Many of us at Adventure® Medical Kits just got back from another busy but greatOutdoor Retailer Summer Market — the trade show for leading outdoor manufacturers and retailers, which takes place the first week of August in Salt Lake City, UT. Prior to and during the show, AMK was recognized by OR’s organizers as one of its ’40+ Legacy Partners’. The initiative, which included special call-outs on OR’s website and signage on the convention floor, honored AMK as one of only 54 companies that has exhibited at Outdoor Retailer for at least 40 shows. Below is a summary of other highlights that occurred during OR:
SOL ORIGIN & CORE LITE MANIA!
Buyers and media alike couldn’t get enough of the company’s first ever line of Essential Tools, the SOL Origin and Core Lite. The Origin was prominently featured on the local Salt Lake ABC affiliate and Park City Television, among a plethora of other media outlets. Representing AMK’s first entry into hard goods, the Origin and Core Lite — which will also be the first products to be released under the newly minted SOL brand — offer a multitude of survival components that will save your bacon, if you’re lost, hurt or stranded in the outdoors. Among other items, both the Origin and the Core Lite come with a fully featured knife — a folding AUS-8 locking blade with easy-grip handle that includes a built-in LED light and single-frequency, pea-less whistle. Both products will hit store shelves later this year — just in time for the holiday rush!
AMK ATHLETES IN THE BOOTH
Plenty of AMK’s athletes and other industry notables stopped by the booth, including International Mountain Guides‘ partners Eric Simonson and George Dunn. George recently became the first person to ever summit Mt. Rainier 500 times. An amazing milestone. Congratulations George! Only 500 more till you reach 1000, right? Women’s World Mountain Bike Champ Rebecca Rusch also hung out in the booth. Rebecca was preparing to compete in the Leadville 100, which is coming up this weekend. Rebecca won the event in ’09 and is gunning for the two-pete this year. Best of luck, Rebecca!
Rebecca Rusch hanging out in the AMK booth
Throughout the show, AMK was also helping to raise money for Epicocity’s Elephant Ivory Project, which aims to end the practice of elephant poaching in Africa. National Geographic Channel’s Young Explorer grant winner Trip Jennings and the Epicocity Crew are currently raising funds for a forensic biology expedition to the remote jungle of the Democratic Republic of Congo this fall, with the goal of saving wild elephants from the illegal ivory trade. You can help the cause directly, by donating money to the project here.
During the OR show, AMK also donated DEET-free Natrapel® 8 hour insect repellent and Ultralight/Watertight medical kits to the Four Corners School of Outdoor Education(FCS), a Monticello, Utah-based non-profit organization that provides outdoor education on and about the Colorado Plateau located in parts of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. According to executive director and founder Janet Ross, the Natrapel® 8 hour was sure to be an indispensable item for the trip the FCS was organizing for a group of outdoor industry leaders to the Canyonlands and Arches National Park, following the conclusion of OR. To learn more about the great work the FCS does, go here.
It’s hard to believe it already came and went, but it was another amazing Summer OR show for Adventure® Medical Kits. Now the real work begins, getting the new products onto retailers’ shelves – oh yeah, and preparing for Winter OR 2011. It’s, like, only six months away!
Here is another update on the International Mountain Guides summit bid status. As always, keep an eye out for more updates coming soon!
Camp 3 at 23,500' midway up the steep Lhotse Face. Climbers begin sleeping on oxygen here, and crampons must be used outside of tents to move around on the ice.
May 19, 2020
IMG deputy leader Ang Jangbu reports from Base Camp that everyone did very well today pulling into Camps 1 and 2:
Karel, Al and Lei went from Camp 1 to 2. Bergum, Ford, Mike Chapman and Merle went from BC to Camp 2 directly. John and Ryan Dahlem and Robert Kay stayed at Camp 1 for the night and will move to Camp 2 tomorrow. Ten sherpas carried to South Col, three carried Camp 3 and two carried to Lhotse Camp 4 today. Three more sherpas moved to Camp 2 today. It was windy all day today above Camp 1.
The plan for tomorrow (5/20) is that the Hybrid team and also Greg, Brook, Boaz, Hancock, B Chapman, Lein, Davis, Karel and their personal sherpas plan to leave Camp 2 at 3am in the morning and head up to Camp 3. Ang Pasang, Tenzing Gyalzen and Phura Ongel will go ahead of the group to Camp 3 and set up three more tents and then they will drop back down to Camp 2. We have two sherpas down here at BC (Phu Tashi and Karma Gyalzen) who will go to Camp 1 and meet two sherpas coming down from Camp 2. These four sherpas will take down the Camp 1. The rest of the sherpas are taking a rest day today. Tomorrow they will go to Camp 2 and will carry personal/group gear to the Col and set up tents the next day.
Looks like the teams on Everest, including International Mountain Guides‘ teams are getting ready to start their summit bids! Keep watching for updates – there should be more news soon.
IMG Sherpa Trek team before they departed base camp. (photo: Ang Jangbu)
Dawa Nuru on the fixed ropes below C3 (photo: Justin Merle)
IMG leader Justin Merle reports from Base Camp that the Sherpa Trek group left today after a nice visit, and are heading for Lobuche.
The team reports that there may have been as many as 50 Everest summits today. Congrats to these summiters, the door is open now!
This morning the IMG climbers finished packing high altitude snack food and personal gear for the summit bids and we got the oxygen masks handed out to the Sherpas. The weather report is looking better with the jet stream is forecasted to start tracking over the next week more to the north, away from Mt Everest. Currently it has been very close to Everest, moving away slightly, but then meandering back and forth. Now that it starts to move conclusively to the north, this is really the beginning of the end of the climbing season, since this also signals the beginning of the monsoon formation down in the Indian Ocean.
The tentative plan for the IMG is to split the team into two waves, with the first group of summit climbers starting up tomorrow, and the second group starting up the next day. Leaving at a pre-dawn hour tomorrow morning are the Hybrid team, Greg Vernovage, Boaz, Hancock, Lien, Wang, B Chapman, Masek and their respective personal sherpas. The rest of the climbers and their Sherpas leave Base Camp the following day with Justin.
International Mountain Guides reported that their first expedition members reached the summit of Mount Everest today. The teams are preparing for their summit attempts in the coming weeks. Keep track of their progress and read daily updates by vising their blog. Congratulations on the first successful summits of the year and we are wishing the teams luck in the coming weeks!
IMG Sherpas at Everest Base Camp
First Summits of the Season
May 5, 2010
IMG deputy leader Ang Jangbu Sherpa reports that the following IMG sherpas reached the summit of Mount Everest between 11:25 and 11:30 AM on Wednesday, May 5, 2010:
They fixed rope from the South Col to the Balcony yesterday and finished fixing all the way to the summit today along with three sherpas from two other teams: HIMEX and AAI. Congrats to all nine of these guys, great work.
Discovery Channel’s Everest: Beyond the Limit Air Dates Announced
Now in its third season, the Discovery Channel’s Everest: Beyond The Limit is taking a new approach to filming this year and will feature both International Mountain Guides and Himalayan Experience in a five-part series.
Several IMG climbers will be featured in the series – you can read more about former NASA Astronaut Scott Parazynski and Dawes Eddy, the oldestAmerican to climb Everest below.
The dates and times are below. Be sure to check your local listings for any last minute changes.
IMG climber Scott Parazynski returned to Everest this season after coming tantalizingly close last year. The former Nasa Astronaut was sidelined with a ruptured lumbar disc at 24,500′ on his summit bid in 2008.
This year Scott came back fit and ready to top out with Danuru Sherpa. Scott achieved his goal at dawn on May 20, 2009. A veteran of several space flights and spacewalks, Scott is the only person to both summit Mt. Everest and fly in space.
Everest Climber Feature – Dawes Eddy
Dawes Eddy of Spokane, WA could not be stopped on Everest this year. At 66 years old most people think about retirement and moving to somewhere warm. Not Dawes. An experienced climber of many peaks in the Cascades and in South America Dawes set out to become the oldest American to summit Everest and did so at dawn on May 20, 2009.
American Climber and founding member of International Mountain Guides (IMG), Phil Ershler, celebrated the 25th anniversary of his epic ascent of the North Side of Everest.
Phil Ershler on the North Col of Mt. Everest, 1984 photo courtesy of International Mountain Guides
Phil is one of the world’s most renowned climbers with a career that spans almost four decades. His achievements are simply awe inspiring – including being the first American ascent of the North side of Everest (solo ascent), more than 400 summits of Mt. Rainier, 25 summits of Mt. McKinley, being one of a handful of climbers to summit the highest peaks on all seven continents and the first to do it twice!
Bridging cultural divides in Ecuador, 2008 photo courtesy of International Mountain Guides
We have had the honor of working with Phil and are amazed by his achievements and his humble demeanor. AMK would like to congratulation Phil and are excited to work with him for years to come….
Below is a post from the IMG blog from fellow mountaineers and IMG founders George Dunn and Eric Simonson in celebration on the 25th Anniversary of the Everest climb. Visit the IMG website for more information on Phil, more photos and other news.
25 Years Since Ershler’s First Everest Summit
We started guiding with Phil back in the early ’70′s on Rainier and have watched him navigate through the mountains of life. October 20, 2009 marks 25 years since Phil made the first American ascent of the North Face of Everest.
Leaving the high camp near the top of the Great Couloir, on the 20th of October (very late in the season) Phil climbed through the Yellow Band with John Roskelley, who turned back at this point. Phil continued solo on steep terrain to the top, where his one and only bottle of oxygen ran out.
Phil Ershler descending from the North Face of Mt. Everest, 1984 photo courtesy of International Mountain Guides
He then descended without oxygen back to the camp, and down from there. It was a remarkable accomplishment, executed superbly, and firmly based on his experience of two previous Everest expeditions and many prior years of mountaineering under his belt.
Phil was on the cutting edge of high altitude mountaineering in those days. He led Bass and Well’s ’83 Everest trip, reached the summit of Kangchenjunga from the North in ’89, climbed to within a few hundred feet of the summit of K2 in ’90 w/o O2 (via the remote North Ridge). As members of several of those early American teams that ventured to the Himalayas, we remember clearly what it was like back then: no other teams on the mountain, no fixed ropes unless we put them in ourselves, no sherpas, no tourists, no sat phones, no rescue, no nothing!
Everything has changed so much now, the boundaries have been pushed back so far. We celebrate the democratization of mountaineering, but also remember the old days fondly. Back then, going to Everest was like going to the moon or something, it was surreal.
Phil and Susan Ershler in Everest base camp after summiting Everest and becoming the first couple to climb the Seven Summits, 2002 photo courtesy of International Mountain Guides
In the years that followed those exploits, Phil has continued to distinguish himself as a remarkable mountain guide, who has personally led well over a hundred expeditions around the world and inspired a whole generation of guides and customers. All of us who have climbed and worked with him are continually amazed by his perseverance, good humor, even keel, and great judgment. He is a real asset for us here at IMG. Way to go, Phil!
IMG teams have successfully summited both Everest and Lhotse this Spring. There was a lot of action on both mountains between May 19th & 20th – read below for notes from the top!
Notes from Everest from IMG Expedition Leader Eric Simonson -
IMG’s sherpa team, as always, has done another outstanding job this year. We are proud to recognize that IMG’s sherpas were the first people to summit both Everest and Lhotse this year while putting in the fixed ropes on the route and paving the way for everyone else. We can’t praise them enough!
View from the summit, climbers take the final few steps to the top of Mt. Everest, 29,035′. (photo: Willie Benegas)
Everest summiters include three members of our awesome Singapore women’s team, Jane, Li Hui, and Esther. US Astronaut and medical scientist Scott Parazynski reached the top along with Dawes Eddy, a remarkable athlete from Spokane, Washington. We believe Dawes has just become the oldest American to ever reach the summit of Everest.
We are also happy to announce IMG summits on Lhotse as reported to the Nepal officials.
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.
Camp 3 at 23,500′ midway up the step Lhotse Face. Climbers begine sleeping on oxygen here, and crampons must be used outside of tents to move around on the ice.
We had additional sherpas carries today to C1 and C2, and tomorrow we have a number of sherpas moving to C2 to start making carries to the Col. So, things are rolling and we are shooting to get C4 at the Col well established in the next few days, as weather allows. Jangbu has a meeting scheduled tomorrow with a number of the sirdars of the various teams to start making plans to fix above the Col.
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 LimitShow. 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.
Today the team will be moving up to Pheriche at around 14,000′ where they’ll spend the night and have a rest day, acclimating and doing some short hikes. In Pheriche they’ll also meet with the HRA (Himalayan Rescue Association) who have established a clinic in Pheriche and treat anyone who needs their help for a nominal fee. They meet with climbing and trekking expeditions to better prepare them for altitude issues and other potential mountaineering health issues.
IMG Everest Team 2009 – Group Dinner / First Meeting in Kathmandu
All is well, and everybody is doing fine. Typical for the Khumbu Valley in the Spring, the weather is cold and clear in the mornings with some light (but melting away) snow in the afternoons.
The Discovery Channel will be filming a new season of Everest: Beyond the Limit in the next few months, and this year AMK sponsored International Mountain Guides (IMG) will be featured as they attempt to bring 50 clients to the top of the world via the South Side of the mountain. IMG Himalayan Director Eric Simonson, and a film team will join the great group of climbers and trekkers already on board for IMG’s 2009 Everest expedition.
The planning and preparations are already well under way. Ang Jangbu reports from Kathmandu that the first 3000kg of gear was sent last week by helicopter to Shyangboche. The loads are now moving by yak toward Base Camp, where our Sherpa team has already started building our camp.
Since 1991 IMG has successfully supported 179 people from 14 countries to the summit of Everest, and they are looking forward to another great season on the mountain. AMK is proud to support IMG in their monumental effort this season.
