All is good in Africa!

July 26, 2014

Kili in a lazy cloud

Sheldon and team are happily ensconced at the Karanga Camp, altitude approx. 13,500â€™Â Using this camp adds an extra day to the climb but thatâ€™s a good thing, all the way around.Â More time for acclimatization, shorter day going into this camp and also a shorter day to high camp.Â Also, theyâ€™ll get to high camp tomorrow quite early.Â Plenty of time to prep, eat, drink and rest prior to a VERY early start for the summit.Â Fried chicken and French fries was the reported dinner menu with clear skies all around.

Â Our members who went down from Baranco Camp are down, were picked up by Keys Hotel drivers and are relaxing at the hotel, waiting for their friends to return after the climb.

Phil Ershler

Bolivia Climbers Reach Condoriri Base Camp

July 25, 2014

Condoriri Base Camp (Viki Tracey)

Greg, Luke, their two Bolivia guides, and two cooks have a nice camp set up and everyone is doing well with the altitude. After leaving Lake Titicaca, the team moved yesterday to Tambo Condoriri at 14,200 and then today up to the Base Camp at 15,300 feet. Greg reports by sat phone that the weather has been good, but unusually cold, with a little snow last night. The team did fixed rope practice this afternoon, and now they have two more days for training and further acclimatization, including a warm up climb on Pico Austria. Then, on Monday, they will attempt the beautiful PequeÃ±o Alpamayo (17,482′).

Eric Simonson

Kili Climbers Moving On Up

July 25, 2014

How can you top this?!

Just had a chat with Sheldon via satellite phone.Â At Baranco Camp (13,000â€™).Â Cloud deck kept them cool on this long day and it never sprinkled.Â Perfect.Â Cloud level will certainly lower this evening and theyâ€™ll have spectacular views of the mountain.Â With the Breach Wall directly above camp, this is probably the most scenic camp on the climb.

A couple of members are calling it quits and will head down in the morning.Â The Umbwe Route is the perfect â€˜escape routeâ€™.Â Itâ€™s in good condition these days and the team will reunite at the Keys Hotel for their safari when the climbâ€™s complete.

Karanga Camp, after climbing the Baranco Wall tomorrow, is the next goal.Â Iâ€™ve always thought those couple of hours working up the Baranco Wall were the most fun of the entire trip.Â Fun scrambling and spectacular views â€“ not a bad combo.

Phil Ershler

Training Day On Elbrus

July 25, 2014

: Training on the slopes of Elbrus

: Layer break

Beautiful weather yesterday to get on the lower slopes of Elbrus and do a bit of practice and review.Â Spent last evening at their hotel in Terskol.Â With the time difference, they just finishing up packing and ready to head to our high hut shortly.Â A little rain this morning and some more forecast.Â The guides will have to read conditions as best as they can and find that â€˜openingâ€™ and be ready to move when conditions allow.Â The team is doing well and is well equipped and thatâ€™s always a good thing.

Letâ€™s see how it goes.Â Nice to have an itinerary with a couple of available â€˜weather contingencyâ€™ days built in.

Phil Ershler

Machu Picchu Inca Trail Update

July 25, 2014

IMG lead guide Peter Anderson called in from the trek yesterday evening. The team is doing well and had a successful first day on the trek.

Today will be a rather long day for the group up and over Dead Womanâ€™s Pass.

George Dunn

Bolivia Climbers Enjoying Lake Titicaca

July 24, 2014

From: Greg Vernovage
Sent: Wednesday, July 23, 2014 7:17 PM
To: Eric Simonson
Subject: Bolivia Update

Eric,

Illimani from Lake Titicaca (Greg Vernovage)

All is well from Lake Titicaca. Â We had an exciting boat ride today. Â The lake had a few big waves during our ride out to Sun Island.Â The sky was crystal clear and the views perfect. Â We could see Illimani all the way to our south.Â Our hike to the top of Sun Island and picnic on the shore made it all worth it.

After a smooth boat ride back and more walking around town and another test at altitude, we are ready to hit the road tomorrow and get to Tambo Condoriri. Time for us to start getting up close with our first objective.

Greg Vernovage

Kili Team Moving Right Along

July 24, 2014

The team at Shira Camp.

The Kilimanjaro team had a relatively easy day going up to Shira Camp.Â Overcast most of the day which made for a nice, cool walk.Â Itâ€™s a fairly short day which normally means an early dinner so the crew can get to bed early, too, in preparation for a longer day tomorrow.Â Bottom line â€“ everything and everyone is good up on the hill.

Phil Ershler

Machu Picchu Inca Trail Trekkers Start Their Journey.

July 24, 2014

The team enjoying part of the Sacred Valley Tour.

IMG Guide Peter Anderson reported yesterday from Cusco. The Salkantay Trek members ended a successful trip and all members headed home. The Inca Trail team has arrived in Cusco, starting their program yesterday with a tour of the Sacred Valley. This morning was an early wakeup at their hotel for a bus ride to the trail head and the start of their trek.

Good luck to the team!

George Dunn

Kilimanjaro Team Reaches Machame Camp

July 23, 2014

The ‘before’ picture!

Sheldon Kerr called in from Machame Camp today reporting that the team made it to camp in just under 5 hours. Feels like a strong team. The team spent a good bit of the day talking geography, geology, flora and fauna.

Tomorrow they’ll head up through the ‘zone of weird plants’ on their way to Shira Plateau (12,000ft).

Phil Ershler

Missing Bag…No Problem

July 23, 2014

Elbrus from the observatory. (Viki Tracey)

Report from Mike Hamill from Terskol, in the Caucasus:

Great weather for our hike up to the Observatory today. Â Mathew’s bag never showed. Â He’s here now in Cheget. Â He was able to buy some critical items in St. Petersburg.Â Team members are donating some their extra gear and weâ€™ll Â pick up the rest here. The group seems fit. Â All is well here.

Mike