March 31, 2009
Expedition Leader Eric Simonson called in a few minutes ago (roughly 6am Nepal time) to relay that the group was in Pangboche (3930m) and will make the move to Pheriche (4240m) today. A scheduled rest day tomorrow will give the team the opportunity to take a small hike and check out the Himalayan Rescue Association‘s clinic in Pheriche..
Everybody is doing just fine… weather has been cold and clear in the mornings with some light snow in the afternoons.
March 30, 2009
IMG Partner & Whitney Program Director George Dunn called in today to let us know that the his team summitted yesterday… 8 for 8 on top! The weather was warm down low but some strong winds (40-50mph) higher up on the mountain made for a COLD summit day…. The good news is that snow conditions on the upper mountain were perfect!
Whitney Info
Mt. Whitney, at 14,495 feet is the highest peak in the lower 48 states.Techniques used and introduced on this climb include running belays and fixed line work. We use expedition camping skills and bring the same equipment that we would use on a summer climb of Mt. Rainier. In addition, we typically use snowshoes on the approach hike up to high camp.
Day 1: Approach hike to 10,300ft.
Day 2: Move to high camp at 12,200ft
Day 3: Summit day & back to high camp.
Day 4: Hike out.
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Tye Chapman
IMG Operations Manager
March 25, 2009
The entire IMG team has now reached Kathmandu and everyone is doing fine.
Last night we had a big team meeting and welcome dinner which was a great chance to finally meet everyone in person.
On March 23rd IMG guides Justin Merle and Mike Hamill spent 5 hours at the Ministry of Tourism and received our Everest permits. IMG was the first Everest expedition of 2009 to get permits and we will be the first to start towards Everest Base Camp. On the 24th the Singapore Women’s Team flew to Lukla and began their trek and this morning (the 25th) Mike Hamill and Paul and Louis are flying to Lukla. The rest of the team is working on gear prep and final packing in preparation for our early morning Lukla flight tomorrow, the morning of the 26th.
Ang Pasang called from Pangboche yesterday to report that the IMG sherpa team at Base Camp are doing great and that our camp prep and set up is coming along nicely. We’ll have a nice layout waiting for us when we get there. We are still the only team at EBC, but I am sure that will change soon. Ang Pasang said that the Icefall Doctors (who will work for the SPCA putting in the icefall route) are leaving Namche today for EBC and will be there in two days.
We’ll stay in touch…
Eric Simonson
Expedition Leader
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Full coverage, photos and more detailed information on this year’s expedition.
Monday, March 23 2009
Eric Simonson writes:
I wanted to take a minute to summarize where we ended up on the spring Cho Oyu climb: We waited as long as we could for confirmation from the Chinese that the Cho Oyu permit and visa would be available, but were unable to get this nailed down, so we decided to offer Lhotse to our Cho Oyu climbers and trekkers. Of the 9 climbers on the spring Cho Oyu team, six will go to Lhotse, the others opted to try for Cho Oyu in the autumn, when we expect it to be re-opened! The trekkers will come to Everest Base Camp (it is also the BC for Lhotse) and then they will return via the Gokyo Trek over Cho La pass—a very nice loop trek that goes right next to the Nepal side of Cho Oyu.
We’ll look forward to welcoming IMG Leader Greg Vernovage and the Lhotse team to Base Camp! Tye will be working with the team to update the IMG Blog and also the Newsletters for family and friends. If you would like to have these sent to you direct by e mail, please register for them at: http://visitor.constantcontact.com/email.jsp?m=1101602842895
THANKS!!
Eric Simonson
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Cho Oyu
Elevation: 8201m
Location: Tibet
First Climbed: 1954
World’s 6th Highest Mountain
Lhotse
Elevation: 8516m
Location: Nepal
First Climbed: 1956
World’s 4th Highest Mountain
Friday, March 20
IMG Guides Mark Tucker, Justin Merle and Mike Hamill are en route to Kathmandu (KTM)… IMG Partner and Everest Program Director Eric Simonson will join them a day later.
Our climbers and trekkers will begin arriving in KTM on March 24th, after a layover day in KTM and a short flight to Lukla, the 12 day walk to Everest Base Camp begins…
For full Expedition Coverage follow the link below.
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Tye Chapman
Operations Manager
Tuesday, March 17 2009
View other IMG videos in our Video Gallery.
If you have video of other IMG climbs send them our way… Send links to office@mountainguides.com
Or send your CD’s to:
International Mountain Guides
PO Box 246
Ashford, WA 98304
Friday, March 13 2009
IMG Himalayan Director Eric Simonson and IMG Guides Mark Tucker (Everest), Mike Hamill (Everest), and Greg Vernovage (Cho Oyu) packed some last minute expedition food and snacks yesterday. After a huge shopping trip to Costco, they spent the rest of the day removing all the extra cardboard and packaging just to repack everything into easy to carry yak loads.
Now the food duffels are all ready to send to the airport and ship to Nepal. Once in Nepal they’ll be sent to Shyangboche by helicopter and put straight on the yaks… then it’s off to Base Camp!
Photos:
Top Left: Mark Tucker packing for yet another Everest Expedition. Mark is a seasoned veteran of our Everest Expeditions, and a well known face at EBC. He is often called the “Mayor of Base Camp”.
Top Right: Greg Vernovage (left) will be leading our Cho Oyu team this Spring. And Mike Hamill (right) is heading back to Everest for the second straight year. Mike is a seasoned international climber having spent over 200 days outside of the US last year.
Bottom Left: IMG Partner and Himalayan Director Eric Simonson and daughter Audrey with the van all loaded up.
Bottom Right: A yak (unnamed).
Thursday, March 12 2009
From time to time I’ll bring you a feature on one of our guides.
Today’s feature: Justin Merle (pronounced Mer-lee).
Justin will be heading back to guide Everest for us this year. “Merle”, as he’s called, has been spending a lot of time in Nepal these days. Last spring he successfully guided Everest, he then returned to Nepal in the autumn to guide the IMG team to the summit of Ama Dablam… and now he’s heading back.
Justin was in La Grande, OR earlier today when I caught up with him. He’s making his way form Ouray, CO, where he was ice guiding this winter, to Portland, OR to visit some friends before he leaves for Kathmandu next Friday.
In catching up with Merle I asked what he’s looking forward to on Everest this year?
Merle says, “I’m looking forward to seeing my friends. It’s strange to think that I have to travel to Everest Base Camp to catch up with some of my closest friends. It’s going to be a busy place (EBC) this year but I’m going to enjoy crushing the likes of IMG Guide Mark Tucker and Ang Jangbu Sherpa at the poker table.”
Justin remarked that will also enjoy climbing and guiding Mt. Everest.
Justin’s Bio
Justin grew up climbing in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest. He began guiding in 1999 and now shares his passion for the mountains on climbs all over the world. He has climbed Mount Rainier over 100 times and guided successful expeditions on Mt. McKinley, Mt. Vinson and Aconcagua. Since his first trip to the Himalayas in 2003 guiding Cho Oyu for IMG, he’s returned to guide five more expeditions including Ama Dablam and Everest which he has summited twice. Lately Justin spends the spring and fall guiding in the Himalayas, summer on Rainier and other Cascades peaks, as well as winter guiding ice climbs in Ouray, Colorado or guiding abroad in South America, Africa or Antarctica. He has a B.A. in Geology and has maintained WFR and OEC medical certifications, as well as a CAA Level 1 avalanche cert. When not guiding, he spends his free time climbing rock and ice, running, cycling, skiing, and even resting on occasion.
Justin In The News:
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Tye Chapman
Operations Manager
Tuesday, March 10 2009
Things are starting to ramp up around IMG Headquarters these days…
But busy days means happy climbers and that’s the business we’re in!
Tye Chapman
Operations Manager
On most of our climbs we take care of your breakfast and dinners so all you’re in charge of is providing your lunch snacks throughout the day. Keep in mind that there is typically no actual sit-down lunch hour, unless you’re on one of our treks where lunch is incorporated into the daily schedule.
On our climbs we’re typically eating throughout the day… We always say that lunch takes place when breakfast ends and ends when dinner is served. With this in mind you should bring foods that are easy to snack on and don’t require a lot of assembly.
Ok so here’s the deal – don’t spend a ton of time counting the calories but +/- 1500 calories of personal food per day is about average for snack intake. Bringing foods that you are familiar with and enjoy is where your focus should be. Remember just because you’re in the mountains doesn’t mean you have to eat pounds of trail mix and bag after bag of almonds. Mix it up and bring foods you know you’ll eat, even if the altitude has temporarily stolen your appetite. Oh yeah – spoil yourself – adults like candy too! Keep “summit day” in mind… you’ll need some food that is easy to access and doesn’t freeze to the point that it’s not edible.
Check out what some of our guides like to eat when climbing.
Pictured above: IMG guides Aaron Mainer (left) and Eben Reckord (right) cooking dinner in the Weatherport at Camp Muir on Mt. Rainier.
Tye Chapman
Operations Manager
