February 10, 2014
The trail to Machame Camp (Ken Maclaurin)
9:07 am Pacific Time: IMG Guide Jenni Fogle called from Machame Camp on Kilimanjaro after the team’s successful first day of trekking. Everyone is doing well and are dry even after a couple hours of rain while on the trail.  Jenni anticipated that rains might be in the forecast and the team is very thankful that she urged them to purchase umbrellas while at the market yesterday.
Keep up the good work, team!
Clarissa Hughes
February 10, 2014
Good weekend on Aconcagua. Josh Tapp called me yesterday from the summit of Aconcagua! Cold and windy on the ascent but much less windy on the summit. Go figure. Team got back to high camp without issue and will be at base camp, Plaza Mulas, on the Horcones side shortly. All’s good. Congratulations, team!
And, all’s good with Mike Hamill and team. They made a carry to Camp 1 yesterday and plan is to move to 1 today. Carry and move is SOP on an expedition climb. Next few days are forecasted to be reasonably nice – not too windy and no precip.
Torres del Paine – Patagonia
A bit further south – Tye Chapman and team are arriving Punta Arenas, Chile today for the beginning of their Patagonia trek. I just returned from Patagonia over the weekend. That’s simply a super trip. I’ll write up a bit more about the trip soon and get a mini-report up on the blog.
Phil Ershler
February 8, 2014
Visiting the local market in Moshi, Tanzania (Eric Simonson)
IMG Guide Jenni Fogle is back in Tanzania leading our February Kilimanjaro climb. She called today from Moshi to report that the whole team had arrived, with all their luggage. As we have said many times, that is the way we like to start a trip! After all of the preparations and international travel, it is great to finally reach your destination and have your objective right in front of you. From the town of Moshi, nestled right at the foot of Kili, the team literally has it in the foreground! Tomorrow they will do gear checks, and explore the local town and markets. Then, the following day, they will be ready to start up the Machame route. So far, so good!
Eric Simonson
February 7, 2014
High Camp on Aconcagua. (Warren Wilhide)
Tapp called in again today with good news… The team made their carry to High Camp. The weather back down at C2 is pretty nice, no precip and relatively calm winds. Their plan for tomorrow is to move up to High Camp and if everything lines up for them they’ll go for the summit on Sunday.
Down lower on the mountain is Hamill’s crew who is enjoying a little down time at Base Camp.
Tye Chapman
February 5, 2014
Phil called in from Torres del Paine National Park as he and his team loaded onto their boat, the Grey II. The Grey II takes them from their refugio right up next to the Grey Glacier where a crew member scoops up a chunk of ice. They break up the ice and use it in one of the pisco sours (or whiskey on the rocks) you’ll ever taste, a nice way to wrap up a trip.
Once ashore they’ll hop in the van for the 2 hour ride back to Puerto Natales where they’ll clean up and celebrate with a nice dinner. Tomorrow it’s back to Punta Arenas to officially start the long journey home.
As one team wraps up, another gets ready… I’ll be heading down to Patagonia in a few days for my annual trek. I’ve got a good group this year and am excited to get to know them and show them a pretty cool part of our world.
Tye Chapman
February 5, 2014
Tapp called in from Camp 2 today. Another tough day in the wind and cold but they pushed through and earned their rest day tomorrow. It’s about as windy at C1 as it is at C2 so it was well worth the effort.
On the menu tonight: “rice, mushrooms, and meat”.
Down lower on the mountain is Mike Hamill’s team. Mike wrapped up one group last week and is back at it again this week. Today is day 1 for these guys on the trail. A couple more days and they’ll be at Base Camp.
Tye Chapman
February 4, 2014
In typical Phil fashion he hasn’t called in all that often or frankly with much content…suffice it to say he and his team are having a blast. When he did call in he said “we’re seeing more stuff than you can shake a stick at”.
Their plan today, weather permitting, was to take a kayak tour out onto Grey Lake to view the floating icebergs. Phil also wanted to let us know that they were able to see the Super Bowl – the hut they were staying at brought in a tv so the folks on the trail could watch our Seattle Seahawks win the big game.
I can’t get any photos from Phil on the trail (no service) but IMG Guide Dustin Balderach was in the park a few days ago, just missing Phil, and sent me these photos.
Tye Chapman
February 4, 2014
En route to C2.
Tapp called in from today Camp 1 after he and his team got back from their carry to Camp 2. They got their butts kicked a little bit by the cold and wind today, but made it up and back without issue. They’re sipping on some hot drinks in their tents now and will likely move up to C2 tomorrow. A rest day may follow.
Tye Chapman
February 4, 2014
Hamill’s team having dinner in Mendoza.
Josh Tapp called in over the weekend and again on Monday. His group made a carry to Camp 1 on Sunday. The team moved to Camp 1 on Monday at 14,500. At 6pm Argentina time  on Monday his team was already in their tents on  a cold, windy evening but feeling well and preparing for a carry to C2 in the morning.
In Mendoza, Mike Hamill’s team all met up on Monday. Tuesday they will start their journey to Los Penitentes, and then begin the trek in on Wedesday, Feb. 4.
George Dunn
January 31, 2014
Just outside Plaza Argentina. (Tye Chapman)
Tapp called in today from Plaza Argentina after a nice day on the trail. It’s sunny but a little breezy at camp right now. The team is busy getting tents set up and preparing for the day off tomorrow. Sounds like their team is between a couple different waves of other teams so they’ve pretty much got Base Camp to themselves right now, they’ll enjoy the peace and quiet. Burritos are on the menu tonight.
Our other two teams made it off the mountain yesterday without issue ; below is an email Mike Hamill sent in earlier today wrapping up the two trips.
Tye Chapman
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From: Michael Hamill
To: Phil Ershler, Tye Chapman
Subject: Back in Mendoza
Date: Fri, 31 Jan 2014 14:18:53 +0000
Hey Guys,
Peter may have shot you a note already but we shared a transport back to Mendoza last night and both teams are back here safe and sound. It was perfect weather for the trek out yesterday with impressive views of the South Face. We stopped in Uspallacta for a group dinner on the way back. The gang is busy doing laundry and getting cleaned up today.
Mike
