January 19, 2016

News from the South—-Austin and team got off the Ice without issue.  The Twin Otter (aircraft) was waiting for them when they arrived at Vinson base camp and whisked them right to the Union Glacier.  It was only a couple of hours before the IL 76 arrived and got them to Punta Arenas about midnight, that same day.  Amazing.  One short night at the hotel in Punta, a final lunch together and team members were heading off in different directions.  All’s well that ends well with this Vinson Massif expedition.  That bring our Vinson season to a close for this year.  3 expeditions and 3 expeditions reached the summit, all without a scratch.  Dates for next year’s expeditions will be posted quite soon.  Make your plans now as we’ve sold out our trips for the last couple of years and had to turn climbers away.  See you on the Ice next season.

In Ecuador, Luke said good-bye to a couple of our members who were there to climb Cayambe and Antisana.  Our Chimborazo team is heading now with Luke and Romulo to make an attempt on Ecuador’s tallest peak.  It’s a more demanding climb, but with success on Cayambe and Antisana, they’re feeling hopeful.

Another expedition has started on Aconcagua.  Jonathan Schrock, Martin Lucero and team are heading to Penitentes today.  Final packing occurs there and the approach starts tomorrow morning.  Here’s hoping for favorable weather.  The mountain has not made things easy so far this season.

Phil Ershler

January 12, 2016

Luke’s team on the top of Imbabura.

Let’s catch up with our teams in the Southern Hemisphere.  Luke, Romulo and team are ‘barely’ in the Southern Hemisphere right now and part of the day will be in the Northern Hemisphere, actually.  They are up at the climber’s hut on Cayambe and taking the day to do more acclimatization and training.  At around 15,000 ft., it’s a good place to do both.  Luke called in late yesterday, 11 Jan, and said it was a spectacular night at the hut.  Stars a bunch.  If weather holds, they’ll make a summit attempt this evening/early tomorrow.  At 19,000 ft, Cayambe will be their first big test.

Josh, Robert, Martin and crew finish their hike out today from Pampas Lenas on Aconcagua and will be in Mendoza this evening.  Short hike and I’m sure they’re looking forward to showers and a hotel bed.  Mountain said no this time but it will be waiting when they’re ready for a rematch.

And furthest south is our team on Vinson with Austin Shannon.  Camp 1 right now, around 10,000 ft.  Austin said they got a couple of inches of snow, which is a lot for Antarctica and that temps are actually ‘reasonably warm’.  Remember, this is Antarctica so everything’s relative.  They’re likely to use today to consolidate camp and get a bit more acclimatization before they try to make their big carry to C2, high camp.  One step at a time.

Next up – Jonathan Schrock heads to Aconcagua with our third team of the season.  They all arrive Mendoza on the 17^th and we’ll follow their progress once they hit the trail.

Phil Ershler

January 10, 2016

Here’s a quick summary of Sunday’s ‘movements’ for IMG teams down south. Quick call came in from Austin Shannon and team on the Ice. They moved quickly to C1 today. Couldn’t be going smoother, so far.

Josh McDowell and team retrieved gear and supplies at C2 and headed down the mountain to base camp at Plaza Argentina. They’ll need 2 more days to hike out and expect to be in Mendoza late the evening of the 12th. They are bummed not to have gotten a good shot at the summit but all are smart mountaineers and understand that you can’t control the weather. There will be another time.

Hiking on Fuya Fuya, Ecuador

And then there’s Luke Reilly and Romulo Cardenas down in Ecuador. After hiking up Fuya Fuya yesterday, they finished off with a visit to an Otavalan weaver friend of ours in the town of Peguche and dinner at the Hacienda Pinsaqui. Today was another acclimatization hike, this time on Imbabura. They spend tonight at a new hacienda called Papa Gayo. All’s good in Ecuador.

Phil Ershler