Progress to 11K Camp

May 18, 2026

After making their first carry of the expedition on Saturday, and taking a rest day due to weather conditions on Sunday, Team 1, lead by Forrest Baldwin, is headed to 11,000 Camp today. This is great progress, and the climbers are looking strong! Keep up the good work, Team 1!

Team 2, lead by Brad Swanson, didn’t have the same luck with weather windows as Team 1, so they’re still waiting in Talkeetna. However, they’re filling their time with gear prep, team bonding, and great pizza, so the time is far from wasted. Our partners at Talkeetna Air Taxi do a great job of prioritizing climber transportation to the mountain, and we know they’ll be on the Kahiltna as soon as possible!

A tower of duffel bags ready to head to Talkeetna

Alpine expedition Jenga (Kevin Alexander)

Team 2 sits at a long table sharing pizza in Talkeetna

A well-fed team is a happy team! (Izzy Holmes)

Team 1 on the move, Team 2 waits

May 18, 2026

Team 2 waiting to Fly! (Izzy Holmes)

It’s been a busy day here at IMG Denali! Here are the updates from the teams:

Team 1 – Forrest Baldwin, Paal Bredal, Grace Kline, and Grace Coady

After spending all day yesterday at Ski Hill Camp waiting for the weather to clear, the team finally found their break in the action to make their move to 11K Camp (Camp 2). The team had already completed one carry to 10,000′ feet and cached some gear. As the weather allows tomorrow, the team will do what we call a ‘back carry’ and go down to retrieve their cached gear and bring it back to Camp 2. Way to go team putting in forward progress even when the weather doesn’t cooperate.

: IMGD Team 2 duffle bags ready to go! (Izzy Holmes)

: Kevin Alexander doing a group lesson in Talkeetna (Izzy Holmes)

Team 2 – Brad Swanson, Kevin Alexander, Tyler Nachand, Izzy Holmes

Team 2 is in Talkeetna waiting to fly. After two busy prep days, the team is all packed and ready to go. All that needs to happen now is the weather to cooperate and the air taxi to give them the green light to fly. Until then, they will be waiting patiently in Talkeetna! Fingers crossed that this team can catch one of the later flights tonight. If not, they might be staying an extra night in town. Only time will tell!

Team 3 is meeting at IMG HQ tomorrow to go through their final guide gear and equipment check, and to do their pre-trip briefing with IMG Denali staff.

Team 1 to Ski Hill Camp

May 15, 2026

After a long day of climbing yesterday with all their gear, Team 1 is taking a well deserved rest day at Ski Hill Camp! Tomorrow they’ll begin carrying to the 10,000 ft cache, the first of several they’ll utilize over the course of the climb for acclimatization and gear management purposes.

Team 2 is getting ready to arrive in Alaska tomorrow morning! Today, guides spent the day making their last double checks and getting everything together to take an early flight tomorrow. We’ll see you soon, Team 2!

IMG Guide Izzy Holmes poses at IMG HQ with a pile of gear

IMG Guide, Izzy Holmes, at our Ashford HQ getting ready to fly to Alaska! (Pam Painter)

A pile of duffles in the back of the IMG van, waiting to head to the airtport

All packed and ready for the flight! (Pam Painter)

Team 1 to the Kahiltna!

May 14, 2026

IMGD Team 1 Ready to Fly!

A big pile of gear in a tent, waiting to head onto the mountain.

All The Gear (Audrey Simonson)

Clear Day in Talkeetna (Audrey Simonson)

After a long day of gear packing and repacking, Team 1 was able to enjoy a lovely dinner at Denali Brew Pub in Talkeetna last night before getting a restful night’s sleep for their big day today! We’re happy to report that Team 1 was able to successfully fly to Kahiltna Base Camp this morning. They were the first climbing team out of the gate and had the perfect weather window for their flights!

After reaching Kahiltna Base Camp this morning, Team 1 saddled up and started their journey up the Kahiltna Glacier. Tonight they will reach Camp 1, also known as ‘Ski Hill Camp’, which is situated about 7800 feet. On the menu tonight is tortellini for dinner!

Weather permitting, Team 1 will do their first ‘carry’ of climbing gear to about 10,000 feet, cache it, and then return to Camp 1 for another night.

IMG Denali couldn’t be happier to kick off another Alaska season on a good note!

The Denali/McKinley Season has Begun!

May 13, 2026

IMG Denali Team 1 led by Forrest Baldwin is off to Talkeetna today! After a productive day of food shopping and gear checks yesterday the team is fully outfitted with the gear they need for the expedition. Today, the team will check in with the National Park Service and put the final touches on their climbing gear. Fingers crossed for a weather window tomorrow for the team to fly onto the Kahiltna Glacier!

Team 1 arrives at the Anchorage Hotel. Photo: Audrey Simonson

Team 1 conducts their gear check, led by Lead Guide Forrest Baldwin. Photo: Audrey Simonson

Team 1 poses together for their first group photo! Photo: Audrey Simonson

First 2026 Season Summit of Mount Rainier!

May 13, 2026

Congratulations to our first summit team of the season! It’s so good to be back up on upper Mount Rainier with views for miles and memories to last a lifetime. Thanks for all your hard work, team!

The first summit team of the season smile from the top of Mount Rainier.
Photo Credit: Brad Swanson

Guide Training Weekend

May 13, 2026

It’s been an exciting time here at IMG!

Our six new guides reported to Ashford at the end of April, and began their training to become our next class of top notch mountain guides. This training process covers everything from rope skills to Wilderness First Responder certification, and has been developed over decades by IMG leadership to set our newest additions up for success.

We also hosted our annual all guides training weekend, where we bring the whole company together to brush up on skills, meet the new guides, and set up the coming season. We always wrap up a full day of training on Saturday with a staff barbecue, and it’s a well-loved tradition here at IMG.

We look forward to seeing you in the mountains!

The 2026 IMG staff poses for a group photo.
Photo credit: Celine Francois

EBC Trek Wraps Up!

April 16, 2026

It’s been a great trip (Lama Temba)

Thanks for following along! Our EBC team made their way back to Kathmandu after completing their trek to Everest Base Camp and back down to Namche and Lukla via the Gokyo Valley. Everyone did well and will be heading home soon! What’s on your Bucket List for 2026?

UPCOMING TRIPS WITH IMG:

Kilimanjaro Climb & Safari (Africa) – July 13-25 & September 14-26
Cordillera Huayhuash Trek (Peru) – August 4-17
Machu Picchu (Peru) – August 19-27
Autumn Nepal Treks (Asia) – October 18-November 5
Ecuador Volcanoes – November 5-16

Good Weather Through Renjo La Pass

April 12, 2026

Gokyo Lake (Lama Temba)

IMG Guide Pasang checked in from Thame, where they arrived this afternoon following a day’s hike from Lungden! Yesterday the team trekked through Renjo La Pass (5,360m/17,572ft) yesterday in beautiful weather.

Renjo La Pass via Gokyo Lakes (Lama Temba)

Tomorrow begins the descent to Namche, making their way back to Lukla in the next few days and fly back to Kathmandu to wrap up their trip. Everyone is doing great!

EBC Trekkers Move On To Thagnak

April 8, 2026

A break in the clouds! (Photo: Pasang Tshering/Lama Temba)

The IMG Trekkers enjoyed a nice weather window hiking over Cho La pass today and arrived to Thagnak around 2:15 PM (Nepal time) just ahead of the next round of snowfall.

The plan for tomorrow is to make their way to Gokyo!

Crossing the Cho La pass on the way to Thagnak (Photo Pasang Tshering, Lama Temba)