International Mountain Guides: The American Classic on Everest

IMG at a Glance

The core facts of what IMG is and what it delivers on Everest in 2026.

Company Background

Eric Simonson founded IMG in 1986 after building a reputation as one of the first American guides working extensively on Mount Rainier and in Nepal. He was on the 1982 American Medical Research Expedition on Everest — which produced some of the earliest physiological research on climbers at extreme altitude — and launched IMG with deep mountain experience and a clear view of how commercial guiding should be run. The company’s first operations were on Rainier and in the Cascades, expanding internationally through the late 1980s and into the Himalaya in the early 1990s.

IMG’s first Everest expedition ran in 1990, and the company has returned almost every year since, with only a few cancelled seasons in four decades — notably 2014 after the Khumbu Icefall avalanche and 2015 after the Gorkha earthquake. Across 31 expeditions it has put 605 clients on the summit, placing it among the highest-volume summiting operators in the industry. That consistency matters: IMG helped build the modern commercial Everest model and has run it continuously, so its institutional memory covers nearly every failure mode the mountain has produced.

Eric Simonson remains CEO and owner, with his role shifting toward mentorship and program direction, while senior IMG guides and the Sherpa sirdar team handle on-mountain leadership. IMG is a Washington State LLC, accredited by the AMGA, and affiliates with conservation bodies including Leave No Trace — affiliations that shape its guide-certification standards and permit relationships.

Operating Model

IMG’s approach on Everest comes down to three structural choices: a personal climbing Sherpa for every client, radio-integrated communications, and a conservative turn-around culture backed by senior directors who oversee every program.

Staffing — one personal Sherpa per client

Every IMG Everest client is assigned a personal climbing Sherpa for the whole expedition, who climbs through the rotations, fixes ropes, carries to high camps, and is with the client on summit day — effectively 1:1 on summit night. That is materially stronger than the shared-support model many budget operators use. On the Classic program the Western IFMGA guides serve as overall lead guides rather than one-per-client.

Communications — 24/7 radio monitoring

Each climber-and-Sherpa team carries a handheld VHF radio, and IMG runs continuous 24/7 radio monitoring whenever climbers are on the mountain, with required, logged check-ins and satellite-phone capability at Base Camp and key high camps. On a peak where turn-around and evacuation calls are made in minutes, the quality of real-time communications is often the difference between coordinated response and chaos.

Oxygen strategy

IMG uses 1,800-litre bottles — about 10 hours at a typical 3 L/min summit-day flow — with enough allocation on the Classic program for a standard summit push with margin, and more on Hybrid. Summit Oxygen masks and regulators are standard. Higher summit-day flow rates or guaranteed sleep oxygen at Camps 3 and 4 are the most common paid upgrades.

Decision-making — the director layer

The distinctive feature of IMG’s on-mountain culture is its director oversight: senior guides with decades of Everest experience hold final authority on major calls. The turn-around discipline has been tested repeatedly across forty years. IMG does not allow members to climb solo — every climber operates within a team structure with radio contact and leadership oversight at all times.

Sherpa welfare and continuity

Ang Jangbu Sherpa leads a team IMG describes as among the best paid, led, equipped, and trained in the business — a claim broadly corroborated by the wider Everest community. The practical evidence is continuity: many IMG climbing Sherpas have worked with the company for ten-plus years, well above the industry average, which means better-coordinated teams and experience that isn’t lost to turnover.

Medical infrastructure

IMG climbers have access to the HRA Everest ER clinic at Base Camp during the season; lead guides typically hold Wilderness Medical Training or higher; and a Gamow bag and emergency oxygen are kept at Base Camp. Helicopter evacuation from Camp 2 and below is coordinated through local partners, with costs billed to the climber’s insurance — which is why comprehensive evacuation coverage is non-negotiable.

Peaks & Programs

IMG runs a broad international portfolio beyond Everest, which makes it a strong single-operator partner for building an 8,000-meter and Seven Summits resume with one consistent guide culture.

• Himalaya: Mount Everest 8,849 m (Classic & Hybrid), Cho Oyu 8,188 m, Manaslu 8,163 m, Lhotse 8,516 m, and Ama Dablam.
• Seven Summits: Denali 6,190 m, Aconcagua 6,961 m, Kilimanjaro 5,895 m, Vinson Massif 4,892 m, and Carstensz Pyramid 4,884 m.
• Worldwide: Mount Elbrus (Russia), Ecuador’s Cotopaxi and Chimborazo, Mexico’s volcanoes, Bolivia, and Mount Rainier — where many IMG Everest clients do their formal preparation.
• Treks: Everest Base Camp, Machu Picchu, and the Cordillera Huayhuash.

The strategic value is continuity: a climber can start on Rainier, progress to Denali or Aconcagua, add a higher-altitude peak like Cho Oyu, and attempt Everest — all with the same operator and often the same lead guides. See the Seven Summits collection for the bigger picture.

2026 Pricing

IMG offers two primary Everest programs in 2026. They are not upgrades of one another — they are different products with different guide structures.

What’s Typically Included

Expedition logistics (permits, base-camp services, food, in-country transport from a defined start point), Sherpa support, group oxygen and regulators, fixed-rope and Icefall Doctor contributions, Everest ER base-camp medical support, 24/7 radio communications, unlimited pre-expedition consultation, and full base-camp infrastructure (heated dining, kitchen, comms, and individual sleeping tents).

What’s Not Included

International flights to Kathmandu, Nepal visa fees, Kathmandu hotels before and after, personal climbing gear (~$6,000-$12,000 for a full 8,000-meter kit), climbing and trip-cancellation insurance with helicopter evacuation to at least 6,000 m, oxygen upgrades beyond the standard allocation, and customary Sherpa summit bonuses ($1,500-$3,000 per climber, paid in cash). See our insurance comparison above 6,000 m.

Cancellation & Contract Terms

IMG’s specific 2026 cancellation schedule is provided in the expedition contract and isn’t published publicly. Before committing a deposit, request the full schedule in writing and verify these points:

• Tiered refund schedule — larger refunds further out, zero inside ~60-90 days; confirm the exact tier dates.
• Deposit policy — deposits are typically non-refundable; ask specifically.
• Operator-side cancellation — how were clients handled when the 2014 and 2015 seasons were cancelled? The most revealing question to ask.
• Medical cancellations — almost no operator refunds for HAPE or on-mountain medical issues, which is why trip-interruption insurance is non-negotiable.
• Permit-fee changes — Nepal’s permit fee rose from $11,000 to $15,000 in September 2025; ask how changes between booking and departure are handled.

Who Should Climb With IMG

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