Hi everyone!

Rob & Kerry here - Just wanted to say a quick hello to everyone here back home. Kerry and I may have met some of you at Bob's going away party in DC - If not, nice to meet you! Kerry and I are new to walking up hill for fun, and climbed Kilimanjaro with Bob in 2006. Kerry will tell you Bob was a big help in getting us to the top! We've told him he would make a great guide!

We'll be keeping everyone up to date as best we can here with the "official" IMG updates. We'll post them here as soon as they come in. You can also sign up directly for them and follow the action over at the IMG site: http://www.mountainguides.com/everest-south08.shtml#team

If you can't get over to that site, no worries - I'll post all the updates here and send out an email when something new comes in. As Bob mentioned, if he is able to get a Sat call in I will post the updates here as well - and maybe some audio if we can get that to work too.

Take care everyone!
Good luck Bob!


Here are the first updates from IMG:

Team in Kathmandu and Heading for Lukla
March 25,
2008
I arrived yesterday in Kathmandu and am happy to report that
most of the team is now here too. The plan is for the first group to fly to
Lukla tomorrow (the 27th) and begin the trek to Base Camp. The guided teams led
by Kurt Wedberg, Ryan Campbell, Mike Hamill, and Casey Grom will start a day or
two later.
Ang Jangbu reports that the "Icefall Doctors" are now at
Base Camp getting ready to start work on the Khumbu Icefall Route. IMG now has
ten sherpas at BC working on our camp and all our gear is now moving to BC. We
still do not have the permit. Latest news is that the Ministry has forward their
recommendation to the Cabinet for final approval, which we hope to finally
receive in another couple days. In the meantime, we are full steam ahead to
start moving towards the mountain and acclimatizing.
—Eric Simonson, IMG
Director

The IMG Everest 2008 Expedition Begins
March 21,
2008
I have said before that every year is different when it comes
to Everest, and 2008 is shaping up to be no exception! Just when we were
celebrating the end of the civil war in Nepal and the prospects of nationwide
elections this spring, it seems that world events again conspire to make the
Everest season unpredictable. The recent instability in Tibet and the diplomatic
pressure that the Chinese have put on Nepal to close the south side of Everest
makes us remember that it is not just the weather, avalanches, and ice that we
struggle with, but also governments and politics. Knock on wood, it now looks
like we will get our Everest permits, with some conditions — we will likely have
to come down while the Chinese are summiting with the Olympic Torch from the
North side. The exact details will be forthcoming, and we will keep everyone
updated on this.
We have now sent three MI-17 helicopter charters to
Shyangboche and over 22,000 pounds of food, fuel, and supplies has been
transported to Pangboche and Gorak Shep, where it awaits deployment to BC. Ang
Jangbu Sherpa reports from Kathmandu that the oxygen shipment has arrived and
will be repacked for transport by helicopter and yaks to Khumbu Base Camp. Our
Sherpa team is ready to go to Base Camp and finish construction as soon as we
get the green light from the Ministry.
The IMG team travels to Base Camp
in several waves this year, with the main group flying to Lukla on March 27 with
the Expedition Leaders Mark Tucker and Ang Jangbu Sherpa. We expect that they
will arrive at Base Camp about April 7.
We'll look forward to sharing
our 2008 IMG Everest expedition experience with you!
—Eric Simonson, IMG
Director