Aconcagua: Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil

February 23, 2011

Ignorance is bliss for some of the mules carrying gear to Base Camp.

Aconcagua season has ended with the return of our 4^th successful team.Â 4 for 4 â€“ weâ€™ll take it.Â More importantly, everyoneâ€™s back with all fingers and toes intact!

This is a tough mountain, particularly when itâ€™s climbed in good style.Â IMG needs to take a moment and again congratulate all the teams for their amazing efforts.Â Four strong, independent teams who worked together, shared in all the efforts and were then able to celebrate the rewards that striving together as a team provides.Â Nicely done, gang.Â Iâ€™ll end this dispatch and this season with a quote from one of the climbers on this 4^th and final expedition.

â€œJust finished the trip a week ago and it was awesome!Â Couldn’t say enough nice things about Mike, Ty, and Martin. Â They are all world class guys who worked their asses off and I would not want to do another trip without these guys! Â IMG was the best on the mountain!â€

Phil Ershler

That’s A Wrap On Orizaba

February 23, 2011

: Summit Route viat SPOT Tracker

: Orizaba stands at 18,880ft

IMG, my partner, Chris Meder and I need to congratulate, again, each of our climbing partners on the recent IMG â€œOrizaba Onlyâ€ trip.Â Comments Iâ€™ve already received included:

â€œGreat trip!Â This will be oneÂ I certainly won’t forget.Â This wasÂ simply a great group of people, and I am so happy to have gotten to know everyone.â€

â€œOrizaba now ranks as one of my favorite climbs; it was sufficiently challenging to satisfy my climbing jones, while short enough to not leave me completely wiped out when I got home.â€

â€œThanks to everyone for a great trip I had a fantastic time with a group of wonderful people.Â It’s these kinds of experiences that make me keep coming back for more…much to the detriment of my big toe nails.â€

â€œLooking atÂ my photos and those Chris sent around, I’m beginning to comprehend the size and scope of our trip. It was almost too much to absorb while it was happening. What a great group of people. As mentioned, each having such a different backgroundÂ yet able toÂ relate and enjoy one anotherÂ under a common interest. We had such a great time.â€

Itâ€™s nice when it all comes together.Â With the right people involved, it usually does.

Phil Ershler

The Human Factor

February 22, 2011

Greg & I were happy to call 6000ft. our high point on Saturday.

Over the long weekend the sun came out here in the Pacific Northwest for the first time in quite awhile – and right in time for a big 3-day weekend!

The summit, fresh powder, the long drive, or meeting up with friends are all “human factors” that can contribute poor decision making when traveling in the backcountry in the winter.

Greg and I set out to meet-up with our descending Winter Seminar on Saturday but were happy to call 6000ft. our “high point” on Saturday after seeing the tail end of a small avalanche at Panorama Point; an important reminder to all climbers, skiers or snowshoers inside Mt. Rainier National Park to not let the “human factor” cloud your judgement – at even the lowest of elevations.

More snow coming…

Tye Chapman

Mt. Rainier Weather

Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center

Mt. Rainier National Park Climbing Info Blog

A Look Back At February & Ahead To March

February 22, 2011

Ice climbing in Ouray. (Photo Philip Hardin)

Well, we took a long weekend here at IMG too.Â Why not; we had great success on Kilimanjaro earlier this month, a couple teams on top of Aconcagua in February, Orizaba summits in Mexico and a great training seminar on Rainier last week, not to mention all of our ice climbers in Ouray climbing hard. A pretty good February so far.

What’s next: the next big push will be in the Himalayas. Everest season (March-May) means lots of trekkers and climbers will be heading to Kathmandu and eventually Lukla to begin the trek to Everest Base Camp. Some will stop there, while others will check-in at Base Camp then move back down valley to climb Lobuche. Some will do both en route C2 or C3 or on up to the summit of Lhotse or Everest.Â We’ve got lots of options in the Khumbu in the Spring… we’ll be back with more on Everest and the Himalayas in the coming weeks.

That’s all for now.

Tye Chapman

Mexico Team Climbs Under Full Moon – Summits!

February 18, 2011

We had a garbled Sat phone message from Phil this morning which he just confirmed via email, in typical Ershler fashion:

“Summit. Full moon. 7 of 8 on top. Perfect day.”

We’ll have some more details and photos when they get back to the States.

That’s all for now.

Tye

Snowcaves, Anchors and More

February 18, 2011

Tibloc ratchet. (Photo by Paul Mangiafico)

Aaron Mainer called in from Camp Muir this morning to report that all is well. The team had a great day of skills training yesterday (cramponing, fixed line, ice axe arrest, etc.) and took a walk up to AAA Gully to check out the conditions – WINDY!

Later in the afternoon, back near Camp Muir,Â they dug a good sized snowcave. Several of the team members slept in it overnight; a touch cold but otherwise perfect.

Today, they’ll focus on crevasse rescue skills and anchors which they didn’t quite get to yesterday.

Downhill to Paradise tomorrow. Sounds like they’re having a heck of a time up there.

Tye Chapman

Winter Seminar Reaches Camp Muir

February 17, 2011

Camp Muir.

Yesterday our Rainier Winter Seminar made their way to Camp Muir, which as you might know, is not a given in the winter. They left their first camp near Panarama Point yesterday morning, and at times waded through some deep snow in sustained 30mph winds before pulling into Camp Muir in the early afternoon. Not an easy day.

After some calories, hot drinks and a good nights sleep they awoke to a beautiful & bright morning with light winds – a perfect day for some anchor training as well as some crevasse rescue training.

Going higher on the mountain in the winter is always a tough call, but the guides will continue to evaluate the terrain and explore any possibilities of checking out the upper mountain later this week.

Tye Chapman

Late Word From Mendoza

February 16, 2011

A view up the valley at Aconcagua after the long walk out.

We received late word from Mike Hamill down in Argentina that the team has safely arrived back in Mendoza after their 18-mile hike out and long drive to the hotel. Some late night showers and beds are calling some tired climbers!

Tomorrow, if they don’t have to sprint back home, they’ll enjoy a well deserved celebration dinner.

That’s all for now.

Tye Chapman

Orizaba Team Poised For Summit Attempt

February 16, 2011

Orizaba from a distance. (Photo by Phil Ershler)

More good news from Mexico… Phil reports that the weather is holding nicely for the crew. They enjoyed a nice acclimatization hike today and some training above the hut.

They’re currently hydrating, loading up with some calories and going through their gear one last time.Â About 12 hours, round trip, on summit day is what it should take.

We’ll know more tomorrow when Phil calls in.

Stay tuned.

Tye Chapman

Orizaba Team at Piedra Grande

February 15, 2011

Phil called from Piedra Grande on Orizaba this morning.Â The team is doing well after spending a spectacular night at their camp in the forest.Â The weather was perfect.Â Theyâ€™ll spend tonight at Piedra Grande and tomorrow they will continue to train and acclimatize.Â The team is feeling great and continuing to let their bodies adjust to the altitude.Â Theyâ€™re on schedule and will continue to prepare for their Thursday morning attempt of Orizaba!

IMG Office

Orizaba (Photo: Mike Heritage)