Team 1 is Ready to Head into the Khumbu Valley!

March 29, 2022

IMG 2022 Everest Team 1 (Ang Jangbu Sherpa)

Team 1 met for a briefing led by Andy Polloczek and Ang Jangbu Sherpa this morning. This briefing is a great opportunity to get the entire team together and go over details for the coming days ahead. Highlights of the briefing include patience and flexibility. Our team has worked a long time to get to this point and they are now ready to head up the valley towards Everest Base Camp. Staying healthy and taking their time during the trek is an important key!

: IMG Team 1 Briefing (Ang Jangbu Sherpa)

: IMG Team 1 Welcome Dinner (Ang Jangbu Sherpa)

After the briefing, the team was free to explore Kathmandu, take care of any last minute details, prepare for tomorrow morning and probably take a few naps to continue getting over jet lag! The day ended with the Welcome Dinner celebrating the start of their trip. Tomorrow will come fast s the team will be up early to head to the airport for the helicopter flight to Lukla!

All is well in Kathmandu!

Team 1 Arrives to Kathmandu!

March 28, 2022

: Everest Gear Check in Kathmandu (Ang Jangbu Sherpa)

: Food and gear being packed for the trip to EBC (Pasang Tshering Sherpa)

All of Team 1 has arrived to Kathmandu now and has completed gear checks. It is always great to hear that the team is arriving and with ALL of their gear. That is always a big hurdle and nice to have that box checked. The team will have a meeting after breakfast tomorrow morning to go over additional trip details and then celebrate the start of the expedition with a welcome dinner.

: Packing Base Camp Duffels (Ang Jangbu Sherpa)

: Early morning departure for food and gear from KTM (Pasang Tshering Sherpa)

Head Chef, Kaji Sherpa finished packing more food for the expedition and will leave early in the morning with the load of food and Base Camp Duffels for Thaksindu. Base Camp duffel bags consist of gear that climbers will not need during the trek. These will go directly to EBC and reunite with their owners after they trek up the Khumbu. From Thaksindu, the gear and food will take a heli flight to Pangboche as weather permits.

From EBC, Ang Karma reports that the Sherpa kitchen, dining and food storage tents. They have almost finished leveling areas for another dining tent, charging tent and will build the Puja Alter tomorrow. The Icefall Doctors are continuing to make progress as well, reaching above the Popcorn Section now.

Great to have Team 1 together and looking forward to getting them on the trail!

2022 Everest and Lhotse Climbing Permits in Hand

March 27, 2022

: Expedition Leader Andy Polloczek receiving the Lhotse Permit (Pasang Tshering Sherpa)

: IMG Senior Guide Justin Merle receiving the Everest Permit (Pasang Tshering Sherpa)

The Polloczek Family arrives to Kathmandu (Ang Jangbu Sherpa)

Climbers, Guides and Trekkers are all arriving to Kathmandu now and it is getting busy and exciting! IMG Expedition Leader Andy Polloczek and Senior Guide Justin Merle went to the Department of Tourism for the Ministry briefing today. With permits in hand, we are now ready to start making preparations to head up the Khumbu Valley. We are also very excited to welcome the entire Polloczek family to Kathmandu and have them join us on the trek to Everest Base Camp!

The Team is arriving to Kathmandu!

Nice Weather in the Khumbu to Start the trekking season!

March 25, 2022

: Nuptse from Pheriche (Barusonam)

: Kangtega and Thamserku From Pheriche (Barusonam)

Ang Jangbu checked in to let us know the weather cleared for flights into Lukla today. Weather continued to improve all the way up to

Custom Trek arrives to Kathmandu (Juan De La Cruz Suma)

Everest Base Camp and we received some great photos of Lobuche Peak and the North Ridge of Ama Dablam from Barusonam in Pheriche!

On this Custom Trek to Everest Base Camp, we have our long time Machu Picchu Guide Juan De La Cruz Suma on the team. This is a special treat for everyone as the two great countries and best guides in the world meet each other! I am sure Juan will have many stories to tell this summer when our Machu Picchu Team heads down in June. Have a great trek to Everest Base Camp everyone!

Custom Trek in Lukla (Juan De La Cruz Suma)

The Advance Sherpa Team is on the move!

March 21, 2022

: Advanced Sherpa Team heads to EBC with Everest and Lhotse in the distance (Tshering Tendi Sherpa)

: Yak train heading to EBC with Ama Dablam in the distance (Tshering Tendi Sherpa)

IMG Senior Guide Phunuru Sherpa checked in from Phortse yesterday to let us know the Advance Sherpa Team is heading to EBC to start construction for this season. The team left with great weather and beautiful views as they headed to Gorakshep where most of the team spent the night. Kajiman and Tshering Tendi Sherpa led the way and continued to EBC in order to make sure our camp was still in good shape for the season. There is a lot of work to do and we have a great group of Sherpa to do so much of the heavy lifting!

: Yak carrying gear to EBC (Tshering Tendi Sherpa)

: Pangboche below with Ama Dablam on the way to EBC (Tshering Tendi Sherpa)

: EBC Advanced Team Tents (Tshering Tendi Sherpa)

At home, we are finishing up some shopping and continuing to pack and repack gear for the trip. The Guide team from the USA will be heading out at the end of the week and is looking forward to getting to Kathmandu!

Advanced Sherpa Team and Gear on the move!

March 16, 2022

: Mohan and Thunang transferring gear headed to EBC (Ang Jangbu Sherpa)

: Lots of gear heading to Everest (Ang Jangbu Sherpa)

: Loading gear to Thaksindu (Ang Jangbu Sherpa)

Ang Jangbu checked in with news from Kathmandu and the Khumbu Valley. Our first big gear load is on the move after being loaded in Kathmandu and driven to Thaksindu. From Thaksindu, the gear takes scenic flight via helicopter sling load up to Pangboche where it is welcomed by long time Senior IMG Guide Ang Pasang. Most of the gear made it before the winds picked up and shut operations down for the day.

: Trekking through Gorakshep (Jonathan Schrock)

: Phortse (Adam Clark)

The IMG Advanced Sherpa Team is also getting ready to head up to EBC. The Team will depart Phortse on March 20th and will stay in Gorakshep for the night before heading to EBC the following morning. The 20th of March is an Auspicious Day on the calendar and perfect for heading to EBC to begin building camp for the season.

Great news from Nepal!

Everest 2022 Food Packing Underway

March 9, 2022

: It takes a lot of food to run an Everest Expedition (Ang Jangbu Sherpa)

: Everest 2022 Expedition Food Packing (Ang Jangbu Sherpa)

IMG Senior Guide and Leader Ang Jangbu checked in to let us know the team is doing some food and gear packing in Kathmandu today and tomorrow. We will start sending non-perishable food items up the valley as well as gear in the coming days. There is more packing and gathering of food and gear in the United States as well.

Looking forward to the team getting together this Spring in Nepal!

Olympus Mons Cubes Crampon Compatibility

Climbers with La Sportiva Olympus Mons Cube Boots: Our climbers and guides have noticed a few issues with crampon compatibility with their Olympus Mons Cube Boots. While it’s important to check the compatibility of your boots and crampons regardless of the brand or type, here are a few observations Senior Guides Justin Merle and Porter McMichael have made regarding the Olympus Mons Cubes:

Petzl crampons with the Leverlock heel binding and the metal toe bail were compatible with the Olympus Mons Cubes. If you buy the Leverlock version of any Petzl crampons, they come with both a plastic front piece and a wire toe bail—you need to put the wire bail (see below diagram).

Black Diamond crampons with the “Wide” toe bail were compatible with the Olympus Mons Cubes, but not the standard toe bail that comes with the crampon. The Wide Toe Bail is available for an additional purchase and should work with any of Black Diamond’s “Pro” crampon binding options, but not the “Strap” or “Clip”.

Grivel’s “Crampomatic” step in crampon binding was not compatible with the Olympus Mons Cubes

Generally, strap on, or hybrid (lever in back, strap in front) bindings were not compatible with the Olympus Mons Cubes.

Expedition Prep Seminar

Our first Expedition Prep Seminar of the season let by Lara Railich just wrapped up. The team experienced some stormy weather and nearly 3ft of snow, conditions that will prepare them well for Denali Expeditions this spring. The team practiced a number of relevant skills such as camp building, fixed line ascension, sled rigging, and more. It ended up being a true Denali experience for everyone!

Expedition Prep climbers descend near Panorama Point

Climb Manaslu in Autumn 2022 with IMG

February 15, 2022

Manaslu from Base Camp (Phunuru Sherpa)

On the way to Camp 4 looking down at C1, C2, C3 (Phunuru Sherpa)

Join IMG on Manaslu this Autumn in Nepal and enjoy a climb of the world’s eighth highest mountain (8,163m / 26,781 ft). We are excited to announce this expedition and are looking forward to climbing another one of the world’s 14 tallest mountains!

Whether you have Everest in your future or just want to take a crack at an 8000’er, Manaslu is the best choice for an Autumn season Himalayan 8000 meter peak. The climb will be led by IMG Senior Guide, Phunuru Sherpa, a veteran of 33 successful 8000 meter summits. With the support of our top guide team from Nepal and the USA, we are looking forward to having the strongest and most well prepared team on the mountain.

Space is limited, so book your spot now to join IMG on Manaslu this Autumn! If you have any questions, we are here to help get you answers.

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