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ExWeb interview: IMG's Eric Simonson, "IGO 8000 is gone - members were too different from each other"
11:30 am CDT Jun 21, 2006
(MountEverest.net) IGO 8000 was meant to be a self-regulating body, aiming to keep a certain standard of practice for commercial teams on 8000ers. The final goal was to provide the highest possible level of safety for their clients, the local staff and their guides.
They would offer guided expeditions, including a leader taking clients up to the very summit. The teams agreed to follow a code of conduct, which applied to issues such as a guide's level of experience, transparency with potential costumers, a client's minimum required experience, and a team’s resources on the mountain.
IGO no longer exsists
The founders, besides Himex, were Adventure Consultants Ltd, Himalayan Guides, Himalayan Kingdoms Expeditions, International Mountain Guides, Mountain Works, and OTT Expeditions. Eventually Alpine Ascents, Kari Kobler, Amical, and Mountain Madness joined.
The IGO 8000 organization no longer exists. ExWeb spoke to one of the founding members, IMG’s director Eric Simonson to check what happened.
Members were too different from each other
“IGO8000 has come and gone. It was never entirely clear what the real goal of the organization was," Eric told ExWeb. "Companies that were not members looked upon it as a cartel. Companies that were members questioned the value of an organization that diminished their ability to differentiate their respective products from competitors, and which had no ability to compel cooperation on the mountain."
“Clearly, IGO8000 companies were very different from each other, yet the common IGO label made them look similar to the consumer.”
Costumers must do their homework
“In the end, the expedition business has changed and the need for an organization such as IGO has shown itself to be unnecessary. IMG and other companies chose to work with other expedition teams on a bi-lateral basis, and we don’t need an organization to help us do this."
“Customers need to do their own due diligence regarding what they get for the money they pay an organizer," says Eric.
"Imposing some bureaucracy on the industry won’t replace this ultimate responsibility of the consumer to clearly understand what service they are purchasing with their hard earned money.”
Eric Simonson is head of Seattle-based International Mountain Guides. Eric has been a professional mountain guide since 1973 and has personally conducted over 85 major expeditions around the globe, including over 25 to the Himalayas.
Eric's guiding experience in the U.S. includes over 270 successful ascents of Mt. Rainier and 16 ascents of Mt. McKinley in Alaska. His international guiding and climbing resume include ascents of the "Seven Summits" and eleven expeditions to Mt. Everest, reaching the summit in 1991 via the North Ridge.
In addition to being a co-owner and active manager of International Mountain Guides, Inc., Eric is a co-owner and active manager of Mt. Rainier Alpine Guides. He co-authored Ghosts of Everest, sharing the story of his 1999 Mallory & Irvine Research Expedition. He also co-authored Detectives on Everest recapping the 2001 Mallory & Irvine Research Expedition.
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