Master Of The Mountain – George Dunn

July 26, 2010

Craig Hill of the Tacoma News Tribune captured George’s upcoming 500th summit of Mt. Rainier pretty darn well…

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CRAIG HILL
Published: July 26, 2010

One morning this week George Dunn, his crampons crunching through the snow atop Mount Rainier, likely will make history and it wonâ€™t even be the highlight of his day.

The 56-year-old guide plans to climb Rainier on Friday with friends and family and become the first person to summit the 14,411-foot peak 500 times.Â (READ MORE…)

George Dunn climbs Mount Rainier for the 498th time last month. The group is on a switchback climbing atop Panorama Point, on the way to Camp Muir. He has been a mountain guide since the 1970s. Here he leads a climb of scouts and dads. (Photo by Peter Haley TNT Staff Photographer)

George Grabs 499!

July 23, 2010

A view of Mt. Adams from Camp Muir (Photo by Andrew Locke)

Just heard from IMG Partner George Dunn who stepped off the crater rim of Mt. Rainier this morning for the 499th time! Way to go George!

He wasn’t alone – he and some friends from Outdoor Research along with his partner Phil Ershler were with him on the climb.Â It was a bit breezy overnight but that didn’t stop them from getting to the top.Â Nice work gang!

When will 500 take place you ask? Well, Geo is scheduled to go up late next week for what could be his 500th summit. We’ll keep you posted!

Tye Chapman

George Goes For 499…

July 22, 2010

George Dunn circa 2009

George Dunn is en route for 499. He and his team of Outdoor Research staff left Paradise yesterday morning and arrived at Camp Muir at roughly 3pm in good form.

After a good nights sleep & a hearty breakfast this morning they’ll hit the slopes outside of Camp Muir for some training and testing of some prototype Outdoor Research gear.Â After a solid day of training they’ll grab a bite to eat and head to bed pretty early so that the Midnight wake-up call isn’t too painful (it always is!).

If all goes as planned George Dunn will get his 499th summit while his partner Phil Ershler tops out for the 439th time.Â Check-in tomorrow for an update on their progress!

Tye Chapman

Elbrus Team Touches The Top

July 20, 2010

IMG Senior Guide, Mike Hamill, called in early this morning from the Caucasus mountains in Russia.Â Mike and team were standing on the summit of Elbrus.Â Nice, sunny day with only two members not reaching the true summit.Â Thatâ€™s a super accomplishment.Â Another day to the valley, a bit more touring in the Caucasus and then off to Moscow.Â Canâ€™t leave Russia without seeing Red Square, the Kremlin, Old Arbat Street, the Russian White House, the GUMâ€¦â€¦â€¦

The group is psyched.Â And, theyâ€™ll all be home on Sunday.Â Sweet!

Phil Ershler

Emmons Team Having Fun

July 20, 2010

IMG Guide Greg Vernovage snapped a quick photo (iPhone) from the Inter Glacier on Mt. Rainier last night and it looks like the crew is having a good time! They were on the Inter Glacier (7800ft) in this photo. They’ll move on up to Camp Schurman this afternoon and go for the summit late tonight and early tomorrow morning.

-Tye Chapman

Kili Team Summits – 100% On Top!

Sunrise on summit bid.

Summit! IMG guide Eric Remza reports that the July Kili team had a great day yesterday, with 100% reaching Uhuru Peak, the highest point in Africa. They left Barafu about midnight and reached the top shortly after dawn, in clear and cold weather. The descent went smoothly and everyone made it back down to Mweka Camp without incident. Today the team will finish the descent to the Mweka trailhead, where they check out with the Kili Park rangers. Then, it is back to the hotel in Moshi for hot showers, cold beer, and a big celebration BBQ dinner tonight. Tomorrow the team will head for the airport and the short flight to the Serengeti, where they begin the safari.

Weâ€™ll keep you posted!

Eric Simonson

Kili Climbers Prepare For Summit Bid

July 18, 2010

Glacier on the upper slopes of Kilimanjaro. (Photo by Adam Angel)

IMG guide Eric Remza reports by sat phone that the team had a fine day of trekking yesterday, with excellent weather.Â They traversed the famous Barranco Wall, then below the hanging glaciers of the south side of the mountain to Karanga Valley camp (13,000â€™).Â Everyone is doing well and the team was getting excited about the summit bid.Â Today the team will climb from Karanga up to the high camp at Barafu (15,000â€™).Â They will get an early start, so that they will make Barafu camp by about noon.Â This will give plenty of time for a nice big cooked lunch, gear packing, lots of hydration, to be followed by a good afternoon/evening rest in preparation for the big summit day tomorrow.Â The summit climbÂ will begin about midnight.Â Weâ€™ll keep you posted!

Eric Simonson

Kili Team Moving Strong

July 15, 2010

The rugged lower slopes of Kili on the way to Shira Plateau, via Machame Route

IMG guide Eric Remza reports from Shira (12,000+ feet) that the July Kili climb is going smoothly.Â So far the team have had pretty good weather for their climb.Â Yesterday they went to Machame Camp and today they moved up through the cloud forest to Shira Camp.Â The team members are doing well and tomorrow they are looking forward to moving to Barranco Camp.

Eric Simonson

Elbrus Team Enjoying The Sights Of Russia

July 14, 2010

We heard from Mike Hamill this morning via email.Â He reports that theyâ€™ve had two full days of touring and will get in a boat tour on the canals tomorrow before hoping on the flight. Sounds like the team is enjoying the experience thus far.

Then, the work begins.Â Some acclimatization is in order as is a day spent on the Koshkatosh Glacier reviewing crampon technique and learning a few new tricks from their veteran Elbrus, Seven Summits,Â & Everest guide â€“ Mike Hamill.Â The attempt on Elbrus is still a few days off.

Phil Ershler

Mt. Rainier Is A Special Place

July 12, 2010

The last few days have been pretty special for quite a few folks who summitted Mt. Rainier, but for 4 of them it’ll be remembered for another reason… On July 9th after summitting Mt. Rainier via the Emmons Route we had our first proposal & engagement of the season then just two days later we had our second, below is a peek into the proposals.

Congratulations Christina & Joel!

Joel & Christina

Joel and I had a great time! Summitting was the highlight, that is until the proposal of course. Joel actually proposed on the last day of the trip, just before reaching Glacier Basin Campground. Joel and I were hiking aloneÂ at the bottom of the inter glacier, we were chatting about how training for Rainier and the entire trip itself really proved how strong our relationship is. Next thing I knew Joel is on one knee holding a ring, I was very excited!Â We have hadÂ many reasons to celebrate (summitting, Joel’s 30th b-day and the proposal), this trip is going to be in our hearts and memories forever. We’re thinking our next adventure, besides marriage, could possibly be Kilimanjaro for my 30th B-day.

-Christina

Congratulations Ian & Rodica!

Ian & Rodica

It was Rodica’s dream since she was a little girl in Romania to stand on top of Mount Rainier. IMG’s guides were absolutely phenomenal in helping reach that goal. Not only that, they helped shoot our engagement photos when we reached the summit at sunrise and I proposed.

-Ian