us feeling breathless and our legs aching. Each step up the mountain tested our  physical limits and mental resilience, forcing us to dig deeper than we thought possible. The grueling ascent, from the trek all the way to the summit, with its long days and unpredictable conditions, made us each question why we chose this journey. Yet, it’s the camaraderie with each other, our fellow climbers, the breathtaking views of the Andes, and the profound sense of accomplishment upon reaching the summit (or close to) that make it all worthwhile. Type 2 fun transforms suffering into triumph, and while some of us may swear off such adventures mid-climb (as I do everytime), we’ll likely find ourselves  craving the next challenge as soon as it’s over. 

So to all of you like minded, type 2 loving, crazy souls who have shared this adventure: thank you for an unforgettable experience.  

Now let’s play some Farkle!  

RMI Climber Erica Kim 

Whenever someone would ask me what my favorite mountain to climb was. I’d beat around the bush, answering in vague “it depends” that guides often use to avoid concrete answers in an ever changing arena. Nowadays, it’s Aconcagua. Something about the amalgamation of the people, the food, wine, expedition demands, and luxurious accompaniment makes me come down every year. It’s hard to describe, but in the theme of our early Gen Z style posts, it’s a vibe. You just have to come see it for yourself before you believe me. 

We set out today to summit said peak. “The Stone Sentinel” it’s commonly referred to. It was a breathtaking morning, altitude pun? Still, crisp air, the Milky Way painting the sky with a dull hint of moonlight. Excitement, nerves, anxiousness fill these summit mornings too as you watch fellow tents and teams gearing up to face the same hardships you will. A certain sense of camaraderie is palpable, even if that climber was yelling to their tent mate 2 ft away from them about juice or something.  

Our climb starts at 19,600ft and it certainly feels it as we switchback up toward Piedras Blancas, Independencia, and then onto the grand traverse. A bitter cold wind trap that chills me just typing about it. But we chose today for the lack of wind, and it didn’t disappoint. The usually windy traverse was calm and snowy, making for easy foot placements even if the climbing itself was anything but. Just our Luck. As we ascended and climbed we then reached the cave, the canaleta, and the shoulder of Aconcagua. All daunting and hard features in their own right,  but combine to make one hell of a final push. 

I am happy to say that we did summit today, right before the clouds rolled in. And even though we couldn’t share the summit with all of our teammates, we expect them to be back and we can’t wait to hear about their version of summit day. 

We’re safely back at Colera (High Camp) in our bags listening to the heavy snow fall from above. We’ll head down to see our friends at Basecamp tomorrow and we can’t wait. 

RMI Guide Dominic Cifelli 

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

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

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

I had a reprieve from the blog yesterday as I was focused on my wife’s birthday…and I forgot to write it . Happy birthday again Tory, I love you and miss you and never want to be this far away from you, we all send birthday wishes from South America! 

Today we moved to Camp 2 at 18,000' feet, Camp Guanaco, and we could not be more pleased. I think Dom’s description yesterday of the wind at Camp 1 can be expanded upon and I would contrast it to each sorry climber having their own miniature tornado that follows you and continually gut punches you while yelling the the lyrics of Achy Breaky Heart over and over for which you cannot escape. Trying to relieve yourself of #1 merely winds up on your boots regardless of the direction you are facing, leaving you with a frozen reminder of your wonderful experience at Camp 1. 

Anyway, today I woke up to less wind and clear skies. I unzipped my sleeping bag fully taking in the aromas that I had deposited there over the last several days, too afraid to search my foot box for a dead Guanaco. After wiping the tears from my eyes and checking my pulse, I exited my tent to experience these clear skies. No headache and feeling cocky, I walked 30 feet up a ridge line to celebrate my fitness, only to experience my heart rate jumping from 70 to 130, altitude humbling me again. We had Argentinian bagels with bacon and cream cheese, a familiar flavor I thought I may have experienced before (yesterday). We packed up and headed out, feeling stronger than the previous day. Porters passed us without effort, carrying so much gear they looked like something out of a Dr. Seuss book. Our carry was leisurely, a lot of photos and selfies, and pats on the back. Major daily decisions were beginning to materialize: should I brush my teeth today, weather windows to relieve ourselves, drinking, eating, should I use my wet wipes or help my team out by signaling my presence so they don’t lose track of me- my daughter and I share similar views on these important questions in the wilderness. 

We arrived at Camp Guanaco early afternoon. We were welcomed by the German team (not really) broadcasting their Rave music across camp with a beat totally out of sync with our slow deliberate movements sparking visions of some remote college parties gone terribly wrong that I will go into no further detail. Privacy and individual space were no more, tents packed together, no one using their inside voices, and now sharing common areas/domes with other climbers- but no one yearned for the miniature tornadoes again. 

There is an international feel to Camp 2, and with that comes an international difference in manners and hospitalities. I felt a need to share my thoughts on proper etiquette by covering up when sneezing or coughing, yelling in close proximity contributes to mountain sickness, and if a person is standing in front of you you can’t just walk through them. My attempt at conforming behavior inside the dome was brushed off, so after I took the non-conformists out at the knees and made them kiss the hand, I quietly exited the dome a champion celebrated by my team, like something out of a Marvel movie. We ate our dinner, breaking down the flavors and spices of our culinary experience, shared our desired and current superpowers, if you could drink only 5 drinks the rest of your life out of your fingers what would they be, then resigned to our tents for reading, audio books, and movies on our phones. 

I don’t know if any of the above events actually occurred as the altitude is clearly impacting my thought processes and disinhibiting my frontal lobe. But I will share with you that my chosen Marvel name is Land Shark, and my alias is Jack Handy. My team are Thanos killers, but will settle for summiting Aconcagua if she smiles on us and deems us worthy. In the end, I don’t even know who plays Land Shark and puts on that androgynous hood, but I love that Saturday Night Live lore and I am bringing it back, much to the dismay of my coworkers and family. Goodnight everyone.

RMI Climber Brian Goltry