July 24, 2015

 

Machu Picchu (Peru)
IMG Guide Peter Anderson reports that all continues to go well. They’ve toured the Sacred Valley, done their gear checks and are ready to hit the trail! – George Dunn

The Matterhorn (Switzerland)
IMG Matterhorn guide Aaron Mainer reports that the climbers recently got down from their second climb.  The first attempt with two guides and two climbers was successful, but turned around 350-400m above the Hornli Hut today with the other two climbers in some marginal weather and conditions.  It was still damp from rain and then started to rain as they ascended.  The team will be having a celebration dinner, and then another day of climbing, possibly a “via ferrata” in the Gorner Gorge. – George Dunn

Pequeno Alpamayo (Bolivia)
Luke called in from our first camp on Pequeno Alpamayo.  The camp is located conveniently next to a family that we have known for years.  They have llamas and donkeys that help us transport our gear up hill.  At 14,500 feet, we do not want to push up too fast.  A night at this elevation will help us in the long run.The team had a nice acclimatization hike and are settling into tents for the first time this trip.  It will be nice and cool, great for sleeping. Tomorrow is a casual morning and a good walk into Base Camp. – Greg Vernovage

Cedros Trek (Peru)
Trek leader Jason Edwards called in to report a successful end to the Cedros trek. All team members are back in the town of Juaraz and will be returning home after one last day in Juaraz tomorrow. On Saturday, July 25 Jason will lead a team back into the mountains to do a couple of big peaks in the area. Jason has changed the peak selection from Pisco to Ishinca and Urus. We’ll report on his climb next week. – George Dunn

Elbrus (Russia)
Mike Hamill reports that all continues to go smoothly in Russia.  Acclimatization hikes are done and the team put in a day yesterday refreshing skills.  Today’s the move up on to the mountain.  A couple of gondola rides and an old, single chair lift takes the crew to a place called “The Barrels”.  Not a place where we like to stay so they’ll be hiking another 1.5 hours uphill to the site where an historic, old refuge was located prior to its burning down back in 1998.  We have a small, private hut located here and that will be ‘base’ for the team for the next few nights.  More acclimatization is smart before taking a summit shot.  Weather remains favorable and forecasts show the same for a couple of days.  It’ll be game day, soon. Phil Ershler

Kilimanjaro (Tanzania)
Hey Greg, just another perfect day on Kili. Everyone woke up at Shira camp feeling great and made a great push up to the Lava Tower Camp at 15k before dropping back down to Barranco Camp. We were above the clouds all day and had incredible views of Kili throughout the day. Doesn’t get much better than this. Super strong and fun team. The team talked – and a few sang – on the hike from 12700 to 15100 feet. Needless to say they were feeling great. Everyone is looking forward to a fun day scrambling up the Barranco Wall tomorrow. In the mean time everyone is relaxing, drinking tea, playing cards and generally enjoying the spectacular view! – Dustin Balderach