George Dunn, IMG Retired Partner
George Dunn began his climbing career in the Renton (WA) High School climbing club around 1969. He went on to attend the University of Washington in 1972 and carried on his new love for climbing throughout his time there. In search of a more interesting summer job, he tried out for a position as a summer guide on Mt. Rainier with Rainier Mountaineering in 1975. George fell in love with guiding and spent the next number of years trying to find a way to make it a full time occupation. At the time, summer guiding on Mt. Rainier was the only available option.
George and fellow guides Phil Ershler and Eric Simonson banded together to pursue guiding internationally and share in the expense of running a new business. This led to the formation of International Mountain Guides and became the nucleus of successful careers for the three of them, ultimately growing into one of the largest and most successful guide services in the U.S.
Major milestones along the way included International Mountain Guides gaining one of the first two additional concessions on Mt. Rainier in 2006 and bringing on fellow climber and snow safety expert Paul Baugher to the IMG team. The final big piece of the puzzle was gaining a Denali concession for IMG in 2019 after many years in the making and much hard work.
George's greatest achievement by far was marrying his wife Nancy in 1987 and raising two wonderful sons, Jimmy and Jeremy. He is eternally grateful for their support and understanding over the years, enabling him to balance a career in the mountains with family life back home. George clearly realized that a career as a guide was exciting, but his goal was always to bring everyone safely back home at the end of an adventure to what matters most in life.... family and friends.
George Dunn Features
- Oct 2013 — Wall Street Journal article by one of George Dunn's clients on climbing later in life »
- May 2011 — Backpacker Magazine article on Rainier's Reigning Champ: George Dunn recalls personal adventures and gives tips about climbing Mt. Rainier.
- Aug 2010 — George Dunn's Top 10 Climbing Gear Tips
- Aug 2010 — Backpacker Magazine on George Dunn's 500 Summits
- Jul 2010 — Master of the Mountain: George Dunn nears a record-setting 500 summits on Mt. Rainier
- Jul 2010 — What They're Saying About George Dunn as he approches a record-setting 500 summits on Mt. Rainier
- Jul 2010 — George Dunn holds record for Mt. Rainier summits.