Fuhrer Finger & DC Rainier Teams Summit

May 25, 2018

: The Fuhrer Finger team taking a break on the Nisqually Glacier (Eric Remza)

: Summit lenticular clouds (Luke Reilly)

The good weather continues here in the PNW allowing our Rainier climbers to enjoy some great climbing!

Andy Polloczek and his Fuhrer Finger climb had a great summit day yesterday. With an extra day built into this program they opted to take advantage of the good weather and camp on the summit! They descended the Disappointment Cleaver (DC) route today.

Joining Andy’s team on the summit today was Luke Reilly and his DC team. They climbed from The Flats this morning and summited in good form. If I was a betting man I’d bet that Luke made sure to give Andy’s tent a good shake to wake him up.

All is well on Mt. Rainier!

Tye Chapman

Another Great Day On Top Of Mt. Rainier

May 23, 2018

: High Break. (Betsy Dain-Owens)

: Sunrise makes everything better! (Betsy Dain-Owens)

: The summit crater. (Betsy Dain-Owens)

The climbing season is steadily ramping up here in the Pacific Northwest. On Mt. Rainier’s Disappointment Cleaver Route (currently the Ingraham Direct) IMG Lead Guide Betsy Dain-Owens and her team stood on top, on another absolutely perfect morning. Hot on their trails will be Luke Reilly and his team who left the Paradise Parking lot early this morning en route to Camp Muir. The met Betsy & her team on the snowfield for some handshakes, hugs and the guide info download.

On the south side of Mt. Rainier is Andy Polloczek and his Fuhrer Finger Team. They’re on day two of the climb and have established their second camp at the top of the Finger. With some thunderstorms in the forecast (and a feel in the air) they opted to dig in vs. climbing any higher today. They’ll see what develops then plan accordingly. They’ve got a few days to play with.

Meanwhile, things continue to ramp up later this week/weekend with our first Kautz, Emmons and Liberty Ridge climbs heading into the field. Looking ahead, next Tuesday stretches the bandwidth a bit when we have five teams on Mt. Rainier on four different routes!Â Soon after, the North Cascades & Baker seasons jump off. It’s going to be another busy summer!

Tye Chapman

She Said Yes!

May 21, 2018

: Andrew and Sarah before the climb (Andrew Kenton)

: Andew and Sarah at The Flats (Anna Hicks)

: Andrew on one knee (Anna Hicks)

: She said yes! (anna hicks)

Last week was a busy week on Mt. Rainier, but not so busy we all couldn’t stop and appreciate the tremendous moment Andrew and Sarah shared on the summit. As you’ve already deducted from the headline, Andrew proposed and Sarah said yes!

A little background, the couple met seven years ago while working at an equine summer camp in Kentucky. It was there they bonded over the love of nature and all things outdoors. Since then, they’ve spent much of their time together horseback riding and backpacking in Red River Gorge.

A recent move to Utah for Sarah to attend veterinary school opened a lot of opportunities for some bigger adventures into the mountains of the Western US. With their new love of the mountains, along with a recommendation from Sarah’s father, they arrived at IMG to climb Mt. Rainier.

Sarah will be the first to tell you that they had zero mountaineering experience before arriving in Ashford and that the climb was a little more challenging that her father let on, but they toughed it out made it to the top, where Andrew dropped to one knee and proposed! They’ve been above the clouds ever since.

Sarah made sure to tell me that she and Andrew are sincerely grateful for the support of IMG Guides Andy Polloczek, Anna Hicks, Jay Lyons and Grant Henarie. She also wanted me to let them know that if they’re able to find the time to get to Kentucky for the wedding, there will be four seats with their names on them.

Congratulations Sarah & Andrew!

Tye Chapman

On a Roll!

May 19, 2018

: IMG Team working their way up the mountain (Austin Shannon)

: Pacific Northwest Sunrise from 13,000 feet (Austin Shannon)

IMG climbers are on a roll here at Mt. Rainier. With successful summits on the last three trips and more good weather coming our way we’re having a heck of a May climbing season. IMG senior guide Austin Shannon snapped a few photos early this morning during their successful summit bid. The mountain is in good shape!

Robert Jantzen

In & Above The Clouds On Mt. Rainier

May 18, 2018

: Nearing the Cathedral Gap looking back towards Camp Muir (Austin Shannon)

: Above the clouds at The Flats. (Austin Shannon)

IMG Senior Guide Mike Haft checked in from The Flats this afternoon reporting calm conditions and fluctuating cloud layers. The winds are calm, and are forecasted to stay that way, so it looks like they’ll get chance to climb tonight/tomorrow…only one way to know for sure though, get up at midnight and take a look.

Tye Chapman

A Guide’s Day Off: Ski The Fuhrer Finger On Mt. Rainier

May 17, 2018

: You gotta go up to come down! (Peter Stone)

: Now the fun part. (Peter Stone)

: Spring skiing on Mt. Rainier! (Peter Stone)

Yesterday IMG Guide Peter Stone along with RMI Guides Ben Ammon and Grayson Swingle set the logos aside and took full advantage of a day off & good spring skiing conditions on Mt. Rainier. Their agenda was a climb of the DC route (currently the Ingraham Direct) and then a ski of the Kautz, but conditions & time pushed their objective over to the Fuhrer Finger. The skiing wasn’t optimal, but still a great ski nonetheless. Roundtrip clocked in at just under 12 hours.

While we’re talking Mt. Rainier – if you’re looking for a climb on an intermediate route on Mt. Rainier, we do still have some availability on our Kautz & Fuhrer Finger programs.Â Drop us a line and get signed up!

Tye Chapman

Rainier Weekend Update: Summit!

May 14, 2018

The team on the upper mountain on Sunday (Nickel Wood)

After a couple bumps in the road, our third team of the Mt. Rainier season summited via the Ingraham Direct in good form yesterday morning with IMG Guides Rikki Dunn, Willie Webster, Nickel Wood and Peter Stone leading the way. The reports are that it’s a steep, but direct route to the top, taking the team about 5 hours to get to the summit from the Ingraham Flats.

In addition to our scheduled climb, we had 5 of our new guides up on the mountain on a personal climb. Forrest Baldwin, Leanne Sebren, Keith Rumburg, Nicole Sims and Porter McMichael all summited and are looking forward to a busy summer on the mountain.

On the mountain today is our DC team. After some training at Camp Muir they’ll move up to the Ingraham Flats to get in position for their summit attempt tomorrow morning.

Down lower on the mountain are IMG Guides Justin Merle and Dallas Glass along with several of our new guides. Justin and Dallas are taking them out for some continued training. On the agenda today will be a refresher course on short-roping techniques and some advanced crevasse rescue work.

Never a dull moment on Mt. Rainier!

Tye Chapman

Tough Start On Mt. Rainier

May 11, 2018

Little Tahoma (Luke Reilly)

Things looked promising for our first two climbs of the Rainier season, but as she always does, Mt. Rainier had the final say, which meant no summits for our teams. High winds and low visibility being two of the deciding factors. The good news is that both teams got a good dose of Mt. Rainier, and will surly be back!

Our third climb of the season is heading uphill to Camp Muir now, and if the weather forecast holds, they’ll likely get a fair chance at a summit attempt on Sunday. Only time, and Mt. Rainier, will tell!

Tye Chapman

2018 PNW Summer Women’s Programs

May 10, 2018

By IMG Guide Anna Hicks

: Mt. Shuksan (Anna Hicks)

: Mt. Shuksan (Anna Hicks)

: The summit of Mt. Shuksan (Anna Hicks)

Iâ€™ve personally experienced the constraints a person can face on their journey to becoming a mountaineer. Now that Iâ€™m a mountain guide, Iâ€™m passionate about helping other people achieve their goals in the mountains. Currently women are very underrepresented in mountaineering, and being the only woman on a climb can be challenging.Â Therefore, myself and the other female guides at IMG have developed programs to help women build competence and confidence in the mountains.

This year we are offering 3 all-womenâ€™s programs during the 2018 summer season!Â Whether youâ€™re a first-time mountaineer who wants an introduction to climbing or a seasoned adventurer looking for a refresher course with in-depth hands-on training and practice, we have a program that will suit your needs.Â You can sign up for a summit climb of Rainier via the Disappointment Cleaver route, or a 6-day mountaineering skills seminar on Mount Baker or Mount Shuksan.Â Check out our website for program details and dates.

During last yearâ€™s womenâ€™s programs I asked every participant why they signed up and I heard a wide range of reasons.Â A couple of women said it happened to be the only spot left on a Disappointment Cleaver climb of Rainier.Â A few said that they didnâ€™t necessarily care if it was an all-womenâ€™s climb, but that they can relate better to female guides.Â Others said they wanted an all-womenâ€™s climb because they believe it can be a more supportive learning environment, that they want to focus on the strengths we share as women, or that they wanted to meet future female climbing partners.

Our different reasons for choosing one of IMGâ€™s all-womenâ€™s programs is a big part of what we individually have to contribute to the whole: a wide variety of perspectives, opinions, skillsets, and backgrounds.Â Â We at IMG look forward to speaking with you about our womenâ€™s programs and helping you pick the right program for your goals.Â We look forward to you becoming part of our community of women in the mountains who are working together to become more competent and confident mountaineers.

I hope you can join us on one of our women’s climbs this summer!

Anna Hicks

Denali Contract Announcement

May 8, 2018

IMG Guides Mike Haft and Peter Dale On the summit of Denali

It is with great excitement and pride that IMG Denali, LLC Â announces having been awarded a 10 year contract by the National Park Service to guide on Denali.Â IMG Denali, LLC is a new company formed in 2014 by International Mountain Guides, LLC Â and our long-time friend, past climbing partner and guide, Dr. Daniel Mann.Â International Mountain Guides, LLC partnersÂ Paul Baugher, George Dunn, Phil Ershler and Eric Simonson look forward to working with Dan Mann and bringing our combined skills and experience to the challenge of guiding on Denali and in Denali National Park beginning in May 2019.

We will be bringing a fresh approach to guiding The Great One. While the National Park Service requires a 3:1 climber to guide ratio, we will employ a 2:1 climber to guide ratio, with groups of 8 climbers and 4 guides. This approach gives us more strength and more options on summit day. Most people donâ€™t get a chance to climb Denali twice, which is why we want to do everything we can to set ourselves up for success the first time.

We are still finalizing our dates and rates for 2019. If you are interested in climbing with one of our IMG Denali teams, please get in touch with our office, and we’ll put your name on the list to receive furtherÂ information:

office@mountainguides.com
360-569-2609

Weâ€™ll see you in Alaska in 2019!

IMG Denali