March 22, 2012
Almost to Lower Boy Scout Lake.
George called from Lower Boy Scout Lake on Mt. Whitney today at 3:14pm. The weather was great with mostly clear skies and a nice warm & easy breeze which made for good climbing. They went without snowshoes on this climb, making things a little easier for everybody.
The team made awesome time to camp and is getting ready to set up tents and cook some Thai food for dinner tonight. A good first day in the Sierras!
Clarissa Morford
March 21, 2012
As if anybody needed another reason to pull for the Everest climbers this year...
If you’ve been around the mountains long enough you’ve likely run into a Swedish Fish or two. If not, you should know that they’re considered a super food around here. It’s no wonder Greg Vernovage has bags and bags of them hidden in several countries around the world.
In this photo here, you’ll notice that he has both endeared himself the folks in the office, while at the same time angered them, not an easy task. Two months is a long time; we’ll revisit this as the clock ticks…
Challenge accepted.
Tye Chapman
March 20, 2012
By Jenni Fogle
Mountains have a way of reminding us of how unpredictable and even temporary life can be. That’s one of the things I love about climbing. Spending time in the mountains encourages me to seize opportunities as they arise, and not put my dreams off for “someday.†I witnessed one of nature’s tremendous demonstrations recently on Mt. Etna, Europe’s tallest (and active) volcano.
Mt. Etna Before... (Photo by Jenni Fogle)
I had debated on whether or not to bring my touring skis to Sicily when I headed there in early March. I wasn’t sure how good the ski conditions would be, and wasn’t even sure I’d have the chance to go to the mountain while I was there. I ended up deciding it was probably not worth the hassle, so I left them behind.
On Friday, March 16th I had a free day and headed to the north side of Etna. I wore approach shoes and brought snowshoes along in case I needed them. There are ski lifts on Mt. Etna, although several on the south side were destroyed in the 2001 eruptions, and on the north side they only go up to about 2400 meters. The day I was there the highest lift wasn’t operating – workers were trying to dig it out of the snow. So I took a lift to 2000 meters, and walked from there. I saw one other hiker, and a handful of skiers on the upper mountain. I have very few actual regrets in my life, but I definitely regretted not having my skis with me.
I usually listen to music when I hike alone, but my Ipod battery was dead, so I had a lot of time with my thoughts, and specifically my recurring thought, “I wish I had my skis.†I tried to find ways to console myself. There had been significant winds the previous week, so there was a breakable wind crust that wouldn’t have been the best for skiing, but there were also areas with nice, soft powder. It’s hard to console yourself when you’re missing out on a few thousand feet of uninterrupted downhill terrain. I finally told myself, “Mt. Etna has been here for a very long time. It’s not going anywhere. I’ll bring my skis next time.â€
Which brings us to Sunday, my last day in Sicily. My only plan was to go for a good run in the morning before heading to an agriturismo for a no-kidding four-hour lunch with endless courses of delicious food. I headed out the door for my run, saw Mt. Etna in the distance and immediately ran back to get my camera. On Friday, as on many days, I had seen steam venting steadily from the north summit. But Sunday morning there was a huge column of black ash spewing thousands of feet straight up in the air, and forming an ash cloud that trailed for miles on the downwind side of the mountain. It was fascinating to say the least.
Mt. Etna After... (Photo by Jenni Fogle)
I wondered what it would have been like to be right up close when that happened. I am sure I REALLY would have wanted my skis to get down as fast as possible. Next time, I’ll bring my skis, because I really don’t know how much longer Mt. Etna will be there – at least not all of it. Whatever you’ve been putting off doing, or want to do but think it might be too big of a hassle – go do it. Take your family on that vacation, climb Mt. Rainier, go to Bhutan, but don’t let your dreams go up in smoke.
March 16, 2012
Yesterday, the Denali Seminar pulled out of Mt. Rainier National Park a day early thanks to a snow plow escort provided by the park. With more snow in the forecast, taking advantage of an escape route when it was presented just made sense.
The team stopped digging long enough to pose for this photo. (Photo by John Race)
After drying out, they enjoyed a nice burger at The Copper Creek and an Intro To Crevasse Rescue lesson last night. Today they’re hands on with the crevasse rescue as they wrap-up the seminar.
Tye Chapman
March 14,
Our Denali Prep Seminar continues to take advantage of the harsh conditions Mt. Rainier is throwing at them. Given the recent storm activity, just getting into the park makes this seminar a success.
Setting up camp and training in these conditions makes all the difference and will give these guys just that much more experience to fall back on when they’re loading up their sleds on Day 1 on Denali.
Jackson Visitor CenterWebcam (NPS)
Tomorrow brings more snow, and with it, more learning opportunities.
Tye Chapman
March 13, 2012
After a couple training days at HQ, our latest Denali Prep Seminar loaded up and headed into Mt. Rainier National Park this morning. The forecast doesn’t look much better than the past few days, but then again this is why folks come to Mt. Rainier in the winter to train for Denali!
Mt. Rainier Webcam - Jackson Visitor Center (National Park Service)
Tye Chapman
March 8, 2012
For all you Mt. Rainier junkies out there, here’s your fix for the day!
Mt. Rainier. (Photo by Dustin Balderach)
(Between me and you, we’re all just as addicted as you are.)
Tye Chapman
March 7, 2012
2012 Everest Expedition Coverage
For IMG, Everest season starts well before the flights to Kathmandu take off. IMG Partner & Everest Program Director, Eric Simonson, has been planning and orchestrating the 2012 season for several months, and as the season approaches things are starting to heat up…
For full coverage be sure to check out the 2012 Everest Expedition Coverage webpage.
Tye Chapman
March 6, 2012
This image came across my desk a couple weeks ago and I couldn’t help but chuckle as I thought of all the women on our guide staff. Tough ladies who know how to sew… and by sew I mean repairing tents in the field, fixing tears in backpacks and stitching up the occasional crampon puncture.
And while putting on a clean dress isn’t likely a daily routine – having a chalk-bag near by likely is.
Tye Chapman
March 5, 2012
All members returned to the US yesterday afternoon. Flights home are long – at least 2 legs in the 8-9 hour range. They’re tough but maybe they’re a good thing. We had time to catch up on sleep and time to reflect on the previous two weeks. I was fortunate to have a team of 12 very prepared, very strong, very motivated and very friendly climbers. They demonstrated all those attributes daily. From the moment we started the climb, I knew Sue and I would be shaking hands with each one of them on the summit. Even a summit day which brought perhaps 10 cm of snow and then stiff breezes all along the crater rim, did nothing to slow or deter even one of the team. Their strength, resolve and cooperation never wavered. What a team.
Kili Team on Safari (Photo: Phil Ershler)
Safari was simply a continuation of the teamwork on the mountain. We drove out to Ngorongoro because everyone wanted to see this part of the country at ‘ground level’. The good times simply continued right to the Crater. Beers en route, shopping and gin and tonics at the Crater kept the smiles coming. We were at the late end of the season and we got rain each night on safari but that only set us up for some great game viewing. The Crater was green and we saw pretty much everything. Olduvai Gorge, a Masaai Village stop and bumpy dirt roads put us in position to hopefully get good views of the migration. The wildebeest had been hanging up in the Serengeti later than normal because there hadn’t been enough rain. I was sweating it because we’d planned to stay in the Ndutu area to catch the migration. We had a long game drive planned for the next day. Wildebeest and cats were the goal. Olotu, one of our guides/drivers, asked me how many wildebeest I’d like to see that day. ‘Half a million’ was my response.
Wildebeest & calves (Photo: Phil Ershler)
We drove northwest through Ndutu for about an hour before coming upon one of the more amazing sights I have seen. Wildebeest and their calves, in lines, for miles. Olotu killed the engine on the stretch Land Cruiser as we started taking pictures. ‘Start counting’ was all he said. 500,000 wildebeest later, I quit counting.
Thanks to my team members for trusting IMG to put their trip together. I’ll be traveling with Dan, Meribeth, Jay, Cindy, Ann, Emily, Bill, Linda, Rick, Carly, Brett, Bonnie and Sue before long.
Phil Ershler
