Archive for September, 2010

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Cho Oyu Climbers Reach ABC

September 4, 2010

Mike Hamill reports by sat phone that the team all made it up to ABC in good shape and that everyone is doing well.  The IMG Sherpas did a great job getting the camp set up and all the yaks up there with the gear, so everything was looking good for the arrival of the climbers.  Cho Oyu ABC is quite high, at nearly 18,500 feet, so one thousand feet higher than Everest Base Camp.  That is why it was super important for them to move up there slowly, with lots of acclimatization hiking along the way.

The team will now do their puja at ABC,  the sherpa blessing ceremony that which marks the traditional beginning of the climbing.  Then, over the next few days, the Sherpas will start working on putting in Camp 1 and the climbers will continue their acclimatization with several day trips up toward Camp 1, before they move up there for overnight.

So far so good!!

Eric Simonson

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A Special Message From Kilimanjaro

September 4, 2010

The breach wall on Kilimanjaro.

Olivia called in from Barancco Camp this morning to relay a special hello to all the kids of the Kili climbers… A big “hello and I love you” to: Alexander, David, Emory, Elizabeth, Jack, Harrison, Windham, Katherine, Evans, Luke, Mary Ellis, and Madelyn!

All is well at camp. They made good time today and have a shorter day to Karanga Valley Camp tomorrow which they’re all looking forward to. The good news about tomorrow is they’ll cross the Breach Wall (a bit of pretty steep scrambling in a few places) and traverse below the Southern Glaciers. This is typically the favorite day on the approach, with great scenery and rugged hiking.

All is well…

Tye Chapman

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Kili Team Moves to Shira Camp

September 3, 2010

A little rain didn’t stop our Kili team from enjoying their move from Machame Camp to the Shira Plateau Camp.  The rain has since passed which makes for a nice crisp & clear evening for the team rest and recover. Tomorrow they move to up to 14,500ft before dropping down to Barancco Camp at 13,000ft.

SPOT location of IMG Kilimanjaro Team

All is well.

Tye Chapman

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Cho Oyu climbers on the move to ABC

September 3, 2010

Mike Hamill reports by sat phone that the climbers had a good night at Interim Camp (IC) and now they are on the way to Advanced Base Camp.  Everyone is doing well, the weather remains good,  and they expect to reach ABC later today.  Interim Camp, as the name suggests, is only used for one night.  Situated on the east lateral moraine of the Gyabrag Glacier, it has a good water source and space for camping.  In recent years the Chinese have built a rough jeep road all the way to IC which is useful for emergency evacuation, but our climbers are walking from Base Camp. After all, they are trying to get acclimatized!   The yak drivers will also stay there and go up to ABC and back tomorrow,  so they don’t have to haul extra yak food up to ABC.

Eric Simonson

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Kili Team At Machame Camp

September 2, 2010

Kili team at Machame Camp

IMG Guide Olivia Cussen, one of the few IFMGA fully certified guides here in the US, called in again this morning to report that all is well on Kilimanjaro. The group knocked out 4000 vertical feet of trail yesterday, one if the harder days on the mountain, so it’s great to have that behind them while they continue to acclimatize to the higher elevations.

They’re at the Machame Camp now; tomorrow they’ll move through the “zone of weird plants” which are native to the high mountains of Africa en route to the Shira Plateau (12,000) where they’ll make camp.

All is well…

Tye Chapman

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Kili Team Ready To Go

September 1, 2010

IMG Guide Olivia Cussen called in from the Keys Hotel in Moshi, Tanzania to report that all is well. The team arrived on schedule and have already knocked out their equipment check. They’ll enjoy a nice dinner this evening (they’re +10 hours from us here in PST) before leaving the hotel tomorrow morning at 7:30 to start their journey to the top of Africa.

Tye Chapman

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