2018 Ecuador Cotopaxi Skills Expedition (Jan. 19 - 28, 2018 ) Dispatch 2

Guide: Fredy Tipan

Climbers: Sharlin G., Terry B., James H., Christine K., Aaron T., Marwan A.

Dispatch from Day 6:
Fredy called Thursday midday with an update:

"Hello this is Fredy again calling from Ecuador. I am very happy to let you know today we summited Cayambe!

It was a very windy day, so we didn't exactly have easy conditions, but we used plenty of layers and did fine. It was very exciting to make it to the top. Marwan would like to speak to you as well to let you know how the trip is going. Here he is:"

"Hello everyone and hello Erin-Leigh in the AAI office. Thank you for all your efforts in putting this trip together! I was honored to be one of the climbers to make it to the summit this morning. It was very windy – windier than I've ever experienced in my life.

I was having a hard time on the climb and the guides were incredibly helpful. One of the guides stayed very close to me and helped me work through my challenges with the wind and the climbing and really encouraged me to keep going. I am very proud of this accomplishment and incredibly grateful to our guides.

We have the rest of the day today to take it easy, and the group has chosen to go on a horseback ride this afternoon. Tomorrow, we will also have a nice recovery day as we are traveling to the Cotopaxi area to prepare for our next summit. I hope everyone at home is doping well! "

2018 Aconcagua Expedition (Jan 8 - 29) Final Dispatch Jan 23rd

Guides:

Tad McCrea

Climbers:

Carlyle Eubank
Winchester Eubank
Jeffrey Gephart
John McCrea

From AAI guide Tad McCrea at 3:51am (PST) this morning...

Reporting that we got back to Mendoza late last night. Safe and sound, with a hard earned summit under our belts. Now for the wine...

Thanks for following!

2018 Ecuador Cotopaxi Skills Expedition (Jan. 19 - 28, 2018 ) Dispatch 1

Guide: Fredy Tipan

Climbers: Sharlin G., Terry B., James H., Christine K., Aaron T., Marwan A.

Dispatch from Days 1-3 of the Ecuador Volcanoes Expedition

Fredy called today with an update on the climbing program in Ecuador. Phone reception was poor, so we didn’t get into a lot of detail:

“Hello from Ecuador! This is Fredy calling to let you know that we have made a great beginning to our program here.

We began our acclimatization upon arrival, of course, since Quito is at 9350 feet (2850 meters). We had a nice dinner together the first night, and on the first full day we did a more detailed orientation on the trip, checked gear and clothing for the mountains, and then did a walking tour of Quito.

It was a nice day to explore Quito, and everyone enjoyed a little easy exercise as their bodies began adjusting to the altitude. It is important not to do strenuous activity when you are just beginning to acclimatize so that walking tour is perfect.

Today we enjoyed a wonderful climb to the summit of Rucu Pichincha (15,413 f / 4697 m). The weather is quite good. We had a few clouds but mostly blue skies and a lot of sun. We had great views, and the team enjoyed seeing some of the other big summits of Ecuador.

People are in good shape, and they had a lot of fun on the climb. The acclimatization is progressing very successfully.

Now I will let you talk to Terry so you can hear some of his thoughts.

“Hello – This is Terri. We’re having a really good time down here. It's a great group, and everyone is enjoying each other very much. And Fredy has been awesome to hike and climb with.

This country is so beautiful. I wasn't sure exactly what to expect, but I have to say the trip is going better than I expected in terms of the altitude. It’s been really fun climbing together. I had a great time today – the views were tremendous. And now we are going to head north to a hacienda somewhere below our first big climb, Cayambe. So we’re looking forward to the hacienda and a good dinner there. Should be good! Here’s Fredy.”

“Hello again. Yes, we will now be heading to beautiful Hacienda Guachala. And after a nice breakfast there tomorrow morning, we will drive up to the hut on Cayambe. We’ll have an easy day and hike a little way up the mountain to the glacier for views and for acclimatization. Then Wednesday we will have a day for reviewing or learning climbing skills before making our preparations for the climb. We will call again tomorrow or the next day to give you the latest news. Bye for now.”

2018 Aconcagua Expedition (Jan 8 - 29)

Guides:

Tad McCrea

Climbers:

Carlyle Eubank
Winchester Eubank
Jeffrey Gephart
John McCrea

From AAI guide Tad McCrea...

We hiked down to Base Camp today and are preparing for the trek back to Penitentes. All the recent snowfall has made the views incredible!

Feels good to be breathing thick air again and will hopefully be enjoying some good food and wine very soon.

2018 Aconcagua Expedition (January 8 - 29) from Jan. 20th

Guides:

Tad McCrea

Climbers:

Carlyle Eubank
Winchester Eubank
Jeffrey Gephart
John McCrea

From AAI guide Tad McCrea...

Hello all. Happy to report that we summited Aconcagua (22,841ft) today!

The day started out okay but on our attempt it began to snow and turned into a whiteout on our way down. We are back at camp enjoying a good meal and some rest and will start making our way out tomorrow. 

2018 Aconcagua Expedition (Jan 8 - 29)

Guides:

Tad McCrea

Climbers:

Carlyle Eubank
Winchester Eubank
Jeffrey Gephart
John McCrea

From AAI guide Tad McCrea...

Hello everyone. Reporting that we successfully made it to Camp 3 (19,600ft/5,970m) also known as White Rocks camp today! The views up here are amazing.

Due to our accelerated schedule with the weather deteriorating and our summit window getting significantly smaller, we had to carry some heavy loads up to camp. It's been snowing most of the day with not much accumulation. Fortunate, there has been no wind.

Our plan is to make a summit attempt tomorrow! Wish us luck and we hopefully be sending in a summit dispatch tomorrow.

2018 Aconcagua Expedition (Jan 8 - 29) from Jan 18th

Guides:

Tad McCrea

Climbers:

Carlyle Eubank
Winchester Eubank
Jeffrey Gephart
John McCrea

From AAI guide Tad McCrea...

Happy to announce that we made the move to Camp 2 (18,000ft/5,486m) today! Conditions have been great and our summit window is swiftly approaching.

After we moved to Camp 2, I was able to put a small cache just below Camp 3 (also known as White Rocks Camp) at 19,600ft/5,970m to put us in a better position if the weather deteriorates. 

2018 Aconcagua Expedition (Jan 8 - 29) from Jan 17th at 8pm

Guides:

Tad McCrea

Climbers:

Carlyle Eubank
Winchester Eubank
Jeffrey Gephart
John McCrea

From AAI guide Tad McCrea...

The team carried and cached at Camp 2 (18,000ft/5,486m) today. A nice short trip with 1,600ft of elevation gain gives us a chance to continue to acclimatize properly. This is much more fun than the long treks through the valley. 

We ate some delicious salmon pesto pasta for dinner and planned for our big move to Camp 2 tomorrow!

2018 Aconcagua Expedition (Jan 8 - 29) from Jan 16th

Guides:

Tad McCrea

Climbers:

Carlyle Eubank
Winchester Eubank
Jeffrey Gephart
John McCrea

From AAI guide Tad McCrea...

The team moved to Camp 1 (16,400ft/5,000m) today and made good time.

We are acclimating well and looking at the potential for a summit window later this week. There are still a few steps in our way, carrying to Camp 2, moving to Camp 2, and moving to Camp 3.

The weather has shown a down ward trend with some strong, cold winds and some snow (as we mentioned previously in one of our dispatches). Hope it holds off a little longer for us.

2018 Aconcagua Expedition (Jan 8 - 29) from Jan 16th

Guides:

Tad McCrea

Climbers:

Carlyle Eubank
Winchester Eubank
Jeffrey Gephart
John McCrea

From AAI guide Tad McCrea...

After making a carry to Camp 1 (16,400ft/5,000m) the team enjoyed another rest day. Good meals and some shut eye as set up our attack plan for the upper mountain.

The plan is to move to Camp 1 tomorrow. The move is a little over 2 miles and 2,400ft of elevation gain, but this time with heavier packs.

2018 Aconcagua Expedition (Jan 8 - 29) from Sun, Jan 14th

Guides:

Tad McCrea

Climbers:

Carlyle Eubank
Winchester Eubank
Jeffrey Gephart
John McCrea

From AAI guide Tad McCrea....

The AAI Aconcagua team took a well deserved rest day on Saturday Jan 13th. All the medical checks went well. 

Today, Sunday January 14th, the team cached some gear, equipment and food at Camp 1 (16,400ft/5,000m) and returned to Base Camp. This carry took about 5 hours. A nice easy 2 miles and 2,800ft of elevation gain. 

A small snow storm came in on us at the cache, giving us a taste of whats to come.

2018 Aconcagua Expedition (Jan 8 - 29) from Jan 13th

Guides:

Tad McCrea

Climbers:

Carlyle Eubank
Winchester Eubank
Jeffrey Gephart
John McCrea

The AAI Aconcagua team has made it to Base Camp at 14,000ft!

AAI guide Tad McCrea says the whole team is happy, healthy and settling in at BC. Today, the crew is enjoying a full day of rest and acclimatization. They will also venture over to the medical check tent today at 6pm (local Argentinian time) to make sure everyone is acclimatizing properly.

2018 Ecuador Cayambe/ Cotopaxi Skills Expedition (Jan. 5 - 19, 2018) Dispatch 1

January 11th Dispatch

Climbers: Matty R., Michael J., Chris C., Sonja P., Hannah G.

Guide: Franklin Varela

Yesterday, the group successfully climbed Cayambe in perfect weather. Conditions on the glacier were not the best (the phone connection was poor and we couldn’t understand all of the details). Everyone is really happy about the climb.

After the ascent they drove down from the hut to Hacienda Guachala for what they called “some very good food and some very great sleep!”

After an easy morning and a big breakfast, they drove south to Cotopaxi National Park, and they are now heading for the beautiful lodge of Tambopaxi where they will stay for the night. They’ll have a great view of Cotopaxi, which is their next climbing goal.

2018 Aconcagua Expedition (Jan 8 - 29) from Jan 12th

Guides:

Tad McCrea

Climbers:

Carlyle Eubank
Winchester Eubank
Jeffrey Gephart
John McCrea

Yesterday, Jan 11th  the AAI Aconcagua team made the long trek to Casa de Piedra (10,665ft/3,251m).

Today (Jan 12th) the team will be walking strongly into Aconcagua Base Camp at 14,000ft, and enjoying some well earned rest and relaxation. The goal at Base Camp is to give all the climbers a chance to properly acclimatize as they strategize for the upper mountain.

2018 Aconcagua Expedition (Jan 8 - 29) from Jan 11

Guides:

Tad McCrea

Climbers:

Carlyle Eubank
Winchester Eubank
Jeffrey Gephart
John McCrea

After some hard work (and no small degree of patience) the AAI Aconcagua team is back on it's original schedule.

The team made it to Papa de Lenas (9,330ft/2,844m) in good time and everyone did very well.

After a delicious breakfast of eggs with vegetables and cheese (Tad really likes cheese) they began the next part of the expedition, making the long 9 mile trek to Casa de Piedra (10,665ft/3,251m). From this camp, one can see the Polish Glacier on the giant mountain.

The plan for tomorrow is trek into Aconcagua Base Camp at 14,000ft!

2018 Aconcagua Expedition (Jan 8 - 29) form Jan 10th

Guides:

Tad McCrea

Climbers:

Carlyle Eubank
Winchester Eubank
Jeffrey Gephart
John McCrea

The Aconcagua expedition is working to get back on schedule after a baggage delay in Mendoza.

Our friends have left Penitentes and are on their way to Papa de Lenas. It's roughly a 7 mile trek through the low lands approaching the big mountain. Fortunately, there's only about 1,300ft of elevation gain. 

With the support of local mules (who carry the bulk of the weight) our climbers had light packs on their way to camp. We have undying gratitude for our four legged friends who work as our expedition partners.

The team plans to trek to Casa de Piedra tomorrow morning after a good breakfast.

2018 Aconcagua Expedition (Jan 8 - 29, 2018)

Guides:

Tad McCrea

Climbers:

Carlyle Eubank
Winchester Eubank
Jeffrey Gephart
John McCrea

Hello all and welcome to the AAI Aconcagua Team dispatch.

Yesterday, Monday Jan 8, the team met at a local hotel in Mendoza and prepared their personal gear. Unfortunately, there was a baggage issue (putting it lightly) and after a long day of waiting, baggage finally arrived.

As of this morning, the AAI Aconcagua team is heading to the park office to purchase climbing permits and then will be off to Penitentes to begin the expedition!

Penitentes is roughly a 3 hour drive form Mendoza. The team will stay at a hotel over night and then strike out for Papa de Lenas.