Updates From Nepal

May 3, 2012

Great view of Everest from the top of Lobuche Peak. (Photo by IMG Guide Justin Merle)

IMG guide Liam Oâ€™Sullivan reports that the Ama DablamÂ team had a good summit today on Lobuche Peak, and are now all back down to Base Camp.Â Tomorrow they head for Pangboche, and from there, Ama Dablam Base Camp.Â Way to go, team!

Elsewhere in Nepal, our IMG teams are stayingÂ busy.Â On Annapurna 4, IMG guide Eben Reckord reports that the team had a good trip up to Camp 2 (19,500 ft) today, and that they are all tucked into that camp now.Â During the afternoon, Phinjo and Thunang pushed the route a bit further up towards Camp 3, and their hope is that tomorrow they can finish that next part of the route.Â IMG guide Jenni Fogle and the Maida EBC trek team with are taking a detour on the way back down the valley, with a visit to Phortse village, the home of many of our Sherpas.

Eric Simonson

Annapurna IV Climbers Heading Up

May 2, 2012

Summit Ridge on Annapurna 4 (Photo by Mingma Dorje Sherpa)

IMG guides Eben Reckord and Emily Johnston report that the team is healthy, the weather is improving, and itâ€™s time to go climbing again!Â Hopefully their patience will be rewarded with a good rotation up high over the next few days.

Today the team climbed to Camp 1, and then Phinjo and Thunang continued on to up to Camp 2 with a load.Â Up at C2, they dug out the camp, then blasted back down to Camp 1.Â Tomorrow the plan is for everyone to move up to Camp 2 to sleep.Â They are hoping to spend a couple nights up at Camp 2 for acclimatization, and get the route established up to Camp 3.

Eric Simonson

Off The Ice

May 1, 2012

George just called in from Alaska, where the team has arrived safely back to Chitina and getting on the van to head back to Anchorage.Â They’ll make a stop for showers and a hot meal along the way.

Everyone is doing well, family and friends can expect a call from them as soon as cell phones are charged & in range.

Becky Kjorvestad

Bona Team Patiently Killing Time

April 30, 2012

Tent time is a popular pastime in Alaska.

George called in from Bona Base Camp where the team is patiently waiting for a weather window big enough for bush pilot, Paul Klaus, to fly in and scoop them off the glacier.

The current weather is pretty good, but they’re in and out of the clouds preventing good enough visibility for Paul to land.

Everybody is doing great and the team has plenty of food and supplies.

Tye Chapman

An Update From Nepal

April 30, 2012

On Everest, the Classic climbers and Lhotse climbers are wrapping up their first acclimatization rotation and are heading down to Base Camp.Â Meanwhile, the Hybrid climbers have now moved back up to Camp 2, for their second rotation.Â The Sherpa fixing team is getting close to reaching the South Col.Â See the Everest Page for more info.

IMG guide Liam O’Sullivan and the Ama Dablam climbers are wrapping up a couple days of acclimatization at Everest Base Camp, and are ready to head back down to Lobuche Peak. Â While at EBC they had the chance to get all rigged up and practice on the “ropes course” out on theÂ glacier.Â Now they are looking forward to climbing Lobuche Peak, before heading over to Ama Dablam.

: Ama Dablam climbers training at EBC

: Ama Dablam climbers getting rigged up for fixed rope practice.

Down at Gorak Shep, IMG guide Jenni Fogle reports that the Maida Mountaineers custom trek team had a nice climb of Kala Pattar, and will be pulling into Everest Base Camp tomorrow.Â Everyone is doing well, and they are having lots of fun.

At Annapurna 4, IMG guide Eben Reckord reports that they had more than a foot of snow up at Camp 1 overnight, so they are pulling the sherpas down and delaying their next rotation up the hill.Â They will all be taking another rest day or two at Base Camp, to let the slopes stabilize higher up.

Eric Simonson

Bona Team Back At Camp

April 28, 2012

George just checked in via sat phone… the team is now back at camp after a successful day on the upper mountain of Mt. Bona. They didn’t quite tag the top, but all members of the team had a great day climbing on the 16,421ft. extinct/dormant shield volcano in Wrangell/St. Elias National Park.

They turned a few hundred feet shy of the summit, and to quote George: “It was the right decision at the right time. We’re all back at camp now, tired and 100% happy with our decision. We’ll head back down to the ‘landing strip’ [read flat glacier] tomorrow and if all goes as planned we’ll fly off shortly thereafter.”

Tye Chapman

Bona Team Holding Tight

April 27, 2012

Quick call from George Dunn this evening reporting that the team was socked in again today. They’ve got one more contingency day before they surrender to the power of Mt. Bona. No worries – they’re having a blast and have enjoyed every minute of the climb thus far.

More tomorrow…

Tye Chapman

Nepal Weekend Wrap-up

April 27, 2012

Cho Oyu and Everest from the south. (Photo by Eric Simonson)

Everything is going well in Nepal for our IMG teams.Â Greg Vernovage reports that the Everest and Lhotse Sherpa teams have now established the route to Camp 3, and the IMG climbers have all been up to Camp 2 nowÂ for acclimatization.Â The Hybrid team will be starting their second rotation tomorrow, with the goal being to sleep at Camp 3.

On Annapurna 4, Eben Reckord reports that everyone made it down to Base Camp safe and sound, and now they are enjoying a couple rest days.Â Today Thunang and Phinjo ran a load of tents, fixed rope, and pickets up to Camp 1 and tomorrow they are going back up to start working on getting the Camp 2 and 3 established in preparation for the teamâ€™s next rotation.

Liam Oâ€™Sullivan and the Ama Dablam crew are pulling into Everest BC today, after a couple days of acclimatization hiking from Lobuche BC.

Over on Ama Dablam, Kami Sherpa reports that they have the climbing route now fixed up to Camp 3 and Kami, Kalden and Ang Sona are now working on getting the camps established.

Jenni Fogle and the custom trek team are doing well in Dingboche now, enjoying an acclimatization day before they head up to Lobuche Base Camp.

So, we are all super psyched with the progress so far and will be keeping you up to date on their comings and goings.

Eric Simonson

Route Established To 14K On Bona

April 26, 2012

The upper mountain on Mt. Bona

Just off the phone from George who reports that today was their first truly warm and sunny day. They used it wisely, exploring the upper mountain looking for a solid route up high. They were successful in finding a route up to 14K (they’re at 12K now).

They’re running short on days so as weather permits they’ll head for the top.Â They’re a strong team so this is perfectly within their capabilities.

Go get it guys!

Tye Chapman

Up, Up, And Away!

April 26, 2012

It’s been a fantastic week in Smith Rocks!Â Yesterday, after some smaller objectives earlier in the week, we set our sights high and went after one of America’s classic climbs – Monkey Face, via the west face variation.Â â€œThe Monkeyâ€ as the locals call it, is a 500 ft freestanding pillar.Â From the top you can see all of central Oregon, an absolutely stunning view.Â We started out at 8am and hit the ground safe and sound by 3pm, quite a long day, but very rewarding.

: Smith Rocks. Bend, Oregon.

: Smith Rocks

: Monkey Face

: Mid route on Monkey Face

The route consists of five pitches of 5.8 climbing.Â The most difficult pitch was the aid pitch.Â Climbing up 16 bolts to the mouth of the Monkey.Â This bolt ladder takes climbers up incredibly steep and overhanging terrain.Â Mark, Brannon, and Mimi were all able to cut their teeth on free hanging rope ascension, a very useful skill for crevasse rescue, big wall climbing, and fixed rope travel.Â The final pitch of the route goes out of the mouth and off Panic point, the most difficult 5.6 ever.Â Its incredibly positive climbing but the exposure is hard to stomach, what an adventure! Once on top the team descends via a 200ft free hanging rappel.

The Smith Rocks seminar has been quite rewarding.Â Each day builds on the skills learned the previous day. A great learning environment for any climber!

Austin Shannon