August 13, 2010
Phil called in this afternoon to report that all is well in Moscow. Their flight from Mineral Vody was on schedule and it looks like the haze from the forest fires are lifting a little in Moscow. 
The team will enjoy one last day of sight seeing with visits to the Kremlin and Red Square. After climbing Elbrus and taking in the sights of Moscow they’ll be ready to rest on the long flights home.
That’s it from Russia!
Tye Chapman
August 12, 2010
St. Basil's Cathedral in Red Square, Moscow (photo: Jeff Johnson)
Phil called in this afternoon to report the team made their way off Elbrus yesterday and enjoyed a nice tour of the Cheget ski area. They took a chair lift up to the top and stretched the legs on a short hike to a nice little mountain lake. After a great lunch they made their way back to the hotel in Mineral Vody and will depart for Moscow in the morning.
Even with all the recent forest fires outside of Moscow it looks like flights are back to normal and they’ll get out on schedule – fingers crossed.
Tye Chapman
August 10, 2010
Phil called in late last night/early this morning…
The old Priut Hut on Elbrus
10 of 12 customers on the summit today! Beautiful weather, warm, minimal amount of wind and good snow conditions made for a great climb. We have 1 more night at the hut at 13,400′ on the side of the mountain. We’ll be heading down to Terskol tomorrow morning (Wednesday) for showers, clean clothes then one more day to tour the valley before we begin our flights home with an early morning departure from the town of Mineralney Vody to Moscow.
All is well!
-Phil
August 9, 2010
Phil called in from Russia around 3:30am this morning (remember they’re +11 hours from us here on the west coast)
We had a good acclimatization hike today up about 1500ft. above the hut on Elbrus. The weather continues to be cooperative and we’re hopeful about a summit attempt tonight. So, our plan is to get up about midnight be walking about 1:AM on Tuesday the 10th. After the ascent we’ll come down and spend another night in the hut and then descend to Terskol on Wednesday morning. We’ll try to give you another update tomorrow on how we did, but as of now all signs look positive and we’re hopeful for a good climb early tomorrow morning. That’s it for now everybody’s still healthy, all’s good. Ciao.
Phil
July 20, 2010
IMG Senior Guide, Mike Hamill, called in early this morning from the Caucasus mountains in Russia. Mike and team were standing on the summit of Elbrus. Nice, sunny day with only two members not reaching the true summit. That’s a super accomplishment. Another day to the valley, a bit more touring in the Caucasus and then off to Moscow. Can’t leave Russia without seeing Red Square, the Kremlin, Old Arbat Street, the Russian White House, the GUM………
The group is psyched. And, they’ll all be home on Sunday. Sweet!
Phil Ershler
July 14, 2010
We heard from Mike Hamill this morning via email. He reports that they’ve had two full days of touring and will get in a boat tour on the canals tomorrow before hoping on the flight. Sounds like the team is enjoying the experience thus far.
Then, the work begins. Some acclimatization is in order as is a day spent on the Koshkatosh Glacier reviewing crampon technique and learning a few new tricks from their veteran Elbrus, Seven Summits, & Everest guide – Mike Hamill. The attempt on Elbrus is still a few days off.
Phil Ershler
August 13, 2009
Phil has called in a couple times but the Sat phone connection was too rough to understand what he said… He called in again today to say that they’re off the mountain in Terskol, Russia spending their last day in the Caucasuses.
Some or all of the team must have summitted as Phil mentioned that they celebrated the last of Chris Burrows’ 7 summits! An amazing achievement which Phil recognized by presenting Chris an IMG embroidered Outdoor Research Mithril Jacket. A small gesture for all the hard work and countless hours training, but a nice token of congratulations nonetheless.
The team will head to Moscow early tomorrow and spend the afternoon and part of the following day touring the city. They’ll catch a flight back to the states shortly there after.
Sounds like another successful trip to Russia – but we’ll wait to get the concrete details in a day or two.
—-
Tye Chapman
Operations Manager
August 7, 2009
Phil called in the night of Aug. 6 and relayed a message written by Kristen and John:
Yesterday [actually Aug. 5] we toured around St. Petersburg and had the privilege of touring the Peter and Paul Fortress, St. Isaac’s Cathedral and the Hermitage Museum. The favorite by far was St. Issac’s [pictured below]. We rounded out the day with an evening canal tour and a late dinner at a nice German restaurant. A wonderful way to end our day!
The following morning [Aug. 6th] we flew from St. Petersburg to Mineralnye Vody and then drove to our hotel in the town of Terskol. Several cows were encountered and dodged along the way!
Kristin & John
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August 7, 2009
Phil called in this morning…
All is well. The team went for an acclimatization hike yesterday and will do some training today with plans of climbing tomorrow. Weather is good and the team is doing well… Next update will be after the climb.
—
Tye Chapman
Operations Manager
August 3, 2009
Phil just called from St. Petersburg. Everybody arrived safely and all baggage is accounted for. Weather is good… the group starts their tour in and around St. Petersburg tomorrow.
All is well in Russia!—
Tye Chapman
Operations Manager