The Serengeti’s Biggest & Fastest

July 31, 2019

: Photo Credit: Phunuru Sherpa

: Photo Credit: Phunuru Sherpa

: Photo Credit: Phunuru Sherpa

: Photo Credit: Phunuru Sherpa

Phunuru called in from the Serengeti today to confirm Day 1 of the safari was a huge success! Within two hours of arrival, they’d seen big cats, bigger zebras, and even bigger elephants! There is nothing quite like being guests in the home of these big animals. The landscape is as spectacular as they are.

The summit of Kilimanjaro is behind them, they have another day in the Serengeti, and then the fun continues as the team visits the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

All is very well!

Phil Ershler

High Camp on Huayna Potosi

July 31, 2019

: Huayna Potosi (Greg Vernovage)

: The Old Refugio on Huayna Potosi (Giorgio Zannini)

: Trekking to High Camp on Huayna Potosi (Giorgio Zannini)

IMG Senior Guide Harry Hamlin just checked in from high Camp on Huayna Potosi.Â The team is doing well and in great spirits since they have now put themselves in position to summit Huayna Potosi (19,974â€™).Â The team is spending the night in a brand new Refugio at High Camp.Â Harry said this Refugio is one of the cleanest high altitude huts he has ever been inside and to top it off, we reserved the hut for our entire team.Â They will have dinner and get some rest now because the breakfast call will come at 1am and the team will be climbing by 2:00.

All is well and the weather looks great for the climb of Huayna Potosi!

Greg Vernovage

Bolivia Team Heads to Huayna Potosi Base Camp

July 30, 2019

Fixed line on Pequeno Alpamayo (Roberto Gomez)

Roberto and Harry checked in from El Alto during their resupply of food.Â The team is right on schedule and now heading to Huayna Potosi Base Camp where they will repack and spend the night. From Base Camp to High Camp, the team will use porters to move their gear.Â The path is dirt, rock and then turns to snow near High Camp.Â The team is feeling great and the weather looks good for the next few days.

: Climbing up the glacier on Pequeno Alpamayo (Roberto Gomez)

: Climbing the fixed lines on Pequeno Alpamayo (Roberto Gomez)

: 2019 Bolivia Team on the summit of Pequeno Alpamayo (Harry Hamlin)

Harry and Roberto also managed to send a few photos from the climb of Pequeno Alpamayo.Â Enjoy!

Greg Vernovage

Dinner with Group – Kili Update

July 30, 2019

Hereâ€™s the Proof (Phunuru)

One adventure ends and another begins.Â Probably a lesson in there somewhere.Â Phunuru and team are showered and fed and have turned their attention to celebrating.Â Celebrating successes is important, and this team has a lot to celebrate.Â 100% on top is a good start and Jeff’s 50 birthday ain’t bad, either.

Congratulations, all around.

: Happy Birthday, Jeff! (Phunuru)

: Happy Birthday, Jeff! (Phunuru)

Their safari adventure begins in the morning with a flight out to the Serengeti.Â Believe me when I say that this team is pumped!!

Phil Ershler

Elbrus St. Petersburg Tour Update

July 30, 2019

Team took advantage of their time this morning before flying to Mineralnye Vody and snuck in a visit to St. Isaacâ€™s Cathedral.Â The story of its construction and survival through WWII is amazing, and the mosaics inside are not to be missed.

: St. Isaacâ€™s Cathedral (Jonathan Schrock)

: Team at St. Isaacâ€™s Cathedral (Jonathan Schrock)

Team will be sleeping in the Caucasus Mountains tonight.

Phil Ershler

Bolivia Team Summits Pequeno Alpamayo!

July 29, 2019

Pequeno Alpamayo (Greg Vernovage)

IMG Senior Guide Harry Hamlin called from Base Camp to let us know the team had a great day on Pequeno Alpamayo (17,482â€™). This is a fun climb! The morning starts with a trek to the tongue of the glacier. Once at the glacier, the team puts on their harnesses, helmets and crampons. Roped up, they climb for about 2 hours to the â€œfirst summit.â€ After the first summit, the team downclimbs some fifth class rock and crosses the saddle to the summit ridge. Our local guide Roberto fixed the summit ridge and the team enjoyed a beautiful day on top!

: Rock section–first summit–on Pequeno Alpamayo (Greg Vernovage)

: The Saddle with summit ridge on Pequeno Alpamayo (Greg Vernovage)

: The summit ridge on Pequeno Alpamayo (Greg Vernovage)

Tomorrow the team will pack up camp and head for the trailhead where they will be picked up and transferred to Base Camp on Huayna Potosi.

All is well in Bolivia!

Greg Vernovage

Elbrus Team 2 Update

July 29, 2019

Team 2 in St. Petersburg (Jonathan Schrock)

While Elbrus Team 1 has already returned home, our second team wraps up their visit to St. Petersburg today and will be flying to Mineralnye Vody tomorrow.Â All continues to go well in Russia! Sasha will meet Jonathan and crew at the airport tomorrow and theyâ€™ll all head to our hotel in Terskol. Jonathan has all our climbers and they have all their luggage, so all is good. Time for this team to start getting acclimated!

Phil Ershler

Kilimanjaro Update

July 29, 2019

: Sunrise high on Kilimanjaro (Phunuru)

: Team on Top (Phunuru)

Always nice to start off the week with a phone call from Africa saying that we had another 100% successful ascent of Kilimanjaro this morning. Congratulations, team! Phunuru called and was pretty pleased to let us know the team did well, everyone shook hands on the summit and that they were back down to Millennium Camp. That leaves just a few hours hike tomorrow and this climb is a wrap! We couldnâ€™t be more pleased.

Phil Ershler

Bolivia Team Preparing for Alpamayo

July 28, 2019

Harry just checked in to let us know the weather continues to be beautiful, and the team had a good day of training on the glacier this morning. The team is back at Base Camp, will have an early dinner and then to bed in preparation for their climb of Pequeno Alpamayo in the morning.

: Training on Pequeno Alpamayo (Roberto Gomez)

: Base Camp at Pequeno Alpamayo (Roberto Gomez)

The weather forecast is in their favor, and the team is excited to get climbing!

All is well in Bolivia!

Greg Vernovage

Kilimanjaro Team in Barafu Camp

July 28, 2019

Team is in the batterâ€™s box, ready to take a â€˜swingâ€™ at the summit.

: Last stretch before camp (Phunuru Sherpa)

: Barafu Camp (Phunuru Sherpa)

Weather is perfect and team is pretty much perfect. Phunuru is planning for a 1am departure. Itâ€™s a big day, and it can be quite cold early in the morning. Weâ€™ll be wishing them luck, but I think theyâ€™re more than up to the task. Regardless, a little luck never hurt. The excitement makes it hard to sleep, but theyâ€™re pretty much running on adrenaline right now.

Phil Ershler