Entries from Aconcagua

Aconcagua: Blais & Team Return to Mendoza

January 15, 2015

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua

The last few days have been a whirlwind. Just three days ago we stood on the top of Aconcagua, the highest peak outside of Asia. We pushed hard to get down to the land of thick air, fresh food and running water. Last night we celebrated at our last camp of the expedition with a huge feast of carne asada, fresh tomato salad a little vino tinto and everyone's stories and jokes. Tonight we're really back in civilization. Freshly showered and dressed up, we're headed to sample some of Mendoza's renowned cuisine. For now we'll leave you with a shot from the summit. Cheers! RMI Guide Zeb Blais and team

Aconcagua: Justman & Team Camp 1 Rest Day

January 15, 2015

Posted by: JJ Justman, Steve Gately

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua

Elevation: 16,200'

The main weather concern here on Aconcagua during the Summer is the wind. A typical day almost always produces blue skies. Every couple of weeks a system will roll through and produce some cloud cover and a little precipitation, but it's quite rare to have layered cloud decks and boiling fog out of the valleys. This morning though we had quite a nice change of scenery! Clouds had moved in overnight bringing along some moisture that glazed our camp in a layer of frost. At about 7:15am when the sun would normally hit our tents, heating them up and forcing us outside, we had cloud layers more typical of our native state of Washington. The layers were weak and broken. The sun beginning to burn them off produced pockets in which the sunlight could make its way through. From Camp I you have a beautiful view East down the Relinchos Valley where the evaporating cloud layers were putting on a tremendous light show. A nice treat on a mountain that routinely gives you blue skies and high winds! The team today will rest and prepare themselves for our move to Camp II. Everyone is excited to move up. Getting to Camp II means that, if the weather cooperates, we will have one more rest day and then move to Camp III to attempt the summit. There's finally a light at the end of the tunnel! But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, as with any expedition, you have to live in the now, and now we take care of ourselves. Eating, drinking, resting. Sounds luxurious, yea? Haha almost. Climbers always underestimate just how boring the rest day can be and how it can easily become anything but relaxing. Luckily our team is doing great with just about every aspect of expedition life, so if you were looking for some drama you might want to look at another blog! Everyone sends their best. All is well. Stay tuned! RMI Guide Steve Gately

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Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Hi Sue,

We’re thinking of you here and wishing you well. The clients are all impressed with your ambition. You go girl!

Posted by: Linda on 1/16/2015 at 7:34 am

Ok Sue, Jo & Robert,
R&R and then motor up to camp 2 then tag the top and that’s an order (so long as weather and safety cooperate)!! Holding positive thoughts for you kits and cats!

Posted by: Russ Frederickson on 1/16/2015 at 6:29 am

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Aconcagua: Justman & Team Carry to Camp 2

January 14, 2015

Posted by: JJ Justman, Steve Gately

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua

Elevation: 18,000'

Hey Everyone, Today Team 4 did a carry to Camp Two at 18000 feet. However, we didn't stop there. We were all feeling so good that after we dropped our gear at camp we ventured higher to 19000 feet. The team did great and we are now back at Camp One where 16200 feet is beginning to feel like sea level. Tomorrow we will have a rest day to fully recover and assist in acclimatizing even better. Thanks for following along! RMI Guide JJ Justman & Team

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

David and Jenny
Hope everything is going well. I see the pictures on the blog. Keep warm and safe. Vaishu, Jai and Janita send their love
Vishnu

Posted by: vishnu on 1/14/2015 at 7:37 pm

Rob, Jo, and Sue,

Great work! I hope the weather has been cooperative, and that all of you are feeling well up there in the thin air. Heck, you’re up at jet altitudes, now! I’m sure there’s plenty of tea, powdered cow (good memory, Russ!), and maybe even fresh popcorn to keep your spirits up.

Thinking of your often,

Sarah

Posted by: Sarah Brown on 1/14/2015 at 6:58 pm

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Aconcagua: Billy Nugent & Team Finish Up Loose Ends and Are on Their Way

January 13, 2015

Posted by: Billy Nugent, Katrina Bloemsma, Billy Haas

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua

Hi everyone, Billy (Nugent) here checking in after the first official day on our 2015 Aconcagua expedition. Today was a crazy one and the team spent most of the day scrambling around trying to get everything ready for tomorrow´s departure to the mountain. One of our team members was the victim of freezing rain and thus a cancelled flight from O´Hare so she arrived in Mendoza this morning and was forced to hit the ground running. We went straight to the permit office to handle that and then made a quick stop to freshen up at the hotel before we departed for Penitentes where Grajales, our outfitter, has a packing facility near the trailhead. The rest of the team spent the morning tying up loose ends; making runs to the grocery store and gear shop to pick up last minute items before we all jumped in the van for a three-hour drive up to Penitentes in the mountains. Once we arrived we spent several hours packing and readying our loads for the mules that were broken up nicely by a great dinner at Ayelen, our hotel. Lots of things to remember means a fair bit of stress but that will all evaporate once we hit the trail tomorrow. The team is ready and in good spirits, eager to hit the trail! We´ll check in again from our first camp along the trekking route into basecamp. All for now, RMI Guide Billy Nugent and the gang

Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Lucy! St. Louis is routing for you, too! We will be reading about your progress and thinking about you! Good luck to you and the whole team! We love you!! Love from Mom, Erle, Donald, Donald Jr. & John

Posted by: Erle Broughton on 1/17/2015 at 9:15 pm

Good luck Billy and Company! I’ll be in Pete’s group following behind you guys. Getting ready to leave for Mendoza on Saturday. See you on the mountain!

Best regards,
Craig Falkenhagen
Atherton, CA

Posted by: Craig Falkenhagen on 1/15/2015 at 1:41 pm

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Aconcagua: Justman & Team Enjoy Views at Camp 1

January 13, 2015

Posted by: JJ Justman, Steve Gately

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua

Elevation: 16,200'

We've got another rock star crew baby! Team 4 is at Camp 1 at 16,342' feet and everyone is feeling great! The views are getting better by the minute. A few clouds are slipping away in the distance and the breeze is keeping us cool. We are sipping hot soup and simply soaking up the sights. Tomorrow we plan on carrying more goods and gear higher up and I anticipate everyone is going to do awesome!! If like to give a special message to my sister. Happy Birthday Jodi!!! RMI Guide JJ Justman & Team

Aconcagua: Blais & Team Summit!

January 12, 2015

Posted by: Zeb Blais, Mike King

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua

Elevation: 22,841'

January 12, 2015, 1:30 PM PT This is Zeb Blais checking in from high camp with a jubilant summit team. Today we topped out on Aconcagua at 2 PM in adverse weather conditions. We fought through a small snowstorm to get to the top and spent a brief time taking pictures on the summit before descending back down to camp where we are now hydrating, resting and preparing to head back to base camp tomorrow. Thanks for checking in. January 12, 2015, 9:20 AM PT RMI Guide Zeb Blais just called from the Aconcagua summit! The team did well and they will check back in from high camp. Congratulations to the team!

RMI Guide Zeb Blais calls in from high camp after their successful summit.

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Just phoned RMI and the team is down theountain and will be in Mendosa today or tomorrow! Wow- the trip down is certainly faster than the trip up! Just thought I would post this update for those who are wondering what happened to our team!

Posted by: PKW on 1/15/2015 at 8:50 am

Haven’t had an update in many days. Are you all partying it up in base camp now?

Posted by: Kim Wright on 1/15/2015 at 7:42 am

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Aconcagua: Justman & Team Enjoy a Rest Day at Basecamp

January 12, 2015

Posted by: JJ Justman, Steve Gately

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua

Elevation: 13,800'

It's another day of rest for our Aconcagua team at Base Camp. Initially our team was wondering why we were going to take a second day of rest here. After yesterday's carry to Camp 1 at 16,000 plus feet the team understands. This mountain climbing is tiring work! We had a casual morning here at base. Steve and I made our famous home fried potatoes that even brought the Base Camp cooks out to get a plateful. After breakfast we went for a walk and got a great view of base camp from a whole different vantage point. Now team members are lounging, taking showers and ordering pizzas. Tomorrow we plan on moving up to Camp 1. If you don't mind, I need to address one of RMI's owners, the Legendary Joe Horiskey. Joe, please, no matter what happens between the Sea...what's their name again...and the Green Bay Packers, I hope we can still be friends! RMI Guide JJ Justman

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Holler mi Familia!
I hope you two are not only surviving but enjoying yourselves too. The rest of my trip in Colorado was great. Mom and I are going to see a puppet show about caring for elders with dementia on Friday…how will you be spending your Friday night? Dad I booked us a meditation retreat that takes place in Auschwitz in November. Love and miss you both!!

Dad-To a man standing at the edge of a cliff, progress is defined as taking a step backwards.

Jenny-What is happening within us, will create what is happening outside of us.

I BELIEVE IN YOU, SO YOU BELIVE IN YOU!

Love, G

Posted by: G on 1/14/2015 at 6:01 pm

Christmas cards arrived yesterday and they look great! Jenny, thanks for all of you did getting the artwork ready. David, your 30 are in the mail today, the rest will follow this week. I am going to MN this weekend so I will be home to retrieve you two intrepid hikers from ORD on the 27th. Love you both!
M/N

Posted by: nancy Hines on 1/13/2015 at 6:15 pm

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Aconcagua: Justman & Team Wake to Beautiful Skies and Carry to Camp 1

January 11, 2015

Posted by: JJ Justman, Steve Gately

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua

Elevation: 13,800'

Last night I was woken up at 2am by a flashing outside my tent. I thought to myself, "Who is taking photos right now!?" So I took advantage of being awake and got up to use the bathroom when I realized the flashing was actually coming from an enormous electrical storm nearly 50 miles east from basecamp. With a relatively large moon out, you could see the huge towering clouds stretching tens of thousands of feet into the air and the lightning was so intense and so massive that it was lighting up basecamp. How incredible! Never have I seen such a display of lightning! On a less exciting note the team woke up to PERFECT weather. Boring right? No, but I capitalize perfect because it truly was. Breathe less wind, blue skies and warm temps. Perfect for sticking your nose into higher altitude. Which is exactly what we did! The team made the first carry to Camp I (16,200ft) like they were walking out to retrieve the morning paper. Casually. Very impressive! We arrived at Camp I, took a short break, cached our gear and made our descent back to basecamp. I ran down ahead of the group and prepared some pitchers of juice, fresh fruit and sliced cucumber with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt for lunch. The team is now taking a well deserved siesta before dinner as we look forward to our last day in basecamp tomorrow. RMI Guide Steve Gately

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Leave a Comment For the Team (2)

Run Forest Run! Kansas City is behind you Adrienne.

Posted by: Pat OBoyle on 1/12/2015 at 8:30 am

Congrats to you Green Bay Packers, JJ. What a hoof biter of a game!!!

~ Horatio

Posted by: Horatio on 1/12/2015 at 6:58 am

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Aconcagua: Blais & Team at High Camp

January 11, 2015

Posted by: Zeb Blais, Mike King

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua

Elevation: 19,600'

RMI Base, this is Alex Barber calling in with RMI's Aconcagua team. Today we moved to Camp 3 and are in place for our summit bid tomorrow morning. The team did a great job today battling the cold winds into our high camp of 19,600 feet. The team is settled in and we're preparing ourselves for the summit push. Hopefully our next dispatch will be a call from the summit of the highest peak outside of the Himalaya. We will talk to you guys tomorrow. Bye. RMI Guide Alex Barber

RMI Guide Alex Barber calls in from High Camp.

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Way to go Adrienne! Can’t wait to hear all about it when you get back.

Shannon & Pat

Posted by: Shannon O'Boyle on 1/12/2015 at 10:18 am

Crush it!

We’re all rooting for you back here in Vancouver =)
Nick, Andrea, Julia, Emily and Kai

Posted by: Nick Grabovac on 1/12/2015 at 9:06 am

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Aconcagua: Blais & Team Check In from Camp 2

January 10, 2015

Posted by: Zeb Blais, Mike King

Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua

Elevation: 18,000'

Buenes dias. This is the Aconcagua team checking in from Camp 2, aka Guanacos Camp. After moving from Camp 1 to Camp 2 yesterday, today was perfect conditions for an acclimatization hike toward Camp 3. We are planning on moving to Camp 3 tomorrow to take advantage of the favorable weather forecast. We'll update after the move. Adios until then. RMI Guide Zeb Blais and Team

RMI Guide Zeb Blais calls in from Camp 2.

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Entries from Aconcagua

Aconcagua: Blais & Team Return to Mendoza

Aconcagua: Justman & Team Camp 1 Rest Day

On The Map

Aconcagua: Justman & Team Carry to Camp 2

Aconcagua: Billy Nugent & Team Finish Up Loose Ends and Are on Their Way

Aconcagua: Justman & Team Enjoy Views at Camp 1

Aconcagua: Blais & Team Summit!

On The Map

Aconcagua: Justman & Team Enjoy a Rest Day at Basecamp

On The Map

Aconcagua: Justman & Team Wake to Beautiful Skies and Carry to Camp 1

On The Map

Aconcagua: Blais & Team at High Camp

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Aconcagua: Blais & Team Check In from Camp 2

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