July 3, 2013

I’m sure that everyone has the intention to get married only once and therefore, we only have one opportunity to plan a honeymoon.  I surprised my wife on the day of our wedding in early October with the information that we would be climbing Rainier with IMG in June.  Needless to say, she was thrilled and our training began shortly thereafter.

We knew that the traditional honeymoon would not suit us as we wanted to accomplish something together.  We wanted to be active, to practice teamwork and trust, and to be a part of something that we could not accomplish on our own;  IMG delivered in every way.  We learned together and, just as our appreciation and respect for the mountain grew, so did our appreciation and respect for each other.

Of course, the celebration of our marriage at the top of Washington wouldn’t have been possible without the amazing assistance provided by your guides.  Jenni was an inspiration for calmness when mountain conditions became difficult during our descent; positive and informative, Jenni’s fearlessness, patience, and kind spirit are qualities that make her an ideal lead guide and encouraged a sense of confidence throughout the group.  Jenni made us feel even more proud of our accomplishment when she explained that, “Some people get a summit.  Some people get a storm.  You got both.”

Josh is an amazing teacher.  He is always professional, stressing the fundamentals of climbing – and still, he  maintains a sense of humor that allows his ‘mountain students’ to feel comfortable with asking him questions.  His optimism was undeniable and contagious.  The experience that Josh brought forth let us know that we were learning from the best.  It was clear that Josh wanted to summit with us but, when a member of our team couldn’t press on, Josh immediately and quietly volunteered to return to Camp Schurman.  Josh shared stories that instilled a sense of respect for the mountain in our team.

When Josh returned to camp, I roped in with Blair.  Immediately, Blair’s leadership was apparent as he warned our group of dangerous spots, encouraged us, and had us practice different stepping techniques.  Blair was always willing to do whatever necessary to ensure that our team was comfortable, in good spirits, and was well fed!  The night I returned to IMG HQ, I went out to eat at a local restaurant and was amazed to see Blair sitting with another group’s team dinner that he would be assisting with the following day!  I knew immediately that the team was in good hands.

Ian sat with our team at Camp Schurman on the day before summiting.  He shared with us his journey to become a guide, his passions outside of guiding, and his wealth of knowledge for climbing.  When a teammate became tired just before the summit, Blair radioed to Ian to encourage our tired teammate.  While remaining calm, Ian lifted our tired teammate’s spirits and he summited soon after.

Most importantly, throughout our journey, we always felt safe.  The guides worked as a team – helping to share the load of tremendous responsibilities, cooperating to build off each others’ strengths, and sharing a sense of humor that our entire team could relate to.

I chose to climb with IMG because of the outstanding reviews and because of selection of climbs offered… and I will choose to climb with IMG again.  Please feel free to share this email and the attached pictures with others at IMG and please be sure it finds its way to Jenni, Josh, Blair, and Ian.

Thank You,

Geoff and Kelsey Kaiser

June 28, 2013

A cool panorama shot taken by longtime friend of IMG, Cale Hoopes, who was on the trip with Peter.

I was honored to be given my 5^th opportunity to guide Liberty Ridge for International Mountain Guides (IMG). We delayed our intended departure date of June 24^th by one day given the poor weather forecast in hopes that the weather would improve enough for a climb on the 25^th through the 28^th. On Tuesday the 25^th, we made good time to our camp at 7,300 feet on Curtis Ridge with intermittent rain showers. Exiting the Winthrop Glacier proved to be the biggest challenge with one remaining solid snow plug that will not last much longer.

Awakening at 0400, I found the calm conditions, light rain, and the cloud deck to be at approximately 7,600. Checking the weather hourly, we hoped for improving conditions, but none came.  At about 0900 we left camp. The very quickly melting out edges of the Carbon Glacier made for a challenging entrance to the massive glacier.

Due to the poor visibility and wet conditions, Mike Haft, my assistant guide, and I had discussed the need for making conservative decisions, but felt comfortable pushing onto the Carbon Glacier in hopes of improving conditions. In attempt to avoid getting caught by heuristic traps such as feeling pressured by paying customers, getting committed to making it to Thumb Rock, and simply ego driven poor decisions, we set two firm turn around factors: decreasing visibility and increased precipitation. We took the western approach up the Carbon Glacier and found very broken conditions requiring intense route finding and numerous running belays for safe crevasse crossing. Eventually, we made it to within a few hundred feet of the base of Liberty Ridge and took a break stretched out in a relatively safe area. Unfortunately, in addition to the 2+ inches of new snow, the visibility had decreased to 100 feet and a downpour of rain had begun. With us both being on the same page and our guests in full agreement, we promptly retraced our tracks to our camp at Curtis Ridge and made the long trek out to the White River trailhead without incident.

While I found myself obviously discouraged by not getting onto the route and being able to summit, I was proud of our decision making process and resulting safe “climb.” We were also grateful to have guests that were qualified, competent and completely respected our decision to turn around. Now back in the comfort of a roofed structure, I am even more confident and proud of our decision making process and feel a sense of complete success in our ‘failed’ attempt.

Peter Anderson