Archive for the ‘Mt. Rainier’ Category

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Bruised, Battered But Not Beaten

March 16, 2012

Yesterday, the Denali Seminar pulled out of Mt. Rainier National Park a day early thanks to a snow plow escort provided by the park. With more snow in the forecast, taking advantage of an escape route when it was presented just made sense.

The team stopped digging long enough to pose for this photo. (Photo by John Race)

After drying out, they enjoyed a nice burger at The Copper Creek and an Intro To Crevasse Rescue lesson last night.  Today they’re hands on with the crevasse rescue as they wrap-up the seminar.

Tye Chapman

Posted in IMG News, Mt. Rainier | Comments Off

Bad Weather & Good Training Continues

March 14,

Our Denali Prep Seminar continues to take advantage of the harsh conditions Mt. Rainier is throwing at them.  Given the recent storm activity, just getting into the park makes this seminar a success.

Setting up camp and training in these conditions makes all the difference and will give these guys just that much more experience to fall back on when they’re loading up their sleds on Day 1 on Denali.

Jackson Visitor CenterWebcam (NPS)

Tomorrow brings more snow, and with it, more learning opportunities.

Tye Chapman

Posted in Mt. Rainier | Comments Off

Nasty Weather On Rainier Making Things Difficult

March 13, 2012

After a couple training days at HQ, our latest Denali Prep Seminar loaded up and headed into Mt. Rainier National Park this morning. The forecast doesn’t look much better than the past few days, but then again this is why folks come to Mt. Rainier in the winter to train for Denali!

Mt. Rainier Webcam - Jackson Visitor Center (National Park Service)

Tye Chapman

Posted in Mt. Rainier | Comments Off

Mt. Rainier Fix For The Day

March 8, 2012

For all you Mt. Rainier junkies out there, here’s your fix for the day!

Mt. Rainier. (Photo by Dustin Balderach)

(Between me and you, we’re all just as addicted as you are.)

Tye Chapman

Posted in Mt. Rainier | Comments Off

Rainier Prep Talks Scheduled

February 23, 2012

Mt. Rainier

It’s that time of year again – time to talk Rainier!  Join IMG Guides at local REI’s to glean some good information on what you need to know to climb the Northwest Icon.  Training tips, route information, gear and more.

Below are the dates and locations – See you there!

Date
 Time REI Presenter
Thursday, February 23, 2012 7pm Tacoma Jason Edwards
Thursday, February 23, 2012 7pm Olympia Ty Gimenez & Josh McDowell
Tuesday, February 28, 2012 7pm Issaquah George Dunn
Thursday, March 1, 2012 7pm Redmond Eben Reckord
Wednesday, March 28, 2012 7pm Southcenter Tye Chapman
Friday, April 6, 2012 7pm Seattle Phil Ershler

Posted in IMG News, Mt. Rainier | Comments Off

From A Guide’s Perspective: Staying In Shape

January 25, 2012

Staying In Shape In The Off Season
By Jess Culver

Lets face it, it’s hard to stay in shape between seasons. It starts when the Halloween candy comes out, gets even worse come Thanksgiving, and hits its peak somewhere between Christmas and New Years. Then, the 1st of the years rolls around and you’re a few pounds guiltier & several pounds heavier. Finding the motivation to shed this weight can be tough; here are some tips I use between seasons.

For me, I know I have to be in good shape when the Rainier season opens, which is probably in the back of a lot of your minds as well. With that in mind, I’ve found that setting smaller goals between big goals really makes the time go by a lot quicker than the alternative: 4-5 days a week on the hamster wheel. I like to sign up for a few running races in the winter & spring.  I’ll start small, maybe a 5k, then work up to a 10k and eventually a half-marathon and then the full 26.2. There are countless programs out there that will set you up for success at these races; they work if you’re honest with yourself and stick to the program.  And don’t be intimidated by the people that run these races, they are all smiles and are super supportive to all shapes, sizes and speeds. Trust me, you’ll have a blast.

This year I completed some of my biggest races yet. I ran a local 30K trail run here in Montana. I drove over to Spokane, WA for my first ever marathon and finished in under 4 hours (goal achieved).  And knocked out another marathon a couple weeks ago in Arizona.

Remember: things don’t get easier; you just get better at them.

Jess Culver

Posted in Gear Q & A, Guide Features, Mt. Rainier | Comments Off

Weekend Update

January 15, 2012

Things don’t always go as planned, if they did this job would be boring.

The sun setting on Camp 1. (Photo by Tye Chapman)

Aconcagua
Eben called in with good news on Aconcagua, despite the recent snow, they were able to make their carry to C1. Tomorrow they’ll make the move and establish camp, tonight it’s back to Plaza Argentina for what everybody hopes is a better nights sleep.

Josh Tapp called in from Mendoza. He’s preparing for our next Aconcagua expedition. He’s one duffel bag short, but it sounds like the airlines are straightening things out.

 

IMG HQ/Denali Prep Training Grounds

Mt. Rainier
Greg makes it all the way from Antarctica without a hitch and what happens…? You guessed it, a storm on Mt. Rainier that forced the park to shutdown uphill traffic at Longmire. No worries, the Denali Prep crew hung tight here at HQ and did some training. Sled rigging, crevasse rescue (self-extraction), rope travel with sleds, etc. Probably easier to digest this stuff in a controlled environment anyways.  Tomorrow they’ll head up to Paradise for the remainder of the program.

Ecuador
Phil called in yesterday to report that all is well in Ecuador. Their acclimatization continues today with a hike up Pasachoa (13,780ft).  Then it’s off to our favorite little hacienda – Tierra del Volcan ( Volcano Land) which sits at just about 12,000ft  -a perfect place to sleep and continue the acclimatization.

Tye Chapman

Posted in Aconcagua, Ecuador Volcanoes, Mt. Rainier | Comments Off

All Is Well In South America

January 13, 2012

Ecuador Team on the Equator

Ecuador
Phil called in from Otavalo. The team enjoyed some urban acclimatization with a tour of Old Town Quito. Remember Quito sits at roughly 10,000ft so just getting around town is an adjustment. After their tour they loaded up and made their way to Otavalo, but not without a quick stop at the Equator (see photo). This evening they’ll check out some local weavers in a small town called Peguche. Tomorrow they’ll visit the Otavalo Indian Market.

Argentina
Eben dropped us a line from Aconcagua Base Camp (Plaza Argentina). All is well, though the precipitation theme continues. About an hour of snow fell this afternoon followed by some lightning and thunder; the sun also made an appearance. Their job now is to rest up and prepare for the climb. Burritos tonight and rest day tomorrow.

Chile
Greg’s route from Antarctica to Mt. Rainier continues. He’s made it to Santiago and if all goes to plan he’ll be in Seattle tomorrow afternoon, Ashford tomorrow evening and on Mt. Rainier Sunday morning.

Tye Chapman

Posted in Aconcagua, Ecuador Volcanoes, Mt. Rainier, Vinson (Antarctica) | Comments Off

Vinson Climbers In Punta Arenas

January 12, 2012

IL-76

We received a voice mail from Greg late last night (3am in Antarctica) as they were boarding the IL-76 bound for Punta Arenas, Chile – “We’re coming home”.  Schedules are hard to keep given the nature of the terrain, but this time it all went according to plan.

After a quick siesta Greg Skyped in from his hotel room to say that all went smoothly – just a long flight.  They’ll clean up and head out for one last dinner to celebrate, then it’s time to jump on another long flight.

No rest for the weary… we’ve got Greg booked on our next Winter Seminar here on Mt. Rainier which starts Sunday.  We figure 18 hours is plenty time for Greg to get things in order before he heads back into the field.

Tye Chapman

Posted in Mt. Rainier, Vinson (Antarctica) | Comments Off

A Sad Day At Mount Rainier

January 4, 2012

Park Ranger Margaret Anderson, 34, was fatally shot on Sunday, January 1 at Mount Rainier National Park. After a driver failed to pull over during a routine traffic stop, Ranger Anderson set up a road block to intercept the driver.  The assailant got out of his vehicle and shot Ranger Anderson and then fled on foot. It took 90 minutes for back-up to reach Ranger Anderson because the assailant continued shooting at law enforcement as they arrived. Visitors at the Paradise area were in lock-down at the Jackson Visitor Center along with park staff through the day.

The shooter remained at large through the night. Park staff were assisted in the search for the shooter by Pierce County Sherriff’s Department, Washington State Patrol, and the FBI.

On Monday the 2nd, an aircraft spotted a body lying face down in the vicinity of Narada Falls. Searchers on the ground traversed challenging terrain to reach the subject and confirmed his identity as Benjamin Colton Barnes, the suspect in the shooting. Officials confirm that Barnes was found dead. He apparently died of exposure during the night.

Margaret is survived by her husband Eric, also a National Park employee and two small children.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family.

Source: NPS

Posted in Mt. Rainier | Comments Off

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »