Entries from Aconcagua
December 20, 2016
Posted by: Steve Gately, Hannah McGowan
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 16,200'
Today we left the comforts of Base Camp and moved to
Camp One! Our whole team did great on the way up, and we are excited to be making upward progress on the mountain.
Our journey today was mostly on rocky trails that wove through moraine material, and finished with walking up a big snowy hill the last hour before camp. The view from here is stunning. We can't see the summit, but we can see shape-shifting clouds rip over it. Looking downhill we can see the warm multi-colored mountains that make the far side of the Vacas Valley. Dinner tonight was not three courses, and it's cold and windy and we no longer have well maintained outhouses... And this is exactly what we came here to do! Everyone is in high spirits.
And now the game of chess begins. We're expecting strong winds over night and tomorrow, but we'll see what happens. Wind permitting, our plan for tomorrow is to walk to at least 17,000 feet for acclimatization. Meanwhile, a couple of us guides will move some group food as close to camp two as we can get to set the group up for success if we end up having to make a quick move to camp two in the coming days.
As the moon wanes the stars are becoming increasingly more spectacular through this dry and thin air. If it wasn't so cold it would be easy to stay mesmerized all night! Wish us mellow winds and dissipating headaches...
RMI Guide
Steve Gately and Team
December 19, 2016
Posted by: Steve Gately, Hannah McGowan
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 13,800'
Ah, the rest day! A whole day spent just relaxing and taking care of ourselves. It's the dream, right!? Not always, it can be a real struggle to find ways to pass the hours and a lot of our climbers find the lack of an agenda anything but relaxing. Luckily our team seems to be coping with all the free time like expedition veterans. This morning we started with a scrambled egg breakfast with onions, peppers and tomatoes. The group split after breakfast and have been passing the time by reading, taking walls through old glacial moraines and the occasional nap. This afternoon we'll prepare for our move to
Camp 1 (16,200ft) by dividing up our remaining group gear and discussing our strategy for the upper mountain. Our forecast is calling for increasing winds over the next few days, with the highest winds coming in at 45mph at Camp 1 and well over 70mph on the summit! We take things one day at a time up here in the high mountains and will be looking at the forecast closely over the next few days. The team is excited to move up and ready for the challenges that Aconcagua has to throw at us. Pray to the weather Gods for us! Thanks for following!
RMI Guide Steve Gately
On The Map
December 18, 2016
Posted by: Steve Gately, Hannah McGowan
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 16,200'
The team did an incredible job today with our Carry to Camp 1 (16,200ft). The route starts off traveling up the moraine to the Glaciar de Los Ingleses. The terrain is loose and awkward, peppered with penitentes as tall as 6 feet. Penitentes are towers of snow and ice that form from different melting patterns in the snowpack, specifically from wind transported glacial pumice. After that the terrain eases off as we pick our way through a maze of rock debris covering old glacial ice. We finish with what is normally steep loose scree but we had the pleasure of ascending snow which made the walking much nicer. This portion is a lot of work as we're carrying 40-50lbs packs and are entering an elevation of over 16,000ft. We reached
Camp 1, left some gear, teased our bodies with a new high altitude to jump start the acclimatization process and took in the views. We're now back at basecamp and everyone is resting before another enormous basecamp dinner. Tomorrow we look forward to a well deserved rest day. Keep your fingers crossed the weather stays nice for us! Hasta mañana!
RMI Guide Steve Gately
On The Map
December 17, 2016
Posted by: Steve Gately, Hannah McGowan
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 13,800'
Ahhh, what a lovely day to take a rest. The team took our first rest day today at
Aconcagua Base Camp, Plaza Argentina. We slept in, enjoyed a hearty breakfast and then went about leisurely preparing for our carry to camp one tomorrow.
We took a midday walk up a small valley outside of Base Camp to stretch or legs and breathe a bit more actively. As we walked along the valley's crumbling walls, in which every shade of red to brown seemed to be represented, the geology of the Andes became the theme of our walk. On the way back, nearly each person's curiosity was sparked by stones in the creek bed from one of the many rock layers above.
We spent the rest of the afternoon planning and packing the things that we will cache at Camp One tomorrow. Our tasks were completed before another amazing three course dinner from Grajales' Base Camp staff. It seems no one's appetite is suffering due to altitude!
Everyone is doing well and we are ready to work hard in the morning. Wish us calm winds and easy breathing!
I'm sure we miss you too...
RMI Guides Steve Gately & Hannah McGowan
On The Map
December 16, 2016
Posted by: Steve Gately, Hannah McGowan
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 13,800'
The team woke this morning after a few showers last night to clear skies. Our first obstacle of the day was to cross the
Vacas River. Having to get an early start for our big day and it still being very cold, we opted to ask the Arrieros to ferry us across on their mules. One by one the team slowly accumulated on the other side of the river until only myself (
Steve) remain. The Arrieros waved me over to my mule and I jumped onto the back of the animal. Just at that time something spooked the front mule (there was three tied together) and all three took off in a sprint, first through the river and then turning there attention up valley. At the time it was actually quite comedic as I tried to calm the lead mule from the center position. It became clear that he wasn't going to give up until I got off his back. So I began looking for my exit and humming the Indiana Jones theme song to myself when I swung one leg over the mule and leapt off to the side. The mules stopped and we reunited with their cowboy. I rejoined the group and we all had a good laugh! The team is now all settled into
Basecamp (13,800ft) after a fantastic trek into the high country. Everyone did well with the workload and the new altitude. We'll enjoy a well deserved dinner tonight, prepared by our wonderful basecamp staff, and look forward to our first rest day of the trip tomorrow! Thanks again for following. More to come tomorrow!
Adios,
RMI Guide Steve Gately
On The Map
December 15, 2016
Posted by: Steve Gately, Hannah McGowan
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 10,550'
Today we continued our trek up the Vacas Valley to Los Piedras. The sun was scorching for most of the walk, but luckily, we are now enjoying a gentle drizzle as we relax in our tents. We did manage to get our first glimpse of
Aconcagua right before clouds began to roll over the peak. I think the opinion is entirely unanimous that it is a stunning and dramatic mountain! Spirits are high and despite a sunburn or two, everyone is in excellent health and relishing in the beauty of the Vacas Valley. Tomorrow we will start up the Relinchos Valley, where we will conclude our trek to base camp.Â
If you're thinking of us, then I'm sure someone here is thinking of you too.Â
Warmly,
RMI Guides Steve Gately, Hannah McGowan and the Aconcagua team
The team enjoyed one last breakfast in civilization this morning before stepping outside to blue skies and calm winds. The walk to our first camp, Las Lénas, in the Vacas Valley went perfectly. The valley can often times be extremely hot when there is no wind or extremely frustrating if there is a lot and we were gifted with the perfect amount to keep us cool and enjoy the trek. The team did great on their first day of trekking and enjoyed getting into the high country and working up an appetite for our carne asado tonight. The asados in the Vacas Valley our one of my favorite parts of the trip. The Arriaros make a fire and cook large cuts of beef and whole vegetables over an open fire. Everyone sits around the fire and is served family style. It's a wonderful bit of Argentinian mountain culture and a true highlight of the trip. Tomorrow we will continue our journey up the Vacas to our second camp "Casa de Piedra" (11,000 ft) and we'll finally get our first view of
Aconcagua! That's all for now, thanks for following!
RMI Guide
Steve Gately & Team
The drive into the mountains starts by passing through many of Mendoza's Bodega's until the landscape changes to rolling hills peppered with bushy green shrubs. Soon there after we gain elevation and follow the Rio de Mendoza up to the Uspallata Valley where the topography changes yet again to tall jagged peaks colored red,orange, tan and grey. Another hour down the valley takes us to
Los Penitentes where we will be calling home tonight. The team spent the afternoon packing and repacking there duffel bags for the trek into the Vacas Valley tomorrow. At the moment we are all probably much to full from dinner and excited to get to bed and finally leave the creature comforts behind for a sleeping bag and tent tomorrow. Everyone is doing fantastic and eager too start our adventure! Tune in tomorrow for more!
RMI Guide Steve Gately
Aconcagua season has officially begun! The team all safely made it to Mendoza today and enjoyed finally putting a face to the names in the what felt like 1000 exchanged emails over the last month. Most of the team enjoyed a few hours exploring the culture and sights of Mendoza's city center before getting to work trying to figure out how to navigate the park's online registration form. After figuring out that Argentinian keyboards have a different key layout and with only mild frustration, we managed to get everybody registered! We spent the rest of the evening doing our gear check and enjoying a delicious dinner out in town. Tomorrow we pack up and head to Los Penitentes (9,000ft) where we will pack our things to survive the long and arduous journey attached to the back of a Argentine mule. Everybody is in great spirits and excited for the challenge ahead. Thanks for following.
RMI Guide Steve Gately
February 11, 2016
Posted by: JJ Justman, JM Gorum
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 13,800'
Hi everyone! The RMI
Aconcagua team is safely back at Base Camp. We are enjoying cokes and beers and just relaxing. I will be honest, most of us are exhausted, me included. It was a perfect summit day and it has taken its toll. We all deserve to relax and unwind. This is officially the last blog post for our team. We will walk out tomorrow and arrive in Mendoza on the 13th. Thanks for all of your support along the way. Ciao from Aconcagua.
RMI Guide
JJ Justman and
JM Gorum
On The Map
3 rules of mountaineering.
It’s always further than it looks. It’s always taller than it looks and it’s always harder than it looks.
Keep up the good work!
Posted by: chris on 12/21/2016 at 7:02 am
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