June 25, 2012
Next Stop - Denali!
IMG guides are always coming and going. Mike Hamill and Greg Vernovage should be exchanging handshakes this week when Mike flies off Denali and Greg flies on. Mike’s been guiding with AMS on Denali, had a great trip and is heading back to Seattle to repack and get on a plane for Russia. He’s got a full IMG team to take on our first Elbrus trip of the season After that, he’ll be in Salt Lake City at the Outdoor Retailer Show, autographing copies of his new book – “Climbing the Seven Summits”.
Greg’s waiting, ready to rock and roll, with his Denali team in Talkeetna and hoping to fly onto the mountain soon. After leading IMG’s hugely successful Everest expedition this spring, Denali won’t be easy but maybe a bit less stressful. Weather always determines flights so a little luck and a little patience is needed to get one team off and one team on.
Greg’s been going over personal gear with each of his 6 team members. The weather delay will give them more time to work on knots, crevasse rescue and maybe some of the finer points of setting up tents. It’s all good. When the weather breaks, everyone will be moving in the right direction.
Phil Ershler