Entries from Aconcagua
February 8, 2013
Posted by: Billy Nugent, Mike King
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 13,800'
Today's weather report: not so good. We woke up this morning here at Plaza Argentina in a cloud with it steadily dropping gloppy snow. The prospect of a successful carry up to Camp 1 was looking dismal but we decided to get up and fire the stoves anyway. Over the course of breakfast and our morning coffee the weather began to improve and by 10 am we were looking at some continuing light precip but nothing that would hold us back. The team rallied, geared up, and hit the trail. With a six-hour round trip effort we were able to put in a sizable cache of food, fuel, and cold weather gear up at Camp 1 (16,200'). The team performed well despite unstable scree and our first real taste of carrying big loads at high altitude.
Ciao,
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
February 7, 2013
Posted by: Billy Nugent, Mike King
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 13,800'
A rest day! The gang has been hanging out most of the day today catching up on sleep, reading, and calories. Our first night in Aconcagua Basecamp wasn't the smoothest... Despite sleeping quite well most of us were feeling a little lethargic this morning from spending the night at nearly 14,000'. Regardless, spirits are high after moving around a bit and getting prepared for tomorrow's carry/cache up at Camp 1. The guides spent the morning packing group food and equipment and the team has been packing up their personal gear that they plan to cache. The weather has been a little funky but nothing terrible, hopefully tomorrow brings better or at least similar weather for our first foray onto the upper mountain...
Hasta mañana,
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
On The Map
February 7, 2013
Posted by: Leon Davis, Mike King, Pete Van Deventer
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
23,000 feet to the busy hustle bustle, and near 100 degree heat of Mendoza in three days. After two weeks of grinding our way higher and higher on Aconcagua, the end of the trip is always a blur. Summit day on this trip has to be the most memorable part, not just for the elation of standing on the roof of South America, but because of how perfect the whole day was. Dead calm conditions, clear skies, and warm temps had us on the summit wearing just a couple layers, and no gloves! After the cold temps, snow, and winds that we had on our way up, it was an amazing shift that made the whole day so enjoyable.
Since that day, we grabbed all of our gear and endured the five hour descent to base camp, to be greeted by a wonderful steak dinner. The next morning we donned small packs and light shoes, and followed the fourteen miles of mule trails to Pompe de Leñas, our first camp on the way in. It's always a long day, and our feet were tired when we arrived, but we were revived by a delicious asado, fresh tomato salad, and Malbec wine cooked for us by the muleteers. Everyone ate until they were stuffed, watched the stars come out, and shared stories. Wednesday morning we were up early, motivated to get to the road and all the comforts that follow. A four hour hike and a quick shuttle delivered us to Penitentes, and then a few hours in the bus had us back in Mendoza last night for another great Mendoza feast.
It has been a blast for the guides to climb with this group. Everyone gelled into a cohesive climbing team well, and took the team work aspect seriously. We have a couple of days now to relax in town, soak up some sun by the pool, and let beat up feet heal, before we start the long plane flights back! Thanks for all the comments and support on the blog.
Over and out,
RMI Guides Pete, Leon, Mike, and the whole climbing team
Congratulations to the team on your successful adventure! It’s great to imagine you all lazing by the pool in the sun with your feet propped up, reminiscing about all of those footsteps that took you to the top. Well done & Safe trips home!
Love,
Mom & Dad
Posted by: Paula & Bill VanDeventer on 2/7/2013 at 4:56 pm
February 6, 2013
Posted by: Billy Nugent, Mike King
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 13,800'
Greetings from Plaza Argentina! After a very early rise and a FRIGID river crossing our team wound our way up through the Relinchos Valley (a side valley of the Vacas) and arrived at Basecamp. We moved well and made good time on our ascent, with everybody feeling strong on our first bit of sustained elevation gain. We arrived just ahead of a pretty decent squall that gave us a but of wind, hail, and rain but we made short work of setting up tents ahead of the worst of it. Later on we were served up some delicious steaks and a little bit of Cabernet for dinner by the Grajales Basecamp staff. We crashed out around 9 or so when the weather started to get a little squirrelly again and enjoyed a well deserved rest!
Adios from Plaza Argentina!
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
On The Map
February 5, 2013
Posted by: Mike King, Pete Van Deventer
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 13,800'
What a whirlwind! Yesterday we were standing at almost 23,000 feet, and this evening we're back at Aconcagua Base Camp. It's a big day descending all the way, and our loads just get bigger as we pick up food and gear cached at each camp. It makes it easier knowing that we're headed to a delicious steak dinner ( better than the way in even!). Tomorrow we're back to light loads, light shoes, and getting miles under our feet. Hopefully we see Billy and team along the way. We'll be in touch!
RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer
February 5, 2013
Posted by: Billy Nugent, Mike King
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 10,550'
Another passage from the annals of RMI Aconcagua #5 history:
Today was decidedly less hot and subsequently much more enjoyable than yesterday. Our intrepid crew rose early and made short work of our journey from Pampa de Leñas to our second camp on the approach at Casa de Piedras. Sunny skies and a nice breeze kept our spirits high as we cruised through the enormous Vacas Valley. Right as we were arriving in camp we spotted Pete Van Deventer's crew headed down from their successful summit bid. They were looking tired and skinny but super-psyched on their accomplishment and the fact that they were headed for the barn. We gave them high-fives and settled in to build our camp. We too are in good spirits, moving well, and excited to make it to Basecamp tomorrow at Plaza Argentina.
Hasta pronto,
RMI Guide Billy Nugent and the rest of the gang.
February 4, 2013
Posted by: Billy Nugent, Mike King
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 9,000'
Greetings from Pampa de Leñas! Our team enjoyed one last night in a bed and awoke this morning to beautiful sunny skies. Seemingly, a great day to begin our long journey. The team thus far has been exceptionally well organized and we were able to enjoy a relatively stress free morning putting the finishing touches on our packing and stashing a bunch of city clothes in the Grajales packing facility. We caught a quick ride over to the trailhead at Punta de Vacas and after checking in with the guardaparques began our journey. Relatively calm winds and scorching temperatures in the nineties caught us all a little off guard and forced us to stop frequently and soak our clothes in the river to cool off! Even after a complete soaking, our shirts were dried off completely in ten minutes! Well, despite the heat we persevered and even made good time into our first camp.
More info to come as our expedition develops,
RMI Guide Billy Nugent
On The Map
February 3, 2013
Posted by: Leon Davis, Mike King, Pete Van Deventer
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 19,000'
We are all back at the tents after a beautiful summit day on Aconcagua! The weather was even better than forecasted, with no wind, clear skies, and warm temps. This let us leave a bit later, just as the sun was rising, and we enjoyed its warmth for the whole day. I personally have never had better conditions on the summit than today: just a light fleece, no gloves, and a vista that stretched for hundreds of miles in all directions. Congratulations to the team for a huge effort, and standing on the roof of South America. The guides would like to thank the whole team for such a successful and fun trip. Tomorrow we descend back to base camp, and get ready for the trek out and a return to Mendoza.
Cheers
RMI Guides Pete, Leon, Mike, and the climbers
congrats Leon and team!
Posted by: dawn on 2/6/2013 at 11:44 am
Rick can’t wait to hear your voice and hear all about your adventure. XOXOX Carol
Posted by: Carol Crye Popp on 2/5/2013 at 9:10 pm
Hey All,
This is Pete Van Deventer, we are calling in from the summit of Aconcagua, top of South America, top of the Americas and highest peak outside of the Himalaya. We had a beautiful day coming up here almost dead calm, sunny and warm. We have had a wonderful day. Everybody is psyched. We summitted about 2 o'clock Mendoza time. We are going to spend another 15 minutes or so up here. And then we are going to book it back to the tents and get down into some fatter air. So, everybody here says hi to everybody back home and sends our best. We'll see everybody soon.
RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer
RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer checks in from the summit of Aconcagua.
On The Map
CONGRATULATIONS! What an amazing accomplishment!
Posted by: Maria on 2/3/2013 at 5:59 pm
RIck I am very proud of you, very excited for you, and very relieved you are on your way down! I hope I get to hear your voice soon. I love you. Carol
Posted by: Carol Crye Popp on 2/3/2013 at 2:27 pm
A hearty hello to everyone out there following along as RMI's February 1st Aconcagua Expedition gets started. Most of the team trickled in to Mendoza yesterday afternoon and hit the ground running despite being weary from long stretches of airline travel. We held a team meeting followed by a fantastic dinner at one of the local restaurants. I can assure you that large quantities of beef and wine were consumed as we made our last efforts to pack on a couple pounds before heading onto the mountain. The guides packed group gear late into the night and after a brief nap we rose early to finish up our permitting process and run a few last minute errands. We're headed for Penitentes this afternoon where we'll finalize our packing and help ready the mule loads before spending one last night in a bed for a long time. Busy busy!
More to share as our program continues... Stay with us!
RMI Guides Billy Nugent, Garrett Stevens and the rest of the gang.
Hope all is going well! Eat MEAT…lots of MEAT! And we are all ready to read about the next leg of your journey to the top of S.A.!!
Posted by: Paula S on 2/6/2013 at 8:43 pm
Big hello’s from Texas. Can’t wait to hear all about it.
Posted by: Hammond's of the North on 2/6/2013 at 7:06 pm
Greetings from the chilly blizzard region of New Hampshire! Congratulations to all for reaching Base Camp! That’s excellent news and you all bring inspiration to those of us watching your adventure. Please pass on my “congrats” to Ken Young and a high-five! It’s dumping buckets of snow on us here in NH…hoping for clear weather on Aconcagua!
Posted by: Renee Ciulla on 2/8/2013 at 4:54 pm
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