IMG oxygen ready to send to Khumbu

February 22, 2017

: IMG oxygen shipment in Kathmandu (Ang Jangbu)

: Protecting the oxygen with more foam for the trip to EBC (Ang Jangbu)

: IMG oxygen repacked (Ang Jangbu)

Ang Jangbu reports from Kathmandu that the big oxygen shipment arrived to Nepal safely from California and has now been cleared through customs.Â The sherpa team has been repacking the cylinders using more foam so they are well protected for the trip to Everest Base Camp on the yaks!Â Â Next up for them will be repacking the big food and gear shipments which have also now arrived to Kathmandu.Â So far so good!

Eric Simonson

Almost Out

February 22, 2017

Almost Out (Photo: Jonathan Farnsworth)

Mike and team are putting some final miles on their boots today with a long, but light, hike out to the road.Â After some â€˜duffel shuffleâ€™ in Penitentes, theyâ€™ll load the van and trailer and make the drive to Mendoza.Â Itâ€™ll be a long day but I have no doubt theyâ€™ll find the energy to grab a shower and change into clean clothes at the hotel and head out for a late night dinner in Mendoza.Â Steak and Malbec tend to be the most common items ordered.

Phil Ershler

A Day in Silence Valley

February 22, 2017

: Silence Valley

: Silence Valley

Tye was able to check in yesterday, via email, from Refugio Torres Norte.

The team hiked up to Japanese Camp for lunch and then worked their way back downhill to the refugio for the evening.Â Weather was a little ‘spotty’ for most of the day.Â However, the good weather news is that they were able to enjoy a big rainstorm with a glass of wine in their hands — while sitting in the refugio!Â Tye called it good guiding.Â I called it dumb luck.

Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.Â Bottom line – a very good day and everyone stayed ‘relatively’ dry.

Today, the plan is to head over to the base of the French Valley to get ready for a big Thursday.

Rumor has it that Patrick’s daughter, Emily, is headed to Disney World yesterday!Â Dad says hi.

All is well on the Chilean side of Patagonia.

Phil Ershler

Ready To Go Again In Tanzania

February 22, 2017

Kilimanjaro Team at the Machame Gate, Ready to Go! (Emily Johnston)

We heard from IMG senior guide Emily Johnston over in Tanzania late last night (in USA). Emily is leading our second February Kilimanjaro climb and safari, and the team was just finishing up breakfast and getting ready to load up in the vehicles for the 45-minute drive up to the Machame Gate where they will begin their trek. Â Yesterday, they spent the morning getting everyone organized and duffels weighed and packed into porter loads, and then during the afternoon they took the short ride into Moshi to have a look around the town. Overall a nice, relaxing day to help the team recover from jet lag and have everyone get to know each other better.

While we were sleeping over here in the USA, Emily and team made their way up to the Machame Gate and started the trek to Machame Camp.Â Before departing, she sent a trailhead photo of the team.Â At around 10,000 feet, Machame Camp is high, but still in the forest on Kilimanjaro. Its a nice walk up through the rainforest where they might spot some monkeys if they are lucky. If they are really lucky, theyâ€™ll stay dry and might get a peak at Kili as they get closer to their camp. We are glad to hear things are off to a great start for the Team over in Tanzania, and we wish them a great climb!

Dustin Balderach

No More Big Packs…

February 21, 2017

Plaza de Mulas (photo: Jonathan Farnsworth)

Mike and team have made their safe descent to Plaza de Mulas.Â No more big packs, no more cold winds, and no more thin air.Â The dangers and the difficulties are pretty much over.Â One day of hiking in the Horcones Valley with light packs and theyâ€™ll be driving to Mendoza.

Phil Ershler

Good Times in Patagonia

February 21, 2017

: Torres del Paine

: Torres del Paine

Tye checked in yesterday afternoon with good news – the team fought through some wind and rain but, from the sounds of it, it was worth every step. As they crested the moraine ridge the sun broke and all was well with the world! Big smiles and lots of photos!

Today’s plan is a little â€œTBDâ€. They’re going to wait and see what the weather does before making a game plan. They’ve got some great options. Plan A is to head up to the Silence Valley. Plan B might involve a spa. Bottom line â€“ between Tye and our partners in Chile- Â they’re in good hands!

Phil Ershler

Aconcagua Team Summits!

February 20, 2017

Just what we wanted to hear: Mike, Robert, Leo and all our Aconcagua climbers stood on top this morning.Â Great weather going up and then a snow storm rolled in and kept them paying attention during the descent.Â No worries — everyoneâ€™s back at high camp, fed, watered and tucked in for the night.

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

One big day remains tomorrow as the team will break down high camp, pack up and get everything down to Plaza Mulas, base camp on the Horcones side.Â THEN, the celebrating begins.Â So, very good news from our final Aconcagua team of the season.Â Folks are safe, highly successful, and (after they recover) will be quite pleased.

Phil Erhsler

Patagonia Team in Punta Arenas

February 20, 2017

Tye Chapman has our final Patagonia trek team of the season gathered up in Punta Arenas, Chile, headed up to Puerto Natales, and is ready now to get the show on the road.Â He forwarded a couple of photos for us and the quick email below.

“Hey Phil,

All is well in southern Chile. Yesterday’s drive from Punta Arenas to Puerto Natales was uneventful, just how we like it!Â Between naps, we saw guanacos, nandu, and flamingos; not quite The Big Five, but pretty good for Patagonia.

This is quite the team I have here! This crew has trekked and climbed all over the world together which made gear checks a piece of cake.

IMG Patagonia team in Punta Arenas

Rubbing Magellan’s toe for good luck in Punta Arenas

We’ve enjoyed some great food the past couple days, but we’re looking forward to burning some calories on the trail this afternoon.

More from Refugio Chileno this afternoon.”

Phil Erhsler

Aconcagua Team at C3 in Position for Summit Bid

February 19, 2017

Mike and crew have been busy and productive up on Aconcagua.Â A nasty little storm rolled into C2 the other day, but all was weathered without incident. They carried yesterday up to C3 and made the move today.Â Weather could not be a whole lot better, and the crew is trying to get as much food, drink and rest as possible this afternoon and tonight.

Aconcagua Camp 3 (photo: Jonathan Farnsworth)

They want to take advantage of no precipitation and very minimal wind right now.Â Maybe it stays that way for a while but maybe it doesnâ€™t.Â Climbing conditions are simply too good to pass up right now.Â Plan is to make their summit attempt in the morning.Â That should give them good weather for the climb and descent but also good weather the following day to make their retreat back to base camp on the Horcones Valley side of the mountain.Â Thatâ€™s the plan, and thatâ€™s the goal.

What do they say?… Luck is when opportunity meets preparedness, right?

Phil Erhsler

Kilimanjaro Team Puts a Bow On It!

February 17, 2017

Well, we can put a bow on this one because that’s a wrap! We heard from IMG senior guide Emily Johnston last night over in Tanzania. She was checking in from their luxury safari lodge as the team had just finished off their last day of game viewing and were enjoying a very nice dinner.

They started the day with a game drive on the Serengeti, exited Serengeti National Park mid-morning, and had lunch at the historic and unique Oldupai Gorge. The Oldupai Gorge is famous because it’s where some of the oldest human remains on earth have been discovered. To say it’s full of history is a tremendous understatement.

Enjoying a Ranger Talk at Oldupai Gorge (photo: Emily Johnston)

For the afternoon they headed into Ngorongoro Crater — a truly special place in the world.Â It’s aÂ huge volcanic crater filled with all kinds of African wildlife, from hippos, to buffalos, elephants, rhinos and everything in between. This place really has it all and is usually one of the highlights for almost everyone. I love that this is how the safari ends!

Ngorongoro Crater (photo: Dustin Balderach)

Finally, they made the drive out of the crater and up to the very comfortable safari lodge for their last night. It’s hard to put this lodge into words, but Iâ€™ll try: “5 Star Tropical Resort.â€ Unfortunately this doesnâ€™t even do it justice. Flower gardens, coffee plantations, vegetable gardens, mango trees, giant storks, private, thatched-roof bungalows and gourmet food! A superb spot to spend the last night of the trip sharing stories of all they have seen and done over the past two weeks.

The Team’s last dinner together at the safari lodge (photo: Emily Johnston)

Tomorrow theyâ€™ll have a leisurely start to the day, and after breakfast, theyâ€™ll head back towards Arusha. They will definitely do some souvenir shopping along the way before picking up the rest of their bags and heading to the airport for their evening flights home! Guide Emily Johnston will be staying in Tanzania where she will welcome our next group arriving on February 20th, and then sheâ€™ll do it all over again!

This has been a super fun trip follow, and we hope youâ€™ll follow us along on the next one starting next week.

Dustin Balderach