February 21, 2015

That’s a wrap! IMG Guide Chris Meder and his crew said goodbye to Torres del Paine National Park this afternoon. It sounds like they saw it all – The Towers, The Bader Valley, The French Valley and of course they enjoyed the kayaking up next to the Grey Glacier! They capped it all off with a boat ride across Lago Grey.

They’re in Puerto Natales now; let the souvenir scramble begin! They’ll have their farewell dinner this evening and say their official goodbyes tomorrow. Reality awaits.

Tye Chapman

February 19, 2015

The Grey Glacier up close and personal! (Photo by Tye Chapman)

IMG Guide Chris Meder called in and reports that they had another great day today… It started out a little gloomy, but the clouds lifted as they made their way from Paine Grande to Refugio Grey. Once settled in at the refugio, the weather continued to improve so they took full advantage of the daylight and hopped in the kayaks for a tour up to the toe of the Grey Glacier. The 3-hour kayak tour is an incredible way to see the glacier and the icebergs that have recently calved off.

Tomorrow is their last day on the trail and a casual one at that. The team will likely sleep in a bit and enjoy a little down time before an afternoon hike up the trail along the Grey Glacier.

Tye Chapman

February 18, 2015

Our Patagonia crew down in Torres del Paine National Park enjoyed another day on the trail.  Though a little rainy and sometimes a lot windy, they managed to get some great views of the French Valley. First stop was Italian Camp to cache their packs making the side trip up into the valley a little easier. From there the team split into a couple groups – one group went with Chris up to the lookout, the other group went with Tadeo down to the waterfall. Everybody wins! Regardless of where you went the striking views of the hanging glaciers at the head of the valley are impressive to say the least. These glaciers calve off huge chunks of ice causing some big avalanches. The sounds can be thunderous!

The team reunited back at their packs at Italian Camp and finished up lakeside at Refugio Paine Grande. They’ve already wrapped up dinner and have retired to the bar. Yes there’s a bar at this refugio. Let’s not feel too sorry for these guys!

Tomorrow they’ll head up to Refugio Grey where they’ll spend two nights giving them plenty of time to explore the area.

Tye Chapman

February 17, 2015

Looking down at C1 from the trail to C2

Luke, Sara, Martin and team will be arriving late this evening into Mendoza.  The walking part’s over.  The team will start sorting flights home tomorrow.  A big congratulations to them all.

Mike Hamill, Ian, Leandro and team checked in today and let us know they made a carry to C2 and are now back at C1 for the night.  Their plan is to move up to C2 tomorrow.  So far, so good.  Forecast is still pretty good, with some new snow forecasted for Friday.  Trick for Mike and team is to get into position to take advantage of the next good summit day.  My guess is that they’re going to do just fine.

Phil Ershler

February 16, 2015

Los Cuernos at sunrise. (Tye Chapman)

More good news from Torres del Paine down in Chilean Patagonia – IMG Chris Meder called in today from Refugio Los Cuernos to report that the team had a nice day trekking along Lake Nordenskjold. They pulled into the refugio early this afternoon and have been enjoying the views ever since. The deck at Los Cuernos is a great place to hang out and soak it all in.

Tomorrow they’ll head up in to the Bader Valley. If the weatehr is right, condors come out in force in the Bader Valley. 16 condors is the record so far for IMG groups!

Tye Chapman