Tag Archive for: Khumbu Valley

Blessings in Pangboche

At our blessing today in Pangboche!

After spending a day in Namche Bazaar acclimatizing, the Madison Mountaineering Himalayan expedition teams hit the trail again today towards Pheriche. The team made a stop at the Pangboche Monastery where they received blessings before continuing toward their next destination. Situated below Ama Dablam, the views here are magnificent and the team looks forward to hopefully having more Himalayan views tomorrow during an acclimatization hike. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from the Himalayas:

Hey! This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Everest (8848m/29,032ft) climbing and trekking team. Today we made it to Pheriche (4371m/14,340ft). We had an easy walk up the valley after a wonderful blessing this morning in Pangboche Monastery (3985m/13,074ft)!

The team’s looking good! Everyone’s very strong and healthy, and we’re very excited for our acclimatization hike tomorrow. Hopefully, we’ll get some great views of some of the 8,000-meter peaks surrounding us!

All is well here in the Khumbu Valley of Nepal and we’ll check in soon!

All smiles while trekking up the Khumbu Valley.

All smiles while trekking up the Khumbu Valley.

Trekking up the Khumbu Valley in the fog.

Trekking up the Khumbu Valley in the fog.

In addition to these expedition dispatches, you can also follow our teams as they make their attempts on the world’s most formidable mountains on:

– Amazon Alexa devices with the Madison Mountaineering Flash Briefing skill:

  • Enable the skill and add to your flash briefing to hear our daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

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Arrived in Namche!

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

The Madison Mountaineering Himalayan expedition teams have arrived in the exciting town of Namche Bazaar! Namche serves as the main hub in the Khumbu region where climbers and trekkers from around the world can enjoy the comforts of comfortable lodges, cafes, bakeries, restaurants, and more! The team had a spectacular day trekking along the Dudh Koshi River, crossing multiple suspension bridges along the way high above the river below. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from Namche Bazaar:

Hey! This is Garrett checking in for the Madison Mountaineering Everest (8848m/29,032ft), Lhotse (8516m/27,940ft), Nuptse (7861m/25,791ft) expedition! Today is April 15, Monday, and today we arrived in Namche Bazaar (3440m/11,290ft)! We trekked up the beautiful Khumbu Valley along the river, across some suspension bridges, and made our way into Namche this afternoon. (We) had a wonderful, restful afternoon, got hot showers, had a nice dinner, and now we’re off to bed. So, we’re looking forward to spending another night here, and fun hike tomorrow up to the Everest View Hotel, and continuing on our way!

Everyone’s doing well, we’re happy to be here, and we’ll check in soon!

In addition to these expedition dispatches, you can also follow our teams as they make their attempts on the world’s most formidable mountains on:

– Amazon Alexa devices with the Madison Mountaineering Flash Briefing skill:

  • Enable the skill and add to your flash briefing to hear our daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

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Hello, from the Khumbu Valley!

The team making their way up the beautiful Khumbu Valley!

Hello, from the Khumbu Valley! The spring, 2024 Himalayan season is underway and our team has begun their trek towards Everest Base Camp. After traveling from around the world and arriving in Kathmandu, the team settled into their hotel rooms before conducting a gear check, orientation, and enjoying a nice welcome dinner as a team! The following morning after a big breakfast at the Yak and Yeti hotel, our team gathered on the helicopter pad and awaited their lift to Lukla – the starting point for where we’ll begin the trek to Everest Base Camp. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from Phakding:

Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Mount Everest (8848m/29,032ft), Lhotse (8516m/27,940ft), Nuptse (7861m/25,791ft) expedition team! Today is April 14, Sunday, and today we flew from Kathmandu (1400m/4,600ft) to Lukla (2860m/9,383ft) by helicopter to start the trek. We trekked to the first village, Phakding (2610m/8,562ft), where we had an afternoon lunch and dinner. We had beautiful views today – so nice to be up in the Khumbu Valley where the air is fresh, the views are magnificent, and the people are wonderful.

So, we’re excited to be in the mountains heading uphill towards Everest Base Camp (5364m/17,598ft) and beyond. Everyone’s doing well and we’ll check in soon tomorrow from Namche (3440m/11,290ft)!

Team photo outside of our team hotel, the Yak and Yeti!

Team photo outside of our team hotel, the Yak and Yeti!

In addition to these expedition dispatches, you can also follow our teams as they make their attempts on the world’s most formidable mountains on:

– Amazon Alexa devices with the Madison Mountaineering Flash Briefing skill:

  • Enable the skill and add to your flash briefing to hear our daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

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Updates from the Himalayas

Nelly Attar (left) and Aang Phurba Sherpa cleaning up trash above Lobuche East High Camp (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

The Fall, 2023 Madison Mountaineering Himalayan season has been all time! Clear skies, perfect climbing conditions, and strong teams throughout have made for an unforgettable season… And it’s not over yet! Our teams have been climbing throughout the Khumbu region, trekking amongst giants up to Everest Base Camp, climbing on 6000m / 20,000ft peaks like Lobuche and Island Peak, and one of the crown jewels of the Himalaya, Ama Dablam.

Perfect weather, climbing conditions, and summits are part of the equation for a successful expedition – this season has been full of that with 100% summit success on Ama Dablam under weather that climbers dream of. On three separate teams, our climbers topped out on the peak of Ama Dablam, taking in the views, hugs and celebrating after achieving the goal that we’ve worked so hard for.

Our teams have descended safely out of the mountains and and returned to their homes. We are so grateful to get to share this time with friends new and old in a truly special place!

Congratulations to our climbers for a wonderful expedition! Special thanks to our rockstar Sherpa and base camp staff teams for their support – these efforts would not be possible without you!

Still to come: We have a special expedition underway in the Himalaya where the team has successfully climbed Lobuche East and Ama Dablam, with Mera Peak still to come. In addition to these efforts, the team is also cleaning up and removing much of the trash and debris that has accumulated on and around the mountains over the years. This week, the team removed 350 kilograms of waste from Lobuche peak and are continuing these efforts on and around Ama Dablam. Great work team!

The Fall 2023 season has been one for the books! We’re so proud of all of our teams and are psyched for the many years of climbing to come in the Himalaya. Looking to climb in one of the world’s great ranges? Reach out to our office to set up your next mountain adventure!

Nelly Attar picking up trash above Lobuche East High Camp (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Nelly Attar picking up trash above Lobuche East High Camp (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Cleaning up trash above Lobuche East High Camp (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Cleaning up trash above Lobuche East High Camp (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Our team carrying trash out of Lobuche East High Camp to be repurposed or disposed of out of the Khumbu Valley (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Our team carrying trash out of Lobuche East High Camp to be repurposed or disposed of out of the Khumbu Valley (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Our team Our working near Lobuche East High Camp (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Our team Our working near Lobuche East High Camp (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Loads of trash in Lobuche East High Camp (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Loads of trash in Lobuche East High Camp (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Aang Phurba Sherpa cleaning old fixed line from the climbing route on Lobuche East (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Aang Phurba Sherpa cleaning old fixed line from the climbing route on Lobuche East (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

In addition to these expedition dispatches, you can also follow our teams as they make their attempts on the world’s most formidable mountains on:

– Amazon Alexa devices with the Madison Mountaineering Flash Briefing skill:

  • Enable the skill and add to your flash briefing to hear our daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

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Farewell from Lukla!

The team topping out on Kala Patthar with excellent views of Mount Everest (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

The sun is setting on another fantastic expedition in the Himalaya! Our climbers have arrived back in Lukla, and will fly back to Kathmandu after one last nights sleep in the mountains before boarding their flights to go home. We’re thankful for time well spent in the mountains with friends, new and old. We cherish these moments and look forward to many more in the future! Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this ‘farewell’ dispatch from Lukla:

Hello! This is Terray calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Everest Base Camp (5364m/17,598ft) trek, and Lobuche East (6119m/20,075ft) and Island Peak (6189m/20,305ft) climbs. Today our team arrived back in Lukla (2860m/9,383ft) after a very pleasant hike down the Khumbu Valley! Tomorrow morning they will fly by helicopter directly back to Kathmandu (1400m/4,600ft) to catch their flights home.

So all in all, we had a successful expedition with a great trek to base camp, a successful climb of Lobuche East, and a great climb on Island Peak! We just had fantastic weather throughout.

So, that concludes this expedition! We’ll be in touch with the next one.

In addition to these expedition dispatches, you can also follow our teams as they make their attempts on the world’s most formidable mountains on:

– Amazon Alexa devices with the Madison Mountaineering Flash Briefing skill:

  • Enable the skill and add to your flash briefing to hear our daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

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Down the Khumbu Valley

Team meal at our lodge in Pangboche

With the climbing behind them, the Madison Mountaineering Everest Base Camp, Lobuche East and Island Peak team is relishing in their trek back down the valley with cold and clear skies overhead! The team treated themselves with hot showers and a warm meal before crawling into bed this evening – just what you want after a long day on the trail! Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from the Himalaya:

Hello! This is Terray calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Everest Base Camp (5364m/17,598ft) trek, and Lobuche East (6119m/20,075ft) and Island Peak (6189m/20,305ft) climbs – today is November 6th.

Today we trekked down from Chukhung (4730m/15,520ft) to Pangboche (3985m/13,074ft). It was another beautiful day in the Khumbu Valley! It feels like fall – the creeks are starting to freeze and there’s a little tang of winter in the air! We moved into our lodge here in Pangboche, and enjoyed some hot showers, and we’re getting ready to have dinner.

Tomorrow we will continue descending down to Namche Bazaar (3440m/11,290ft)! All is well here in Nepal and we will be in touch tomorrow.

In addition to these expedition dispatches, you can also follow our teams as they make their attempts on the world’s most formidable mountains on:

– Amazon Alexa devices with the Madison Mountaineering Flash Briefing skill:

  • Enable the skill and add to your flash briefing to hear our daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

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Island Peak

Kristen, Sange and Terray near the top of Island Peak (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

It’s with great excitement that we get to share that the Madison Mountaineering Everest Base Camp, Lobuche, and Island Peak team have safely returned following their final climb on Island Peak and are off the mountain. Everyone is doing great, and looking forward to enjoying their final few days in the Himalaya as they descend down the beautiful Khumbu Valley that has been home the last few weeks. Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this celebratory dispatch from the Himalaya:

Hello! This is Terray calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Everest Base Camp trek, (5364m/17,598ft) plus Lobuche East (6119m/20,075ft) and Island Peak (6189m/20,305ft) climbs – today is November 5th.

Today we had an excellent climb on Island Peak! We left base camp at about midnight and enjoyed a fantastic sunrise just as we were coming up onto the summit ice fields on Island Peak. We had excellent views of Makalu (8463m/27766ft) in the distance, Baruntse (7162m/23,497ft) across the valley, plus the upper ridge line of Lhotse (8516m/27,940ft) and the south face of Lhotse, and the rarely seen northern aspects of Ama Dablam (6812m/22,349ft) which are very spectacular.

After the climb we descended down to base camp and walked down to Chukhung (4730m/15,520ft). We just wrapped up dinner here and are looking forward to a good night of sleep. Tomorrow we will descend to Pangboche (3985m/13,074ft), with a stop at the bakery in Dingboche (4410m/14,470ft). So, we’ll be in touch tomorrow! All is going well here in Nepal.

Climbers on the summit of Island Peak (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Climbers on the summit of Island Peak (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Descending toward base camp with Ama Dablam and other peaks in the distance (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Descending toward base camp with Ama Dablam and other peaks in the distance (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

On the summit icefields of Island Peak / Imja Tse (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

On the summit icefields of Island Peak / Imja Tse (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

In addition to these expedition dispatches, you can also follow our teams as they make their attempts on the world’s most formidable mountains on:

– Amazon Alexa devices with the Madison Mountaineering Flash Briefing skill:

  • Enable the skill and add to your flash briefing to hear our daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

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Preparing for Island Peak

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

The Madison Mountaineering team has settled into their base camp and is primed and ready to make their summit push on Island Peak! The team continues to have excellent weather, with hopes of more perfect weather and climbing conditions on their final objective tomorrow. Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from Island Peak Base Camp:

Hello from Island Peak Base Camp! This morning we trekked here from Chukhung (4730m/15,520ft) with dramatic views of the south face of Lhotse (8516m/27,940ft), the northerly aspects of Ama Dablam (6812m/22,349ft) and, beside our base camp, the beautiful Imja Lake (5004m/16,417ft) with icebergs floating in it. The team is doing well. We’ve packed our kit for the climb and now we’re resting in preparation for an early start. We’ll be in touch tomorrow evening!

In addition to these expedition dispatches, you can also follow our teams as they make their attempts on the world’s most formidable mountains on:

– Amazon Alexa devices with the Madison Mountaineering Flash Briefing skill:

  • Enable the skill and add to your flash briefing to hear our daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

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Off to Island Peak!

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Rested up and recovered after a stellar climb on Lobuche East, the Madison Mountaineering team was back on the trail today headed in the direction of their final climb, Island Peak! Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this brief dispatch from the Himalaya:

Hello! This is Terray calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Everest Base Camp trek, (5364m/17,598ft) plus Lobuche East (6119m/20,075ft) and Island Peak (6189m/20,305ft) climbs – today is November 3rd.

We moved from Dingboche (4410m/14,470ft) to Chukhung (4730m/15,520ft) today on our way up to Island Peak! It was another beautiful day with great views of the valley, above Dingboche, excellent views of Lhotse (8516m/27,940ft) and Island Peak and Ama Dablam (6812m/22,349ft) off to our right. Tomorrow we will move to Island Peak base camp! We’ll be in touch then.

In addition to these expedition dispatches, you can also follow our teams as they make their attempts on the world’s most formidable mountains on:

– Amazon Alexa devices with the Madison Mountaineering Flash Briefing skill:

  • Enable the skill and add to your flash briefing to hear our daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

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Rest in Dingboche

Near the summit of Lobuche East (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

The Madison Mountaineering expedition team had a great day in Dingboche after yesterdays safe and successful ascent of Lobuche East! Today they rested, recovered, and enjoyed a treat at the famous Cafe 4410 as they prepare to head into the mountains again tomorrow, this time to Island Peak! Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from the Himalaya:

Hello! This is Terray calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Everest Base Camp, (5364m/17,598ft) Lobuche East (6119m/20,075ft) and Island Peak (6189m/20,305ft) expedition – today is November 2nd.

Today we took a rest day in Dingboche (4410m/14,470ft). It was a beautiful, sunny day! So, we took showers, washed clothes and relaxed in the wonderful bakery here, Cafe 4410. Tomorrow we will move up to Island Peak Base Camp and begin our Island Peak ascent tomorrow night.

So, everything is well here in the Khumbu and we will be in touch tomorrow!

Evening light on Lobuche East (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Evening light on Lobuche East (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Walking to Dingboche (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Walking to Dingboche (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

In addition to these expedition dispatches, you can also follow our teams as they make their attempts on the world’s most formidable mountains on:

– Amazon Alexa devices with the Madison Mountaineering Flash Briefing skill:

  • Enable the skill and add to your flash briefing to hear our daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

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