Phortse Summer Camp

July 21, 2020

We had a great message from IMG Senior Guide Phunuru Sherpa, who is up in Phortse, the village in the Khumbu where many of our IMG team live. Phunuru and the Khumbu Climbing Center instructors are making quality time out of the current Nepal Government shutdown due to the Virus situation.

KCC Training with kids (Phunuru Sherpa)

Phunuru reports that his team have developed a Summer Camp curriculum for young people and have had a whopping turnout of 45 girls and boys who want to learn about climbing, camping, the environment and outdoor living skills needed for mountaineering.

This is a fun curriculum that will bring the future climbers from the Khumbu Valley together at the new KCC building in Phortse.

: Knots and hitches at Mountain Training (Phunuru Sherpa)

: Knot tying at KCC (Phunuru Sherpa)

: Classroom Learning in Phortse (Phunuru Sherpa)

: A Nice Figure 8 at Training (Phunuru Sherpa)

For the first few days they will train at KCC, before they head out to the country side for more hands on education and an opportunity to learn how to camp!

I will share photos as they come in.Â We hope you enjoy these photos, they sure put a smile on our faces!

Greg Vernovage

IMG’s First Climb of the Season is a Success!

July 19, 2020

Lead guide Dallas Glass reports that his team is down safely at Camp Muir after a perfect day and a successful summit of Mt Rainier. The team will continue to work their way down the mountain and will return to Ashford headquarters this afternoon!

The weather has been perfect lately and the route to the summit of Mt Rainier is in excellent shape. If you are looking to climb the mountain this summer IMG has limited space available on select climbing in August and September. Come join us for an incredible experience!

George Dunn

: Little Tahoma on the horizon.

: team on the summit!

2020 Guide Training & Rainier Season Kick-Off

July 14, 2020

: Guide Training 2020…Masks on! (Tye Chapman)

: Socially distanced guide training. (Tye Chapman)

: IMG Guide Dr. Emily Johnston discusses Covid-19 (Tye Chapman)

: Cash the fetch champion. (Tye Chapman)

: The upper mountain. (Leanne Sebren)

: Preparing a rest break area nearing the summit. (Leanne Sebren)

: Camp Muir (Leanne Sebren)

The start of the Rainier season is typically the first week of May, but this isn’t a typical year! After a 2 month delay, 30 IMG guides & staff came together for our annual guide training. The focus was a good mix of the mountain & Covid-19 protocols. Day 1 was spent here at HQ going through Covid-19 protocols & work-shopping some additional ideas & procedures. The highlight of the first day was the presentation by IMG Guide, Dr. Emily Johnston. Emily spent some time in New York City earlier this spring, needless to say she had a unique perspective. Her presentation was very informative & well received by the guides.

The second day was spent up at Paradise working on some short rope techniques & generally getting reacclimated with the mountain.

Later in the week several guides were on the upper mountain setting the route & working on our camps at Camp Muir & the Ingraham Flats.

It was a great first step towards another great season on Mt. Rainier. Our first group of climbers arrives on Thursday for their gear check!

Tye Chapman

Happy Everest Day!

May 29, 2020

Today is Everest Day! On this day in 1953, Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary reached the summit of Mount Everest.Â Congratulations to all climbers from around the world on this very special day. We look forward to returning to this great mountain in 2021!

Mount Everest from the summit of Lhotse (Phunuru Sherpa)

Greg Vernovage

The challenge of Carstensz Pyramid

May 28, 2020

There are a lot of unknowns around the world during the present time but there is something we know very well and that is the Carstensz Pyramid Climb is a true adventure!Â We have been in constant communication with our local agents in Indonesia and although the country is locked down now, we are optimistic for a future trip or two later this year and early in 2021.

Rest break at the top of fixed lines on Carstensz Pyramid (Jonathan Schrock)

In the mountains we must be patient and flexible, and we have applied that philosophy to our Carstensz planning for the immediate future. With the uncertainty around the world we will conduct our upcoming Carstensz climbs as Custom programs, rather than locking into specific dates right now.Â This will allow us to work better with you and take advantage of the opportunity to go climbing as soon as we are able.

Please let us know if you are interested in heading to Carstensz Pyramid soon.Â This is a fun climb, one of the Seven Summits, and a trip that will not keep you away from home for many weeks and weeks!

Greg Vernovage

IMG Still Planning on Antarctica for December

May 26, 2020

Havenâ€™t written any blog posts in the last few months and I kind of miss it. Not the norm for IMG climbers, staff, guides and partners to see things so quiet. But, indeed, there are signs of life. There is some good news on the Vinson Massif front.

IMG team on Vinson, Antarctica

ALE, our flight service, has made some changes to their flying schedule in an effort to run some trips this coming season. Seems early to worry about Vinson, but the expression â€˜long lead timeâ€™ certainly apply with this trip. Good news for our climbers already signed up is that they were all able to adjust their schedules to accommodate ALEâ€™s new flight dates and that we were able to snag seats. If all continues to fall into place, IMG is still planning to be in Antarctica in December 2020. Pretty exciting stuff!

Phil Ershler

IMG Is Looking Ahead To Climbs Of Mt. Rainier This Summer!

May 21, 2020

The COVID-19 virus has been a serious blow to the country and the world at large. Here at IMG we are waiting and planning for better times to come. Mt Rainier National Park has given us indication that opening for guided climbs may be a possibility later this summer. We are currently preparing a plan to operate on the mountain that includes social distancing, single person tents on the Muir/DC route and as always, low climber to guide ratios.

IMG has not been able to operate so far during the months of May and June. On June 1 we will announce if we are able to proceed with climbs in the month of July. We remain confident that safer times are on their way and we will be ready when we are given the green light to start climbing.

We hope this finds you and your families well and managing the best you can during these difficult times. Our guides and staff are hanging in there with you. We look forward to the time when we can safely join with fellow climbers on Mt Rainier and practice our craft once again.

For those of you scheduled during the month of July, we will send out an announcement on June 1 to let you know your status. For climbers in the months of August and September weâ€™ll do the same thing. We will announce the decision the first of the month prior to the month you are climbing in. Hereâ€™s hoping to see some of you in the mountains again soon!

For those of you who were scheduled for May and June climbs this year, weâ€™ll see you in 2021. Thank you for rescheduling with us!

George Dunn, IMG Partner

Happy Earth Day!

April 22, 2020

How about we go on a little Safari as we celebrate Earth Day?Â Enjoy the Big 5 and since it is Earth Day, let’s bring on another beautiful animal in the giraffe!

: Lions. (Dustin Balderach)

: Buffalo in Ngorongoro Crater (Dustin Balderach)

: Leopard on IMG’s African Safari (Kate Kishfy)

: Rhino on IMG’s African Safari (Kate Kishfy)

: Elephants on IMG’s African Safari (Kate Kishfy)

: Giraffes on Safari (Eric Simonson)

We are all in this together (and will be back in the mountains soon enough)

April 21, 2020

A throwback to a perfect day of climbing in Bolivia with IMG Guides Roberto Gomez and Harry Hamlin. We are all in this together and will be back in the mountains soon enough!

2019 Bolivia Team on the Summit of Pequeno Alpamayo (Roberto Gomez)

April 20, 2020

: Tengboche at night (Mingma Tshering Sherpa)

: Namche (Ang Jangbu Sherpa)

: Trekking across a suspension bridge on the way to Namche (Greg Vernovage)

Trekking to Everest Base Camp is an adventure that many have on their bucket list. The incredible scenery, culture and a few suspension bridges are just a few of the things people enjoy on their way to Base Camp. We know we cannot visit this beautiful area of the world today but are excited for the time when we can return! Until the time we can return, please enjoy a couple of photos of trekking to Everest Base Camp.