Denali Teams Reach 17,000ft

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!

Denali Teams Ready for 17k

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

Denali Teams 1 & 2 At 14K Camp

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

Denali Teams Move Up

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!

Denali Teams Continue Upward

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)

IMG Team Summits on the Kautz Glacier

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)

IMG Denali Teams Move Uphill

May 19, 2023 – IMG Team 1, led by Nickel Wood, reported good progress as they camped at Ski Hill camp last night at 7600ft. Today and tomorrow they will move up to Camp 3 at 11,000ft, slowly acclimatizing as they ascend. IMG Team 2, let by Nicole Sims, is hot on their heels, following a similar schedule, but one day behind.

View from the airplane on the way to Denali (Dallas Glass)

The team reports good weather and conditions on the tallest peak in North America. All is well!

IMG Denali Teams On Their Way

May 17, 2023 – IMG Denali Team 1, led by Nickel Wood, took off from Talkeetna today and touched down on the Kahiltna Glacier in the early afternoon. After a rainy day of preparations yesterday, the team was thrilled to wake up to sunny skies and excellent flying weather. The team loaded up their gear, climbed aboard, and took off. It’s been a busy few days of preparing to climb the tallest peak in North America.

IMGD Team 1 poses in front of their gear right before boarding their plane to the Kahiltna (Harry Hamlin)

Hot on Team 1’s heels is IMG Denali Team 2 led by Nicole Sims. Team 2 spent the day preparing food and packing gear in Talkeetna, planning to fly onto the Kahiltna in the morning.

IMG Team 2 on their way to Talkeetna (Lara Ralich)

Stay tuned for more updates as our Denali teams begin their climb!

2023 Denali teams are out the door!

May 15, 2023

View from the summit of Denali (Nicole Sims)

The guides for our first two Denali teams left Ashford this morning and are on their way to Anchorage to meet our first two teams. Hopefully these groups will be flying onto the Kahiltna Glacier early this week. We’re excited to be back in Alaska this spring for another year on Denali!

Audrey Simonson

Rainier Success!

May 13, 2023

Climbers on Rainier returning to Camp Muir

We’re in full swing here in the Cascades now! Our first few Disappointment Cleaver teams have found success, reaching the summit in good weather. Coming up soon we have our first Kautz and Emmons teams heading out the door.

For more updates on our current Rainier season and our 2024 dates, be sure to check out our Facebook and Instagram.

Audrey Simonson