August 15, 2012
Waterfall on the hike to the observatory.
Phil called in this morning to report that the team arrived safely in Terskol. Today they got their hearts & lungs working with a hike up to the observatory which sits at roughly 10,000ft. The rest of the day was spent tweaking gear, fitting crampons, going over some knots and all the other pre-climb odds and ends. Tomorrow they’ll head out onto the glacier for some additional training.
The weather continues to cooperate!
Tye Chapman
August 15, 2012
Giraffes munching on Acacia trees.
IMG guide Max Bunce reports that reports another good day of game viewing on the Serengeti, with lots of lions, cheetahs, hippo, and also a black rhino, which are getting pretty rare, and are normally confined to certain areas where they are protected by rangers from poachers.
Today the team will hit Olduvai Gorge, the site of famous discoveries of pre-humans, and then climb up the slopes of Ngorongoro Crater and make camp on the rim.  Ngorongoro is a self-contained ecosystem, with many resident populations of animals, and also some that migrate in and out of the crater. Great wildlife viewing!
Eric Simonson
August 15, 2012
Huayna Potosi from Charquini, Bolivia
IMG guide Greg Vernovage reports that yesterday the team headed up to Zongo Pass with the jeeps, then hired some porters, and then hiked up to the Huayna Potosi Base Camp. Today they will do another day of training, and then tomorrow the plan is to head up to high camp and then to the (almost) 20,000 foot summit the next day!
Eric Simonson
August 14, 2012
Elephants in the bush (Eric Simonson)
IMG guide Max Bunce reports from the Serengeti that the team is having a fun safari. Yesterday they saw two leopards, which are the most elusive of the “Big Five”. The others on the list are elephant, cape buffalo, lion, and rhino and they are all more predictably seen vs. the leopard which you have to go looking for!  Around the campfire last night, in their luxury tented camp, they had a hyena come visit.
Today, they continue their search for more animals as they head for Ngorongoro Crater. From their camp on the Crater rim they will have a great primordial view…it is like going back in time.
Eric Simonson
August 14, 2012
Machu Picchu (Peter Anderson)
IMG Guide Peter Anderson called in at  7:30 a.m. PDT today from the summit of Huayna Picchu Peak. All but two members of the team joined him in the steep hike up this peak overlooking Machu Picchu.
Peter says he was unable to reach us on the satellite phone yesterday, but they hiked in to Machu Picchu in the morning and had an excellent tour of the area. Peter reports some drizzle and fog at Machu Picchu which made for a “mystical†day. They’ll do one final tour of the area after descending Huayna Picchu before heading back to town.
Other news from Peter:
Congratulations team!
George Dunn
Door in St. Isaac's Cathedral (Phil Ershler)
August 14, 2012
Phil Ershler checked in late last night our time, which was early Tuesday morning in St. Petersburg.
“Our day of playing tourist ended with a great visit to St. Isaac’s Cathedral, a boat ride through the canals of St. Petersburg and dinner together in town. It’s now Tuesday morning and we’re checked in for our flight to Mineralnye Vody. We start our acclimatization process tomorrow.”
Phil Ershler
August 13, 2012
IMG guide Greg Vernovage reports that the team had a nice climb today of Pequeno Alpamayo. It’s a great warm up climb, and a spectacular summit. They started before dawn, climbed over the subsidiary summit of Tarija Peak, and then on to the summit of Pequeno Alpamayo. Well done, team!
Now they are all back to Condoriri Base Camp and tomorrow they head to Huayna Potosi Base Camp.
Eric Simonson
August 13, 2012
Unloading the airplane at Serengeti
IMG guide Max Bunce reports that the climbers had a nice celebration back at the hotel in Moshi after their climb. Now they are heading out for 4 days of safari in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro. Their safari starts with the 45 minute flight from Arusha to the Seronera Airstrip out in the middle of the Serengeti. They will be met by the drivers with 4WD vehicles for an afternoon of game viewing before heading to their luxury tented camp. So far so good!
Eric Simonson
August 13, 2012
Word in from Phil Ershler and the team – they’ve had picture perfect weather while touring St. Petersburg today. They’ll continue on with a visit to St. Isaac’s Cathedral followed by a boat tour through the canals in the afternoon.
Tomorrow they’ll depart for Terskol, where they’ll spend some time hiking and acclimatizing. Everyone’s doing just fine.
Team in front of the Church of Spilled Blood (Phil Ershler)
August 12, 2012
Last night after work Erika Bjornson and I jumped in the car and headed up to Paradise. Our mission: enjoy an evening hike up to Camp Muir & to check out the Perseid Meteor Shower.
Enjoy the hike we did. We hit the trail at 6:45pm and made good time up to Pebble Creek. Once on snow we relished the evening breeze and continued making good time up to Camp Muir. It wasn’t until we hit Moon Rocks (9000ft) that we had to pull out the headlamps.
In the end, we rolled into Camp Muir at 10:15pm, popped over the ridge and cast our eyes on the tent that our team had set up for us – a nice perk around these parts! We sat outside for a bit and saw some of the meteors – turns out they’re not in full swing until the pre-dawn hours. We had fun nonetheless – and got a good workout in too.
The morning came, as it always does. We shook the cobwebs, broke down the tent, then fought the urge to hang around for the pancakes and bacon that our team was sure to devour.Instead, we opted (read contractually obligated) to head downhill so I could get back to the office.
All told: 45min driving. 3.5hrs uphill to Muir. 30minutes stargazing. 7hrs sleeping. 1hr sipping coffee chatting with friends. 2hrs downhill. 45min driving. A ton of fun. And back at my desk by 10:15am (give or take).
Tye Chapman
