Entries from Aconcagua
The team woke this morning after a wonderful nights sleep despite not being serenaded by the sounds of war drums and a seemingly lost pan flute player. If that wasn't enough we then treated the team to breakfast burrito's and real drip coffee!
Everyone is doing great after yesterday's efforts and today we focus on resting for our move to Camp I (16,200ft) tomorrow. Moving up is always such a good feeling. After 4 nights at Basecamp everyone is excited for a change of scenery and for most, getting to Camp I feels like we're finally starting the climb as we leave the creature comforts of Basecamp behind. Tonight we'll enjoy our last meal with silverware and plates until our descent. The gang sends there.... Well why don't we just let them tell you!
Loving the music here at base camp: Oasis, Bon Jovi, and Ace of Base! -Candace
We are both feeling good and relaxing with quesadillas at base camp on a rest day today. Love to all. - Jeff and Mere
I am taking a break from technology -Sam
I told people at work I didn't have access to email -Rebecca
RMI Guide Steve Gately
"THE GANG CONTEMPLATES DRUM CIRCLE SABOTAGE"
A stint at Plaza Argentina wouldn't be complete without being kept awake by the repetitive and monotone sound of Argentine dance music mixed with improvised drum solos, all accompanied by a Peruvian pan flute.
This amazing melody finally wrapped up around 4am. The Gang took a load of food and equipment to Aconcagua's Camp 1 today in great style, despite the dry and dusty scree slope that must be gained. We spent an hour at 16,200 ft and descended to quesadillas and siesta.
Rest day tomorrow and hopefully a full night's sleep.
It's always sunny at Plaza Argentina!
RMI Guide Mike King
On The Map
Though the tents shook with the wind again last night, the gusts came fewer and further between. As the sun rose this morning the gusts became rarer, and we decided that this was our day to move to our high camp at Colera (Spanish for anger, not the disease). We were still prepared to face strong winds as we moved into more exposed terrain on the way, but Aconcagua gave us a pass and we climbed with gentle breezes and brilliant sunshine the whole way. We are now settled in, working on heating water for dinner- which takes a long time at 19,600'- before we rack out early to prep for a hopeful summit attempt tomorrow. All of the days of hard work have gotten us here, and everyone is excited to be in place for the final push to our objective. We'll be in touch tomorrow to let you know how it goes.
Best,
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, Alex Barber, Juan, and the team
On The Map
You mom asked me to tell you comgratulations on how far you went, She is very proud PBB.
Posted by: Joyce Pully on 2/3/2015 at 6:31 pm
So glad to hear weather will let you take your shot at the summit today. We are all cheering you on from Fargo!
Posted by: Diann on 2/3/2015 at 6:32 am
We decided this morning to take a Groundhog Day at Camp 2 on Aconcagua. With gusty winds swirling around camp, the group thought about it and decided that another day of acclimatization would make everyone stronger. We have plenty of extra days to spare, and an important skill here in the mountains is being able to curb our enthusiasm to rush in higher and make the necessary adjustments to set us up for success.
We spent the day sorting snack food, playing cards, and trading food with tent mates. At this point in the trip, the grass is always greener in a neighbor's snack bag, since things that looked so delicious when we were shopping have come to look much less appetizing with too many repetitions. It is exciting to get some new additions, and some of the card games started taking on snack food bets.
Our plan is to head up to camp 3 tomorrow weather permitting, which will put us in place for our summit attempt.
Hasta mañana,
RMI Guides Pete, Alex, Juan, and the gang.
On The Map
An enjoyable aspect of any rest day is "sport eating", because you know that you will burn through the calories and you get to sort through all the extra food you brought on the expedition. Today we started with Steve's North American scrambled eggs. The team went for a walk to aid in acclimatization and returned to guide made cheese pizzas.
Everyone is relaxing and getting gear ready for the carry to Camp 1 tomorrow. Those minor headaches we had upon arrival yesterday have gone and appetites are strong! The team is excited to see what lies ahead.
It's always sunny in Plaza Argentina.
RMI Guide Mike King
On The Map
Anybody got blisters?
Posted by: tina baker on 2/2/2015 at 9:56 am
The sun has been shining on us all day, and the temperatures are pleasant, but something has changed: early this morning the tents gave a foretelling rattle, and then the wind settled in. While the wind hasn't been too strong yet, mostly it just makes a lot of noise, the forecast is hinting that the winds may strengthen tonight, and that they may persist for at least a week. We are hoping that they allow us to move up tomorrow, and that a forecasted lull may give us our shot. At this point, everything is ready for us and we are in Dr. Suess' proverbial waiting place, so we just have our fingers crossed for our summit window to show itself. Keep your fingers crossed for us,
RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer, Juan, Alex, and team
On The Map
Fingers are crossed!
Sending calming vibes your way.
Good luck PBB and Team Van Deventer!!
Posted by: Joyce Pully on 1/31/2015 at 6:23 pm
Go Team Van Deventer and shout out to Bro Kevin Stitely.. wishing you fair skies, fair winds and strong backs, Stick the Flag in that one!!!! J Dienes
Posted by: John Dienes on 1/31/2015 at 6:10 pm
Despite having a rogue mule disappear with one of our bags last night, the group enjoyed delicious grilled chicken and Steve's famous pasta salad. The bag eventually rejoined our group late last night, thanks to the amazing gauchos that we work with.
We are relaxing at Plaza Argentina, 13,800 feet after a beautiful day with more views of the highest peaks outside of the Himalaya. The group woke early and rode Mules across the Vacas River, always a highlight on an Aconcagua expedition. We are looking forward to our first rest day of the climb tomorrow.
Stay tuned to see how the group, "out chills" the rest day.
RMI Guide Mike King
On The Map
That mule must work for the airlines!
Posted by: tina baker on 1/31/2015 at 7:00 pm
Posted by: Billy Nugent, Katrina Bloemsma, Billy Haas
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Hi all. Billy here with the last installment from our riveting series of blog posts documenting one of this year's RMI Aconcagua expeditions. We officially wrapped up our program last evening with an amazing dinner at Francesco Barbera complete with all of the pageantry you'd expect from a fine dining experience in Argentina: cocktails, wine, delicious handmade pastas, dessert, coffee. We deserved a little luxury after so much hard work in such a harsh environment and indeed there was much rejoicing. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all the members of the team for their patience, dedication, and hard work all along the way and to thank Katrina and Billy Haas for being exceptional guides and teammates the whole trip too.
I've had tons of fun and can't wait to come back next year...
Til then.
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
congrat’s to Billy, Katrina, and Billy Haas ! super job to all !
Posted by: Bill Nugent on 1/31/2015 at 2:58 pm
We had a perfect move day to Aconcagua Camp 2! The day dawned calm, bluebird, and warm, and looked like the ideal day to push up higher to our next camp at Guanacos Tres (a confusing name since it is our camp two). We packed the tents once again, shouldered packs that were once again heavy, and set out. It's not a far climb, as most of the elevation gain happens right out of Camp 1, and three hours later we were walking into our new abode. We are now happily settled in and are looking forward to another rest day tomorrow. So far everything is going very smoothly and according to plan, and we all have our fingers crossed that it stays that way.
Hasta mañana,
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, Alex Barber, Juampi, and team
On The Map
Brian Palmer and the Team! Congratulations! You made it! Vern Kabat
Posted by: Vern Kabat on 2/3/2015 at 3:18 pm
Knock the bastard off!!! Well stated, I’ll second that.
Posted by: Carlo on 1/31/2015 at 12:50 pm
This is the RMI Aconcagua team checking in from Casa de Piedra on day 2 of our trek to base camp.
We had a sweltering five-hour day trekking into camp. Fortunately, we got the winds within a half hour before reaching Casa de Piedra. We saw our first glimpse of Aconcagua today with stellar views of the South Face and Polish Glacier! The team is learning valuable expedition skills such as, setting up tents in the wind and relaxing in a tent. We are looking forward to a big dinner and a good night's sleep before heading up to 13,800ft tomorrow.
Everyone is healthy and in good spirits.
RMI Guide Mike King
The view captured in this image is amazing! Looking forward to following along as y’all complete the journey.
Posted by: Melissa on 1/30/2015 at 8:40 pm
Woohoo! Sounds like you all are rocking it up there! So jealous that you get to enjoy the company of Candace!! She’s so much fun :) Be well! ❤️! Tiffany
Posted by: Tiff!! on 2/4/2015 at 10:53 pm
Boogie down!
Posted by: tina baker on 2/3/2015 at 8:26 pm
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