July 28, 2010
We were saddened to hear of a death on the Emmons Glacier route yesterday with a private rope team of 4 climbers. The party was descending from the upper mountain when a slip occurred and the other members on the rope were unable to arrest the fall.
Our group was low on the mountain at the time and not involved in the accident in any way. Trip leader Greg Vernovage had already planned to take a new variation of the route, on a more gentle traversing line that will avoid the site of the accident. The guides are committed to making the Emmons as safe and successful as they possibly can and the entire team is looking forward to an enjoyable climb on Thursday.
George Dunn
July 27, 2010
IMG Guide Greg Vernovage reported in from the Inter Glacier this afternoon reporting all is well with the team. They’ll wake up in the morning and head up to Camp Schurman and if all goes as planned they’ll make their way up the Emmons Glacier on Thursday.
Over on the Kautz, Peter Anderson reports the team is making good progress to their camp near Lower Castle. They’ll make their way up to their High Camp tomorrow and theoretically summit the same day as our Emmons team
And on the DC Route, IMG Guide Josh Tapp reports from Camp Muir that all is well and the team made it to Muir in good form. They’ll move up to the Flats tomorrow and summit on Thursday – the same day IMG Partner George Dunn departs on what should be his 500th summit of Mt. Rainier.
All is well on Mt. Rainier!
Tye Chapman
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 won’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. (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)
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. It was a bit breezy overnight but that didn’t stop them from getting to the top. 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
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. 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. Check-in tomorrow for an update on their progress!
Tye Chapman
July 20, 2010
IMG Senior Guide, Mike Hamill, called in early this morning from the Caucasus mountains in Russia. Mike and team were standing on the summit of Elbrus. Nice, sunny day with only two members not reaching the true summit. That’s a super accomplishment. Another day to the valley, a bit more touring in the Caucasus and then off to Moscow. Can’t leave Russia without seeing Red Square, the Kremlin, Old Arbat Street, the Russian White House, the GUM………
The group is psyched. And, they’ll all be home on Sunday. Sweet!
Phil Ershler
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
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.
We’ll keep you posted!
Eric Simonson
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. They traversed the famous Barranco Wall, then below the hanging glaciers of the south side of the mountain to Karanga Valley camp (13,000’). Everyone is doing well and the team was getting excited about the summit bid. Today the team will climb from Karanga up to the high camp at Barafu (15,000’). They will get an early start, so that they will make Barafu camp by about noon. 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. The summit climb will begin about midnight. We’ll keep you posted!
Eric Simonson
