March 25, 2011
Great views all around.
George called in from Upper Boy Scout Lake on Mt. Whitney today to report that the deep snow made for some difficult trail-breaking this afternoon. As a result, they pulled up short of the typical high camp location and will instead make up that time with lighter packs in the morning.
All is well!
Tye Chapman
March 24, 2011
We’ve got a lot of moving parts these days with several programs getting started over the next couple weeks.
Next up are: Everest, Lhotse, Lobuche, Everest Base Camp Treks, Whitney, Denali Prep Seminars and Machu Picchu. That covers 2 U.S. States, 3 countries on 3 continents. Not too bad.
Keep these programs in mind next year if you’re sitting at your desk right now thinking “this is a good time of year for me to take a vacation!” Or just follow along here on the blog.
But right now it’s time for all of us to get back to work!
Tye Chapman
March 23, 2011
The last pitch before the summit. (Photo by Trent Carey)
George Dunn is finishing up his last minute checklist here in Washington before he jumps on a plane tomorrow to head down to Lone Pine, CA to kick-off the IMG climbing season on Mt. Whitney.
Most people climb Whitney in the summer but we schedule our trips in the spring to maximize the alpine environment that Whitney provides this time of year. In the summer, the Mountaineers Route is typically a loose scramble up a rock gully but in the spring it becomes a snow climb on terrain up to 45-degrees, a great challenge for all climbers.
We’re running more trips than ever this year, 7 in total, so we’ll have plenty to post here on the blog.
Have fun guys!
Tye Chapman
March 19, 2011
Mt. Rainier under a fresh blanket of snow. (Photo by Dave Coon)
Greg radioed in this morning to report that they had another excellent training day yesterday and that they are wrapping things up at Camp Muir.
Today is Day 6 on the mountain for these guys yet Day 1 of sun! They’ve been hammered with high winds and heavy snowfall throughout the week, but kept after it, trained hard and are now prepared for bigger mountains – or another crack at Mt. Rainier down the road.
Winter will always reign supreme on Mt. Rainier, that said, these guys took what the mountain gave them and can walk away safe with their heads held high. Nice job guys!
Tye
March 17, 2011
Camp Muir in the winter.
Greg called in from Camp Muir this afternoon to report that it’s pretty darn cold and windy at Camp Muir these days…but that didn’t stop these guys from having a great day!
7:30am – Pancakes, bacon and hashbrowns! Wait, what? Yeah, the good stuff!
8:00am– Out the door for a Mountain Day School Refresher (ice axe arrest, crampon skills, rope travel, etc.)
12:00pm – Lunch break and warm-up time. Soup anyone?
1:00pm – Fixed-line travel and rope travel practice up the ridge. Too windy on the ridge so they went back to Muir to work on a snowcave.
4:00pm – Still working on the snowcave.
5:00pm – Hot drinks and an early dinner (burritos) and a good night’s rest – in the snowcave. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Tomorrow they’ll take another shot at getting up the ridge to take a look at things then get back to work with some Crevasse Rescue Training in the afternoon.
All is well on Mt. Rainier!
Tye Chapman
March 16, 2011
Led by Eric Simonson, Greg Vernovage, Justin Merle, Mike Hamill, Ang Jangbu Sherpa, Eben Reckord, Adam Angel, and Max Bunce.
Our third shipment of food and gear has now reached Kathmandu, and everything is moving forward on schedule. With the conclusion of the Losar Festival (Tibetan New Year), ten more IMG sherpas and two cooks are heading to Base Camp today to continue work on the tent platforms.
March 16, 2011
Winter livin' on Mt. Rainier.
Greg called in this morning to report that the winds have died down a little bit, and after scouting the route and snow conditions yesterday, they’ve decided to pull camp and head to Camp Muir today.
If all goes as planned they’ll get to Camp Muir this afternoon and if they’re feeling good they might sneak in a little training or an evening lecture after dinner.
Step 1 is getting to Camp Muir, which is never a given on Mt. Rainier in the winter.
Tye Chapman
March 15, 2010
Digging in and building a good camp is an important part of any Denali Prep Course.
The Seminar called to check in at 8:00 a.m. All is well. They spent a good night, with a snug camp established, at the base of Panorama Point at about 6,200 feet. They reported the weather as “nice, but not greatâ€. What that means in guide speak is snowing and windy with gusts up to 20mph. It was deemed too windy higher up to attempt to move to Muir today. Instead, the team will check out their route up the Muir snowfield in advance, do some snow stability tests, train with avalanche transceivers, and continue on with seminar training skills.
The current camp is in the best possible location for protection from the weather, so they will continue to train from this point until a move to Camp Muir looks favorable. Right now it appears that tomorrow will be good for the move with a clearing trend in store. The weather the rest of the week should be milder and provide for some good training opportunities.
George Dunn
March 11, 2011
Everybody enjoys a good photo now and again…
Check out this beauty taken by Steve Harshbarger while on Safari in 2010. Not a bad way to wrap up a climb of Kilimanjaro!
March 9, 2011
By Eben Reckord via OR’s Verticulture
29,035ft or 8850m - Either way it's the top of the world!
It’s hard to think that my journey to the top of the world started on a train in Tokyo. I was fourteen and I knew I wanted to climb, but wasn’t quite sure how to go about it. The closest climbing gym was three hours away and every Sunday my friends and I would set out for it. It was an all-day event and we made sure our homework from the American School in Japan was done before leaving so that the adventure could run late. Not really knowing what we were doing we bouldered our brains out, too afraid to try roped climbing. Though only pulling on plastic every Sunday, the experience would evolve into a serious passion for big mountain climbing. And, like any good climb, by no means was it a straight line from those Sunday outings to Pump 2 in Tokyo to the summit of Mt. Everest.
The flag I’m holding up in this picture means so much to me. In the middle is the rising sun; Japan’s essence. I consider it a commitment to a new day, a commitment that anything is possible. The Kanji means number one. And though I am an American, my time in Japan helped to shape the man I am today.
Outdoor Research has been with me from the start of my guiding career when I met Dan Nordstrom on the Emmons Glacier on Mt. Rainier. (Read more)
