Everest and Lhotse Summits!

May 12, 2024

Everest from almost the summit of Lhotse (Porter McMichael)

View from the summit of Everest with headlights above Balcony and on Lhotse (Justin Merle)

Phunuru reports that his team had a successful climb to the summit of Lhotse, reaching the top at 3:50am on May 13. They are now on their way back down to Camp 2. Over on Everest, the climbers who made the summit with Porter rang the bell between 4:45 and 7:35 and are now on their way back to the South Col. If they are feeling strong they will continue descending to Camp 2 today. Meanwhile, we have a team of Sherpas heading up to the Col from Camp 2, to help move equipment down from Camp 4.

It’s Summit Night!

May 12, 2024

Everest and the South Col from the Lhotse climbing route (Porter McMichael)

The team had a smooth trip up to Camp 4 today, climbing up through the Yellow Band and the upper part of the Lhotse Face. Porter reports that the weather was not perfect, and that the team was in a snow squall for several hours and that it was quite blustery when they arrived. However, the sun emerged, and the wind calmed down during the afternoon and everyone is doing well. The Everest climbers have now departed the South Col and the Lhotse team will leave in a couple hours. Fingers crossed for tomorrow!

Denali Team 3 En Route to Anchorage, Teams 1 & 2 On The Move

May 12, 2024

: IMG Guide Riley Gilson putting the final touches on Denali food packing for Team 2 (Timm Phillips)

: Team Gilson packing at TAT (Timm Phillips)

: Team Gilson doing their park briefing (Timm Phillips)

So far so good in Alaska this season! Here’s the latest:

Team Dale is making their way up the Kahiltna Glacier. The team is camped at 9500′ and is making their move to 11K Camp. This is one of the first big milestones in their journey! From 11K the team will rest and start making carries up to 14K over the next few days with a move to 14K Camp on the horizon.

Team Gilson is flying onto the glacier this morning. The team has had two productive days in Anchorage and Talkeetna making their final preparations and packing up. They’re all ready to launch onto the Kahiltna Glacier!

Team Sackett is arriving in Anchorage today! The team will spend their day doing gear checks and making final shopping trips if needed while they still have access to the city. Tomorrow AM they will travel to Talkeetna where they will meet with the NPS and weigh their baggage.

Team 4 (Team Baldwin) and Team 5 (Team Stewart) haven’t left Ashford yet but will be leaving in the next week or so! We’re in the final stages of preparations and guide briefings with those two teams back at home.

Everest and Lhotse climbers reach Camp 3

May 11, 2024

Camp 3 and Nuptse (Paul Pottinger)

Porter and Phunuru report that the climbers had a nice day and have reached Camp 3 at about 24,000 feet. They got to plug in to their oxygen today and everyone enjoyed the magic of being able to catch their breath! Now they are resting comfortably at Camp 3, with an early departure tomorrow morning for the trip to the South Col. The goal for tomorrow is to get to the Col before noon, so they will have all afternoon to rest and hydrate in preparation for summit bids beginning the following night.

2024 IMG Denali Season Is Underway!

May 10, 2024

2024 IMG Denali Team Dale is OTD! (Peter Dale)

Denali season is officially underway for the 2024 season! This morning IMG Denali Team 1 (aka Team Dale) took off this morning from Talkeetna under blue skies and light winds. The team led by Peter Dale and Brad Swanson will be attempting the West Rib of Denali this spring.

IMG Denali Team 2 led by Riley Gilson (Team Gilson) has landed in Anchorage this morning and is commencing their gear check this afternoon. That team will be on the heels of Team Dale and (fingers crossed) flying onto the Kahiltna in the coming days.

IMG Denali Team 3 led by Justin Sackett (Team Sackett) is not far behind. The team will be meeting in Anchorage on Sunday!

We’re all systems GO in Alaska! Good luck to all climbers- climbing with other guide services, NPS rangers, and independent climbers. We want to wish everyone the best for a safe and successful climbing season in the Alaska Range!

The door is open on Everest

May 10, 2024

Looking up the Lhotse Face from near C3 (Adam Clark)

Looking down the Lhotse Face from near C3 (Adam Clark)

Ang Jangbu reports that the EOA fixing team reached the summit today, which is great news. Now the door is open for the various climbing teams to start heading up.

The IMG climbers had a smooth trip up the Icefall and yesterday everyone was ensconced at Camp 2. Today was a rest day for the team at Camp 2, and tomorrow morning the team will be moving up to Camp 3. This will be the beginning of the summit bid! We are following the weather reports closely, and it appears we still have a few more days of low winds.

Denali season kickoff 2024

May 8th, 2024

: Gear check Lakeside Hotel

: Foraker_Hunter_Denali from Talkeetna

Denali season is underway! Gear check with Guide Brad Swanson at the Lakeside Hotel. Tomorrow the team lead by Peter Dale will catch a early morning shuttle to Talkeetna. They will spend the day making final preparations before flying onto the Kahiltna Glacier via ski plane.

Everest and Lhotse climbers preparing to head up

May 8th, 2024

: Phunuru-demonstrates-the-oxygen-mask-Phunuru-Sherpa

: All-dressed-up-ready-to-go-Phunuru-Sherpa

The fixing Sherpas are aiming to establish the route to the summit of Everest in the next couple of days. Phunuru reports that the IMG climbing team is eager to get started! Today, the team practiced with their oxygen systems and fine-tuned procedures for use at high altitudes in very cold conditions, where all skin must be covered and masks and valves can freeze. The team will head to Camp 1 and Camp 2 in the next couple of days, depending on weather forecasts and the progress of the route fixing. We’ll keep you updated!”

Everest Update – May 6

May 6, 2024

Climber headlamps on Everest by moonlight (Ang Jangbu Sherpa)

Good news from Everest, the high winds of the past week have subsided and today the fixing team reached the summit of Lhotse, so that route is ready to go. Next up for them is fixing to the summit of Everest, which will hopefully occur in the next couple days. Ang Jangbu reports that today six IMG sherpas carried to Camp 2 and returned to Base Camp along with Sonam Tashi and Lhakpa Nuru who carried yesterday to the South Col in preparation for our summit bids. Lower down, the IMG climbers are moving back to Base Camp and they will all be back by tomorrow after several days of R&R down lower. So far so good at Mt Everest!

Spring Ama Dablam is a wrap

May 4, 2024

: Ama Dablam summit shot (Porter McMichael)

: Climbing along the ridge on Ama Dablam (Porter McMichael)

: On the way to Camp 2.7 on Ama Dablam (Porter McMichael)

: Porter and Giacomo (Ang Jangbu)

Ang Jangbu hiked down to Mingbo to meet up with Porter, Giacomo, Chhiring and Gyaljen. They were tired and happy after their very cool trip up Ama Dablam. It was fun to hear their tales and see some of the nice photos they came back with. Well done team!

Tomorrow their plan is to follow the resting IMG Everest climbers as everyone starts heading back towards Everest Base Camp for the upcoming summit bids. Hopefully the EOA fixing crew will be able to start working above the South Col in the coming days