First 2017 IMG Rainier Team is on the Mountain!

May 7, 2017

Feel the Stoke! First IMG Rainier Crew of 2017 (Robert Jantzen)

The first Disappointment Cleaver 3.5 day crew is out the door and headed up hill!

It’s an exciting time here at IMG HQ, the leaves are coming out, the temperatures are starting to rise and we have officially stepped into the Mount Rainier climbing season for 2017! IMG guides Andy Polloczek, Craig John, Nickel Wood and Kevin Kayl, along with their climbers were all smiles this morning before rolling out to head up to Camp Muir. The weather has taken a turn for the better today and we’re looking forward to a stable window for their entire climb. Happy climbers and good weather, you can’t get a better start than that! We’re looking forward to a great season, if you’re joining us this summer, its time to get excited!

Want to climb Rainier, but not already on a program with IMG? Don’t give up just yet! We get cancellations here and there, add your name to our waitlist and jump on the next open spot. To sign up, send an email to our office with your name, email and phone number, routes you’re interested in and a date range that you want notifications for.

Looking towards 2018 to plan a trip? Great! We will be releasing the 2018 Rainier climb dates in mid-September. If you sign up for our e-newsletter you’ll receive a notification as soon as we put the dates up and are rolling on registration. Remember its never to early to start training and researching gear!

Here’s to a great 2017 season!

Robert Jantzen

Mt. Rainier Season Is Underway

May 3, 2017

: 2017 Spring Guide Training (Tye Chapman)

: Guide training. (Emily Johnston)

: Guide training. (Emily Johnston)

: Guide training. (Emily Johnston)

: Andy and Emily taking a look at the upper mountain. (Justin Merle)

: The Disappointment Cleaver. (Justin Merle)

: Emily and Andy having some fun. (Justin Merle)

: Emily and Andy scouting the upper mountain. (Justin Merle)

The IMG Spring Guide training started this past weekend in Ashford. 30 of our guides showed up for one of our three annual training sessions. Guides focused on new updates and techniques in the industry on Saturday and then moved up to Paradise on Sunday for practice on one person crevasses rescue skills. The guides focused on increasing their speed and efficiency at solo rescue techniques.

On Monday and Tuesday, Three veteran IMG guides, Justin Merle, Andy Polloczek and Emily Johnston skied up to Camp Muir and scouted the route to the summit. The guides put in a track of the route and report that it is an excellent early season route, heading straight up the Ingraham Glacier. This is an easier and more direct route then the normal Disappointment Cleaver Route which can only be done in time of good snowpack.

Our new guide training starts today. Our 7 candidates put in two days of training over the weekend, and now start an additional three days of work honing essential guiding skills up on Mt. Rainier. After passing these hurdles, the aspiring guides will shadow climbs under the supervision of an IMG guide supervisor until they qualify as assistant guides who can lead a rope on a summit team. This is an ongoing training process.

Simultaneous to the new guide training is our Muir Set-Up Team. A team of 5 guides (Craig John, Nickel Wood, Kevin Kayl, Rikki Dunn and Harry Hamlin)Â will head up to Camp Muir tomorrow to set up our Weatherport and generally scout out how things wintered up at Muir. They’ll come down with a lengthy list of ‘needs’ that will go up with the first climb.

It’s a busy week but everybody has the same goal, to get ready for the 2017 Mt. Rainier Season!

George Dunn

Alaskan Success!!!

May 1, 2017

Paul Claus’s Twin Otter On the Glacier (George Dunn)

Expedition leader Aaron Mainer called in yesterday to report that the team summited Mt. Jarvis and is now safely back at their base camp. Congratulations to the team for a 100% successful climb!

Aaron reports that on April 29 they had a decent break in the weather and were able to go for the summit of Mt. Jarvis. At around 12,000 feet they lost visibility in the clouds, but were able to continue to the top. Just before descending the weather cleared and they were able to enjoy the view and descend in clear skies. The team reached camp just before 5pm and spent the night. The next morning, April 30, the team moved back to base camp. Given the few remaining days left to the expedition, the team determined there was not time for a second ascent, and now they are waiting for a clearing in the weather and an opportunity for the bush pilot to come and pick them up.

Update, Team is flown off the mountain!

As I was composing this blog update, Aaron Mainer called at 11:15pm PDT today, May 1 to report the team is safely back in Chitina. The bush pilot was able to pick up the entire team and drop them at the airstrip. The bad news is the transportation van will not reach them until tomorrow, so theyâ€™ll hopefully walk into the very small outpost of Chitina for a dinner and then spend the night camping at the airstrip until their pickup in the morning.

Congratulations to the team for a successful climb of Mt. Jarvis, a peak that is seldom climbed, and a safe and happy end to their time on the remote glaciers of Wrangell/St Elias National Park.

George Dunn

Alaska Team Looking For Summit Window

April 27, 2017

Lead guide Aaron Mainer called in from Camp 1 at 5pm PDT on April 26. All is well, the team made the move to Camp 1 in good weather today.Â If the weather is good tomorrow the team will make a push up on the mountain to check the route and conditions for a potential summit climb. If conditions are good and they can summit Mt. Jarvis early, then they can turn their sights on another objective, such as Mt. Wrangell. They donâ€™t want to count their chickens before they hatch, though. First things first, theyâ€™ll focus on Mt. Jarvis until they get a good weather window and can go for the summit.

George Dunn

Update from the Mt Sanford (now Mt. Jarvis) Expedition

April 25, 2017

: Looking East at Mt. Jarvis (Paul Claus)

: Looking West Towards Mt Wrangell (Paul Claus)

Our Mt. Sanford team gathered in Anchorage on May 21 without issue other than a set of delayed bags. The team traveled early on Sunday morning to bush pilot Paul Clausâ€™ pickup site at the Chitina airstrip. After aerial reconnaissance of the Sheep Glacier on Mt. Sanford, Paul made the determination that it was not safe to land the team on Mt. Sanford. The conditions were poor for a ski equipped plane landing, with wind blasted, blue ice showing and low snow coverage.Â The nice part about visiting the Wrangell Mountains is there is always a plan B. This worked out well and Paul was able to deposit the team at about 9000′ on the Nebesna plateau between Mt. Jarvis and Mt. Wrangell.

Lead guide Aaron Mainer called in today at 5:30pm PDT with an update.Â All is well with the team. Today they did a carry across the plateau at 9,000 feet to the base of the south side of Mt Jarvis at approximately 9,700 feet. This will become Camp 1. The group is doing well and all are healthy. The carry was well timed. As the group returned to base camp at the landing site, the weather started to cloud in and the winds increased. The group will have a good rest tonight and then let the weather determine tomorrowâ€™s itinerary. The weather forecast is for light snow and low winds through Tuesday.

George Dunn

It’s Still Winter on Rainier

April 5, 2017

: Fortifying Camp with Snow Walls (Justin Merle)

: Expedition Camp on the Muir Snowfield (Justin Merle)

: Windy day in Camp (Justin Merle)

IMG Senior Guide Justin Merle and the last Denali Prep Seminar team are enjoying changing weather and perfect training conditions on Mount Rainier. The team had a great day of sun on Monday and moved to a second camp higher on the Muir Snowfield. Tuesday brought wind, snow, and a return to winter for the team. Today the adverse weather continues and the team will practice breaking down camp and moving to lower elevation to continue their course. Learning to maintain a high quality camp and function well in variable conditions is what this seminar is all about, this team will be well prepared for whatever their next objective is!

Robert Jantzen

Tough Day On Mt. Whitney

April 4, 2017

: Mt. Whitney on the right (Photo by George Dunn)

: Stormy weather at high camp. (Photo by Jeremy Dunn)

I participated in the March 25-28 Mt Whitney climb last week. I have been attending two of the Whitney climbs each year since 1997. It is a fun climb, with the perfect mix of sunny weather, pleasant drive (across the desert if you like), great place to stay in the old movie town of Lone Pine. Our team hiked up the first two days to Lower Boy Scout Lake and then on to high camp just below 12,000 feet with no issues. The heavy snowfall last winter made for excellent snow travel with easy hiking straight up the route on firm snow.

We had a fun, congenial group and I was reminded why I have continued to do this climb for so many years. This year was an especially memorable trip for me, as I was joined by my son Jeremy who goes to school in California. We tried last year and got stormed off, so this was to be the big year!

Needless to say, we woke up pre-dawn on summit day to raging winds and snow. I could barely stand to face the wind outside our tent. The guides delayed, then reviewed conditions and finally had to pull the plug on making a summit attempt. Their call was the correct one, and no one doubted the sense in turning back. The climbs before and immediately after ours were also turned back by a combination of new snowfall and very strong winds on the upper mountain. It is rare for us to miss three climbs in a row on Whitney. No more than one turn around out of five is more common for the Eastern Sierra.

I just heard that our April 1-4 climb was able to summit. Theyâ€™ll be down today to celebrate their success. We have one final climb to go April 6-9. Good luck to them!

George Dunn

Pencil In Odell’s Gully On Mt. Washington Next Winter

April 4, 2017

: Katie S. clmbing Odell’s Gully. (Photo by Crag John)

: Matt Z. climbing Odell’s Gully. (Photo by Craig John)

IMG lead guide Craig John recently sent these photos on of Matt Z. and Kate S. climbing Odellâ€™s Gulley on Mt. Washington with him in March of this year. Classic conditions on an esthetic route.

The winter climbing is winding down now in New Hampshire and the guides are looking ahead to other climbs in distant areas. On to the next challenge!

George Dun

2017 Everest Expedition Underway

Things are really starting to pick up in Nepal. The first wave of Everest guides, climbers and trekkers are arriving in Kathmandu today. IMG Expedition Leader Greg Vernovage and IMG Guide Dallas Glass arrived earlier this morning (Pacific Standard Time)â€¦with all of their duffels. Always a great way to start an expedition. Â Their primary objective is to get to bed to start the process of getting their internal clocks on the right time zone! Kathmandu is +12hrs 45min from local time here in Washington State, so itâ€™s an adjustment to say the least!

Over the weekend theyâ€™ll take care of some logistical odds and ends and jump into gear checks as additional climbers & trekkers arrive. If all goes as planned Team 1 will fly from Kathmandu to Lukla on Monday to start their trek to Everest Base Camp.

For full 2017 Everest Expedition Coverage click here.

Tye Chapman

New England Ice Still Hanging In There

March 22, 2017

: Pinnacle Gully on Mt. W (Matt Shove)

: Pinnacle Gully on Mt. Washington (Matt Shove)

Guide Matt Shove lead repeat customers Tim and Gina P. on a climb of Pinnacle Gulley on Mt. Washington early this week. Conditions were great for the climb and a good time was had by all! The New England climbs are winding down, weâ€™ll likely be done with ice climbing by the end of this month with some options remaining including spring (but really still winter) ascents of Mt. Washington and good options for training.

George Dunn