May 10, 2019
Summit morning May 9, 2019 (Rikki Dunn)
Congrats to IMG Lead Guide, Rikki Dunn, for a successful Rainier summit yesterday in windy conditions! Two for two on the season! Robert Jantzen just radioed in that he is on his way to the Ingraham Flats Camp with his team and Rikki heads back up to Camp Muir with the next IMG team tomorrow morning.
Windy conditions up high did not deter the team from summiting (Rikki Dunn)
Even though the temps have been warmer than usual, the Ingraham Direct route is “in” and all is well on Rainier!
We have new openings on the following:
Mountain Day School
May 24
3.5 Day DC
June 9-12
July 21-24
Emmons
July 22-26
Kautz
June 29 – July 3
Little Tahoma Seminar
June 16-21
July 7-12
Glacier Skills Seminar
August 17-23
Sign up now or email office@mountainguides.com for info.
Heather Garland
May 7, 2019
IMG lead guide Nickel Wood called down from the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning at 8:00 am to report that the entire team summited today in perfect conditions.
High break on the way to the summit (Nickel Wood)
What a great way to start the season. The weather for the rest of the week looks equally good.
Almost there! (Nickel Wood)
Currently the route to the summit heads directly up the Ingraham Glacier (Ingraham Direct Route), avoiding Disappointment Cleaver. This is a more direct route usually only an option in early May, until crevasses start to open on the glacier. The route will move to the Disappointment Cleaver when conditions call for the switch.
George Dunn
May 5, 2019
The first DC team of the 2019 Rainier season (Heather Garland)
The Rainier season is officially underway with the first DC climb of 2019 hiking up through Paradise as we speak. The weather looks stable, if a bit warm, with 10,000′ freezing levels. IMG Guides, Jay Lyons (far left) & Ryan Dougherty (far right), summited early yesterday as part of a team that established a route up the Ingraham Glacier. They and IMG Lead Guides, Mike Haft (front left) and Nickel Wood (front right), have excellent conditions and a motivated crew. We couldn’t picture a better start!
Stay tuned for updates!
Heather Garland
May 3, 2019
IMG Denali Prep Seminar at Camp Muir (Betsy Dain-Owens)
As the sun sets on the 2019 Denali Prep Seminar season, we’d like to thank every one of our participants for their hard work, enthusiasm, and willingness to both enjoy and be humbled by the mountain. From epic storms to ground blizzards to whiteouts to bitter cold to fierce winds to bluebird days, Rainier delivered. We hope you enjoyed learning new skills such as crevasse rescue, sled hauling, and expedition camping as much as we enjoyed teaching them.
We wish you the best as you head to Denali, Aconcagua, Ecuador, and big mountains around the world!
Heather Garland
May 2, 2019
The Denali Prep Seminar at Little Africa Camp on Rainier (Willie Webster)
Nickel checked in this morning and reported it’s a little windy and chilly at Camp Muir with clouds just below 10,000′. They are headed up to the Ingraham Flats Camp and will scout the upper mountain for a possible route to the summit. Their back up plan is to work on crevasse rescue skills on the Ingraham Glacier.
Ice axe self-arrest training during the last Denali Prep Seminar of 2019 (Leanne Sebren)
The team has been working hard and is excited for the opportunity move higher!
Heather Garland
May 1, 2019
IMG Guide, Nickel Wood, leads the training on the last Denali Prep Seminar of 2019 (Betsy Dain-Owens)
IMG Lead Guide, Nickel Wood, is at Camp Muir with the final Denali Prep Seminar of the 2019 season. The team spent their first few nights on the mountain working on expedition camping skills, moving from their first camp just above Paradise up onto the Muir Snowfield. They’ve hauled their sleds over four miles and now have first-hand experience in the importance of proper self-care (blister mitigation!).
Today they worked on crevasse rescue techniques and tomorrow’s plan is to rope up for a walk across the Cowlitz Glacier possibly onto the upper mountain.
The weather has been fantastic so far and it looks to stay that way.
All is well on Rainier!
Heather Garland
April 28, 2019
View of Camp Muir from the ridge April 2019 (Robert Jantzen)
IMG Guide, Robert Jantzen, checked in from Camp Muir to let us know the crew has been working hard! They shoveled a platform in the snow yesterday and today they are setting up the WeatherPort, a structure used by the guide services to store gear and cook for clients on the DC climbs.
All is well and the team expects to descend to HQ today. Climbs begin on Saturday!
We have an opening on our May 24-27 climb. Sign up today!
Heather Garland
April 24, 2019
Early season on Rainier (Patrick Mauro)
We have two new openings on the 3.5 Day DC Summit Climb!
May 20-23
May 24-27
We also have the following availability:
4.5 Day Emmons
June 15-19
4.5 Day Kautz
June 29 – July 3
Email your application packet to office@mountainguides.com today!
IMG HQ
April 23, 2019
Sherpas at Camp 2 on Putha Hiunchuli (Karma Rita)
If you’ve been following IMG’s current Himalayan season and it has you itching to climb a big mountain yourself, you should seriously consider our Putha Hiunchuli Expedition this September 16 – October 18! We first climbed 23,773′ Putha Hiunchuli (POO-ta hoo-en-CHOO-lee) in 2017 and are excited to return to this remote mountain in the Dhaulagiri Range this autumn.
Email office@mountainguides.com for more info!
Heather Garland
April 23, 2019
Tibloc ratchet (James Wolff)
We still have availability on this summer’s mountaineering courses! Take one at a time or take them on consecutive days. Either way, you’ll be a better mountaineer and safer climbing partner when you’re done!
MDS = Mountain Day School
AMDS = Advanced Mountain Day School
CRS = Crevasse Rescue School
May 17 MDS
May 18-19 CRS
June 14 MDS
June 15-16 CRS
May 24 MDS
May 25-26 CRS
July 4 MDS
July 5 AMDS
July 6-7 CRS
July 25 MDS
July 26 AMDS
July 27-28 CRS
August 8 MDS
August 9 AMDS
August 10-11 CRS
August 21 MDS
August 22 AMDS
August 23-24 CRS
To sign up, just complete and submit your application packet to office@mountainguides.com!
IMG HQ
