Entries By dominic cifelli

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

Yesterday’s blog was about awe; this one is about how awe-full the fricken wind can be sometimes. As we nestled into our sleeping bags for the night we traded the guitars, laughter, and bustle of Basecamp with freight train after freight train of wind roaring down valley at us in Camp 1. It’s such a unique thing to hear, wind a couple kilometers away from you raging at you until finally WHOOSH you get the brunt of it all at once. I’d look over at Ben every once in a while as I held up my side of the tent with my hand. Nothing but log cutting as flaps of fabric tapped him on the head like an impatient toddler. “ Good for him” I thought.
We awoke with wind still howling and a full day of climbing ahead of us. Cold, cutting wind ever present as we saddled up and head out for our carry to camp 2. The wind only intensified as we worked our way up the switch backs to The col between Ameghino, a towering 19,300 ft peak, and Aconcagua, the stone sentinel. But eventually reaching beyond the col and catching our first glimpse of this side of the mountain. La Mano, Mercedario, Link, Fitzgerald, they just keep going, each a staggering peak in their own right and eye candy for the remainder of our climb to camp 2. We reached our destination, said a quick happy Birthday to Tori, and headed back down to the “comfort” of our camp 1 site. We can’t wait to be up at camp 2 and were hoping for a little less wind tonight.

To all family members or blog followers, we’re pretty trivia obsessed right now so give us your best.

RMI Guide Dominic Cifelli
 

This morning we awoke up to a beautiful, crisp bluebird morning. A stark contrast to yesterday afternoons snowstorm. We broke camp while the moon set behind the mountains, packed our gear, enjoyed one last base camp  meal in our heated dome. Over breakfast we shared a some good laughs about our epic Farkle battles, shared irritations, and how wonderful it must be to fly fish in Patagonia.  

We bid farewell to the base camp crew with lots of hugs and encouragement. It’s impossible to overstate how incredible the Grajales team is. Their warmth, attention to detail, and love of this mountain are contagious. In addition to saying goodbye to the people who have supported us for the past few days, we said goodbye to WiFi, electricity, and our heated dome. All small sacrifices for the adventure that lay ahead. The team’s energy is high and everyone is excited for our move to Camp 1.  

We started up the mountain, through a glacial gully which lead to a field of glacial debris that I can only imagine is what the moon looks like. We quickly smoked our besties on the way up, which admittedly felt satisfying. We day dreamed of polar plunging in the glacial lakes as we passed by and felt like we were on another planet when we navigated the human sized penetentes. The final push was steep, loose and challenging. Nothing this group couldn’t handle though!  

We reached camp just before 1pm and were treated to our tents already put together. I want to give a HUGE shoutout to the porters who ferry our gear up the mountain and help make this experience possible for us. After getting organized and completing our camp set up we relaxed and soaked up some of the beautiful mountain sun. 

As the afternoon waned, the temperature cooled and retreated to our tents. Only the promise of Ben’s handmade stew could draw us out. The only thing better than the stew was the conversation on proper blue bag techniques.  

Walking through this remote region of our beautiful planet today was nothing short of awe inspiring. I’ve always felt awe is a word that is commonly overused for moments that are often under deserving. 

True awe arises as you stand amidst these towering peaks, feeling both insignificant and deeply connected to the vastness of this place. It is in the shared silence, the towering cliffs, the shimmering snow and glaciers, the penitentes, and the endless expanse of sky that you realize the sheer majesty of these mountains. The camaraderie of this team amplifies this feeling, as each step toward the summit becomes a collective triumph, driven by trust, an appreciation of group suffering, a bit of good natured ribbing, and mutual encouragement. Awe is not just about the mountain’s scale but also about the resilience of the human spirit, the raw beauty of this place, and the profound sense of gratitude for being part of something so much larger than ourselves.  

RMI Climber Erica Kim 

Thursday, January 16, 2025 - 5:32 pm PT

I don’t do blogs.  We are on day whatever having a rest day here at Aconcagua base camp.  We went on a “walk” and now we will hang around all day and eat.  We all passed our med check too, so that’s neat. 

But enough of this. Let’s chat about things that annoy you.  Things like Costco, Buc-ees and people that tell you how old their kid is in months.  No one needs a box of 47 microwaveable taquitos, 120 gas pumps and I don’t want to do math to figure out how old your kid is.  I was asking to be nice anyway. 

Tune in tomorrow for a nicely written blog. 

Wait….I thought of more….adults that are obsessed with Disney.  People that don’t use cruise control on the highway. 

RMI Climber Eric Uncapher

Hola, and thanks for tuning back in.

Today, our team completed our first carry of the trip from Basecamp to Camp 1 at 16,500 feet. None of this would have been possible, however, without an amazing breakfast provided by Grajales and a discussion regarding the crispiness scale of bacon. We traveled amongst waves of glacial ice, towers of penitentes, plains of tiny alpine lakes, and hills of what must be the real rocky horror picture show. It was nothing we couldn't handle with some light encouragement from one another. Alas, we reached Camp 1, cached our gear, and descended back to Basecamp.

A note to Tory, Brian's wife, don't worry, he wore his nose guard today, and he looks fabulous. As the day wore on, we continued discovering new things about one another. Some of us speak American real good, or as some might say, more better than others. Nathan has become Basecamp's shower time police, Ethan likes to whisper sweet nothings, Erica has a farkle mouth, and Brian is already discussing future wine tours while Eric is still nursing a wine hangover from Mendoza, allegedly.

All in all, today was a huge success. Dom and I are very excited for this team.

Tomorrow, we get to rest once more before moving uphill to Camp 1 and beyond. The climb has officially begun, and as the funniest person in this group, I would say this team is UP for the challenge. Yeet, yeet!

RMI Guide Ben Luedtke & Team

I went to bed tired after three successive nights of little to no sleep. I entered my sleeping bag fearful of seismic disturbances both inside and outside my tent, but fatigue overtook me and I slept with dreams of everything dolce de leche. Woke up to a blue bird day and ready to reset. Not much to say about a rest day- eat, drink, hike a little, eat, play Farkle, talk random minutia, and then eat- you get the picture.

Today I thought would be a good day to share gratitude. I am very grateful for the Argentinian people, so welcoming, huggers and hand shakers, space violators- I love that. I am grateful for the 6 other strangers I am climbing with, thrown together with high individual expectations but how quickly we formed a team of working together for a common goal. Nate- from Illinois, works in the medical device industry and in the Air Force reserves, family man and enjoys a good beer, gentle bear and unable to be poked as he will always laugh it off, always willing to help, not a single swear word in his vocabulary but I am holding out hope. Eric- from Indiana, train engineer, energy is off the charts and he can laugh at himself, authority on rock bands and an avid 4-wheeler, can talk to anybody about anything, always willing to help. Erica- from LA and owns her own business, extremely tough but easy going hanging out with 6 other guys in the mountains with pretty offensive language (outside of Nate), aspiring Farkle master, also quick to contribute productively to a conversation, always willing to help. Ethan- from Indiana, owns his own business, near master of obtuse trivia particularly movies for which he says he never watches them, doesn’t take long for him to get a room laughing, cheats at Farkle, always willing to help. Dom- from WA, our guide and team leader, quick to read a room and join into any conversation from conspiracies on why the world is flat to Farkle strategies, affable, knowledgeable, humble, glad he is leading us. And last but not least, Ben- from a lot of places but most recently I think AZ, our other guide, the uncle every kid wishes he had with his mastery of riddles and bad Dad jokes even though he has no offspring, affable, knowledgeable, humble, also glad he is helping lead us. 

I think I am in good hands with these new friends of mine. So on our first rest day, I am grateful. That’s no cap…

RMI Climber Brian G