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

Kili Team Summits!

June 21, 2010

The summit of Africa is just a few steps away...

IMG guide Adam Angel reports that the entire team reached the summit of Kili this morning and they have now descended back down to Mweka Camp.Â They started climbing about midnight and reached the top shortly after dawn.Â It sounds like it was a gorgeous summit day, with blue sky and a little fresh snow on the route to make everything look pristine.Â After a well earned rest tonight at Mweka, they will descend to the trailhead in the morning, where they check out with the Kili Park rangers and then head to the hotel for showers and beer!

Eric Simonson

JanSport Climbers Having Fun

June 20, 2010

IMG Guide Anne Keller celebrates her birthday. (Photo: John Race - iPhone)

Just got word from our JanSport Team over on the Emmons… They’re all settled in at their first camp on the Inter Glacier (7800ft.).Â Not that they need more to celebrate, but it’s Anne’s (guide) birthday. Fellow guide John Race was kind enough to bring along a little cake to help celebrate the day. They’ll move on up to Camp Schurman tomorrow morning and if all goes as planned they’ll summit Tuesday morning.

On the other side of the mountain our Disappointment Cleaver team enjoyed a nice day outside practicing their skills in a Mountain Day School led by George Dunn and Jason Edwards. Geo and Jason have over 800 Rainier summits between them so the team was in good hands!Â They will enjoy a nice dinner tonight and one more night at Paradise before heading up to Camp Muir tomorrow morning.

Jansport Emmons Team In The Cook Tent) - (Photo: John Race - iPhone)

Jansport Emmons Team At Camp 1 (Inter Glacier 7800') - (Photo: John Race - iPhone)

More to come…

Tye Chapman

Kili Team Reaches High Camp

June 20, 2010

International Mountain Guides Kilimanjaro climbers en route to high camp.

Yesterday the Kili crew had a good day hiking from Barancco to Karanga, beneath the glaciers that spill down the south side of Kilimanjaro.Â This is one of our all time favorite days high altitude hiking, as the trail traverses the slopes of Kili.Â The team reached Karanga camp (about 13,000â€™) just in time, as an afternoon shower pelted them shortly after arrival.Â Later, it cleared up and IMG leader Adam Angel reports that there was some fresh snow deposited up high on the mountain.Â After a good night, today the team moved to Barafu (about 15,000â€™), arriving in time for lunch and a good afternoon of rest.Â After getting all packed up for the climb this afternoon, and an early dinner and bedtime, the plan is to start climbing about midnight.Â So far everything is going well and the team is looking forward to tomorrow.

Eric Simonson

Kili Team At Barranco Camp

June 18, 2010

Barranco Camp (13,000â€™) with the Breech Wall in the background.

Adam Angel reports that the entire team had a good day of hiking today.Â From Shira Plateau they climbed to over 14,500â€™ below Lava Tower, then dropped down to Barancco Camp (about 13,000 feet) where they are now situated.Â Tomorrow they climb up the steep trail over Barancco Wall to Karanga Valley, a delightful section of hiking.Â So far so good!

Eric Simonson

New Partnership With JanSport

June 18, 2010

Phil Ershler descending from the North Col after summiting Everest in 1984

We’re happy to announce a new partnership with JanSport, the original outdoor gear brand that equips people globally with quality backpacks, travel gear and collegiate apparel.

While our official partnership with JanSport might be new, it’s no secret that we’ve known Skip and the JanSport team since the 1970’s. JanSport built the very first dome tents, some of the first modern backpacks, and crafted our first down suits for our expeditions on Everest in the early 80’s.

JanSport has a strong and storied connection to Mt. Rainier and we’re happy to continue that connection with the 38th annual JanSport Climb. We’ll actually have two separate teams on the mountain (June 19-23) – one team will be on the Disappointment Cleaver route while the other will be on the Emmons route. These two teams will reach the summit on different days but exit on the same day ensuring plenty of stories at the annual JanSport Party here in Ashford.

These two climbs can be followed on IMG’s and JanSport’s Blogs.

DC Team Summits, Kautz and Emmons Turned Around

June 17, 2010

Our Rainier teams reported in this morning…

Phil and his team summitted on the DC, but the Kautz and Emmons teams turned around. Low visibility and tough navigation for the Emmons team and some unstable snow condition for our Kautz crew, but all are back at their camps safe and sound. They’ll take advantage of the day and do some training before descending tomorrow morning.

Moving uphill today is another DC team, this time led by Mark Allen. Cooler than normal temps are foretasted along with some precipitation… but that’s nothing new for this spring if you’ve been keeping up with the Rainier weather!

That’s all for now…

Tye Chapman