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.

Ershler & Co. Moving To High Camp Tomorrow

July 1, 2010

Denali West Buttress Route

Phil just called in from Camp 3 (14,000ft.) on Denali … The team carried to High Camp yesterday and is enjoying rest day today. They plan on moving up to High Camp (17,000ft.) in the morning.

The weather is ok with some winds up high on the mountain – “nothing too bad though”.

Fellow IMG Guide Greg Vernovage and his Czech Republic team have found themselves on the same schedule as Phil and will head up to High Camp tomorrow as well.

IMG Guide Eben Reckord and his team summitted yesterday.

Nice work everybody!

Tye Chapman

IMG Buff Now Available

June 30, 2010

International Mountain Guides Buff in detail.

You asked for it… so here it is!

The Buff is one of the most functional pieces of clothing on any gear list. If you’re facing some windy conditions on “The Top of the Cleaver”, some harsh sun at the South Col or some dusty conditions on Aconcagua the Buff sure comes in handy.
Not required in the mountains, but darn close!

IMG on Denali

June 29, 2010

IMG partner Phil Ershler called down on the sat phone from 14,000 to say that everything was going well for our team on Denali.Â Tomorrow they are planning to do a carry up to 17,000 feet.Â Â We have a couple other IMG guides, Eben Reckord and Greg Vernovage, also on the mountain right now, guiding trips for AMS, while Aaron Mainer and Mike Hamill came off recently with their Denali teams.Â Mike mentioned that he had just caught a 23 pound king salmon on light gear during his post-climb fishing expedition!

–Eric Simonson

JanSport Goes 2 for 2

June 23, 2010

Both JanSport teams heading to the trailhead earlier today.

IMG Chief Guide and Partner George Dunn led our second JanSport team to the summit early this morning.Â It was cold and windy in the early morning hours on Mt. Rainier, but that wasn’t enough to stop them from tagging the top.Â So if you’re doing the math that make 16 summits – 6 on top yesterday (Emmons) and another 10 summits today via the Ingraham Direct. Congrats to all the JanSport climbers and IMG Guides – nice work!

Skip and Co. getting some work done while enjoying a Rainier Beer (or two).

Skip Yowell, Co-founder of JanSport, is here today and congratulated the teams when they pulled into HQ this afternoon.Â Earlier today he and a few members of his staff took advantage of the sun and got some work done…yes those are Rainier Beers on the table.

Right now all the climbers are showering up, taking naps and getting ready for the annual JanSport party tonight. Now the fun begins!

Tye Chapman

JanSport Emmons Team Summits!

June 22, 2010

IMG Guide John Race called in from the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning! They reached the top at roughly 8:00am this morning. Below are some pics…enjoy!

Pulling into a break.

Summit Morning

Getting closer.

Crater rim.

Summit chicken?

The DC JanSport team reached The Flats this afternoon and are lieing down for a nap before their rude awakening at 10:30pm tonight for a midnight start time. If all goes as planned they’ll reach the top early tomorrow morning…

Stay tuned.

Tye Chapman

Rainier Climbers Resting For The Night

June 21, 2010

Our teams on Rainier are at their camps and getting as much rest as possible.

Camp Schurman (9500ft)

Our Emmons Team made it to Camp Schurman (9500ft.) in good form this afternoon and after a rice noodle stir fry dinner they hit the hay pretty early to get some sleep before their alpine start tomorrow morning. If all goes as planned they’ll hit the summit around daybreak tomorrow. Hopefully the weather cooperates with the plan!

JanSport Climbers in the IMG Weatherport

On the other side of the mountain our Disappointment Cleaver, or more appropriately our Ingraham Direct team, pulled into Camp Muir (10,000ft.) around 4pm today. A nice day on the Muir snowfield was followed by some burritos, hot drinks and some George Dunn and Jason Edwards climbing stories.Â They’ll wake-up to some pancakes and bacon then head up to The Flats (11,000ft.) after some training.

Both teams can be followed on our Spot Adventures page

All is well on Mt. Rainier!

Tye Chapman

JanSport Climbers On The Move

June 21, 2010

Our JanSport climbers are on the move on Mt. Rainier and thanks to the nice guys over at Spot Adventures, who gave us several SPOT Satellite GPS Messengers for our climbers, you can now follow their progress as they climb the two different routes. Click the map below to track their climb.

SPOT Tracking of our JanSport Climbers on Mt. Rainier