Not All Heroes Wear Capes

August 13, 2020

: Cold Beer courtesy of Warren Wilhide

: Warren’s team (Warren Wilhide 2007)

: Working the Muir Snowfield (Warren Wilhide 2007)

: The route in 2007 went down below the cleaver (Warren Wilhide)

: Warren & Ang Dorjee on the summit of Rainier (Warren Wilhide 2007)

: IMG Guides Left to Right: Greg Vernovage, Eric Remza, Ang Dorjee Sherpa, Chris Meder

If you’ve climbed with IMG, or with any other guide service for that matter, you’ll agree that guides work hard, very hard. Obviously it’s great when their hard work is recognized with gratuity at the end of a climb, but it’s also great when the hard work is appreciated from afar, with a truly random act of kindness (two to be exact).

Twice this summer we got a message on facebook from longtime climber & friend of IMG, Warren Wilhide, who wanted to surprise the guides with some beer. Far be it from me to get in the way of free beer! I offered to pick up the the beer and figure out a way for him to pay me back, but Warren wasn’t messing around. He contacted a local bar and worked out a deal. 20 minutes later our guide lounge refrigerator was full of ice cold beer. Twice!

Thanks for making it happen Warren!

Tye Chapman

P.S. I looked through the archives and dug up some photos from Warren’s climb of Rainier from back in 2007. I was instantly reminded that the route dropped down below the Disappointment Cleaver that year making for “heartbreak hill’ to get back up to the Ingraham Flats on the way ‘down’.

IMG Denali 2021 Planning Well Underway

August 7, 2020

The last few steps to the summit of Denali in 2019 (Eric Simonson)

Getting back to guiding on Mt Rainier this past month has been a great boost for everyone at IMG after months of boring isolation. A big shout out to our hard working guides and staff, our fantastic IMG climbers, and the National Park Service for working to re-start climbing at Mt Rainier. It makes us feel hopeful again that there will be some more mountains in our future!

Speaking of which, we are now working on our 2021 Denali season planning. While many of the 2021 expedition slots have already been taken by 2020 climbers who rescheduled, we do have a few slots left on our May 14 and May 18 programs, and they are going fast. These mid-May departures typically make their summit bids in late May/early June which is normally a great time to climb! If you are a physically strong climber with solid skills (cramponing, glacier travel, crevasse rescue, cold weather experience, etc) then we hope you will consider joining us. Our Denali program director Nicole Sims is happy to discuss the trip with you in more detail, so please get in touch!

Eric Simonson

Cold Weather Is Not Always A Bad Thing

August 7, 2020

Glacier Skills team rolling into Camp Muir (Nickel Wood)

Things are cranking right along on Mt. Rainier. Our DC team summited yesterday in some cold & windy conditions, but did so in good form. Up next is our Glacier Skills Seminar team who made their way from the the Paradise Glacier to Camp Muir yesterday. Today they’re moving up to the Ingraham Flats to do some more training & set themselves up for a summit attempt tomorrow morning.

The recent cold snap we’ve had on Mt. Rainier has actually been well received by the guides. The colder weather stops things from melting out, specifically any ladders or protection in place on the route, snow bridges, tent platforms & tent anchors, etc. That said, with a mid-summer cold snap often comes wind, which we’re always keeping an eye on. Simply put, there are pros & cons to a lot of things in the mountains!

Tye Chapman

Accidental Climber

August 6, 2020

In 2014, Jim Geiger attempted to become the oldest American to summit Everest. Jim had climbed mountains all over the world with IMG and we were excited to work with him on Mount Everest. You can watch Jim on his journey and continue to help our staff in Nepal through the link below.

Accidental_Climber (James Lucy Productions)

A portion of all sales for #AccidentalClimber, which documents Jim’s journey to Everest, will go to our fund supporting our entire team in Nepal through the economic disaster brought on by the pandemic. This same fund supported guides, their families, and communities in the 2014-2015 seasons after the avalanche. Pre-order the film on iTunes now: https://apple.co/2E7dKH1

Accidental Climber premieres August 11 in the US and Canada on VOD/Digital and DVD platforms. #ClimbYourOwnEverest

You can also help support the Staff in Nepal by going to the IMG link: https://www.mountainguides.com/everest-south20.shtml

Greg Vernovage

Busy Days On Mt. Rainier

August 4, 2020

Glacier Skills Team Moving up to 8100ft. (Nickel Wood)

It’s been a busy few days on Mt. Rainier! Let’s start with our Women’s climb, led by Anna Hicks. They summited yesterday morning and made their way down to Paradise in the afternoon. Passing them on the Muir Snowfield was our uphill DC team lead by Keith Rumburg. A little to the east of the Muir Snowfield at 81ooft is Dan Reithmuller and Nickle Wood who are leading our 6-day Glacier Skills Seminar, currently on day 3. Up at Camp Muir is Leanne Sebren who has been hard at work keeping Camp Muir & the Ingraham Flats in order and dialed into our Covid-19 protocols. And up on the route is Nate Sievert who is wrapping up a three day stretch of route work & other needed chores at Camp Muir.

All in all we had 12 guides on the mountain yesterday – all working hard and more importantly, working together.

Tye Chapman

Quality days at Summer Camp in the Khumbu

July 27, 2020

Summer Camp Bridge Crossing (Phunuru Sherpa)

We received a great update from IMG Senior Guide Phunuru Sherpa over the weekend. Phunuru was on the trail with the Summer Camp Kids from Phortse. I am going to share some photos and allow Phunuru to tell us all about the weekend adventure!

“Thanks again for the buffs, they are a very useful source for the kids to learn something about 7 summits. This trip has gone even better than I had expected! It was such a successful trip. On Saturday, the kids hiked to Nangajong Ri (15,583ft/4750m) and returned to Pangboche where they stayed for the night. On Sunday morning we went to Deboche and met His Great Holiness Tengboche Ringpoche and he gave us a 45 minute speech that was very fruitful. Then we went to Tengboche to visit the monastery. We then returned home Sunday afternoon so the kids can prepare for the exam. After completing the exam, we will have a team lunch and distribute certificates.” Phunuru Sherpa

Meeting with His Great Holiness Tengboche Ringpoche (Phunuru Sherpa)

Thank you for the update Phunuru! Everyone reading this is impressed and jealous with all of the fun you are having!

Greg Vernovage

Third Team Summit Of Mt. Rainier This Week

July 24, 2020

The view from the summit of Mt. Rainier never gets old! (Justin Merle)

IMG Lead Guide Justin Merle & his team got as high as they could on Mt. Rainier yesterday. Turns out there’s a pretty good view from the summit! This team was our third to reach the summit this week. We hope the streak continues tonight with Leanne & her team staged at the Ingraham Flats ready to climb in the morning.

All is well on Mt. Rainier!

Tye Chapman

Summer Camp on the move in the Khumbu

July 24, 2020

Snack time on the trail (Phunuru Sherpa)

IMG Senior Guide Phunuru Sherpa checked in today with more great photos and an update on Summer Camp. The kids are doing great and learning many skills that will help them in their continuing education for mountaineering. After training in Phortse at the KCC, the team has made a move to Pangboche where they will do more hands-on training including tent placement and construction, stove operation and cooking meals. The weather has been quite rainy all over Nepal but is not stopping some education and fun with future Nepalese Guides.

: Happy Campers (Phunuru Sherpa)

: Trekking to Pangboche (Phunuru Sherpa)

: Summer Camp Team in Pangboche (Phunuru Sherpa)

: Future Guides of Nepal (Phunuru Sherpa)

Enjoy these Friday Photos from the Khumbu Valley!

Greg Vernovage

Rainier DC Team Summits @ Sunrise

July 21, 2020

: A long ways to go! (Anna HIcks)

: The view from the Ingraham Flats. (Anna Hicks)

: Sunrise on the summit of Mt. Rainier (Anna Hicks)

: Descending the route. (Anna HIcks)

Patrick Mauro reports that he and his team had an absolutely perfect summit day today. They opted for an early start this morning to avoid the heat of the day, putting them on the summit right at sunrise, which is just after 5am here in the PNW. If you’ve climbed Mt. Rainier (or any other mountain) you know that sunrise is a huge morale boost after a long, cold summit climb. After some high fives and some photos the team made good time downhill arriving back in Ashford in the mid-afternoon.

Over on the Paradise Glacier is our Glacier Skills Seminar, led by Leanne Sebren and CJ Craig. Leanne reports that everything is great at their 8500ft camp. They’ll be training at this camp for a couple more days before moving up to Camp Muir on Thursday.

At Camp Muir now is another DC team, this one led by Justin Merle. His team made it up to Muir in good form this afternoon and are looking forward to a good night’s sleep tonight.

All is well on Mt. Rainier!

Tye Chapman

Phortse Summer Camp

July 21, 2020

We had a great message from IMG Senior Guide Phunuru Sherpa, who is up in Phortse, the village in the Khumbu where many of our IMG team live. Phunuru and the Khumbu Climbing Center instructors are making quality time out of the current Nepal Government shutdown due to the Virus situation.

KCC Training with kids (Phunuru Sherpa)

Phunuru reports that his team have developed a Summer Camp curriculum for young people and have had a whopping turnout of 45 girls and boys who want to learn about climbing, camping, the environment and outdoor living skills needed for mountaineering.

This is a fun curriculum that will bring the future climbers from the Khumbu Valley together at the new KCC building in Phortse.

: Knots and hitches at Mountain Training (Phunuru Sherpa)

: Knot tying at KCC (Phunuru Sherpa)

: Classroom Learning in Phortse (Phunuru Sherpa)

: A Nice Figure 8 at Training (Phunuru Sherpa)

For the first few days they will train at KCC, before they head out to the country side for more hands on education and an opportunity to learn how to camp!

I will share photos as they come in. We hope you enjoy these photos, they sure put a smile on our faces!

Greg Vernovage

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Not All Heroes Wear Capes

August 13, 2020 If you’ve climbed with IMG, or with any other guide service for that matter, you’ll agree...
IMG Denali 2021 Planning Well Underway

August 7, 2020 Getting back to guiding on Mt Rainier this past month has been a great boost for everyone...
Cold Weather Is Not Always A Bad Thing

August 7, 2020 Things are cranking right along on Mt. Rainier. Our DC team summited yesterday in some cold...
Accidental Climber

August 6, 2020 In 2014, Jim Geiger attempted to become the oldest American to summit Everest. Jim had climbed mountains...
Busy Days On Mt. Rainier

August 4, 2020 It’s been a busy few days on Mt. Rainier! Let’s start with our Women’s climb, led by...
Quality days at Summer Camp in the Khumbu

July 27, 2020 We received a great update from IMG Senior Guide Phunuru Sherpa over the weekend. Phunuru was on...