Gear Question Of The Day: Does my down jacket need a hood?

May 6, 2010

The short answer is yes.

The long answer is:Â if you have a good hat system (wool hat, balaclava, and a buff) you can get by without it on Mt. Rainier. But go anywhere else outside of Mt. Rainier (Aconcagua, Ecuador, Kili, Bona, Denali, etc.) and you’ll absolutely need a hood. My advice: buy it once and buy it right.

Over the years we’ve had a couple different guide issue “parkas” a.k.a.”puffys” and they’ve been great:

Outdoor Resarch Chaos: This is our rental parka and it’s been bombproof for us 3 years running now! Waterproof and synthetic fill = great for the Pacific Northwest climate. Check out the fancy IMG Custom Embroidery.

Outdoor Research Virtuoso – A great summer Rainier jacket. 650-fill down = light and warm! The fully insulated hood is a great touch. Our guides lived in this jacket last summer.

That’s all for now.

Tye Chapman

First Everest Summits Of 2010

May 4, 2010

IMG deputy leader Ang Jangbu Sherpa reports that the following IMG sherpas reached the summit of Mount Everest between 11:25-11:30 AM on Wednesday, May 5, 2010 (local time):

1) Nima Karma Sherpa (Phortse)

2) Phu Tshering (Phortse)

3) Phinjo Dorje (Pangboche)

They fixed rope from South Col to Balcony yesterday and finished fixing all the way to the summit today along with three sherpas from two other teams: HIMEX and AAI.Â Congrats to all nine of these guys, great work.

The door is now OPEN for other teams!

Jangbu

May 4th… More Like February 4th!

May 4, 2010

It’s Work Week around IMG Headquarters this week… IMG Guides Austin Shannon and Tyler Gimenez are here helping us get this place in summer shape. The problem:Â some of the items on the “To Do List” are going to be a little tough with the 2 straight days of snow, sleet, hail and freezing rain here in Ashford!

Such is life in the mountains.

Next climb: Liberty Ridge on May 16th. Then the 3-day climbs begin on May 17th. It’s time to start climbing!

Tye Chapman

Weekend Wrap-up

May 3, 2010

Denali Prep Seminar – The team wrapped up the 6.5 day seminar on Saturday by walking down the Muir Snowfield in near white out conditions. Winds gusting to 60mph knocked them around a bit but nothing they couldn’t handle. They pulled into the parking lot at Paradise around 11am… An hour down to Ashford and at the Copper Creek having lunch by 1:00pm.Â They didn’t tag the top but learned a ton along the way! Nice work everybody.

Everest – We had 14 sherpas carry to camp 3 today to finish building that camp and support the move up there by the Hybrid team today, for their overnight. The rest of the team has split into three groups and is also moving up towards C3. Greg moved to C2 today with the lead group, we have more climbers at C1 tonight going to C2 tomorrow, and Justin moves up to C1 tomorrow with the last group. (Full dispatch available on the Everest Expedition Coverage Page).

Cho Oyu – IMG leader Eric Remza reports that after several rest days back at ABC after their last rotation, and several days of snow and wind, the weather is now looking better and the plan for the team now is to head back up to Camp 1. From there the plan is to try to go to Camp 2 the next day, and see how the weather looks at that point before making a decision to stay up and make a summit bid or come back down and wait. We’ll keep youÂ posted! (Full Expedition Coverage Here).

Denali Prep Seminar Turns Above Beehive

April 30, 2010

Jeff Ward called in today from above the Beehive on Rainier to report good conditions early but as the team climbed higher on the mountain the snow conditions were less and less favorable.Â Safety first; summit second.Â They opted to return to Camp Muir where they’ll focus on crevasse rescue and navigation this afternoon.

After an afternoon of training they’ll spend their last night at Camp Muir before coming down in the morning to a comfortable pair of shoes and a well deserved shower!

All is well on Mt. Rainier!

Tye Chapman

Denali Prep Seminar Will Take A Look

April 29, 2010

IMG Guide Eric Gullickson reports from Camp Muir that the team spent the day training with a focus on fixed line ascent and descent. While the team trained, IMG Guides Jeff Ward and Austin Shannon scouted the standard route up the Ingraham Glacier. Their report: snow conditions not favorable for climbing.

Plan B is to check out Gib Ledges, a popular winter route, to see if it is a safe option. The team will eat an early dinner tonight, get some rest and wake up early to take a look at the weather, and then see if Gib Ledges is a viable option in these snow conditions… If not, the team will return to Camp Muir for some more training.

Current conditions: in/out of clouds with light precip and light winds.

More tomorrow…

Tye Chapman

Denali Seminar At Camp Muir

April 28, 2010

The Denali Seminar spent their first night at camp near Pan. Point but not without some excitement…Monday evening our team was notified by Mt. Rainier National Park of an accident near Camp Muir. Two independent climbers, attempting to get to Camp Muir on Monday, in near white out conditions, walked off a cornice near Anvil Rock and tumbled into a crevasse on the Cowlitz Glacier. The two climbers survived the night and were rescued early Tuesday morning by several NPS Rangers with backup from two of our guides from the seminar. More NPS Rangers and AAI guides hiked up from Paradise to provide support, but the weather broke enough for the rescued climbers to be flown off the mountain late Tuesday morning.

IMG Guides Jeff Ward and Austin Shannon, who left early Tuesday morning to aid in the rescue, were reunited at Camp Muir by fellow guides Eric Gullickson and Tyler Gimenez and the rest of the Denali Seminar Team Tuesday afternoon. The team spent today doing some training near Camp Muir. The weather forecast continues to be marginal, but that won’t stop the team from their training focus.

Mt. Rainier Forecast

Tye Chapman

Final Denali Prep Seminar At First Camp

April 26th, 2010

Just off the radio with IMG Guide Eric Gullickson who reports that the team has pulled into their first camp below Pan. Point. The freezing level is dropping and snow is starting to fall.

They’re dug in and ready for the weather if it comes tonight/tom,orrow… if not they’ll pull the trigger and head to Camp Muir (10,000ft) tomorrow morning.Â Either way they’ll learn some valuable lessons directly applicable to any climb of Denali.

Tye Chapman

Everest Update

April 22, 2010

Ang Jangbu reports from IMG Base Camp that Greg Vernovage and many of the sherpa guided climbers went to C1 this morning, and the Hybrid group moved up to C2. We expect the rest of the climbers to be moving up to C1 in the next few days, as the first Everest rotations continue… (Full Everest Expedition Coverage Here).

â€”Eric Simonson

P.S. Phil called in yesterday to say hello and relay a big “Happy Birthday” message to Natalie from Martin, one of our Everest Express climbers.

Expedition Updates: Rainier, Everest & Cho Oyu

April 19, 2010

Mt. Rainier Denali Prep Seminar Wrap-up

Our latest Denali Prep Seminar wrapped up on Saturday after several days of training out of Camp Muir. They covered ascending fixed ropes, crevasse rescue, snow cave digging, building proper anchor systems, sled rigging and use, as well as glacier travel and route finding. While the snow and weather conditions didn’t permit a summit attempt they had a blast and learned a ton which was crucial as severalÂ of them are heading north to Denali later this year! Nice work last week and good luck on Denali everybody!

Everest – Upper Mountain Rope Fixing Meeting at Base Camp

Ang Jangbu reports that everything is going well on Everest, with the IMG C3/Express/Lhotse climbers now back at Base Camp. The Sherpas have set up a practice ladder and rope course out on the glacier, and members have been training on this to make sure they have their gear and techniques all fine-tuned for when they hit the Icefall in a coupleÂ days… (Full update on Everest Expedition Coverage Page).

Cho Oyu – The Expedition Puja

Hello to everyone following IMG’s 2010 Spring Cho Oyu expedition. We just completed our 2nd full rest day here at Advanced Base Camp (ABC), and everyone is doing well. This morning we had our Puja, which is a Buddhist ceremony to bless our team and allow us safe passage in the days ahead. It was wonderful to watch our Sherpa team get everything ready this morning which included making Tsampa cakes and decorating our puja alter. You can tell they are really excited about all of this, and everyone pitched in as we strung out prayer flags in three directions from theÂ Stupa.Â (Full update on the Cho Oyu Expedition Coverage Page).

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