October 31, 2018

When we wanted to dig a little deeper for insight into why you should sign up for one of IMG’s seminars, we went straight to the source and asked our guides for their thoughts on programs they’ve guided…. and they delivered!

Denali Prep Seminars – February through April – Mt. Rainier & White Mountains, NH

“The IMG Denali Preparation Seminars are an effective means for the aspiring Denali summiteer to get the hands on instruction, supervision, and repetition to ensure preparation is adequate for all that ‘The Tall One’ (Koyukon) can throw at an expedition. From sled rigging, and high altitude expedition self-care and group dynamics to physical, mental, and psychological fitness – it’s all there.

Whether taken in Washington on Mount Rainier or in New Hampshire in the White Mountains, our seminars offer the best training grounds to prepare the aspirant mountaineer. While New England may not have the glaciation that Mount Rainier offers, there are cliffs that provide excellent substitutes for real crevasses, without the avalanche hazards.

Taking a Denali Prep Seminar with an IMG Denali guide can help the climber and the guide familiarize themselves with each other before setting foot in the Alaska Range itself. This opportunity helps the team get a jump-start on building trust and setting the tone for their ascent of Denali.”

~ IMG Guide, Nickel Wood

Crevasse rescue training on a Glacier Skills Seminar (Patrick Mauro)

Glacier Skills Seminars – June, July, August – Mt. Rainier

Spots are filling on our prime climbing season Glacier Skills Seminars. There are only four of these late June through mid-August programs, and they are the only option left to climb the DC in June/July/August 2019. These seminars offer the perfect way to acclimatize while slowly working your way up the Paradise Glacier to Camp Muir, where you put your newly-acquired glacier skills and team camaraderie to good use on a DC summit attempt.

“It’s amazing to see how much confidence and self-sufficiency clients can develop over the course of a six-day Glacier Skills Seminar. During the seminar, the guides are open books! We teach the fundamental skills of mountaineering, e.g., self-arrest, crevasse rescue, etc., but we’re also happy to share as many of the “micro-optimizations” that make life easier on the hill and have taken years for each of us to discover. 

I think clients learn a great deal from this holistic alpine curriculum, and after learning how to exist and thrive on a barren glacier for six days, no one returns home unchanged.” 

~ IMG  Guide, Patrick Mauro 

While a Denali Prep Seminar is required prior to climbing Denali, prior mountaineering experience is not required to participate in our seminars – just the desire to learn, a great attitude, and a commitment to having fun in the backcountry!

Sign up now for a seminar on Rainier or in New England!

Feel free to call IMG HQ at 360-569-2609 or email office@mountainguides.com with your questions!

Heather Garland