Everest, Cho Oyu & Mount Rainier Updates

April 12, 2010

Climbs and expeditions have rest days but they don’t take weekends off… Here’s a snapshot into a few expeditions over the weekend.

Everest

IMG’s Ang Jangbu and Mike Hamill report from Base Camp that the Hybrid team and remainder of the Sherpas all arrived yesterday and they are doing well. We have our 2010 climbers and Sherpas at the spacious and clean IMG Base Camp site, which is a 10 minute hike below the traditional campsite in a place with good tent sites and good cleanÂ water. (Full update on the 2010 Everest Expedition Coverage Page).

Cho Oyu

IMG leader Eric Remza reports that the team had a good acclimatization hike yesterday, climbing to over 15,400 feet on a ridge above Tingri. From there they had great views of Everest and Cho Oyu.

(Full update on the 2010 Cho Oyu Expedition Coverage Page).

Mt. Rainier

After a solid gear check and some training on site here at HQ yesterday, the Denali Prep Seminar loaded into the van and headed up to Paradise today. From Paradise they’ll make their way to their first camp near Panorama Point where they’ll set up a Denali style camp, and time permitting, they’ll do some Avy Beacon training this afternoon.Â If the weather holds they’ll head for Camp Muir tomorrow… Stay tuned.

Tye Chapman

Himalayan Teams Report In

April 9, 2010

Reports from Nepal and Tibet.

Everest -Â Icefall route now open, Camp 1 and 2 sites claimed.

Ang Jangbu reports from Everest Base Camp that the Icefall Doctors set the last five ladder sections today and that the route is now open. When that happens, it is like dropping the green flag at a Nascar race, with everyone putting peddle to the metal to get good camp sites! Â Jangbu had Mingma Tenzing and Karma Rita, two of our fastest Sherpas, lined up to lead the charge for our team up to C1 and C2, and they have now claimed our sites at those camps. The plan now is…(Read the full dispatch on the Everest Update Page).

Cho Oyu – Team Reaches Nylam

IMG leader Eric Remza reports that the team has now reached Nylam, and are doing well.Â After coming up the famous Bhote Kosi valley road from Zhangmu (with its thousand foot drops down to the river), Nylam makes the very beginning of Tibetan villages and farming.Â At over 12,000 feet,Â Nylam is a perfect elevation for a couple acclimatization days, with some nice hiking in the area to stretch the legs…Â (Read the full dispatch on the Cho Oyu Update Page).

Eric Simonson

Cho Oyu Team In China

April 8, 2010

Eric Remza reports that the Cho Oyu team is nowÂ in Zhangmu.Â EverybodyÂ made it over the boarder without issue and everyone is doing well. The team enjoyed a delightful dinner this evening (local time) and will depart for Nylam early tomorrow morning.

Full Cho Oyu Expedition Coverage

Tye Chapman

Cho Oyu Team Is On The Way

April 7, 2010

Their Chinese visas in hand, the Cho Oyu team is on the way!Â The sherpas loaded the big container truck this afternoon with all the food and equipment and Tashi Tsering headed out with this load, heading for Lamusangu.Â IMG guide Eric Remza and the team members, along with Panuru, Mingma Ongel, Phunuru, Nawang Younden, and Pasang Nuri, leave in the morning in a big bus for Kodari, where they will link up with the truck.Â At Kodari they will exit Nepal and cross the Friendship Bridge into China, then climb up the big hill to the town of Zhangmu where they will spend the night.Â Then, it is on to the towns of Nyalam and Tingri over the next few days, as they slowly acclimatize on their trip to Cho Oyu Base Camp.

International Mountain Guides Cho Oyu Team

(Left to Right) Gordon Gears, Ted Hedberg, Christopher Lane, Bill McGahan, Eric Remza, Gene Pelizzoni, Brian McEachern, Kerrie McMartin (Photo: Eric Simonson)

Eric Simonson

Whitney Team Summits In Deep Snow

April 5, 2010

George called in from the ski slopes of Mammoth Lakes this morning where he’s taking a small family vacation after a couple winter climbs of Whitney.

He said his last climb summitted in some epic (but safe) conditions! They had 9 of 12 on top – unfortunately one team member had to head downhill due to some health concerns.Â So one of the guides along with climber Chuck Norman, who is a trained U.S. Coast Guard Nurse, descended with the climber – all turned out to be just fine.Â A big ‘thank you’ to Chuck for giving up his chance at the summit to assist in getting one of his fellow teammates downhill. We’ll see you next year Chuck – it’s on us of course!

We have one more climb on the mountain who is currently camped at Lower Boy Scout Lake. They’ll make the most of their time on the mountain by training as the conditions on the upper mountain are not conducive to climbing.Â That’s life in the mountains!

Tye Chapman

Win A Free Rainier Climb In 2011

April 2, 2010

With just a few spots still available this year on Rainier (May 17 and May 19) a lot of climbers are already looking at 2011… And while we can’t sell our 2011 spots just yet we’ve hooked up with our friends at Outdoor Research and are giving one away!

Click below to enter!

Open to residents of the fifty (50) United States (excluding RI) and District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec), 21 or older. Void where prohibited. To enter, visit www.outdoorresearch.com and follow the directions to enter online between 12:01 a.m. (PT) on 4/1/2010 and 11:59 p.m. (PT) on 9/30/2010. Winners will be selected by random drawing on or about 10/5/2010 and notifi ed by certifi ed mail or e-mail on or about 10/10/2010. Grand Prize (1 winner): roundtrip airfare from major airport in U.S. or Canada to Seattle, WA; 3 or 4-day guided Mt. Rainier climbing trip by International Mountain Guides, LLC; 1 night lodging at a Seattle hotel; tour of Sponsor headquarters; and shell jacket/pants, soft shell jacket/pants, insulation layers, gloves, headwear, and gaiters (approx. retail value: $3,500 total). Second Place Prizes (2 winners): embroidered Mithril soft shell jacket (approx. retail value: $199 each). Third Place Prizes (5 winners): Arete Gore-Tex Gloves (approx. retail value: $89 each). Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received. Sweepstakes subject to Official Rules. Details and qualifications for participation apply.

Everest Climbers Ready To Start

Last night we had our Welcome Dinner for the team. It was a fun evening to get to know everyone and get the trip off to a good start. So far everything has been going really smoothly here in Nepal. The team members have all arrived to Nepal on time with no missing luggage. We have now collected from the team members their base camp duffel bags (with the gear not required until reaching the mountain) and our head cook Kaji and his kitchen team have been packing fresh food and vegetables. The last 3300kg of food and gear will go tomorrow on our final helicopter charter to Shyangboche, then direct to EBC on the yaks. This morning (the 31st in Nepal) Mike Hamill and the Hybrid team left at 5am for the airport and the flight to Lukla. The first group is on the way!!

Eric Simonson

Just a reminder to follow our full Everest Coverage here:

Whitney Team #2 Summits

March 30, 2010

IMG Partner Geo Dunn called in today to report that Whitney Team #2 made the top yesterday. 12 for 12 on top! Way to go team!

George is heading back up for his second go around on Whitney tomorrow. Go get em guys.

Tye Chapman

Denali Prep Seminar Delayed…But Happy

March 30, 2010

A big weather system settled in the Pacific Northwest these past few days and has dumped several feet of snow in the Cascades! Great for the skiers but not so great for the first day of our Denali Prep Seminar which was scheduled to get started yesterday.

With the roads inside Mt. Rainier National Park locked down for the day, our guides and climbers made the most of the day by training here at IMG yesterday. Over the course of the day the team worked on crevasse rescue techniques, self extraction from a crevasse (prussiking out) and some avalanche beacon fundamentals. They ended the training day with an obstacle course which put some of the skills they talked about and practiced earlier in the day to use.

The obstacle course events were:
1.) Prussiking up a rope
2.) Dragging a sled 50 yards in snowshoes
3.) Putting on crampons for inspection
4.) Tying 4 knots: overhand, figure eight, clove hitch and a butterfly
5.) And some bouldering on our rock wall in their double boots.

Congratulations to our winner Dave who walked away with an IMG t-shirt for his efforts!

The guides wrapped up the evening by whipping up some chicken curry and rice noodles for everybody up in the guide lounge.

Everybody’s good spirits yesterday paid off today when the park opened the gates at 11:00am this morning!

UPDATE: Lead guide Erica Engle just called in from their camp at 6500ft – all is well! It’s snowing but that’s a good thing!

Tye Chapman

Whitney Wrap-up

March 29, 2010

We had a great summit day! The route was in excellent condition and the weather was very good – a bit windy and cold, but mostly good.

The team departed high camp at 12,000 feet about an hour before sunrise. Unfortunately, one member elected to remain back in camp due to a knee injury. The rest of the team climbed well and we made good time up to Iceberg Lake just before dawn. We climbed up into the Mountaineersâ€™ Gulley finding good firm conditions up to 35 degrees in angle. At the â€œNotchâ€, the top of the gulley at 14,000 feet, the team rested while the guides fixed the climbing ropes for the final thee rope lengths of steeper terrain. The first section included some rock scrambling, the second pitch was moderate snow and the third pitch was up to 55 degrees in steepness, but good step kicking in soft snow. The team all topped out by approximately 11:30 a.m. We all enjoyed the view up on top, rested and ate lunch, then were lowered by the guides back down to the notch. This was perhaps the busiest I have ever seen the route, it seems to be growing in popularity this time of year. As usual, the different climbing parties were friendly and worked together to minimize congestion. We did our part by assisting two individuals descend to the notch.

We had an easy descent of the main gulley and reached camp by about 4:30pm for a well deserved dinner and good nights sleep.

Conditions were as good as I have seen them on the route this year, snow conditions were generally excellent and the weather was perfect.

We passed climb IMG #2 during our descent. They are resting at high camp (Sunday March28) and will summit today.

I head back up again on our climb starting April 1 and can’t wait.

George Dunn

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