Living Large On Lake Titicaca

July 21, 2015

: Lake Titicaca looking towards Sun Island (Greg Vernovage)

: Copacabana (Greg Vernovage)

Luke just called in from Copacabana.Â Last night when we spoke, Luke mentioned that the ferry might be exciting with a little wind.Â The route was fine and the ferry ride across to Copacabana went smooth.Â After arriving and getting settled in, the team took a hike to see all of Copacabana at once.

Luke said the sunset over Lake Titicaca is insane tonight after the wind that came through.Â Tomorrow is the ride to Sun Island.Â I always like to grab a bag of popcorn from the local shops for the ride.Â It is the biggest popcorn you will ever eat!

They are doing great!

Greg Vernovage

Updates From Around The World

July 20, 2015

: An airy pitch on the Jegihorn on 7/20 (Matt Farmer).

: La Paz

: The Elbrus Team

: Classic face of Alpamayo

Elbrus (Russia)
Always exciting to have the team together and begin another adventure.Â IMG Senior Guide, Mike Hamill, is back in Russia with a super nice crew.Â Everyone got in on either the 18^th or 19^th , in good shape and with all their luggage.Â Everyone got together on the 19^th for their first dinner as a team and then played tourist on the 20^th, spending the entire day with their tour guide and seeing the sights of St. Petersburg.Â Crazy to go to Russia and not see as much of the country as we possibly can.Â One more evening in town tonight and then early flights to Mineralnye Vody tomorrow morning.Â A few hours driving will take them to the village of Terskol, in the Baksan Valley, and right below Elbrus.Â The adventure has begun.Â â€“ Phil Ershler

Cordillera Blanca (Peru)
Jason Edwards continues to check in daily during the Cordillera Blanca trek. All is well and theyÂ are progressing exactly according to schedule. On 7/19 the group camped at the Alpamayo base camp. Jason marveled at the number of really spectacular peaks they saw during the trek this day. He affirmed that this is one of the most beautiful treks he has led in his lengthyÂ career. On 7/20 the team hiked for 6 Â½ hours today, with a high point going over a pass of 15,800â€™. They are camped at 13,800 and all is well. â€“ George Dunn

Matterhorn (Switzerland)
IMG Guide Matt Farmer reports they are just back to Zermatt after a successful three day tour including a summit/traverse of the Dri Hornli, Weissmies, & Jegihorn. Tomorrow, Farmer, guide Aaron Mainer and two of the team will go to the Hornlihutte for a summit attempt Wednesday. The other two members of the team will join the guides at the hut for their attempt on Thursday. Farmer reports that route conditions and the weather forecast are favorable for the ascents. Good luck team! – George Dunn

Kilimanjaro (Tanzania)
I just got a text message from Dustin at the Keys Hotel in Moshi: â€œAll is well at the Keys!Â Everyone is accounted for and baggage arrived as well.Â No problems.â€ This is music to our ears!Â The team is all together in Moshi now and will hit the ground running tomorrow with gear checks and a walk around town to stretch their legs.Â Long flight over to Tanzania. â€“ Greg Vernovage

Huayna Potosi (Bolivia)
Just off the phone with Luke and Andy in La Paz.Â Everyone arrived with their luggage! Gear checks are done and the team had a great walk around the City of La Paz today.Â Not a cloud in the sky and up at the park when I asked if they could see Illimani?Â Luke just laughed and said how can you miss it! The welcome dinner tonight and out the door early tomorrow morning to acclimatize on the shores of Lake Titicaca! â€“ Greg Vernovage

Cordillera Blanca â€œCedrosâ€ Trek Reports In

July 19, 2015

Trek leader Jason Edwards has been calling in each evening from the trek.

On July 17 he reported a good day for the team, not as demanding as the previous day. They got just a bit of rain during the day, just enough to put rain shells on for about 5 minutes.

Jason reports that is is normally warm enough during the day to hike in short sleeve shirts, but in the evening after the sun goes behind the ridge, a fleece jacket and shell is necessary. Sounds like great conditions!

Cordillera Blanca

On July 18 Jason called again briefly to say that all was well and the team was right on schedule. They had a shorter trekking day today with an â€œactive rest dayâ€ to help the team restÂ up and prepare for their hike over the highest pass on the trek, Yanayacu Pass, at 15,680â€™ on Sunday the 19^th. From Sundayâ€™s camp the team will have a grand view of the North faces of the Alpamayo and Pucahirca group, some of the most spectacular peaks in the range.

George Dunn

Salkantay Trek Update

July 19, 2015

Mystical Machu Picchu. (Photo by Peter Anderson)

The IMG Salkantay trek arrived in Agua Calientes on Saturday.Â Today (Sunday) they are heading to Machu Picchu for a complete tour of the area.Â The team did great and reports that guide Juan de la Cruz did a fabulous job.

The only odd occurrence on the program was snow flurries at the top of Salkantay Pass during the trek! Congratulations to the team.

George Dunn

Craig John’s 200th Rainier Summit!

July 18, 2015

It was beautiful morning, when IMG guide Craig John, reached the summit of Mt. Rainier for his 200th time. Craig, or C.J. (as he is known by friends), and his team reached the summit of Washingtonâ€™s highest peak at 6:30 am on Friday, July 18, 2015. In doing so, he joined a very short list of people who have summited Mt. Rainier 200 times or more.

: On the way to 200!

: Craig’s 200th summit!

: Post climb celebration!

C.J. has been guiding since 1987, and has led expeditions all over the world. Even though he lives in Maine and spends a large number of days guiding in other countries, he devotes a portion of every summer working on Mt. Rainier.

Reaching the summit 200 times, requires a lot of daysâ€¦ 600 days in fact! That does not include the nearly 75 climbs in which he did not reach the summit, due to bad weather, impassable glaciers, or needing to take a climber down early.

C.J. is a great guide, and a great friend. From everyone at IMGâ€¦ Congratulations C.J.!!!

Josh McDowell

Peru Cordillera Blanca Trek Off On Its Way!

July 16, 2015

Taken at 12,000’…enjoying the beautiful country and mountains of Peru! (Photo: Jason Edwards)

Jason Edwards called in last night via satellite phone.Â The team all arrived safely in Lima with ALL baggage and made the trip to Huaraz.Â They spent their first day in the field yesterday, visiting Lago Churup a high mountain lake then camping just below.Â Today the trek starts in earnest, trekking towards the Huaripampa Valley.

UPDATE: July 16, 2015, 3pm Pacific Time:

Jason just called in with todayâ€™s update.Â The team had a long day today, 2,800 vertical feet of climbing over 7 Â½ hours.Â But all are excited to be on the trail and looking to an easier day tomorrow.Â Tomorrow they head over Tupa Tupa Pass to Jancapampa at 11,500â€™.

Good luck to the team!

George Dunn

Salkantay Trekkers Head Over Salkantay Pass

July 16, 2015

Big mountain view from the Salkantay route (photo: Peter Anderson)

Our Salkantay Trek group is on the trail today, heading over their high point for the program, Salkantay Pass at 15,180â€™.Â This pass has a spectacular view point of the neighboring peaks followed by a quick trip down to lower altitudes. Good luck to the team!

George Dunn

WNPF Team Summits Mt. Shuksan

July 10, 2015

: Glacier travel on Shuksan.

: Let’s climb!

: Good Times!

Cedric Gamble, Rob Jantzen and I just completed a climb of Mt. Shuksan with staff from the Washington National Parks Fund. The staff and their spouses rose to the challenges that the climb presented them in fine form.

Our four day trip began with a steep hike through the wooded hills of the North Cascades to our base camp at the foot of the Sulfide Glacier. Our second day was filled with working on the skills necessary to climb the mountain safely. We covered self arrest, cramponing and rope travel for glaciers. Cedric set up a short but steep top rope rock climb and rappel that gave our crew a sense of what the last 600 feet of climbing up the rock pyramid would be like. Dinner was early that evening and we were all bedded down by 7:00pm.

Our alarms rang at 3:00am and by 4:45 we were headed up the glacier as three rope teams. The views that morning were initially shrouded by all the smoke in the air from the forest fires in the state but later in the day Mt. Baker and the other peaks in the area began to show themselves.Â Our initial climb out of camp was steep but gradually the glacier eased back to a gentile incline. Keeping to the edge of the glacier enabled us to avoid the few crevasses that crossed our path. We reached the base of the rock pyramid in just three hours. Cedric’s rope team lead off first with Rob’s following and my team last. Each guide lead to a spot where we could belay our climbers up to us. Five or so short pitches of rock got us to the last bit of the summit ridge where we were able to travel short roped to the summit with all members of our team successfully reaching the top. After about a half hour of enjoying the views we started the process of rappelling down the pyramid the glacier below. From there, it was a tired but happy crew that completed the trip down the Sulfide Glacier back to our camp where we celebrated with a huge pasta dinner.

On our last day we retraced our path through the steep trails of the forest and reached the trailhead in about four hours. The Washington National Parks Foundation staff and the spouses were able to see first hand the benefits of the work they do that helps to ensure that our state continues to have wild places that are preserved for the sake of the environment itself and for the enjoyment of all. Thanks to Laurie, Nikki and Jane of the WNPF and their respective spouses Collin, Brad and Rory for making the trip such a memorable one.

Craig John

June Kilimanjaro Wrap Up

July 5, 2015

Sunset on Kili and Mawenzi (Eric Simonson)

Our June 2015 Kilimanjaro trip has come to a close. This was a unique trip, with three families, with a total of 4 kids of the ages 12-14 signed on.Â The kids were all used to travel and a certain level of austerity and hardship prior to this trip. From that foundation, the youth managed the increased stresses in fine form. Kilimanjaro is a big, cold mountain for folks that young.Â Â The lesson here, for any age: the thinner and lighter one is, the more clothing they should likely consider having along with them.Â Most of the team made the highest point, Uhuru, after trekking around the crater from Stella Point, where we hit the rim.

After the hard charging climb of Kili, the mixed accommodations of the safari was a luxurious treat. We found ourselves under the full moon, on the Serengeti, enjoying drinks around the campfire looking up at the Southern Cross, said to be the most beautiful constellation in the sky. The game watching was spectacular and full, as usual, as we worked into various environments within the region. Our final night was in a spectacular lodge virtually on the rim of the Norongoro Crater. Everyone headed for home feeling that they have very likely just completed a trip of a lifetime. I always do.

Andy Politz

Game Viewing & A Nap

July 2, 2015

Giraffes munching on Acacia trees

Andy Politz called in this morning to say life was quite difficult on the Serengeti.Â Another day of game viewing, a little nap at camp, drinks by the camp fire and, oh yah, he talked about the moon, too.Â Ngorongoro, Oldupai Gorge and their last night together are all on tap for tomorrow.Â This trip is wrapping up NICE.

Phil Ershler

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