Today our team is enjoying a restful day at Everest Base Camp and will be departing on their second rotation toward Camp 2 early this morning. Yesterday Lisa, Ankur, and Conan went on a afternoon hike with beautiful views looking over the Everest region. Ankur had a special delivery DHL package delivered to basecamp a couple weeks ago with a Scrabble game. Little did we know Ankur is a extraordinary scrabble player and the rest of the team will continue to win a game. The weather has been great with clear skies in the day and colder nights once the sun goes down. We are all looking forward to our next rotation and believe that the summit day is within two weeks from today!

.

Screen Shot 2016-04-30 at 7.42.20 AM

.

Larger than a American Chuckar, very domesticated and looking for handouts!

Screen Shot 2016-04-30 at 7.42.34 AM

.

Spectacular views with Everest in the background 

Screen Shot 2016-04-30 at 7.42.50 AM

.

Lisa practicing her yoga moves at 18,500ft

Screen Shot 2016-04-30 at 7.41.51 AM

.

Lisa and Ankur on a relaxing day hike with Conan

Screen Shot 2016-04-30 at 7.42.04 AM

Today was a relaxing day at Everest Base Camp with half the group deciding to stretch their legs and go on a four hour roundtrip hike to Pumori Base Camp. Pumori is right behind you if you are looking up at Everest from Base Camp and provides spectacular views. This afternoon Brent and Kent arrived into base camp which completes our 2016 climbing team. Kent will be acclimating over the next few days and is doing very well. Tomorrow we will go on another short day hike and begin to prepare for our second rotation up the mountain. At dinner this evening we had fresh vegetables, mango’s, chicken, and pasta.

.

Sunset looking over our base camp

Screen Shot 2016-04-28 at 10.20.29 PM

.

View from Pumori Base Camp Hike

Screen Shot 2016-04-28 at 10.20.58 PM

.

View from Pumori Base Camp Hike

Screen Shot 2016-04-28 at 10.21.08 PM

.

Conan enjoying the sunny afternoon with our lead Sherpa’s

Screen Shot 2016-04-28 at 10.21.20 PM

.

Pumpkin Soup ~ Pumpkin Pie 

Screen Shot 2016-04-28 at 10.20.42 PM

Our standard Everest and Lhotse climbing team have finished the first rotation on the mountain, spending 2 nights at Camp 1 and 3 nights at Camp 2 to acclimatize and familiarize ourselves with the climbing route.  We are now in base camp resting and preparing for our second rotation. Climbers are enjoying base camp, taking hot showers, eating fresh food at every meal, and reading or watching films as we recover from our time spent up high on the mountain at over 21,000’.  Here are some reports from our climbers:

Lisa“I felt so good at camp 2, I wanted to just keep going!”

Stuart“I really enjoyed the climb through the icefall, and the time up at camp 2, I’m enjoying my rest time at base camp, we have a great team and looking forward to heading back up!”

Nick“It’s cold up there at Camp 2, but I know I will be alright!”

Ankur“Each rotation up the mountain is like an expedition itself.”

Jeff“I felt safe and protected throughout the rotation up through the icefall and at Camp 2.”

Joel“I’m amazed by the Sherpa, their strength, stamina, friendliness, willingness to serve and pleasant attitudes.”

Jim“Commitment to team and a day at a time!”

Our Private Everest climbing team has arrived and is preparing for the first rotation up the mountain.  The climbers have used the Hypoxico system to pre-acclimatize, and have reduced 3 weeks from the expedition by doing so.

Andrew and Fred are managing the virtual reality (VR) Everest project and have been working hard capturing content the last 3 weeks, covering the trek to base camp, Everest Base Camp, and the Khumbu Icefall climbing route up to Camp 1. Fred will continue filming up the mountain as we climb higher, hopefully capturing the first ever VR from the summit of Mount Everest!

 

Our 18 Sherpa climbers are also resting after working hard to establish our Camp 3 on the Lhotse Face.  Things are moving fast and it looks like the fixed lines might be up to the summit by early May.  Our base camp cook team (8 Nepali staff) is taking good care of us by cooking fresh & hearty meals!  We’ve lost a few pounds up high so we need to replenish!

 

Madison Mountaineering 2016 Everest Team

Guide Team for standard Everest (& Lhotse) program:

-Garrett Madison

-Conan Bliss

-Billy Nugent

 

Guide Team for Private Everest climb:

-Brent Bishop

 

VR Everest Film Team:

-Fred Alldredge (high altitude camera man)

-Tundu Sherpa (high altitude camera assistant)

 

Everest Base Camp Manager & VR Digital Asset Manager:

-Andrew Tierney

 

Screen Shot 2016-04-27 at 9.38.22 PM

.

Screen Shot 2016-04-27 at 9.38.38 PM

.

Screen Shot 2016-04-27 at 9.38.50 PM

.

Screen Shot 2016-04-27 at 9.39.01 PM

.

Screen Shot 2016-04-27 at 12.30.36 PM

.

Screen Shot 2016-04-27 at 12.30.51 PM

.

Screen Shot 2016-04-27 at 12.31.05 PM

.

Screen Shot 2016-04-27 at 12.31.45 PM

.

Screen Shot 2016-04-27 at 12.31.59 PM

.

Screen Shot 2016-04-27 at 12.33.32 PM

Today our team packed up from Camp 2 and made a safe descent through the Khumbu Icefall. Arriving into Base Camp a little before lunch time. Up on the mountain the winds were strong and our team spent a lot of time in our field tested Mountain Hardwear Trango 3 tents. Spending five days up on Everest our climbers were able to acclimate and get ready for the next rotation. Tomorrow will be dedicated to rest and recovery with no planned activities in the day. Tonight we had a feast of a meal and I’m sure that will continue in the days to come. Weather the past few days has been blue skies with no clouds, which means it is very cold once the sun goes down. We are all in good health and look forward to the adventures ahead of us.

 

Screen Shot 2016-04-25 at 10.17.50 PM

.

Screen Shot 2016-04-25 at 10.18.02 PM

.

Screen Shot 2016-04-25 at 10.18.14 PM

.

Screen Shot 2016-04-25 at 10.18.26 PM

.

Screen Shot 2016-04-25 at 10.18.42 PM

.

Screen Shot 2016-04-25 at 10.18.54 PM

.

Screen Shot 2016-04-25 at 10.19.06 PM

.

Screen Shot 2016-04-25 at 10.19.21 PM

.

Screen Shot 2016-04-25 at 10.19.33 PM

.

Screen Shot 2016-04-25 at 10.19.50 PM

.

Screen Shot 2016-04-25 at 10.20.06 PM

Spending a second night at Camp 2, our climbers acclimatize and continue to move higher up the mountain. Over the past two days our team has enjoyed the comfort of our advanced base camp with hot meals and beautiful views. From base camp we watched many helicopters make rounds to Camp 1 yesterday, carrying loads dangling beneath filled with fixed ropes for higher on Everest. In years past Sherpa had carried the fixed ropes through the Khumbu Icefall. Tomorrow if the weather allows our team will descend the mountain and arrive back at Base Camp. Strong winds have been ripping across base camp at night which makes for a exciting night in the tent.

Once back at base camp our team will rest for 4-5 days before making their second rotation toward Camp 3 at 7,200, (23,635ft).

IMG_5139

.

IMG_5144

.

IMG_5148

.

IMG_5149

.

IMG_5151

.

IMG_5157

Garrett reports to base camp that the team has successfully reached Camp 2 at 6,400m (21,000ft). Currently it’s snowing and very cold with high winds. Our Camp 2 is our advanced base camp with a large dining tent with food and supplies to support the expedition further up Mt. Everest in the weeks to come. Our team is healthy and doing well, they are now in their down suits staying warm as the temperature continues to drop into the evening. The plan is to stay here for 3 nights to acclimate and go on day hikes if the weather allows. Will upload pictures as soon as I am able!

After successfully making it through the Khumbu Icefall yesterday our team has enjoyed a rest at Camp One. Today our lead guides, (Garrett, Conan, and Billy) made a nice breakfast for the team before taking off on a day hike to continue to acclimatize. Everyone is in good health and ready to continue the journey up Mt. Everest tomorrow. With weather conditions stable our team will climb 3-5 hours to reach Camp Two at 6,400m (21,000ft) tomorrow. Spending a couple nights at Camp Two our team will complete their first acclimatization rotation and return to base camp to rest. The views are spectacular and we will have photos up of Camp Two tomorrow!

.

Madison Mountaineering Camp One

Screen Shot 2016-04-21 at 10.01.44 PM

Early this morning our climbers departed from base camp and successfully navigated through the Khumbu Icefall to reach Everest Camp One. Crossing the many crevasse’s with ladders fixed together and steep fixed lines our climbers worked as a team to overcome the obstacles and reach the safety of our tents above the icefall. Our weather reports in the weeks to come will be from our good friend Micheal Fagin with Everest Weather. Michael will be providing tailored weather analytics that provide the most up to date and accurate assessments, allowing our team to make data driven decisions closer to summit day. Right now we are not seeing any storms that may move out of the Bay of Bengal with light precipitation on Mount Everest over the next few days.

Tomorrow our team will go on a 2-3 hour day hike and return to Camp One in the evening. All members are doing well and I’m sure will have a good night sleep after their ascent through the Khumbu Icefall. Below is a shot of Madison Mountaineering Camp One!

.

Screen Shot 2016-04-20 at 7.39.52 PM

It’s an early morning as our team gears up for an alpine start toward Everest Camp 1. It is now 2 am and the team is having a light breakfast and grabbing lunch snack packs before taking off into the Khumbu Icefall toward Camp 1. Backpacks and gear were packed before dinner and the stars and moon are out in full. The weather looks great for the ascent and everyone is excited to begin this next stage of their journey.

Yesterday we went up into the Khumbu Icefall for a 3 hour trip up toward the ladders for continued ice practice. All members of the team did very well and moved up and down the fixed ropes with ease. Garrett will be able to send brief messages and pictures via satellite connection and I will upload from base camp. To the top!

 

Screen Shot 2016-04-20 at 1.45.08 AM

.

Screen Shot 2016-04-20 at 1.45.17 AM

.

Screen Shot 2016-04-20 at 1.45.32 AM

.

Screen Shot 2016-04-20 at 1.45.42 AM

.

Screen Shot 2016-04-20 at 1.45.54 AM

.

Screen Shot 2016-04-20 at 1.46.03 AM

.

Screen Shot 2016-04-20 at 1.46.16 AM

.

Screen Shot 2016-04-20 at 1.46.28 AM

Today we enjoyed a beautiful sunrise and a few of us wondered around exploring Everest Base Camp throughout the afternoon. Surprisingly it takes about an hour to get from one side of the camp to the other! There are three helicopter landing zones that we found and dozens of camps with climbers gearing up for their first rotations. We met many interesting characters along the way including a man that is here for 6 weeks collecting personal postcards to put into a traveling art gallery. I will try and get pictures and details as his collection grows!

Our team is healthy and ready to make their first rotation up through the Khumbu Icefall tomorrow night. The plan is to trek into the icefall in the morning then relax and double check our gear before taking off at 1am the following night. Our team will spend two nights at Camp 1 and then move up to Camp 2 for an additional two nights. Camp 2 for us is a bigger establishment with a dining tent similar to base camp. Today we met all of the climbing Sherpa that will be with us as we journey to the top.

Photos from our trek around base camp! Enjoy 🙂

Screen Shot 2016-04-18 at 9.49.46 PM

.

Screen Shot 2016-04-18 at 9.50.05 PM

.

Screen Shot 2016-04-18 at 9.50.17 PM

.

Screen Shot 2016-04-18 at 9.50.32 PM

.

Screen Shot 2016-04-18 at 9.50.47 PM

.

Screen Shot 2016-04-18 at 9.51.07 PM