Why Choose IMG for your Aconcagua Expedition?
- IMG is the longest continuous guide service on Aconcagua. Legendary mountain guide Phil Ershler, IMG co-owner and Aconcagua program director, began running our Aconcagua expeditions in 1981 and has led or organized IMG's expeditions each year since. Phil has led literally hundreds of international expeditions over the years including over 20 Aconcagua expeditions with incredible success. Phil helped pioneer guiding on Aconcagua in general, and the False Polish route specifically.
- IMG's expedition success rate is one of the highest on the mountain, if not the highest. Since we began running expeditions on Aconcagua, almost all of our expeditions have had one important thing in common; the summit. Our guides love getting to the top and giving our clients every opportunity to do so without jeopardizing safety.
- New Route! We are now guiding the Guanacos Variation of the False Polish route exclusively. We were previously guiding the False Polish and Guanacos routes but, last year the Park Service decided to close the Guanacos route to all climber traffic, guided and not, for environmental reasons. After discussing this in depth with park officials it is clear that the route will not be re-opened. I have noticed that other guide services are still advertising the route in hopes of it reopening and misleading potential clientele. In response to the route closure IMG guides helped pioneer a new variation on the False Polish and Guanacos routes. Many that have been on both routes say this is perhaps a better option then the Guanacos itself. This route approaches the mountain through the Vacas and Relinchos Valleys and uses the first camp on the False Polish. From here it traverses over to the higher camps on the Guanacos route, and uses one more camp then the typical False Polish climb. This route is much less crowded and cleaner. It incorporates shorter days and better climbing terrain than the False Polish. The final camp is higher than the False Polish High Camp which makes for a more "do-able" summit day. This new variation offers you the best of climbing on Aconcagua; less people, a cleaner route, shorter days, better terrain, more variation on scenery, and a shorter/easier decent.
- Most Experienced Guides. International experience.True professionals. At IMG we have the pleasure of offering expeditions lead by an immensely experienced team of guides. They are some of the finest in the world and operate according to the highest American standard of client care. American guides are known around the world for creating the most success friendly and enjoyable atmosphere for expeditioning. Most of our guides are American and all are extremely knowledgable about client care and satisfaction. IMG only hires guides that we have complete trust in. Most of our guides have a long resume of certifications beyond their even longer resume's of personal high altitude experience world-wide. They are the pride of the company and the reason for our success.
- Safety and Success: Our goal has always been to send our clients away with fond memories of and arduous but enjoyable expedition. Foremost, our concern while on the mountain is always safety and we go out of our way to take all the necessary precautions to be able to deal with any situation that may occur while on the expedition. Our other main goal is to give our clients the best chance of summiting Aconcagua. To achieve this second goal we have chosen a slightly slower on mountain schedule which allows all team member to acclimatize fully and naturally. We have inserted a few rest days in to the itinerary which allows our bodies a greater chance of dealing with the arduous nature of high altitude climbing. We also have scheduled several contingency summit days to give us more room to deal with inclement weather. The pursuit of these goals has allowed us an impeccable safety record and a success rate that is well above the average of other guided and non-guided mountain groups.
- IMG offers the most personalized service. We pride ourselves very much on the quality of expedition that we run; we feel it's the best out there, and what's more it's an excellent value. Other guide services boast about running 20 expeditions a year or churning 100+ clients through their program a season, with a factory type approach to guiding. That is not our style. We want to build a relationship with our clients and know them on a personal level while offering them a customized experience based upon their needs, in a smaller group setting. IMG's focus is on the quality of the client's experience. Our focus is on personalized, professional service. We want to build a relationship with our clients and give them the best possible expedition.
- IMG's logistics are unmatched. We have been running expeditions for 20+ years on Aconcagua which has given us more than enough time to perfect our logistics. We make sure our expeditions run smoothly so you can focus on the climb.
- IMG is the best value expedition. We are very proud of the way we conduct ourselves, and feel that we provide the best package available. We encourage you to contact us personally to discuss the details of our program. We know we are not the cheapest deal around, and we don't want to be. We spend more providing the best personnel, equipment, logistics, and safety measures - things that many lower-cost programs cannot afford and do not have. We don't cut corners. However, we feel we provide the best value on the mountain, without question. We invite you to shop around and compare the quality of service with the price. There is a difference between our expeditions and the expeditions of our competitors and an enormous difference between us and local outfitters.
- IMG brings advanced technology to the mountain. We carry a satellite phone, VHF walkie-talkie radios, well-supplied medical kits, state-of-the-art tents, etc. The Satellite phone allows us to maintain contact with the IMG base in the United States at all times, and allows us to deal with potential emergency situations.
- IMG provides updated dispatches for friends and family while you're on the mountain. Our Aconcagua lead guides check in with the IMG office on a regular basis (usually every other day or so) via the Satellite phone, and this allow us to send out updates to requested email addresses. This contact can provide your family with peace of mind while your away and let those close to your follow your progress.
- IMG guides are medically trained. We require at least a Wilderness First Responder certification(80hr intensive course) of our lead guides. Many of them have higher wilderness medicine certifications as do a lot of our assistant guides.
- IMG expeditions live well and eat well while on the mountain. We offer excellent mountain food while at the upper camps on Aconcagua and fresh "in-town" food on the approach hike and at base camp. We bring most of our food down with us from the United States and supplement as needed with local food such as fresh fruit, vegetables, and meats from Argentina. We shy away from excess sugars and offer you a balanced, hearty diet that will allow you to climb your best. Coffee from Seattle, steaks of Argentina, fruit salad, French toast, juice boxes on the trail; this is all very typical of our trek in and time spent at base camp. We bring in other amentities to make you feel at home as well such as tables, chairs, a double-burner stove, etc. We spare no expense at trying to make you feel comfortable on the mountain.
- Pulse-Oximeters: IMG's lead guides bring along a pulse-oximeter, an instrument used to measure oxygen saturation in the blood, to observe how clients are acclimatizing on the mountain. This device gives us an indication of how clients are reacting to the altitude and allows us to make more informed decisions about pace, illness, etc.
- We use the best mule and transportation support possible and have had a relationship with our Mule company, Grajales, for more than two decades. In fact we were one of their first clients in the 80's. We only hire the best outfitters on the mountain to assure us a great expedition. Because of this we use Grajales' Mule service and transportation. The have an excellent history and the owners well known mountaineers and personal friends. The same can be said about our hotels as well. They are all first rate and we maintain a long standing relationship with them.
- IMG complies with all local, state federal and international regulations for the countries in which we climb. This includes proper visas and climbing permits, full insurance and equipment for employees, and complete adherence to all environmental regulations. Our great safety record allows us to operate with full liability insurance. All client funds are deposited into a regulated trust account. What about the other guide services you are considering? We take our business seriously.
- IMG offers an extended itinerary for better acclimatization and more contingency days for a summit bid. All of our expeditions incorporate a slow acclimatization schedule to avoid altitude illness. We employ the "carry high, sleep low" high-altitude mountaineering principle, by carrying up to our next camp and then returning to a lower altitude to sleep before moving up the following day. This schedule has played an important role in our high success rate.
- IMG Traverses the Mountain. We finish by traversing the mountain and descending the normal route to Plaza de Mulas. This allows us to see a different side of the mountain, have an easier decent, and have a shorter hike back out to the road, thus taking off a day off the decent and allows us one extra summit contingency day.
- IMG's References: Joining a high-altitude expedition is a serious decision. You should be completely confident in the organization and leadership before you make that decision. Many of you have climbed with us before elsewhere in the world, and because your experience was good, you've decided to join us again. For those of you who haven't climbed with us before, we strongly encourage you to interview us thoroughly and also talk to our past customers. We are happy to provide you with a complete list of references.
- IMG offers professional office and travel support before and after the expedition to make every detail of the process run as smoothly as possible.