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

George Finds The Top Again (498!)

July 11, 2010

George Dunn

IMG Partner George Dunn came down yesterday afternoon after grabbing his 498th summit of Mt. Rainier. He took up several Boy Scouts and their parents on a 3-day climb, and after a couple nights at Camp Muir he and his team summitted in some great weather.

George will head up for 499 on July 21.

500 awaits…

Tye Chapman

Friday Photo Of The Day – African Safari

July 9, 2010

IMG Guide and professional photographer Adam Angel snapped this photo on his latest Kilimanjaro Climb and Safari.

Don't mess with Texas...or this lion! (Photo: Adam Angel).

Rainier Updates

July 8, 2010

We heard from several of our Rainier teams this morning:

Andy called in from the summit with his Kautz team! We’d been shut down our previous two trips on the Kautz so this is excellent news! Andy also informed us that our Emmons team summitted this morning as well – he relayed a radio message from Anne who was descending down the Emmons by 8:30am.

Over at Camp Muir our DC team is training today before they head up to The Flats this afternoon. If all goes as planned they’ll be climbing late tonight and into tomorrow morning.

All is well on Mt. Rainier!

Tye Chapman

Denali Summit!

July 6, 2010

After several days at High Camp, IMG Partner Phil Ershler called in to let us know that he and his team summitted! They were at 14,000ft on their way down when he called. IMG Guide Greg Vernovage’s team tagged the top alongside Phil’s team.

Phil said there was rough weather on summit day but it all worked out.

They are all heading to the NE Fork tonight hoping to get flown out tomorrow in a small window of forecasted high pressure.

Nice work everybody – the few extra days at High Camp were worth it!

George Dunn

Question Of The Day: What Do I Climb After Rainier?

July 4, 2010

The base of Breithorn, IMG guide Jeff Ward on the right. (photo: Tracy Purcell)

We get this question quite frequently… The answer depends on your goals and objectives. For additional experience on glaciated peaks that get you a few thousand feet higher than Rainier, consider the Mexican Volcanoes, the Ecuador Volcanoes, Mt Elbrus (Russia),Â Classic Climbs in the Alps, and our Alaskan Ascents in Wrangell/St. Elias National Park. For additional skill training, consider our Expedition Seminars on Rainier or our popular climbs in the North Cascades.

: Tiger’s Nest Monastery (Bhutan).

If you prefer to just walk up to higher altitude without dealing with crampons and ice axes, then any of our treks like: Kilimanjaro, Bhutan, Machu Picchu or Everest Base Camp would be a great fit as all of these treks combine lots of walking with high mountains and great cultural opportunities.