June 6, 2023
IMG Denali climbers gear in front of snow carving of “IMG” [Drew O’Brien]
IMGD Team 3 & 4, led by Forrest Baldwin and Johnny Schrock, respectively, are moving onward and upward! Both teams cached gear at 9,800ft today, returning to their camp at 7,800ft to rest and recuperate before moving uphill in the coming days.
IMGD Team 5, led by Rowan Stewart, landed in Anchorage today, will travel to Talkeetna in the morning, and hopes to fly on the Kahiltna on Thursday.
June 5, 2023 –
IMGD Team 1 and IMGD Team 2, led by Nickel Wood and Nicole Sims, respectively, are descending to Ski Hill (7800′) today and intend to travel to the airstrip and fly off tomorrow.
IMGD Team 3 and IMGD Team 4, led by Forrest Baldwin and Johnny Schrock, respectively, flew in last night and will be heading up to Ski Hill today, saying hi to the downhill teams as they ascend.
IMGD Team 5, led by Rowan Stewart, leaves for Alaska early tomorrow morning and will be preparing their expedition in the coming days.
Photo: IMGD4 prior to takeoff (Schrock)
June 4th, 2023
Cold day at a well defended 17 Camp (Eric Simonson)
As of today there has been no change to the teams’ status. Both Team 1 and 2 arrived to 17K camp on Monday and Tuesday respectively, but the weather took a turn for the worse. They are still hunkering down at 17K camp while they wait for the storm to break before potentially descending. Everyone is in good spirits and are staying busy by minding camp and making stormproof snow walls. These teams are getting a full Denali experience after spending almost a week up there!
Back in Talkeetna, Teams 3 and 4 are grounded until this storm blows through. To pass the time, the teams have been practicing their rope systems for the glacier and enjoying a John Denver cover band playing nightly at local restaurants. You’ll be the first to know when these teams are able to catch their flight to the Kahiltna!
Team 5 will be arriving in Anchorage in just a couple days, and will be just on the heels of Teams 3 and 4 getting on the mountain.
For now, all teams are doing well. Keep checking back for more updates from Denali.
Audrey Simonson
June 1, 2023 – IMG Denali Team 1, led by Nickel Wood, was stymied by windy weather on their summit attempt yesterday and returned to 17 Camp after an unsuccessful summit attempt. The team remains there presently and is in high spirits as they survey their options for the coming days.
IMG Denali Team 2, led by Nicole Sims, is perched at 17 Camp awaiting clearer weather in the coming days to make a summit attempt.
IMG Denali Team 3, led by Forrest Baldwin, is fully packed and ready to fly on to the Kahiltna. The team awaits clear weather in Talkeetna and will fly as soon as they’re able.
IMG Denali Team 4, led by Jonathan Schrock, arrived in Talkeetna this morning and will spend the day preparing for their expedition ahead. They hope to fly on to the Kahiltna Glacier in the coming days.
IMG Denali Team 4 arrives in Talkeetna (Jonathan Schrock)
May 30, 2023 – IMGD Team 1, led by Nickel Wood, climbed from 14 Camp to 17 Camp yesterday in clear weather. The team reported high spirits as they set up their camp last night, and will rest through the today as they look for a summit window in the next couple of days.
Looking up the upper West Buttress with a cloud cap covering the summit of Denali (Eric Simonson)
IMGD Team 2, led by Nicole Sims, is hot on their heels and is moving to 17 Camp today.
IMGD Team 3, led by Forrest Baldwin, arrives in Anchorage today and will begin preparations for their expedition. The team will head to Talkeetna tomorrow, and hopes to fly to Denali base camp on Thursday.
All is well in Alaska!
May 28, 2023
17 Camp with Denali Pass behind (Eric Simonson)
Our two IMGD teams on the mountain have synced their schedules, and are now climbing pretty much in tandem. Both teams were able to cache gear at Washburn’s Thumb (16,700′) yesterday. Presently the teams are taking a rest day and are looking to make their move to 17k camp. All they need now is a summit window-hopefully coming this week. All’s well on Denali!
Audrey Simonson
May 25, 2023
IMGD climbers breaking above windy corner (Audrey Simonson)
IMGD Teams 1 and 2 have made it to 14k camp in good style. Today, guides from Team 1 are preparing gear for the upper mountain while the team takes a rest day. Team 1 is looking to make a carry to 17k camp in the coming days. Team 2 is returning to windy corner to retrieve their extra gear. Tomorrow they will rest at 14k before looking to move up.
Teams 3 and 4 will be making the journey to Talkeetna in the coming days!
If you’re interested in joining IMGD on Denali, be sure to check out our 2024 Denali dates!
Audrey Simonson
May 23, 2023 –
IMG Team 1, led by Nickel Wood, moves to Camp 3 (’14 Camp’) today after taking a rest day at 11,200ft. The team will pass their cache of food and gear that they left on Sunday at Windy Corner to retrieve tomorrow during an ‘active rest day’.
Denali West Buttress Route
IMG Team 2, led by Nicole Sims, is close behind. Nicole and her team cached their extra food and gear at Windy Corner yesterday, and will rest today before moving to 14 Camp in the coming days.
All is well on Denali!
May 21, 2023
Both IMG Teams that are currently on Denali checked in with good news today. Nicole Sims reports that Team 2 is at 11 Camp after retrieving their 10,000ft cache today. Nickle Wood reports that Team 1 is at 11 Camp after carrying and caching at Windy Corner today (13,500ft). All is well on Denali!
Photo: View of Mt Foraker from 11 Camp (Porter McMichael)
May 20, 2023
IMG Lead Guide Porter McMichael just recently led a team to the summit of Mt Rainier via the Kautz Glacier, our first summit via that route this season! The team reported great weather and good climbing conditions. Between May 16th and 19th the team climbed from paradise, up to Camp Hazard, up the famous ice chutes, and to the summit, before descending the same way they came. This route is much more seldom traveled than other routes on Rainier and makes for a great experience for those who are willing to work hard and climb some ice!
Photo: IMG Guides Colton and Lindsey climbing the Kautz ice chute at sunrise (Porter McMichael)
Photo: IMG Guide Porter McMichael belays a climber up the rock step (Mark Albrecht)
Photo: Colton Bramsen leads a pitch of ice on the Kautz Glacier (Porter McMichael)
