IMG Climbers to Camp 3

April 27, 2009 – from Eric Simonson, IMG Expedition Leader

Today was another good one for the IMG team. The weather cooperated and the wind died down, allowing five sherpas to carry to the Col. Four more went to C3, where they set up more tents. Climbing to Camp 3 today were Kamen, Petya, Karel, and Dawes, who are now all spending the night there with their personal sherpas. Hamill and his crew, along with John and Chris, took an acclimatization climb to the base of the Lhotse Face today. Vernovage and his Lhotse team ascended to C2, along with the Singapore team. Shea moved up to C1. Scott, Ed, and Rejean descended to BC.

Comment:

I took an Ultralite .5 First Aid kit and added these Adventure Medical Kit items: 1 person HeatSheets Blanket, Signal mirror, Firestarter, & Whistle.

It is compact, fits easily in a pocket and weighs about 7 oz. Plus it looks cool!

My two cents. Kurt

Response:

Thanks for the comment Kurt! Our Product Development team loves to hear feedback from our customers about how they use our products.  Keep the ideas coming….

If you have a story or product idea to share with us, you can submit the info using this form.

Question:

Do you recommend adding Celox powder to first aid kits? My situation is carrying the master FAK for a crew of 8-10 scouts and adults for 10+ days backpacking at Philmont.

Thanks, Dan

Answer:

Dear Dan,

I do recommend carrying a “Hemostatic dressing” for adventures like yours where the activities are higher risk and the remoteness of your adventure means professional medical care will not arrive quickly.

Dear AMK,

The wonderful product donations for Trips for Kids and Trips for Kids Marin arrived, and we want to be sure you know how very much we – and the other chapters – appreciate AMK’s generosity!

Simple bike rides sound as if they should be easy to plan and manage, but a LOT goes on behind the scenes. All the pieces have to be in place for successful trips. AMK helps us serve worthwhile community agencies and delight deserving kids. We are grateful for the valuable part your organization plays.

Sincerely,

Marilyn Price, Founder and Director

Navigation Basics: Map and Compass

Check out these great tips found on REI.com

Together they form the first of the time-tested Ten Essentials—map and compass, the indispensible twin tools of navigation. Even in this high-tech GPS era, nothing replaces the value of a magnetized compass, a paper map and the understanding of how both can help you find your way in the wilderness.

You can follow IMG’s journey on their website.  As always, AMK is proud to be working with IMG to keep their team safe on the expedition.  We are looking forward to watching them later this year on Discovery’s Everest: Beyond the Limit Show.  Here is an update from a couple of days ago —-

The trek from Namche to Tengboche.

March 31, 2009

IMG expedition leader Eric Simonson called in to say that yesterday the team hiked from Namche to Tengboche Monastery at 12,700′, and then went a little further to spend the night in Pangboche.

The First Ascent Teamis on their way to Everest and they are documenting the expedition process on YouTube.  There are already four videos on the site, and it’s clear the team is making good progress. They arrived in Lukla two days ago and you can checkout that arrival in the video below.

The star-studded team is comprised of world renowned mountaineer Ed Viesturs, expedition leader and nephew of Jim Whittaker (the first American to summit Everest) Peter Whittaker, Dave Hahn, who’s summited Everest ten times, and three top guides from Rainier Mountaineering, Melissa Arnot, Seth Waterfall, and Chad Peele.

The Resort Sports Network (RSN), a national television network that specializes in creating and distributing outdoor content to America’s premier resorts, has announced it will begin airing AMK’s ‘Be Safe’ video segments starting in April. Hosted by high altitude mountaineer Ed Viesturs, the ‘Be Safe’ vignettes were designed to provide viewers with useful tips on first aid, safety and survival in the outdoors.   Based in Portland, Maine, RSN broadcasts content into 125 mountain and beach destinations across the country. Currently, RSN has affiliates in the following markets:

Check our Rebecca Rusch’s recap of  Stage 3 of the Cape Epic, a 685 km, 8-day mountain bike stage race in South Africa. The route passes through mountain and wine regions and features over 14,000 meters of climbing over the course of the week.  It’s the largest and most competitive stage race in the world and the team rosters are packed with 1200 athletes, including Olympians, pro riders, World Champions and regular cyclists.

Reba & Matthew at the Stage 3 start line.

Absa Cape Epic, Stage 3 – by Rebecca Rusch, Mar 24

Although relatively short at only 73k, stage three packed a wallop.  Just shy of half-way, we encountered a 2,000 ft climb, the vast majority of which was too steep, loose and rocky to ride. The summit ridge offered astonishing views of the incredible hill country known as The Overberg (over the mountains).  Although this climb was the crux of the day, it was by no means the only challenge.

We want your feedback! AMK is re-designing our Ultralight & Watertight medical kit series, and we are looking for feedback from our loyal customers and other outdoor enthusiasts.

We are asking you to take a brief (less than 5 minute) survey today, and another short follow up survey next week.  Your feedback will be used to help us design the new kits.

Of course, there is a bonus! For your time and effort, you will receive either a 30% discount off your next AMK order, or a gift worth $15.