Entries By mike king
January 3, 2016
Posted by: Mike King, Caleb Ladue
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 9,000'
This is Mike and team checking in after our delicious asado dinner cooked by the mule drivers. We had an eight-hour hike from Base Camp and some of our feet faired better then others. Regardless, everyone is excited to be in Mendoza tomorrow night. This has been a great group of climbers and while we didn't stand on top of
Aconcagua, the team learned a lot and had fun doing so.
RMI Guide Mike King
January 2, 2016
Posted by: Caleb Ladue, Mike King
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 13,800'
This is Mike and the Team. We are at
Base Camp feeling good after a long day carrying down our equipment from 18,000' to 13,800'. We will start our descent to the road tomorrow, which will entail 20 miles and culminate in a delicious Argentinean asado dinner. The weather continues to plague teams and we are thankful for our time up high.
RMI Guide Mike King
January 1, 2016
Posted by: Mike King
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 18,000'
This is Mike with the Team at 18,000ft. Today we woke up and started towards high camp at 19,600ft. We carried our summit kits with the intention of going as far on the summit route as the weather would allow. Today was to be the last clear day for the next week and the winds were forecasted to be slowing down to 30mph by day's end.
We had an amazing sunrise across the snow covered Andes. Alpenglow on the
Polish Glacier and Aconcagua's massive shadow to our West. The wind was in our face all morning, requiring the Team to be layered up and persistent with each foot placement.
Due to high winds and extreme cold we turned around at 20,500ft. We are all back in camp safely and feeling good about making an honest crack at the summit from our camp at 18,000ft.
Tomorrow we will descend to base camp and begin our walk out of the Park. The last few weeks have been a great learning experience for what expedition life is like in the big mountains.
Thanks for following along and we will check in daily until we reach pavement on Monday.
RMI Guide Mike King
On The Map
December 31, 2015
Posted by: Caleb Ladue, Mike King
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 18,000'
Today we woke to slightly milder winds that allowed us to breakdown our camp at 16,400ft and move Guanaco 3 camp, our
second camp at 18,000' on Aconcagua. All teams above Base Camp are trying to figure if the current weather system will allow for a summit bid. The Team has been updated on the weather pattern that is moving onto the mountain.
From the beginning of the expedition the guides have been stressing taking care of daily items that are in our control like hydration, rest, proper clothing choices and breathing, a lot. At the same time this expedition has been marked by items we have no control over, for example, tall penitentes to navigate, hot temperatures, wind and a deteriorating weather pattern.
We will continue to evaluate our options, in the meantime, It's New Years Eve on Aconcagua. We'll miss the party at base camp, but not the pan flute chiming in during the porter drum circle until 4am.
RMI Guide Mike King
On The Map
December 30, 2015
Posted by: Mike King, Caleb Ladue
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 16,400'
This is RMI Guide Mike King checking in checking in from 16,400 feet on Aconcagua. Today is our
rest day and we are definitely resting in our tents. The winds picked up around dinner last night and have not stopped shaking our tents. The team reported good sleep/rest after our carry to Chopper Camp yesterday and everyone is acclimating well. We are hunkered down for the day; reading and napping. There is rumor of a snack food social in one of the tents around lunch time, I might have to crash that party.
We will keep checking the weather today. Our goal is to move up to Chopper Camp tomorrow during lower winds and then play the waiting game for a summit bid.
The RMI office sent the blog comments to us and everyone enjoyed hearing them read during breakfast yesterday. Thank you for following along and supporting us! Keep it up!
RMI Guide Mike King and Team
On The Map
December 29, 2015
Posted by: Mike King, Caleb Ladue
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 16,400'
Call it Camp 2 while your on the mountain and you will get a curious look from the locals, but call it
Chopper Camp or Guanaco 3 and they will smile. The team woke this morning and carried food and equipment to Guanaco 3 (our Camp 2). Some of our legs felt a bit heavy from the move yesterday but we made it.
As we turned the corner at Ameghino Col the winds increased and we took in stellar views of La Mano, Mercedario and other 6000 m. peaks in the San Juan Province.
We are back in Camp 1 looking forward to a rest day on Wednesday. Weather and high winds are rolling in, good night from our cozy tents at 16,400 ft.
RMI Guide Mike King and team
On The Map
December 28, 2015
Posted by: Mike King, Caleb Ladue
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 16,400'
This is RMI Guide
Mike King and the Team checking in from
Camp 1, 16,400 ft! We had slightly lighter packs then our carry day but still hot temperatures radiating off the snow fields. After 4 nights at 14,000 the team cruised up to Camp in good form.
The climbers are enjoying some rest time in the warm tents and organizing their gear for our carry to Chopper Camp tomorrow.
These climbers bring a lot of different mountaineering and climbing experience to the team and watching them pitch camp today makes a guide team proud.
Thanks for following along.
On The Map
December 27, 2015
Posted by: Caleb Ladue, Mike King
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 13,800'
Not a whole lot to report during our rest day at
Plaza Argentina, which is indicative of a successful and relaxing day after yesterday's carry to Camp 1.
After a good breakfast the Team took advantage of washing clothes for the trek out and really enjoyable showers offered by one of the logistic companies here.
We could continue to delay our ascent with all the amenities of base camp, but will pack up our gear and move up to Camp 1 at 16,400ft.
That's all from Plaza Argentina
RMI Guide Mike King
December 26, 2015
Posted by: Caleb Ladue, Mike King
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 13,800'
This is Mike and Team checking in after our return from
Camp 1 @ 16,400ft. The Mountain got a lot of snow this winter compared to the past 10 seasons. This made for difficult climbing through snow features called 'penitentes' that form from dust, wind and sunlight. Today they were six feet tall in some places.
Combine the narrow snow features with heat and glare reflecting off the white snow and the Team had it's work cutout for them. We stocked our camp with food and supplies to both lighten our load on the 28th and to help acclimate.
Tomorrow is a rest day and everyone is looking forward to sleeping in.
Thanks for following the expedition.
RMI Guide Mike King
December 25, 2015
Posted by: Mike King, Caleb Ladue
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 13,800'
This is
Mike and the team checking in from
Aconcagua Base Camp on our first rest day. The team woke this morning with smiles on their faces and all reporting a good night's sleep despite the locals celebrating Christmas Eve until 4:30am.
The Guide Elves had some stockings for the team to open and we are currently resting and preparing our gear for the carry to Camp 1 on Saturday.
Nice calm, warm and relaxing day at Plaza Argentina.
Merry Christmas!
Messages from the team:
Hey mom Katie and Kevin, and Marni! Merry Christmas. Miss and love you guys! Mike
Staying positive, wish me luck. Carmen and Adnan, miss and love you! Hinan.
Merry Christmas, Mom! Only 9,000' to the summit. Dave
Merry Christmas Ben and Blake and all. All is well here. Love you and will see you soon.
Merry Christmas Poppy, friends, SFFG & SH! We are in good shape at base camp and having a great Christmas Day. Love to all, Meredith
Merry Christmas Ma, Pa, CM, Bro, Nolan, Sis, Alyssa, CB, Kyle, Stevo, Jester, and all of our friends back in Canada! A very fun white Christmas up here at 13,800. Love, Jeff
John here hanging tough. 30 miles and 5800 feet of altitude gain over 3 days left me fighting some altitude effects. Decided to take some of my own advice- ride out the storm and eat the elephant one bite at a time. Feeling 100% better now on Christmas Day! Love to all!!
On The Map
Jeff & Mere,
Happy New Year! Sorry that Mother Nature had other plans, but I’m sure this has been another amazing adventure.
Love,
Mary & Peter
Posted by: Mary & Peter on 1/2/2016 at 6:50 am
Meredith & Jeff; what an exciting last day, you gave it your best.
Happy New Year,
Love,
Dad
Posted by: Gregg Mercer on 1/1/2016 at 1:05 pm
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