Entries By robby young
July 9, 2018
Posted by: Robby Young, Alan Davis
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Peru Seminar
Elevation: 17,600'
Greetings!
This morning around 9am, your ESS-Peru Team stood on top of Nevado Urus Este! What a beautiful morning it was; light breeze, mostly sunny skies, and some high clouds over the neighboring giants made for some incredible morning light. With an unknown summit elevation somewhere between 17,600’ and 18,028’, Urus gave us a great taste of true Alpine climbing with some steep snow and a bit of rock scrambling. After a tranquil sun filled descent, we made it back to the comforts of the tents in time for lunch. We spent our afternoon eating the remaining delicacies from our cook, Raul, including pancake pizzas, more delicious soups, and the main course of Lomo Saltado and Jello. Our stomachs are full and our muscles are recovering from a weeks worth of great climbing here in the Ishinca Valley. Tomorrow morning, we bid this beautiful valley farewell and head back to the comforts of Huaraz City for a night of rest and recovery before our next Cordillera Blanca adventure.
We’ll keep you in the loop!
RMI Guides Robby, Alan, William and Peru Team
July 8, 2018
Posted by: Robby Young, Alan Davis
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Peru Seminar
Elevation: 14,400'
Sunday, July 8, 2018 - 4:00 PM PT
Hello Loyal Blog Followers!
Peru Expedition Skills Team here, enjoying a nice sunny day here in the Ishinca Valley. We slept in today; well deserved after our big climb of Nevado Ishinca yesterday! Per usual, we feasted for four meals today. You wouldn’t believe we’re at 14,400’ in the mountains of Peru given the fact that our diet today included fresh pineapple and melon with yogurt and cereal, yellow potato salad, dried corn and charcuterie, and pork chops for dinner! Oh boy, what a treat! It wasn’t just r+r today, however. We got a second chance to hike to the overlook of Tocllacoccha (Lake Toclla), this time without the wet weather. What a sight it was; with large glaciers pouring into turquoise water below the hulking mass that is Tocllaraju. We spent some time geeking out on crevasse rescue, and even practiced rigging rappels off the big boulders here at camp. A great day indeed! Tomorrow (tonight rather), we will make an attempt on Nevado Urus. Wish us luck! We’ll let you know how it goes!
RMI Guide Robby Young, RMI Guide Alan Davis, William and team Peru.
July 7, 2018
Posted by: Robby Young, Alan Davis
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Peru Seminar
Elevation: 18,143'
Saturday, July 7, 2018 - 5:17 PM PT
Ishinca Summit!
We’re happy to report that our team stood on top of Nevado Ishinca this morning around 9 AM. At around 18,143’ high, we certainly had to put the work in, reaching the high point of our trip so far. Winds were light and skies were the brightest of blues for us today, and we sure felt lucky after some rare Cordillera Blanca snow earlier in the week. The team enjoyed pork chops tonight, and two rounds of lunch before that. We’re truly spoiled here in Peru, that’s for sure. We’re planning on resting here in the Ishinca Valley tomorrow, and getting into some crevasse rescue and a smattering of other technical skills as we continue our progression toward Nevado Urus in a few days. Thanks for following along!
RMI Guide Robby Young
Hello all!
Another day here in the beautiful Ishinca Valley! However, unlike yesterday’s rain and snow, today was splitter and bluebird! We took advantage of the sunshine and made our way up to the toe of the Ishinca Glacier for some on-snow training. The views of the massive Ranrapalca as well tomorrow’s objective, Ishinca, were second to none. We all got some much needed rest this afternoon, and are tucked into the tents already this evening, in anticipation of a 2am breakfast and an attempt on 18,143’ Nevada Ishinca tomorrow. Wish us luck!
RMI Guides Robby Young, Alan Davis and Peru Team ‘Con Gas’
July 5, 2018
Posted by: Robby Young, Alan Davis
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Peru Seminar
Elevation: 14,400'
Thursday, July 5, 2018 - 6:12 PM PT
Hello!
Your favorite Expedition Skills - Perú team here, getting into sleeping bags after a beautiful day here at Ishinca Base Camp. We slept in this morning, and enjoyed omelettes and strong Peruvian coffee before we set out to review and learn some important knots and hitches for our upcoming climbs. The afternoon brought some cloud cover, but we had a chance to get out and stretch the legs for an hour on a hike above our camp. Pretty soon, the unthinkable happened here in the dry season in the Cordillera Blanca; it snowed! Luckily, our plan was to rest tent-side all afternoon anyway, and the sound of snow and rain lulled us to sleep for a well deserved siesta. After a delectable caramelized onion, chicken and rice dish, we are back in the tents, resting up for our big day up to the Ishinca Glacier for some on-snow skills tomorrow. We’ll hit yet another high point at 16,200’ if all goes according to plan. Wish us luck!
Best,
RMI Guides Robby, Alan, William, and crew
July 4, 2018
Posted by: Robby Young
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Peru Seminar
Elevation: 14,400’
Greetings from the Ishinca Valley!
And so it begins! After three days of prepping our bodies and our bags in the hustle and bustle of Huaraz City, we’ve finally made our move to the mountains. We made our way by bus to the small village of Pashpa, where we met our donkey drivers and their crew of willing steeds. We loaded up our animals, affectionately thanked them in advance for their work, and began our hike up the Ishinca Valley with light loads and high hopes. After a little over three hours of moving, we arrived at Ishinca Base Camp, nestled in a steep valley here at 14,400’. We made quick work of camp setup in the grassy meadows and before we knew it, we were feasting on chicken soup and fresh lake trout! Fresh fish at 14,000’...oh boy, what a treat! That’s how we roll down here in the Cordillera Blanca. Tomorrow, acclimatization continues. We’ll start working on some technical rope skills, and likely eat like royalty once again. We’ll let you know how it goes! Until then, hasta manana!
RMI Guide Robby Young and the well-fed ESS-Peru team
July 4, 2018
Posted by: Robby Young, Alan Davis
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Peru Seminar
Elevation: 14,600"
Tuesday, July 3, 2018 - 7:43 PM PT
Greetings!
Today we set our sights even higher than the day before. The team’s goal; Laguna Churup at 14,600’. We took a quick bus ride this morning after a Hotel Andino coffee fiesta, and before we knew it, we were staring at the crystal clear blue and green waters of Churup, gazing up the steep moraines at the first glaciers of the trip. The scene at Laguna Churup is surreal, and we spent a good amount of time soaking it in, and letting our bodies register the new altitude record for our trip. A quick descent led to an afternoon of packing, resting, eating, and Huaraz City-living. We capped off our acclimatization days with yet another exquisite dinner here at Hotel Andino! We even had the chance to catch up with ElÃas de Andres Martos and team upon their return from Alpamayo. Tomorrow, the climbing begins as we make our approach into the Ishinca Valley, and build our Base Camp at 14,500’. The comforts of city-life will soon be in the rear view, but the joys of the alpine will soon follow. Until then, thanks for following.
RMI Guides Robby, Alan, William, and team Lomo Saltado
July 2, 2018
Posted by: Robby Young, Alan Davis
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Peru Seminar
Elevation: 12,000'
Greetings from Huaraz!
Your Peru Expedition Skills crew had a full day of fun here in the beautiful city of Huaraz, Peru. Nestled in a valley at 10,200’, we set our sights higher today, and hiked above town to 12,000’ as part of our acclimatization sequence. We stimulated our muscles, and sparked cellular changes in our blood as we work towards a move to Base Camp in the Ishinca Valley (14,400’) in a few days. The views from Puca Ventana (Red Window) did not disappoint this morning. We followed our hike up with a delicious lunch at a local climber favorite, Cafe Andino. Fresh squeezed juices, Inka Kola, Burritos, and Lomo Saltado were popular choices amongst our team. The rest of our afternoon was spent perusing the narrow streets, shops, and restaurants of Huaraz (aka, the Chamonix of South America). Tomorrow, more acclimatization and prep is on the docket. Well keep you in the loop!
RMI Guides Robby Young, Alan Davis, William, and your ESS-Peru climbing team
July 1, 2018
Posted by: Robby Young, Alan Davis
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Peru Seminar
Elevation: 10,000'
Greetings all!
Your Peru Expedition Skills Team has arrived in the beautiful mountain city of Huaraz, Peru! What a nice introduction to Peru we’ve had thus far; breakfast in the bustling city of Lima, a drive along the Pacific Coast, and altitude gain up and over the mountain pass (13,500’) into the Rio Santo Valley. The views of the Cordillera Blanca (White Mountains) and the Cordillera Huayhuash were ‘out of this world’. We made a stop to admire the first of many ice capped peaks, Pastoruri (see photo). After a fantastic dinner here at Hotel Andino, our team is doing our best to rest and recover from long days of travel. Alpaca steaks, Inka Kolas, and apple fritters were popular choices for many of us as we dove in head first to some exotic Peruvian fare. Tomorrow, acclimatization hiking above Huaraz and body nourishment are the name of the game as we prep for our climbs later this week. Until then, thanks for following!
RMI Guides Robby Young, Alan Davis, and your Peru 2018 Team
June 24, 2018
Posted by: Kel Rossiter, Robby Young
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
Our Five Day Climb radioed in this morning to let us know they were standing on top of the highest point in Washington State! They reported bright and clear conditions. The team took advantage of the extra day built into our Five Day Program for an early summit in better weather. They will spend one more night at Camp Muir and will make their descent back to the land of fresh food and hot showers tomorrow.
Congratulations climbers!
Fantastic….
Posted by: amy berger on 6/26/2018 at 4:51 pm
Amazing accomplishment Richard and crew!!! What a beautiful experience. Can’t wait to hear all about it!
Posted by: Elena & Chris on 6/24/2018 at 7:24 pm
Hi to Jen & Mark from Uncle Ric!
Posted by: Ric Meese on 7/3/2018 at 11:16 am
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