Patagonia Team Hits The Trail

November 4, 2012

: Trek Briefing

: Team at dinner in Punta Arenas.

Greg checked in from Puerto Natales yesterday – all continues to go as planned. They got a good bit of rain on the drive from Punta Arenas to P. Natales, but as Greg put it – “who cares, we were in the car”. They had some time to relax and walk the town before meeting with Cem, their local guide, for a briefing on conditions in Torres del Paine National Park.

Haven’t heard from Greg yet today, but the plan was to load up early and get into the national park mid-morning for their hike up to Los Torres and night at Refugio Chileno.

Tye Chapman

Glacial Outburst – Pretty Cool Stuff!

November 2, 2012

Ranger Beason checks a "trim line" caused by the flood along the Nisqually River near Cougar Rock. (Laura Walkup)

Mount Rainier National Park geologist Scott Beason reports that a small glacial outburst flood occurred at Mount Rainier National Park on Saturday, October 27, 2012 at approximately 9:00 PM. This event, while significant, was localized in scale, caused no damage to park facilities, and was not volcanic in origin. It likely originated from the Nisqually Glacier as result of moderate to intense rainfall. A stream gauge located at Longmire registered a 2.8 foot (0.85 meter) rise in river water level between 8:30 and 9:45 pm and the spike was seen on other gages downstream of the park. Field data concur with the stream gage and show evidence of a several-foot surge of water in the Nisqually River.

While this event was small, it highlights one of the many hazards at Mount Rainier. It also shows that potentially destructive and hazardous events can occur even during “small” storms that are common in the fall and winter at Mount Rainier. Workers and visitors near rivers should always be aware of geologic hazards. Remember, if you feel the ground shaking or hear a freight train coming down the valley, get uphill as quickly as you can!

Outburst floods have happened in the park before. A series of such floods in the 1980s and 90s washed out parts of the West Side Road, and in 2005, a debris flow on Van Trump Creek was captured on video as it roared over Christine Falls. You can see that video on YouTube at http://youtu.be/SrYqJlCuppA.

Source: Mount Rainier National Park (facebook)

Patagonia Trekkers Arrive In Punta

November 2, 2012

La Luna - Don't miss the Sopa de Cebollas!!

Greg reports from Punta Arenas, Chile that everything is on track for our next Patagonia Trek.Â Sounds like they’re short one duffel, but it’s nothing we can’t handle.

Right now they’re out running a couple errands (money exchange & grocery store) before a group dinner tonight at IMG’s favorite spot in Chile, La Luna.

Tomorrow they’ll load up and head to Puerto Natales for their final preparations.

Tye Chapman

We Want Your Photos! An IMG Photo Contest

November 1, 2012

Rainier Panorama. (Tye Chapman)

We want your photos! And what better way to get our hands on them than to create some competition amongst the IMG faithful? Oh and we’ll give away some free stuff too!

Winners of each category will receive an IMG Prize Pack (IMG Buff, IMG Hat and IMG t-shirt).Â The winner of the Best Photo Category will also receive an IMG Embroidered Outdoor Research Transfer Jacket!

Photo Categories

1.) All Around Best Photo
2.) Culture
3.) Best Sponsor Shot (Outdoor Research, JanSport, Adventure Medical Kits, Eureka!)
4.) Best Panorama

Official Rules:

– All photos must be from an IMG trip
– All photos must be under 2MB
– All photos must be individually named by location and photographer:
(i.e. Everest_Base_Camp_Trek_2012_Tye_Chapman.jpg)
– All photos must be submitted by November 30, 2012
– Limit 10 photos per person.Â If sending 10 2MB photos, please be nice, and help us avoid system shutdown by separating your large emails into batches.

**Submit all photos via email to Office@Mountainguides.com.
**All photos are subject to use by IMG on the website, blog, Facebook and newsletters. Photo credit will be given.

Chulu Climbers Back In Pokhara

November 1, 2012

IMG guide Justin Merle reports that the Chulu team had a nice free day in Muktinath, then they made their way to Jomsom.Â This morning they flew to Pohkara, about 45 minutes by Twin Otter airplane.Â Pohkara is the second largest city in Nepal, but is only about 25% the population of Kathmandu.Â Today they are enjoying a lazy afternoon at their hotel down by Dal Lake.

Now thatÂ they are back to reliable internet, Justin was able to send some more photos from the Chulu climb.

: Summit of Chulu Near East, with Chulu East in background

: Jomsom airport (Justin Merle)

: Climbers approaching the summit of Chulu Far East (Justin Merle)

: Chulu Far East from SE Ridge of Chulu East (Justin Merle)

Great job, team!

Eric Simonson

Bhutan Trek Is Wrapped!

November 1, 2012

Last minute shopping. (Mark Ursino)

Wanted everyone to know that we arrived in Thimpu.Â Great trip which ended with another great day of weather.Â Only 2.5 hours of hiking on the final day and then several hours driving to get out of the mountains, see the winter palace in Punaka and get to Thimpu.

For great trip photos and details, do check out www.markursino.com.Â Mark’s a great friend of IMG and has been with us, literally, all over the world.Â His detailed trip reports are nothing short of amazing.Â Unless you’ve tried doing what Mark does, it’s hard to imagine the amount of effort involved, documenting all aspects of a trip.Â Follow his dispatches and you’ll see just how amazing a trip to Bhutan really is.Â People, culture, terrain, scenery, effort and memories!Â What are you waiting for?

IMG will be in Bhutan next October with Senior Guide, Emily Johnson, at the helm.Â She’s volunteering her ER doctor skills in Thimpu this coming month and that experience will make her super qualified to share this amazing country with you.Â Don’t miss the opportunity to be part of next year’s dispatches and own the memories which this year’s group now have forever.

Phil Ershler

More Oxygen Please!

October 31, 2012

Kili (Clarissa Morford)

More Oxygen Please!
By Clarissa Morford

It was about 4:30AM, and I was on the side of a dusty mountain at 17,000 feet with chilled feet and tingling hands, feeling generally miserable. This was my first time above 14,410ft., and I was really starting to feel the altitude. What was I doing here?

For the past five days, Kilimanjaro had been so enjoyable. Trekking up through the lush rainforest, enjoying how our Chagga guides made a point to locate the famous and delicate impatiens kilimanjari flowers, seeing my first glimpse of the snow capped summit on the trail and admiring the strange trees growing on the Shira Plateau (curiously wondering if I had stepped into the pages of a Dr. Seuss book) were just some of the highlights of the days before.

But now I was struggling to keep a smile on my face as my entire body seemed to be frowning under the strain of the thin air. My thoughts weren’t completely clear, but I wondered why I had not decided to take a little bit of the edge off by medicating against the altitude. I was angry at myself for potentially causing unnecessary discomfort and added strain. At Barafu Camp (15,000 feet) I was feeling rather good, but now the story was changing. Negative self-thoughts filled my mind as I began to determine that the next high-alti climb â€” should I make it through this one â€” would be significantly improved by the use of altitude medicine and that my prideful thought about how cool it would be to summit without taking Diamox, was in fact one of the most stupid thoughts I’d ever had.

Chulu Climbers Cross Thorung La & Descend To Muktinath

October 29, 2012

Thorung Pass (Jacqueline Brill)

IMG guide Justin Merle reports that the team made a 4AM start from their camp above Phedi and were able to get across the Thorung La (17,769 feet / 5,416 m) in good shape.Â Weather was good and they enjoyed great views north towards Tibet, south toward the Annapurnas, and east toward Dhaulagiri.Â After crossing the pass, they descended to the ancient village of Muktinath (about 12,000 feet), which is one of the holiest places for both Hindus and Buddhists with many pilgrims coming here every year.Â Tomorrow the team will visit the local temple and explore the area.

Eric Simonson

Weekend Update From Bhutan

Great Tiger Mountain (Phil Ershler)

October 29, 2012

Phil checked in last Friday evening and again this morning.Â The team is taking in some spectacular views as they make their way through the last leg of the trek, including the Great Tiger Mountain and surrounding valleys.Â According to Phil, there has never been better weather, better views, better food or better people in the history of Bhutan Treks!

Tomorrow the group heads to Thimphu.Â Everyone is healthy, happy, and couldn’t be more satisfied.

Becky K

Have A Great Weekend!

October 26, 2012

The weather for Thursday was looking promising, so I called up my friend Scott to see if he was game to check out what the recent storm had deposited up on the Mountain (Rainier). After my trip up to Muir last week – and having to carry my skis to/from Pebble Creek due to no snow – we were delighted to skin right from the parking lot. We rose above the clouds around Pebble Creek and the powder kept getting deeper. We knew if the visibility held we’d be in for an epic run down. It was cold, the snow was dry, and there was no wind; pretty rare for late October. We lucked out and the visibility stayed good for a fantastic 2500-ft powder down to Pebble Creek. From there we had to put on the brakes and scoot through the snow-covered rocks, but we managed to ski all the way down to the parking lot with no core shots!

: Pulling into Camp Muir October 25 2012 (Dustin Balderach)

: Mt. Rainier shrouded in clouds October 25 2012 (Dustin Balderach)

: Mt. Rainier October 25 2012 (Dustin Balderach)

: Camp Muir October 25 2012 (Dustin Balderach)

Not bad for October!

Dustin Balderach