La Paz Today – Lake Titicaca Tomorrow

June 11, 2013

From: Greg Vernovage
Sent: Monday, June 10, 2013 7:56 PM
To: Eric Simonson
Subject: Bolivia update

Eric,

The Lookout.

Another beautiful day in Bolivia. Â The City Tour was great and we took a walk up to the look out. Â A few clouds around the top of Illimani but we can still see how great the mountain looks. Â The afternoon was left for picking up any needed items and packing the trekking and climbing duffles. Â We are out the door early tomorrow and will head toward Lake Titicaca.

Greg

Boliva Team Arrives In Paz

June 10, 2013

: The not so famous llama statue.

: The gang.

The team has arrived here in Bolivia along with all their duffel bags!Â We had a good day of organizing, doing gear checks, and then had a nice welcome dinner this evening. The team members are all doing well. Â Because Bolivia is such high altitude, the importance of not going too fast and taking it easy for the first few days is a big topic of conversation. Â Tomorrow we will do a LaPaz city tour, visit the Witches Market, and San Francisco Cathedral. Â Weâ€™ll also get some good views of nearby peaks Huayna Potosi and Illimani. Â After dinner on our way back to the hotel we decided to stroll through a park and get a photo with the Llama statue; weâ€™ll get to seeÂ the real thing in a couple days.Â Allâ€™s well here in Bolivia!

Greg Vernovage

Denali Summit(s)

June 10, 2013

Left to Right: Luke Reilly, Dallas Glass and Austin Shannon

IMG Guides Austin Shannon, Luke Reilly and Dallas Glass summitted as scheduled on Saturday, followed closely by fellow IMG Guide Aaron Mainer who was up there guiding just 2 weeks after summitting Everest.

We’ll have a full trip report from the guys shortly. All are safely off the mountain – that’s enough for now!

Tye Chapman

Denali Team Enjoying Good Weather

June 6, 2013

West Buttress Route

IMG Guides Austin Shannon, Luke Reilly and Dallas Glass are enjoying some good weather and some good skiing on Denali. Austin called in yesterday from High Camp (17,200ft) after their caching their loads. They were preparing for a nice ski back down to their camp at 14,200ft.

They’ll likely take a rest day today at 14, then make the move to High Camp tomorrow.

They’ll call in again in a couple days.

All is well on Denali!

Tye Chapman

Photo Of The Day: Camp Schurman – Mt. Rainier

June 3, 2013

IMG Guide Ty Gimenez snapped this shot at Camp Schurman this afternoon.

Camp Schurman June 3 2013 (Photo by Ty Gimenez)

Tye Chapman

IMG Guides On Denali

June 2, 2013

Things are bigger in Alaska. (Photo by Mark Valley)

IMG guide Austin Shannon called in from 11,000 feet on Denali at 4:30 pm PDT yesterday. He and guides Luke Reilly and Dallas Glass, climbing on their own for fun, Â are doing great. Austin reported sunny weather, no clouds, very warm and a perfect view of Mt. Foraker from where they are camped. They will stay at this camp for a couple of days to acclimatize, doing some skiing for entertainment.

Another team, IMG guides Mike Haft and Peter Dale passed through their camp yesterday morning, on their way down to base camp and a flight out. Mike and Peter summited Denali about four days ago and have been doing some additional skiing before heading home.

It is great to see some of our guides up on Denali getting experience on the Great One.

George Dunn

Spring Ski Tour On Mt. Rainier

May 28, 2013

: Paul and Raychel

: The group skinning out to Cowlitz Rocks (Photo by Cedric Gamble)

: Getting some spring turns in on Mt. Rainier. (Photo by Dallas Glass)

IMG guides Dallas Glass and Cedric Gamble had a rewarding day of ski guiding on the flanks of Mt Rainier over the holiday weekend. While most folks have hung up their skis for the season, the ample snowfalls and mountainous terrain of the northwest, allows for superb ski conditions well into the summer.Â What better way to sharpen your backcountry skills and learn new terrain, than to spend a day ski touring with a guide on Mt. Rainier?

Despite the forecast for rain showers and gloomy clouds at Paradise in the morning, the group decided to head out to ski Cowlitz Rocks. The forecast played to their favor keeping most would-be-Memorial Day skiers at home. The cloudy skies eventually cleared providing dynamic views and enjoyable skiing in this truly alpine setting. It just goes to show that sometimes the mountain will reward you for braving a little drizzle.

After several laps of spring skiing and with huge smiles on all faces the group returned safely to Paradise. Thereâ€™s just something special about celebrating the unofficial start to summer with a big day of ski touring.

George Dunn

Bona Team In Anchorage

May 28, 2013

Bona Team On The Summit

IMG guide Sheldon Kerr called in twice yesterday. They got down to basecamp the evening on May 26 after all members of the team summited the day prior. All are well and were waiting for the bush pilot to come and pick them up.Â Pickup of the team will either happen late on the 27th or the morning of the 28th, weather permitting.

It sounds like the entire team is feeling healthy, happy and proud of their accomplishments, as they should.

Congratulations to them!

George Dunn

Update: The team ended up being flown off late on the 27th and were flown to the Chitina landing strip. From there they shuttled to Anchorage in the wee hours of the morning.Â They’re likely trickling out of bed now and making some breakfast plans.

Bona Team Summits

May 25,2013

Mt. Bona from the plane. (Sheldon Kerr)

IMG Guide Austin Shannon called in from the summit of Mt. Bona today. The entire team enjoyed a “perfect summit day with warm temps and no wind”.

They’re en route back to high camp for dinner and a toast!

Tye Chapman

I Can See Mt. Logan From My Tent

May 22, 2013

IMG guide Austin Shannon called in tonight from the Mt. Bona expedition. The weather continues to be perfect, Austin reports there is not a breath of wind and it is â€œsuper warmâ€. By that, of course he means in the mid to high 20â€™s Farenheit. The team continues to feel super strong, no headaches or ailments of any kind. They moved up to Camp 1 at 12,000 feet today and are finishing getting camp set up. Austin says it is absolutely gorgeous out tonight, and they can see Mt. Logan across the border in Canada. They are melting lots of water, will have a good dinner soon, then off to bed. They will likely take a rest day tomorrow, but will decide in the morning.

George Dunn