February 21, 2017
Plaza de Mulas (photo: Jonathan Farnsworth)
Mike and team have made their safe descent to Plaza de Mulas. No more big packs, no more cold winds, and no more thin air. The dangers and the difficulties are pretty much over. One day of hiking in the Horcones Valley with light packs and they’ll be driving to Mendoza.
Phil Ershler
February 21, 2017
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 “TBDâ€. 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 – between Tye and our partners in Chile-  they’re in good hands!
Phil Ershler
February 20, 2017
Just what we wanted to hear: Mike, Robert, Leo and all our Aconcagua climbers stood on top this morning. Great weather going up and then a snow storm rolled in and kept them paying attention during the descent. No worries — everyone’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. THEN, the celebrating begins. So, very good news from our final Aconcagua team of the season. Folks are safe, highly successful, and (after they recover) will be quite pleased.
Phil Erhsler
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. 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! 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
February 19, 2017
Mike and crew have been busy and productive up on Aconcagua. 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. 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. Maybe it stays that way for a while but maybe it doesn’t. Climbing conditions are simply too good to pass up right now. Plan is to make their summit attempt in the morning. 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. That’s the plan, and that’s the goal.
What do they say?… Luck is when opportunity meets preparedness, right?
Phil Erhsler
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. It’s a 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 I’ll try: “5 Star Tropical Resort.†Unfortunately this doesn’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 they’ll have a leisurely start to the day, and after breakfast, they’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 she’ll do it all over again!
This has been a super fun trip follow, and we hope you’ll follow us along on the next one starting next week.
Dustin Balderach
February 16, 2017
Elephant and Acacia Trees on the Serengeti. (Dustin Balderach)
We heard from IMG senior guide Emily Johnston over in Africa earlier. They just finished their second day of the safari on the Serengeti. It went something like this. Wake up in your luxurious ‘tent’ to see the sun rising over the Serengeti. (I use the term ‘tent’ loosely here as these tents have full beds and bathrooms.) Enjoy an incredible buffet breakfast before hopping in the Land Rovers to go spot some wildlife. About the time the wildlife is getting ready for their afternoon nap, head back to camp for a delicious hot lunch and a little nap of your own. Then, head back out in the afternoon to watch the wildlife stir back to life as the temps cool off. Cap it all off with a fabulous dinner and swap stories around the campfire while enjoying your Serengeti Beer. Finally, fall asleep to the sound of zebras snorting outside your tent. I’m not making this up, this is a very typical day on the Serengeti! Kind of hard to beat a day like this one. Tomorrow the team will head over to the Ngorongoro Crater for more incredible game viewing. This is one of the highlights of the safari for me. You are probably picking up by now that this whole safari-thing is a real workout… for the eyes that is! I can’t think of a better way to finish off the incredible experience they had on Kili than several days looking at elephants on the Serengeti. Just doesn’t get much more fun that this trip!
Dustin Balderach
February 16, 2017
To Camp 2 (Jonathan Farnsworth)
And then, there was one. Mike Hamill called in this morning from C2. The team did well and they’ll now be sleeping at this new, higher altitude. Tomorrow will be a carry up to C3, at over 19,000 ft. If all continues to go well, that puts the team in position to take a shot at the top on Sunday or Monday morning. Forecasts call for favorable weather on both those days. For now, let’s keep our fingers crossed and hope all continues to go well.
Phil Ershler
February 16, 2017
This week was a prep week for the 2017 Everest Expedition.  Let’s take a peek behind the curtain:
Phase 1: Gather Materials
Over the past few months we’ve been putting together all the gear needed for the expedition. We’re talking tents, gear for the sherpas, guide duffle bags, upgrades to existing equipment, zip ties, duct tape, batteries, sharpies, you name it. It’s time to get it all in one place. Once that was done it was time to go shopping. (Note: Oxygen is a whole different ballgame – that’s been done for a few weeks now).
Phase 2: Boxes & Costco
Before we go shopping we need somewhere to put all this stuff. Where do we put it?  Yup, boxes, but not just any boxes. These boxes take quite a beating so we use some pretty burly boxes that will ride well on the yaks. Tape doesn’t quite cut it for these boxes so we beef them up by taking them to our friends at Jim Little Staples who run them through their industrial stapler.
Ok, now we have boxes to put the stuff in, but we need some more stuff. Costco sells stuff, so we went to Costco. After the first couple flatbed carts were full we started getting odd looks and then the questions came:  “what the heck are you guys shopping for, a cruise?â€,  “do you know where the chicken broth is?â€, or my personal favorite “that’s a lot of junk food – sign me up for whatever it is you’re shopping forâ€â€¦ “Ok, this is for Mt. Everestâ€â€¦. “Whoa, I love candy bars, but not that much!â€.
All kidding aside, the primary purpose for this trip to Costco was to buy some of the supplemental food the climbers will eat on their rotations, as well as some comfort food to kick things up a notch in the dining tent at Base Camp.  It’s a long expedition. What did we buy you ask? Well, a few of the must haves around base camp include: ranch dressing, Sriracha hot sauce, Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce, tortillas, Red Vines, pancake mix & real maple syrup, salsa, etc. You get the idea. For the upper camps we mixed in some mac ‘n cheese, instant potatoes, Bear Creek Soups, Cup-a-Soups, etc.  For the climbers’ snacks on their rotations we’re talking the classics: Snickers, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, M & M’s, granola bars, Oreos, those orange crackers with the peanut butter (you know what I’m talking about), mixed nuts, beef jerky, etc.  A lot of money & a couple hours later we were out the door.  (Note we didn’t forget the bacon & cheese. They’ll be dealt with separately to make sure they does not spoil!)
Phase 3: Packing
Seems simple enough, and it generally is if you follow the system. The first step is to minimize the packaging. There is a lot of unnecessary plastic & cardboard – better to recycle it here than ship half way around the world! From there we count it, bag it, put it in a box, label it, then set it aside. Repeat.  Once it’s all in the boxes it’s time to take it to the airport.
Phase 4: Shipping
This morning we dropped the gear off at the airport for the first part of its journey to EBC. Total weight was just over a ton! Next stop Kathmandu. This is just the first shipment. We’ll send another one over in a few weeks with some last minute odds & ends.
Tye Chapman
February 16, 2017
Mount Rainier as seen from Crystal Mountain
Mt. Rainier climbing season is just around the corner, and our guides are there to help you get ready. Whether you’re climbing Mt. Rainier with IMG, with some friends, or even with one of our competitors, make sure to swing by REI for one of their “Prep for Rainier†talks. IMG is happy to be partnering with REI to present on all the things you need to know in order to have a safe and enjoyable climb up Washington’s most iconic peak. During the presentation, we will go over the main routes, discuss some training recommendations, and of course go over all the gear. Below are the dates, times, locations, and the name of the guide doing each presentation. Space is limited, so be sure to reserve your spot at the location links below. We hope to see you there!
| Date | Time | Location | Guide |
| 16-Feb | 6:30pm – 8:00pm | Olympia | Josh McDowell |
| 28-Feb | 6:00pm – 7:30pm | Alderwood | Charlotte Austin |
| 7-Mar | 6:00pm – 8:00pm | Bellevue | Tye Chapman |
| 14-Mar | 6:30pm – 8:00pm | Issaquah | George Dunn |
| 23-Mar | 6:30pm – 8:00pm | Tacoma | Jason Edwards |
| 4-Apr | 6:30pm – 8:00pm | Seattle | Chris Meder |
