Yeah!
We made it off the trail today and after a quick lunch and a semi-successful sage sauce recipe aquisition in Penitentes we loaded all of our duffels onto the van and hit the road for Mendoza. We got into town around 5:30 or 6, checked into the hotel, and finally got those showers we´ve been dreaming of for so many weeks. Our sunburned, dirty faces definitely make us stand out among the normal people of the city but what can you really do? We´re headed out for a brew pub and a casual dinner tonight before we have our official celebratory dinner tomorrow night at a fancier restaurant. I´ll check in one more time tomorrow evening to officially wrap the expedition up.
Ciao, headed for some cervezas...
RMI Guide Billy Nugent & Team
We had a relatively uneventful rest day at Aconcagua Camp 1. While base camp offered pizzas, cook tents, and showers, folks spent the day at Camp 1 napping, catching up on journals, listening to music, and chatting. There were clouds in the Vacas Valley this morning, which we watched push up towards us, with the upper reaches just brushing our camp, before they would push back down valley again. Watching the curling cloud forms provided some entertainment as well. Our leisurely day should have us prepared to pack camp tomorrow morning to head up to Camp 2 at 18,000 feet. Once there, we will start the process of acclimating over again, and we will be one step closer to our summit push. Though we haven't been here that long, everyone is excited for the next step and a new home for a few days.
Hasta mañana,
RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer, Alex Barber, Juampi, and team
Well, we made it back to Basecamp. Big loads and tired feet made for a tough day but we were greeted at Basecamp last night by a spread of snacks and cold drinks, but more importantly, hugs and congratulations from Anita and Grizzelda the Basecamp managers. We dined on steaks and real salad and vegetables which were absolutely delicious after over a week of mountain food. This morning we woke up had a quick breakfast before readying the mule loads and are now about to hit the dusty trail for Pampa de Leñas. The herrieros will be preparing a traditional asado there for us tonight but I anticipate that we´ll be out of touch for the evening because it´s hard for the satellite phone to stay connected down there. The canyon walls are just too narrow. The long march home continues...
RMI Guide Billy Nugent & Team
This is RMI's last expedition of the Aconcagua season. Our team enjoyed a scenic drive through the Andes and arrived in the rustic ski town of Los Penitentes. Our team rallied and got bags packed for the mules. Everyone is excited to hit the trail when we begin the trek to Base Camp tomorrow.
RMI Guide Mike King
Another day, another step in the uphill direction. We continued on yesterday's momentum, woke with the sun, sorted loads, and pointed our boots uphill to Guanacos Tres, or our Camp 2. It's not a huge day, only 1,600' of elevation gain, but it's great for our acclimatization process, and now we have the bulk of our food and fuel up high. This year is a bit bizarre in that this is traditionally high season and the mountain is very empty. We are the only team in Camp 1, and there is one other small team at Camp 2, which makes for a much more remote feeling to the expedition.
Some clouds blew over this afternoon, with a few flurries, but our weather remains spectacular overall. We're looking forward to a rest day tomorrow, and then hopefully on up to Camp 2.
Hasta luego,
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, Alex Barber, Juan, and team
Hope are all acclimating well and enjoying your rest day. We enjoy hearing about your progress. Now the entire Nativity Elementary school is following your progress and cheering you on. The Hoedl kids give an update at daily announcements. Hope the weather continues to hold and push up to Camp 2 goes well.
Lee - a personal note - Mr Rustad had a severe heart attack this past Saturday. Life support is being removed this afternoon. Our community is certainly very sad and in mourning today. I thought you would want to know so you could add your prayers from on High. Facebook is active with Alumnae trying to collect all the stories of the Mr. Rustad Senior Pranks over the years.
Posted by: Diann on 1/29/2015 at 1:42 pm
To the Norwegian in the group. Have fun toiling away in that freezing climate, tomorrow it is my turn to shut off civilization, but I crave the tranquil heat….. It’s only a matter of time before I am lounging by the pool with a drink in my hand
So far everything under control so no need to hurry back.
Today we moved to Camp 1 under perfect weather. The team made great time moving to Camp 1 and are handling the altitude well. Shortly after arriving we exchanged high-fives with Billy Nugent's team. They made the summit of Aconcagua the day prior. We're all settled into camp now and enjoying hot drinks. Having left the comforts of base camp, we've had some lively discussions about the toilet situation, etc. Tomorrow we will carry to Camp 2, as we continue to take advantage of this good weather and push higher.
RMI Guide Alex Barber
With our departure from Aconcagua Basecamp imminent, the group took full advantage of the amenities today, ordering pizzas for lunch, taking showers, and sipping coca colas. Cards came out and heated games ensued. A few folks headed back down the trail to take photos and stretch their legs, but ironically, the blue sky turned dark gray and a short but intense hail storm chased everyone back to cover. We enjoyed our last base camp dinner for a little while, with several people heading back for seconds on lasagna. As dinner wrapped up, we stepped outside to another gorgeous pink sunset, but today the shadow of Aconcagua imprinted itself on the sky as well. We're heading to bed ready and excited for the move to Camp 1 and the continuation towards our goal that it signals.
We'll be in touch,
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, Alex Barber, Juan, and team
Best of luck and fair skies to everyone on the team, with a shout out to my good friend Kevin Stitely. Tag one for the Slingers Kevin. We are following your progress from here where all is well. Have fun and be safe. We leave for Mexico on Friday. 83 in Puerto Vallarta. Just sayin….....Big D
Posted by: Dick Greenbaum on 1/27/2015 at 5:22 pm
Let the adventure continue! Hope the climb to Camp 1 went well and you are all safe and sound. The kids are enjoying the daily blog updates and taking them into their 5th grade classes at Nativity Elementary in Fargo ND- so you have 50+ 11 year olds cheering you all on every day! All my love to Lee - so proud of you each and every day!
12:45 pm PT
Billy called the RMI Office from Camp Cholera: Everyone is safe and sound. We will stay here tonight and descend to Plaza Argentina tomorrow afternoon.
Thank you for all the blog comments and congratulations!
8:48 am PT
Hey there, it's Billy Nugent of the team El equipo de dos Guillermos, checking in from the summit of Aconcagua. I'm up here right now with six climbers and three guides, 22,800-something feet. So what do you guys think? [Team cheers!] As you can tell a happy but tired bunch. Everyone is doing extremely well. We are definitely winded up here at extremely high altitude. We'll give you guys a jingle when we are headed back into our high camp at Plaza Cholera.
Other shout-outs. [Brief loss of transmission]
Carter, Walker, and mom I love you guys so much. Thank you for everything.
Erica, Thurston, Bella, Brent, Ally, Christian, everyone. We made it! Hurrah!
Hey guys, it's Lindsay, I made it. Thank you so much for the support and love. Love you guys. See you when I get back.
Tanya, Benjamin, and Abby- love you and I'll see you all soon.
Kathy, Kelsey, Eric, Ailie- I love you. I'm on the top of Aconcagua- woohoo! Jerry and Rhonda, John and Kathy- thanks for the support. I'll be seeing you soon.
Babs and Phil- much love from Katrina.
That's all I got unless Haas has something. I love you mom and dad [from Billy Haas].
Sorry mom and dad, love you guys too. Signing out. We'll call you from high camp.
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
RMI Guide Billy Nugent and team call in from the Aconcagua summit!
Today we took the place of the mules and shouldered our first heavy packs of the trip. Our goal was to get as much of our food, fuel, and equipment uphill as possible, so that when we move to Aconcagua's Camp 1, our loads are reasonable. We succeeded at that goal in fine form, and now everything is ready for us to make the next step uphill to 16,000' the day after tomorrow.
We woke up to the helicopter over our heads, shuttling propane tanks, building materials, and the full toilet cans in and out of camp. A pretty expensive alarm clock! We ate breakfast, and then quickly got ready to depart so that we could minimize the amount of time that we were in the true heat of the day. The group moved really well today, even on the final 600-foot scree slope, where the uphill track disappeared and every step sent you sliding backwards. We left our gear at camp and then turned to descend. The same slope that was so heinous on the way up, had people hooting and yelling as we skied back down. We were back in time for an afternoon siesta, and to feel safe from the rain clouds that had started to build and were threatening. Though we heard some rumbles of thunder this afternoon, the clouds stayed away and we stayed dry. On the schedule for tomorrow is another rest day, one last chance to enjoy the comforts of base camp before we head up to higher elevations.
Thanks for reading,
RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer, Alex Barber, Juampi, and team
Hey everybody. It's Billy calling in from Camp Cholera at19,600 feet here on the side of Aconcagua. We're all settled into camp and melting snow, filling water bottles right now. We are looking forward to dinner and early to bed tonight. Hopefully take a crack at the summit tomorrow. Right now the weather is partly cloudy and just a gentle breeze. Things are pretty nice, other than the fact that camp is bone, bone dry. We have to hike almost 20 minutes out of camp to fill garbage bags full of snow and bring them back just to fill water bottles. Other than that nuisance, things are going well, the teams in great spirits and hopefully that weather forecast holds true and we have a perfect day tomorrow. We'll check in again during the day and let you know how it's going. All for now, bye.
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
RMI Guide Billy Nugent calls in from Aconcagua High Camp.
So, Glen, you are back on semiI level ground. Havel a good meal and shower, bet that feels good. Have a safe trip back home. See ya soon!
Posted by: John and Kathy on 1/30/2015 at 6:23 pm
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