May 24, 2011
Guide Sheldon Kerr called in from Mt. Bona Basecamp at 2:30pm AKDT. Everyone is happy and healthy. They did a carry up to Camp 1 at 11,800 feet today. No crevasse falls for the team or incidents during the climb. The weather is holding good and they will move up to Camp 1 tomorrow if all are feeling up to it after a good night’s rest.
George Dunn
May 23, 2011
IMG Guide Austin Shannon called in at 3:20 AKDT (Alaska Daylight Time) to report on the Bona Team in Alaska.
They flew onto the mountain today, landing at 10,000 feet on the Klutlan Glacier. It is a gorgeous day, warm with no wind.
Austin says they just finished setting up camp at the landing site, Sheldon is off on a glacier walk with the team and everyone is feeling strong. If they are up to it they will do a carry tomorrow to the next camp at around 12,000 feet. Everyone is happy and feeling strong.
George Dunn
Mt. Bona, Alaska
May 23, 2011
We say he’s on vacation…he says he and Sue are in Bhutan checking on accommodations for the upcoming trek this October. I’m sure the truth lies somewhere in the middle.
Tye Chapman
May 20,
IMG Bona Base Camp from a couple years ago.
The group gear has been checked and the duffels have been packed.
IMG Guides Austin Shannon and Sheldon Kerr are off to Alaska tomorrow to meet up with our Mt. Bona climbers. On Sunday they’ll drive to Bush Pilot, Paul Klaus’ airstrip for their flight to the Wrangell/St. Elias Range. Their absolute destination will be determined by the weather, but their primary goal will be the Klutlan Glacier with Paul’s lodge as their back-up until weather clears for landing.
While the first ascent of Mt. Bona was made by Alan Carpe, Terris Moore & Andrew Taylor in 1930 this will be everybody’s first summit, minus Sheldon, who summitted a couple years ago.
Have a great climb guys!
Tye Chapman
May 19, 2011
With signatures on the 2011 Summit Board, our first climb of the season is in officially in the books! The route is in great shape, the camp at The Flats is solid and the weather looks like it might hold out for a couple more days. All good things.
Led by Austin Shannon, the gang tagged the top this morning at around 6:30 in what John Race described as “the coldest summit climb I’ve ever experienced in May”. After a short time on the summit they made their way back the flats and on down to Muir in good time. From Muir they kept cruising and pulled into Paradise at about 2pm, a little earlier than normal but cold weather and a direct route will do that to a team.
Tye Chapman
May 18, 2011
First night at 'The Flats' on Mt. Rainier (Photo by Austin Shannon)
Our first Rainier climb of the season is doing just fine. They’ve established the camp at The Flats, no small accomplishment, and are enjoying a beautiful evening in the sun. They’re eating dinner and sipping on some hot drinks now and will hit the sack here soon before getting an early start tomorrow, with plans of summitting around sunrise. Lots of work yet to do, but they’ve set themselves up for success.
If all goes as planned we’ll see these guys tomorrow afternoon with their summit smiles on!
Tye Chapman
May 17, 2011
Our first Rainier climbers of the 2011 'summer' season.
Mt. Rainier is officially open.
Our first 3.5 day summit climb left for Paradise this morning and after a warm day on the snowfield they are pulling into Camp Muir right now (~4pm). It’s a beautiful day here in the Pacific Northwest – a perfect start to the season.
We plan on sending a couple guides up early tomorrow to do some work on the route and if all goes as planned these guys will get a shot at the summit on Thursday morning.
A great start to the season!
Tye Chapman
May 16, 2011
Q: Can I wear my contacts in the mountains?
IMG Guide (and recent Everest Summitter) Max Bunce enjoying a cucumber on the Muir Snowfield.
A: Absolutely. A lot of our guides wear contacts in the mountains without issue. You’ll have to be careful when putting them in and will need to keep the solution container close to your body to keep it warm. Cleanliness can be a problem but diligence pays off in the end. If you can wear them for multiple days then that makes it even easier, but bring a back up in case you have issues with your primary pair.
Now, for those of you who wear glasses and are unable to wear contacts, prescription glacier glasses might be a good option. If you see yourself doing a lot of climbing it is probably worth the investment – it sure beats trying to wear goggles and glasses at the same time. www.opticus.com is a good place to get a pair – not a cheap solution (~$300) but worth their weight in gold when compared to the alternative.
Tye Chapman
**Update: June 17, 2013
Please see advice from IMG Partner Eric Simonson on using contacts or prescription eye wear in IMG’s Rainier FAQ.
**Update: May 26, 2011
Contacts wearer and friend of IMG, Luke Torres, adds:
Let me add to what you wrote by recommending the one a day disposable contacts. Â The contacts are good for a single day’s use. Â After that you simply throw them away. Â The next day you open the package for a new contact and pop it into your eye (although I forgot a mirror on one of my trips and the absence of a mirror made putting the new lense in my eye difficult — I used my mirrored sunglasses). Â No cleaning, solutions, etc. to worry about. Â Each contact costs about a dollar so for the 6 to 10 contacts you need for a typical Rainier trip you’re looking at about $6 to $10.
May 13, 2011
May 2-6          Work Week/Spring Cleaning (Check – Thanks to Austin, Josh & Dustin!)
May 7 & 8Â Â Â Â Â Â Guide training & BBQ (Check – Cold & Rainy as usual!)
May 9-11        New Guide training (Welcome aboard – John, Charlotte, Nick, Sara & Peter)
May 12 & 13Â Â Muir Set-up (Check – Thanks: JR, Josh, Tye, Luke, John & Tyler)
May 13Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Guide/NPS Training (Tonight: Thanks to JR & O for set-up and presentation)
May 14 & 15Â Â WFR Refresher Course (Tapp & Ted are en route now)
May 16           First climb of the season (Austin, Craig, JR & John are ready to go!)
May 11, 2011
With IMG climbers at many of the camps on Everest, we thought now would be a good time to break this video out from last year… It’s a great look at what the Lhotse Face looks (and feels) like. Climbing up the face is one thing, being able to talk while he’s doing it is another! Well done, and thanks again to the Dahlems for the video.
Enjoy!
