January 16, 2017
Assuming there won't be a satellite signal this evening (Pampa de Leñas is in a tight valley) I'm writing to let everyone know we enjoyed our last night and morning in civilization. We are hitting the trail without a hitch this morning and are looking forward to a safe and successful expedition... we'll check in again from Casa de Piedra in a couple days!
Ciao!
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
January 15, 2017
Whew... a hectic day today. An early rise helped us get ahead of the curve on a slightly convoluted permit process that we couldn´t have navigated so efficiently without the assistance of our friend Nico and outfitter at Grajales Expeditions. We spent the rest of the morning tying up loose ends, checked out of the hotel, and loaded up into the van for our transfer out to Penitentes. The four hour drive went by quickly and we were treated to amazing views of the Andes along the way. We unloaded at the Grajales packing facility and checked in to our hotel for what will be our last night in a real bed for quite a while. The rest of the afternoon and evening was spent getting our personal and group loads ready for the mule team that will carry all of our heavy gear into Aconcagua Basecamp. We´re excited to leave the tedious details of packing behind and hit the trail tomorrow morning. Fingers crossed for good weather on the trail and a smooth trek into Basecamp...
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
Well, we're on the mountain now! After a farewell breakfast with Mike King and company, our team loaded up packs with tents, sleeping bags, and high mountain essentials, and retraced our steps back up to Camp 1. Knowing the route, and averaging lighter packs than our carry day, everyone on the team made it up to 16,500 feet in fine form. We picked a campsite more or less in the middle of the sweeping moraine of camp 1, with fine views down the valley and up higher to Ameghino Col. Tents are set up, bellies are full of Mac and Cheese, and we're getting ready to hit the hay on our first night above basecamp.
Love from the hill!
RMI Guides Mark Tucker and Pepper
Hola de Mendoza!
Here´s the first installation of what will hopefully be daily updates on the progress of our Aconcagua expedition. Despite a few hiccups in transit all of our crew has arrived along with all of our bags, which is a bit of a miracle considering the number of travelers and the number of connections that all of those bags and travelers needed to make. Everybody is settling in nicely here in Mendoza and enjoying the hot and sunny weather. We had a meet and greet this afternoon in the hotel where the team members got acquainted and where we were also able to give a brief orientation to the program. A gear check and a few errands brought us into our first team dinner where the team got to enjoy their first taste of the famous Argentine beef. The gang is a bit travel-weary and we have a busy day tomorrow so that´ll be all for tonight. We´ll check in again tomorrow evening after the dust settles from what will surely be a busy day getting out of the city and readying to hit the trail.
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
The team arrived to Base Camp early afternoon and in the commotion of celebrating, showers and packing for the mules we forgot to check in. We are heading for Pampa Las Lenas in a few minutes. The walk will retrace our first two days of the Trek and will culminate with an asado dinner and another beautiful night sleeping under the stars. The team is eager to get back to town and looking forward to lighter backpacks. This dispatch will conclude our expedition. We had amazing weather and a great group of climbers! Thanks for following along.Â
RMI Guides Mike King and JM Gorum
Today our team enjoyed a luxurious day of rest at Aconcagua Base Camp. We breakfasted on deconstructed omelettes, and did a whole lot of relaxing for most of the day. Highlights included the occasional shower, and getting to catch up with Mike King, JM Gorum, and their RMI team as they descended to base camp following their successful summit bid. Our team is well rested, and though we will miss the pleasantries of Base Camp, we are unanimously excited to move uphill.
More tomorrow!
RMI Guides Mark Tucker and Pepper Dee
Our task for the day was simple: carry and cache supplies for the upper mountain at Camp 1. Executing this task, however, was anything but simple, but all team members proved themselves to be fully up to the challenge. The terrain in between Base Camp and Camp 1 is varied and difficult; our team had to negotiate steep scree slopes, blocky towers of snow called penitentes, and sections of unstable talus. Upon reaching Camp 1, we were rewarded with a snack and drink at 16,500 feet, and made sure to diligently weigh down our cache of equipment before heading back downhill to Base Camp. Following the "climb high, sleep low" mantra, our team is looking forward to a well earned night of rest back and Base Camp, and everyone is excited to have laid eyes on the first section of real climbing.
RMI Guides Mark Tucker & Pepper Dee
It’s been fun following the team’s progress. Best wishes as you move higher toward the summit, maybe even blue skies and minimal wind. Otherwise, hunker down and enjoy the experience. Either way it will be memorable.
This is Mike, JM and Mauricio letting you all know that the Aconcagua Summit Team is back safely at Cholera. We had a warm morning but due to a 20mph wind most of the day, we climbed in our parkas and warm pants. The route was desolate considering 100+ people went up on Thursday. We got to take in the magnificent South Face along with hundreds of glaciated Andean peaks.
Team members are hydrating, eating and napping. The summit day is always difficult but the route conditions make a sizable difference. We were fortunate to have snow and frozen scree/mud for the majority of the Gran Traverse and Canaleta which makes for a more direct and cramponable route. Yes, We just made up 'cramponable'; we are at 19,600' with five camp stoves cranking out memory reducing gases.
Tomorrow we head back to Base Camp to de-rig the climb and transition to trekking mode. Steak, red wine, empanadas, laundry mats and pool time is what preoccupies our minds.
"La Montania abrio sus puertas para nosotros" - Mauricio
Congratulations on the effort and reward. Hope all arrive back safe. Kevin please fill any space in your pack vacated by food with snow. Our winter here has been abysmal since you’ve left and the snow is badly needed for the Nordic trails.
JV
Posted by: Jan Vanderdonk on 1/14/2017 at 6:45 am
Congratulations to you Kevin, your guides and team for this extrodinary achievement. BZ
Posted by: Lloyd &smart;-Lou Graham on 1/14/2017 at 6:22 am
This is Mike with RMI's Aconcagua Team 2. We are currently standing on top of the tallest mountain in the Western and Southern hemisphere. The team did great, we reached the top in 7 hours from High Camp. We are going to hang out just for a little bit and then head on down. We have about 20 mph cold winds all day. The team is ecstatic and we will check in from Camp once we get back down from the top. Thanks. Bye.
RMI Guide Mike King
RMI Guide Mike King calls from the summit of Aconcagua.
Today was a day of rest and preparation for our team here at Aconcagua Base Camp. We spent the morning reorganizing and sorting out communal food and equipment for the upper mountain, and the afternoon finding a way to make it all fit into our packs. Along the way, team members found time to take a brief stroll around the base camp vicinity to acclimate and enjoy the perspective, and a few lucky climbers snuck in a nap or two. Everyone is excited to carry a load up to Camp One tomorrow, and officially launch our assault on the mountain!
Bye for now,
RMI Guides Mark Tucker, Pepper Dee and Team
Thanks for the update Mark and Pepper! I can’t wait to hear more. Sending lots of love to my Papa, Dominique. I hope you’re having a great time. Good luck Team!
Posted by: Lindsay Monnet on 1/13/2017 at 3:04 pm
Thank you for the great updates and photos. Enjoy the climb up!
Wow! What a calm and relatively warm night at 18,000'. The Team got it's last good night for sleep before moving to 19,600' where sleep is hard to come by. We took a little over three hours to move up here, the Team did a fantastic job keeping the guides pace and working on their breathing. The phrase we are using is, "if you don't sound like the Little Engine that Could, you'll perform like the Little Engine that Couldn't".
We will rest and eat some dinner before beginning our summit attempt in the early morning. Fingers crossed and well wishes for our Team. It will not be easy but hopefully the Team can grit their teeth and find a happy place tomorrow. The next time you hear from us, should be on top of the highest point in the Western Hemisphere.
Thanks for following along.
RMI Guides Mike King, JM Gorum, Mauricio and the team
I hope the stars at Lenas deliver. Enjoy the big skies.
Posted by: Maude Lebowski on 1/17/2017 at 6:07 pm
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