June 7, 2024
Dinner time in Moshi (Phunuru)
Exploring Moshi (Phunuru)
June Kili cimbers in Moshi (Phunuru)
Phunuru Sherpa reports from Moshi Tanzania that our June custom team all arrived with their luggage and that everyone is doing well. Today the team explored town, did some shopping, and got all packed up to start the climb tomorrow. They will be heading out at 8am for the Machame Gate (trailhead) and they are looking forward to hitting the trail. All’s well in Tanzania!
June 7, 2024
Denali Team 7 posing in front of the plane at TAT (Brad Swanson)
IMG Denali Team 7 is out the door this morning and en route to the Kahiltna Glacier! This is the final IMG Denali team to enter the field this season, a bittersweet moment for us as we slowly start to wrap up our 2024 climbing season. Thankfully, we still have a lot of climbing to go, so we’re not done yet!
Teams 4 & 5 are at 17K camp poised for a joint-summit attempt in the coming days.
Team 6 is making their way up the mountain in good fashion. The team is at 11K camp today marking another big milestone in their expedition.
June 6, 2024
Fixed Lines, heading to 17K (Peter Dale)
Our IMG Denali season has been going well so far! We’re excited to have summits under our belt already and our fingers are crossed for the next batch.
Team 4 led by Forrest Baldwin is poised at 17K today to make their push for the summit in the coming days and Team 5 led by Rowan Stewart is moving to 17K today to also make their move soon.
Team 6 led by Timm Phillips is making their move to 11K camp! The team is strong and doing well.
June 4th, 2024
Updated communications today from IMG Denali teams are: Team 4 lead by Forrest Baldwin and IMG Team 5 lead by Rowan Stewart are moving up the fixed lines today. IMG Team 6 lead by Timm Phillips flew on this morning, and IMG Team 7 lead by Porter McMichael arriving in Anchorage tomorrow.
Thank you to Riley Gilsen leader of Team 2 for sharing his recent photo’s!
June 3rd, 2024
Team 4 lead by Forest Baldwin and Team 5 led by Rowan Stewart is spending more time at 14K Camp. These teams are watching the weather and waiting for their turn up the fixed ropes, and will be moving their cache supplies to the top of the ridge soon, and on to camp at 17K.
Team 6 led by Timm Phillips is meeting in Anchorage today, and moving to Talkeetna tomorrow, where their journey is just beginning.
Good Luck to all of our teams!
June 2, 2024
IMG Supervisor Porter McMichael wearing Cat 4 Glacier Glasses (Tomah Whitney)
On our IMG blog, we’re endeavoring to answer the most frequently asked questions we get in hopes of sharing answers and tricks of the trade with as many people as possible! First on the list is about your eyes- both eyewear and eye care!
When talking about rescues, many responders will use the phrase ‘life, limb, or sight’ to determine the need for an expeditious evacuation if there are threats to any of those three items. Since threats to a climber’s eyes is considered an immediate threat, it’s important that you take care of your eyes and make sure that you invest in the proper gear to keep your eyes healthy in the mountain environment.
Snowblindness is a very painful, but completely preventable occurrence for people who don’t wear proper eye protection in the mountains. The reflectivity of the snow and the increased UV at higher altitudes put climbers and skiers at increased risk. To prevent this from occurring, it is imperative that you invest in quality glacier glasses. Glacier glasses differ from sunglasses in two ways: the darkness of the lens and the shape of the glasses. You want to get a pair of glacier glasses that have a Category 4 lens. “Cat 4” lenses block 92% (or more) of the light, preventing snowblindess in mountain environments. Some popular and trusted options for glacier glasses with Cat 4 lenses are the Julbo Explorers, Julbo Camino, or the Smith Embark. If you’re on an IMG program based in Washington, we have Cat 4 glacier glasses available to rent. Did you know that Cat 4 lenses are so dark that you shouldn’t drive in them?
Glacier glasses should also protect your eyes on the sides, any light that might leak in from the sides can also cause snowblindness even when wearing sunglasses. That’s why many of the glasses made specifically for mountaineering come with built-in side shades or the lens wraps around to the side as seen in the Julbo Explorers. If you have a pair of glasses that are dark enough but don’t wrap to protect your eyes, don’t fret. You can make little flaps of duct tape to cover the sides of your glasses! This is a common budget fix we see frequently in the outdoors.
Let’s talk about prescription glasses and contacts. If you have the means to invest in a prescription pair of glacier glasses, you’re golden. You can either send your prescription to glasses manufacturers directly or you can buy a pair of frames and bring them to your optometrist to make custom lenses for you. If you wear glasses, it’s also a good idea to bring with you a spare pair of glasses as well as a pair of goggles that can fit over your frames in case all else fails!
Contacts are a fine option for vision correction in the mountain environment if you’re already an experienced contact-wearer. If you go with contacts, you’ll need to be diligent keeping up with your eye hygiene. Make sure you have glasses as a back up! Many people who use contacts also will bring a pair of light-lenses goggles. On Mt. Rainier, it can get windy and dusty during the summit attempt. The light lenses in the goggles are perfect for climbing at night and keeping dirt out of your eyes!
If you have questions about the best eyewear system for you, don’t hesitate to reach out to our office! We’re equipped to answer any questions you may have.
June 1, 2024
Climbers ascending Washburn’s thumb, en route to 17 Camp (Porter McMichael)
IMG Denali Team 4 led by Forrest Baldwin is making an acclimatization carry up the fixed lines to 16,000 feet today. This puts Forrest’s team in position to make a move to 17K Camp when the time is right.
Team 5 led by Rowan Stewart is right behind Team 4. The team is making their move to 14K Camp today which is a huge milestone on a Denali expedition!
Team 6 led by Timm Phillips is meeting in Anchorage tomorrow!
May 30, 2024
Looking down the fixed ropes towards 14 Camp (Eric Simonson)
Although we just had our first rounds of Denali summits this year, we’re not out of the woods yet!
Denali Teams 4 & 5 are making their way up the mountain and are doing well. Team 4 reached 14K camp yesterday and Team 5 is looking to move to 14K in the next couple of days.
Team 6 is making their final preparations and will be meeting in Anchorage in the coming few days!
May 28, 2024
Great news from Mt Rainier as IMG guide Annaebelle Kays and her team tagged the summit yesterday morning. The team reported clear skies, fresh snow, and moderate winds as they stood atop Mt Rainier. IMG guides have been hard at work this season, battling stormy weather and tough conditions angling to put a climbable route up Mt Rainier, but their efforts paid off.
IMG climbers stand on top of Mt Rainier (Annabelle Kays)
Congrats to the team!
May 27, 2024 –
Good news from IMGD teams on Denali yesterday evening: Team 2, lead by Riley Gilson, and Team 3, lead by Justin Sackett, both reported clear skies and calm winds from the summit of Denali. The teams reached the top around 530PM and then safely descended to 17 Camp to rest and spend the night. This morning, the teams will begin their descent to base camp and hope to return to Talkeetna in the coming days.
The view from the Fixed Lines, between 17 Camp and 14 Camp. Camp 14 can be seen below. Mt Hunter looms in the background. (Peter Dale)
Meanwhile, elsewhere on the mountain, Team 4, lead by Forrest Baldwin, is resting at 11 Camp and hoping to carry gear in the coming days. Team 5, lead by Rowan Stewart, flew on to the Kahiltna yesterday and climbed to 7800′. They plan to carry gear to 9800′ today and move to 11 Camp in the coming days.
