Elbrus Update

July 17, 2019

: Boat ride on the Neva River (Jonathan Schrock)

: Dinner in St. Petersburg (Jonathan Schrock)

: Ready for the drive to Terskol (Jonathan Schrock)

Jonathan Schrock, Sasha Sak and Igor Tsaruk have greeted our first Elbrus expedition of the season, shown them a bit of St. Petersburg and got them all on their flight to Mineralnye Vody and the bus ride up to the town of Terskol.Â The trip is off and running and all is good.Â Acclimatization is the order of business now while in Terskol.Â Thereâ€™s an observatory above town which provides a great objective for that first hike.Â A couple of thousand feet of elevation gain and some great views of Elbrus.Â Good way to start the program.

Stay tuned as the team works their way up Elbrus and ends the trip in the city of Moscow.Â Not a bad way to spend two weeks.

Phil Ershler

Mongolia Team Arrives At Mt Khuiten Base Camp

July 17, 2019

Eagle Hunter (Carol Masheter)

The Mongolia Team has arrived at Mt Khuiten Base Camp with a beautiful day of weather.Â After driving to the Park Entrance from Bayan Olgii in the Russian vans, the team loaded up the Bactrian camels and horses and started trekking.Â On the way to Base Camp the team were able to see golden eagles, camels, yaks, sheep, goats and horses.Â After a few hours, the team arrived at top of a hill with a great view of the Altai Mountains, before dropping down to the Potaniin Glacier and the Base Camp site.

: The Potaniin Glacier, Mt Khuiten and the Altai Mountains on the way to Base Camp (Eric Simonson)

: Bactrian Camels being led by the locals on horseback (Eric Simonson)

: Trekking to Base Camp (Eric Simonson)

Ang Jangbu reports that the team are all doing well, and it sounds like the climbing route on Mt Khuiten is in great shape. Â Tomorrow, the team will continue to familiarize themselves with Base Camp and do some training on the lower end of the Potaniin Glacier.Â Allâ€™s well in Mongolia!

Greg Vernovage

Iceland Trekkers Tour Reykjavik

July 16, 2019

IMG guide Craig John reports that the Iceland Trek team made it to Reykjavik and are doing well. Today they had a tour around the city, including a visit to the statue of Leifur Eiriksson on the plaza in front of Hallgrimskirka, the huge church visible from most of Reykjavik. This statue was a gift from the USA to Iceland to commemorate the first European to reach North America, on the 1000 year anniversary of the Albingi which is the parliament of Iceland and oldest in the world, first convened in 930 AD.

: Lief Eriksson hotel (Craig John)

: IMG Iceland Trekkers with the statue of Lief Eriksson in Reykjavik (Craig John)

: Lief Eriksson Statue inscription (Craig John)

After the city tour they returned to their hotel (the Lief Eriksson, of course) to prepare for their departure tomorrow morning for Landmannalaugar to begin the classic Laugavegur Trek.

Greg Vernovage

Mongolia Team Reaches Bayan Olgii

July 16, 2019

Ang Jangbu checked in overnight to let us know the team had a good flight to Bayan Olgii and drove for about three hours to their first camp. The team had taken an afternoon flight and were welcomed by the van drivers, cook staff and climbing guides at the airport. Tonight, they are camping in the meadow by a beautiful river.

: 2019 Mongolia Team arrive in Bayan Olgii (Ang Jangbu Sherpa)

: The road to the Altai Mountains (Ang Jangbu Sherpa)

: Russian Van at a pit stop (Ang Jangbu Sherpa)

Tomorrow, the plan is to wake at 6am and head for the Park Entrance. Once at the park entrance, they will load up the camels and trek to Base Camp.

All is well in Mongolia!

Greg Vernovage

Touring Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

July 15, 2019

Ang Jangbu checked in with more great photos of the city tour in Ulaanbaatar. All climbers and gear have now arrived, gear checks complete and another beautiful day for touring the city. The team visited the main square of the city before going to the impressive cultural museum. They also visited the Winter Palace and the Gandantegchinlen Monastery. The day finished up with the team taking in the Tamen Ehk Singing and dancing cultural event.

: Gandantegchinlen Monastery (Ang Jangbu Sherpa)

: National Museum Tour (Ang Jangbu Sherpa)

: The Winter Palace (Viki Tracey)

: Tumen Ehk Festival (Ang Jangbu Sherpa)

Another busy day of sightseeing in Ulaanbaatar! Tomorrow, the team will head to the airport to take their flight to Bayan Olgii and head to the mountains!

Greg Vernovage

Siula Pass and Huayhuash Camp

July 14, 2019

: En route from Siula Pass to Huayhuash Camp (Betsy Dain-Owens)

: Views from Siula Pass (Betsy Dain-Owens)

IMG Lead Guide, Betsy Dain-Owens, checked in today from from the camp known as “Huayhuash,” which is a pleasant grassy camp 1t 14,100′ with stunning views. It was a long day on the trail, which took the team over Siula Pass located at 15,740′. The weather was a mixed bag with clear skies in the morning, making for a beautiful hike as they departed camp for the pass. Later in the afternoon the clouds moved in to greet the team as they arrived at camp. Tomorrow is a shorter hike and they will be rewarded with some natural hot springs for their hard efforts.

The team is doing well and making good progress!

Jason Edwards

Mongolia Team Update

July 13, 2019

Gheghis Khan Statue (Ang Jangbu Sherpa)

: Team at Turtle Rock (Ang Jangbu Sherpa)

: Aryval Monastery (Ang Jangbu Sherpa)

: Team at Ghengis Khan Statue (Ang Jangbu Sherpa)

We heard from Ang Jangbu overnight with more great photos of the team in Mongolia:

â€œWe had a great day today. We had a leisurely breakfast this morning left 9 am to the Genghis Khan statue. The direct road was under construction and had to take a longer route. It was about 110 kilometers from Ulaanbaatar.

After the statue, we drove to Terelj National Park and stopped at one of the many yurt resorts for a great lunch. We then drove further into the park to see the Turtle rock and the Aryaval Monastery. Beautiful area. We then drove back to UB and went straight to the Mongolian buffet dinner just got back to the hotel. â€œ

Greg Vernovage

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Splitter Weather & High Passes For The Huayhuash Trek

July 13, 2019

: Huayhuash-Tucllapampa to Carhuacocha camp – Carhuac Pass 15,252′ (Betsy Dain-Owens)

: Laguna Carhuacocha Camp 13,700′ (Betsy Dain-Owens)

IMG Lead Guide, Betsy Dain-Owens, reports the team has traveled over Carhuac Pass to their camp at Laguna Carhuacocha. The weather has been splitter for the team, so they’re reaping the gorgeous views offered by our spectacular Huayhuash trek. Bestsy noted they celebrated a team birthday last night, complete with a special cake prepared by our cook in Huaraz, and secretly transported to camp for the special occasion. Happy Birthday, P!

Tomorrow, the team will continue their trek as planned. So far so good!

We still have room on our Aug 31 – Sept 9 Salkantay Trek! Email office@mountainguides.com for details!

Jason Edwards

Full Day At The Naadam Festival

July 12, 2019

Sukbaatar Square during the Naadam Festival (Ang Jangbu_Sherpa)

Ang Jangbu checked in after another great day at the Naadam Festival. The team started off the day by heading out to watch the horse race in the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar. Now, this horse race is not what we would typically envision when we read the text. This is a long distance horse race in the open area. Take it even further by this horse race being done mostly bareback and the riders are kids and is 13 miles in length! For anyone who had a dream of being a cowboy as a kid, this would be a dream come true!

: Naadam Festival Tour Guide teaching the Ankle Bone Game (Ang Jangbu Sherpa)

: Children racing horses (Ang Jangbu Sherpa)

After the horse race, our tour guide exposed the team to a traditional game with Ankle Bones. I had to look it up as well! After the Ankle Bone Games, the team had an opportunity to taste the fermented horse milk. This is an â€œinterestingâ€ tasting drink with a small amount of alcohol content. After all of the fun, the team returned back to the hotel and Ang Jangbu took a short walk down to the City Center wear there was live music and the Parliament Building was lit up in beautiful color. Jangbu said he thought â€œall of Ulaanbaatar was gathered to listen to music and enjoy the warm summer night.

Greg Vernovage

Day 1 Of The Naadam Festival

July 11, 2019

Panorama of the Central Stadium (Ang Jangbu Sherpa)

Ang Jangbu checked in after a great day at the Naadam Festival in Mongolia.Â The team spent the first day at the Central Stadium in Ulaanbaatar taking in some archery and walking around to see the traditional clothing people are wearing.Â The day was finished with a great dinner and some dancing by some of the team members!

: Archery at the Naadam Festival (Ang Jangbu Sherpa)

: Interesting mask and clothing at Dinner (Ang Jangbu Sherpa)

: Traditional Clothing at the Naadam Festival (Ang Jangbu Sherpa)

All is well in Mongolia!

Greg Vernovage