April 15, 2021

Summit Panorama from Lobuche (Phunuru Sherpa)

Team 2 Puja (Kevin Kayl)

Team 2 started the day with another Puja under beautiful skies.  Team Leader Kevin Kayl reports the team is doing great after a couple days of good training and a few nights of good sleep at Everest Base Camp.  After the Puja, the team headed down valley to Lobuche Base Camp to prepare for their climb.  Our Trekking Team also headed out and trekked down as far as Lobuche Village before saying farewell to the climbers and continuing to Pheriche.  The Team 2 climbers will head to High Camp in the morning to get in position for an alpine start the next day, while the Trekkers will continue to Namche, this time via Tengboche to visit the famous monastery on their way downhill.

After their successful Lobuche summits yesterday, Team 1 had a casual morning at Lobuche Base Camp, enjoying an extra cup of tea or coffee and celebrating their climb.  Then, after packing up, Team 1 trekked back to EBC, bringing with them some new photos from their Lobuche climb.  They will now enjoy a couple well deserved rest days before preparing to do their Dry Run up the Khumbu Icefall.

All is well in the Khumbu Valley!

Greg Vernovage

April 9, 2021

2021 Everest Panorama (Ang Jangbu Sherpa)

IMG Expedition Leader Jonathan Schrock checked in with great news from Everest Base Camp.  Team 1 pulled into EBC at the six hour mark.  Everyone is happy to be at Base Camp with a full belly from Kaji’s cooking.  All members of the IMG Team, including climbers, trekkers and Nepalese staff have been tested for COVID-19 several times along the way to EBC and results have all been negative.  We will continue to be strict with our protocols.

Morning view of EBC with Everest (Ang Jangbu Sherpa)

The early season weather is showing normal patterns according to Jonathan.  Calm, clear mornings; perfect for trekking and then slowly trending to slightly overcast with a breeze in the afternoon.

Trekking through Gorakshep (Jonathan Schrock)

Team 2 had a great day trekking from Pheriche to Lobuche Base Camp and everyone is doing well and settling in for a few nights.  The lodges we visit during the trek are great but there is something about moving into tents at Lobuche Base Camp and having our own kitchen and dining facilities.  Home cooking and quiet nights at 15,000 feet are just a couple of the things we love about these camps.

Tomorrow is a rest day for both teams and they will get moved into their tents and familiarize themselves with the IMG Base Camp!

Greg Vernovage

April 4, 2021

Pheriche with Lobuche Peak and Cho Oyu in the distance (Austin Shannon)

The IMG Teams are doing great in Pheriche, Lobuche Base Camp and Everest Base Camp.  Team 2 took  a hike up the hill behind Pheriche and are planning on moving up hill to Lobuche BC in the morning.  Team 1 also hiked back up towards high camp and are feeling great.  They will pack up and head to Everest Base Camp tomorrow.

At EBC, Ang Jangbu and the team have been busy.  They have now completed building the tent platforms and took advantage of the beautiful day to build the lower helipad.  Nice work!  We continue to celebrate the hard work of Sherpa Fura and Dawa Tenzing who secured out campsites at Camp 1 and Camp 2.

All is well in the Khumbu Valley and on Mount Everest!

Greg Vernovage

April 4, 2021

Looking towards Lhotse Face from Camp 2 (Sherpa Fura)

Ang Jangbu got a call through this morning from Everest Base Camp to let us know the internet is up and running and all is well up and down the valley.  Dawa Tenzing and Sherpa Fura had a great day climbing to Camp 2 yesterday to secure our campsites and recon the Icefall, Western Cwm and Lhotse Face.   They report that the Icefall is in good shape with a number of twists and turns as usual, but that it has (get ready for this) only ONE ladder right now.  “Can you believe that?!”  It is early in the season and we all know the Icefall will do a bit of adjusting and route changing as the season continues but having only one ladder is pretty remarkable.

IMG Senior Guide Karma Rita Sherpa (Greg Vernovage)

Ang Jangbu says that IMG’s 2021 Everest Base Camp is looking good and is all ready for the arrival of Team 1.  A big shout out to the Advanced Team under the leadership of Senior Guide Karma Rita Sherpa for all of their hard work getting the camp prepared!

Back down at Lobuche Base Camp, Team 1 took a trek today partway up to High Camp on Lobuche for additional acclimatization, and 5 of our guides  continued all the way to High Camp to evaluate the conditions and check the water source.  Everything looks good for the climb of Lobuche Peak in a few days, after the climbers first visit Everest Base Camp.

Looking up valley from Pheriche with Cholatse (left) and Lobuche (right) (Sonam Dorje Sherpa)

Team 2, led by Senior Guide Kevin Kayl pulled into Pheriche in excellent form and will settle in for a couple nights of acclimatization.  Tomorrow the team will take a hike up the hill behind Pheriche to get a better look at Lobuche Peak and Dingboche, which is just over the hill.  They will also say hello to the medical team at the Pheriche HRA clinic and hear more about acclimatization.

All is well in the Khumbu Valley and on Mount Everest!

Greg Vernovage