Paine Grande

January 3, 2018

: Los Cuernos (Photo by Luke Reilly)

: Condor flying in the Bader Valley (Photo by Luke Reilly)

: Team in the Bader Valley (Photo by Luke Reilly)

: Avalanche in the French Valley (Photo by Luke Reilly)

IMG Guide Luke Reilly and his team of Patagonia Trekkers enjoyed another great day on the trail. Today they explored the French Valley. The day starts off pretty easy, trekking along Lago Nordenskjold. After a couple hours the trail takes a right turn at the French River, heading up into the French Valley. After a snack and stashing their packs, the team trekked up to the main lookout, then continued on up to the British Lookout.

No condors today, but a sizeable ice avalanche happened when the team was at the lookout which is a safe distance away. After lunch, they dropped back down to their packs, then made their way to Refugio Paine Grande. A big day on the trail at 11 hours, but well worth it was the consensus at dinner.

Tomorrow they’ll trek high above Lago Grey en route to Refugio Grey. A much shorter day at 4 hours tomorrow. They’ll settled in for two nights at Refugio Grey.

All is well in Torres del Paine National Park!

Tye Chapman

15 Condors In The Bader Valley

January 2, 2018

The Bader Valley. (Photo by Tye Chapman)

Earlier this evening, IMG Guide Luke Reilly called in from Torres del Paine National Park in Southern Chilean Patagonia. He reports that the weather was absolutely perfect today, and that the team took full advantage of it with their trek up into the Bader Valley. Today was an out and back day so they could go as far as they liked. To make things a little better, since the Bader Valley requires a special permit, the the team had the valley all to themselves…minus the 15 or so Condors that flew high above!

When Luke called they were all back at Los Cuernos for the night. Tomorrow they’ll pack up and head over to Refugio Paine Grande via the famous French Valley.

All is well in Patagonia!

Tye Chapman

Two Aconcagua Teams Heading for Home; Third Getting Ready

January 1, 2018

Trips 1 and 2 are a wrap. Jonathanâ€™s team made the trek out from base camp at Plaza Mulas.

Jonathan’s IMG Aconcagua Team (Jonathan Schrock)

They actually got snow for the walk out. The old â€œduffel shuffleâ€ in Penitentes and then into the van and off to Mendoza.

No more walking (Peter Adams)

Team members will be heading home over the next couple of days. Nickel Wood and Martin Lucero will be cleaning gear, doing some more food shopping and getting ready to meet Team 3 on January 7th. Rikki Dunn will be joining the guiding team for this trip.

Robertâ€™s team is already on flights heading home. End of one expedition only means itâ€™s time to start planning for the next.

Phil Ershler

Patagonia Team Enjoying Los Cuernos

January 1, 2018

The team got a little wet up in the Silence Valley yesterday. Still smiling! (Luke Reilly)

Our Patagonia team in Torres del Paine National Park rang in the New Year in good style last night at Torre Central. Luckily the trek to Los Cuernos is generally hangover friendly. This afternoon will be spent relaxing on the deck or down on the rocky beach of Lago Nordenskjold.

Tomorrow they’ll put their day packs on for the trek up into the Bader Valley. It takes a special permit to get into the Bader Valley, so they’ll likely have the valley all to themselves…and hopefully a few condors!

Tye Chapman

IMG Team Summits Aconcagua

December 30, 2017

Good news from Argentina and the summit of Aconcagua today, Saturday, December 30th. Jonathan Schrock called to let me know that his team had a great climb this morning and reached the summit of Aconcagua. Congratulations for a truly sweet job.

View from the summit of Aconcagua (photo: Jonathan Farnsworth)

They are already well on their way back to high camp. It’s cold but not super windy, and all members are doing well. They will spend the night at high camp and descend to base camp at Plaza Mulas tomorrow, Sunday, the 31st.

Aconcagua Sky (photo: Peter Adams)

Robert Jantzen and team will shortly be back in Mendoza, getting cleaned up and celebrating. New Yearâ€™s Eve in Mendoza is on their schedule.

Our third team for the season will be led by Nickel Wood with Rikki Dunn and Martin Lucero. Team arrives Mendoza on the 7th. Stay tuned.

Phil Ershler

Patagonia Trekkers Ready To Go

December 29, 2017

: The Ãšltima Esperanza Sound. (Luke Reilly)

: Out for a bike ride in Patagonia. Not a bad day at all! (Luke Reilly)

: Great views! (Luke Reilly)

: The team at dinner in Puerto Natales.

It’s time to update you on our current Patagonia Trek. Some of the team arrived into Punta Arenas on Tuesday, others on Wednesday, most importantly, everybody arrived with their duffel bags, the first big hump of any trip like this!Â Yesterday they took a short walking tour of Punta Arenas before moving on to Puerto Natales, the true jumping off point for their trek in Torres del Paine National Park.

Today was spent doing gear checks and exploring Puerto Natales a little bit. Some rented bikes, others walked around town before meeting up for lunch at the nearby Singular Hotel.

Tonight they’ll put the final touches on their packs before loading up and hitting the trail in the morning. Their first postcard moment of the trek awaits, Los Torres del Paine!

Tye Chapman

First Summit

December 29th, 2017

Summit Cross

IMG Guides, Robert Jantzen and Leandro Villegas, called in to report their summit of Aconcagua yesterday in pretty much great conditions.Â Descent was slow, making for a very long and trying day but, at the end, everyoneâ€™s safe and on their way off the mountain.Â All guides and members will be back in Mendoza by late evening tomorrow.Â Congrats to the team for hanging in and working together during their long descent.Â Well done to all.

Jonathan, Nickel and Martin texted just now to let me know theyâ€™ve made their move to high camp.Â Time to pack, eat, hydrate and rest.Â Summit day on Aconcagua is TOUGH.Â There is nothing easy about this climb.Â Priorities are always the same â€“ safety, success and enjoyment â€“ and in that order.Â This team has done quite well so far and weâ€™re hoping everyone stays healthy and can handle that long summit day with the extremes of the altitude.Â Team has positioned themselves to take a summit shot tomorrow before the forecasted increase in winds occurs.Â Forecasts are only â€˜forecastsâ€™ but worth taking a shot now.

Phil Ershler

More Progress

December 27th, 2017

Aconcagua through the Clouds

Heard again from both IMG teams on Aconcagua today.Â Robert, Leandro and crew moved up to high camp today.Â Team is strong, weather forecast is optimistic and their plan is to take a summit shot tomorrow morning.Â Wish them luck.

Jonathan, Nickel and Martin moved into C2 today.Â May be time for them to take a day off tomorrow.Â Team is doing very well and theyâ€™re looking ahead now 3-5 days to pick a possible summit date.

Again, happy to report that all members of both teams are doing well and spirits are high.Â Aconcagua is a very big mountain but so far, so good.

Phil Ershler

Aconcagua Teams Making Progress

December 26, 2017

Steady progress seems to be the mantra for both our Aconcagua teams over the Christmas holiday.

Robert called in Monday. Theyâ€™ve moved to C2 and everyoneâ€™s doing well. Forecast for the 28th is quite favorable, so the plan is to move up to C3 tomorrow and see if they canâ€™t take advantage of a little porter assistance, a good forecast and the fact that everyone continues to perform well and take a shot, possibly on the 28th. Sounds like a good plan for this crew.

Near C1 on the Polish Glacier route (Phil Ershler)

Jonathan, over on the Polish side of the mountain, checked in Monday also, after having made a carry to C2. Theyâ€™ll spend another night at C1 and will likely take advantage of the continued good weather and the strength of the team and move up to C2 tomorrow.

Our two IMG teams wonâ€™t likely be shaking hands on the summit but close. Bottom line is that this holiday season on Aconcagua has been good to both our teams, and we can definitely be thankful for that.

Phil Ershler

Kili Team Back Down in Moshi

December 24, 2017

Well thatâ€™s a wrap. Phunuru just checked from the hotel in Moshi with a group of very happy, healthy, and (now) clean climbers.

Kilimanjaro from the forest on the final descent (Dustin Balderach)

It’s evening in Tanzania, and the team was just about to sit down for a celebratory dinner with their Chagga guides. They will have some tremendous stories to share after a challenging summit day where not all groups on the mountain were able to summit due to unseasonal weather. But with an IMG guide at the helm, they were able to have 100% of their team stand together on the summit. Thatâ€™s quiet an accomplishment, and it simply doesnâ€™t get any better than that!

: Successful IMG team back down to the Mweka Gate (care of Phunuru Sherpa)

: The IMG Kili team with their summit certificates (care of Phunuru Sherpa)

: The IMG Kili team at their celebratory dinner (care of Phunuru Sherpa)

Now they have all showered, packed up and will probably celebrate with a few Kilimanjaro beers! Some climbers will be leaving for safari tomorrow morning, while the others will be flying home. I canâ€™t think of a better Christmas gift. On behalf of IMG, we wish this strong team a hearty congratulations and happy holidays to all!

Dustin Balderach