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Three expeditions underway in Nepal!

Welcome dinner in Kathmandu to kickoff the expedition!

The fall, 2023 Madison Mountaineering Himalayan expeditions are underway in Kathmandu! We are filled with gratitude to be back in Nepal with new and old friends, and great adventures ahead. This season we look forward to treks to Everest Base Camp, and climbs of Ama Dablam, Lobuche East and Island Peak! With gear checks, orientation and a welcome dinner complete, city tours and an exciting flight to Lukla are all that separate the team and the start of the trek up the beautiful Khumbu Valley! Expedition guide, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from Kathmandu:

Hello! This is Terray calling in from Kathmandu (1400m/4,600ft) – it’s Friday, October 20th.

Today we kicked off three of our itineraries here in Nepal! We launched our Everest Base Camp (5364m/17,598ft) trek for the year – we have two teams of trekkers heading up to base camp at the foot of the highest peak on the planet. One of those teams will also climb Island Peak (6189m/20,350ft) and Lobuche East (6119m/20,075ft) before returning to Kathmandu. We also launched our fall Ama Dablam (6812m/22,349ft) climb.

It was a beautiful day here in Kathmandu, really nice weather! We met for orientations and gear checks here at the Yak and Yeti hotel, and then we went out for a big team dinner out at Mezze near the former royal palace. Now we’re just getting ready to go to bed. Tomorrow we’re looking forward to our city tour here in Kathmandu, and then we will start the journey up to the Khumbu Valley!

So, all is well and we’ll 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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Bolivia expedition wrap up

Pequeño Alpamayo summit photo! (Photo: Estalin Suárez)

The climbing has come to it’s conclusion in Bolivia for the Madison Mountaineering expedition team after a successful summit on Pequeño Alpamayo! This expedition had it all, from cultural and culinary experiences to technical climbing on a Bolivian classic, which made for an epic combination.

Despite challenging route conditions, our team was able to safely persevere on their way towards the summit of Pequeño Alpamayo. After a short rest in La Paz, the team directed their attention towards their next objective: a climb up the French Route of Huayna Potosí’s East Face. This route involves navigating crevasses on the approach to the route, climbing up to 55 degrees, and possible cornices as you near the summit. After an early morning alpine start, our team made the difficult, but prudent decision to turn around after facing challenging conditions on the glacier.

Happy and satisfied with the expedition behind them, our team has returned to La Paz and gone their separate ways with plans to climb again in the future. Most importantly, everyone is back safe with memories to take home from a successful expedition and dreams of the future climbing to come!

Climber, Stephane Mayer and guide, Estalin Suárez after a successful summit of Pequeño Alpamayo! (Photo: Estalin Suárez)

Climber, Stephane Mayer and guide, Estalin Suárez after a successful summit of Pequeño Alpamayo! (Photo: Estalin Suárez)

Cordillera Real of Bolivia (Photo: Estalin Suárez)

Cordillera Real of Bolivia (Photo: Estalin Suárez)

Climber, Stephane Mayer rappelling down Pequeño Alpamayo after successfully reaching the summit! (Photo: Estalin Suárez)

Climber, Stephane Mayer rappelling down Pequeño Alpamayo after successfully reaching the summit! (Photo: Estalin Suárez)

Summit push on Pequeño Alpamayo! (Photo: Estalin Suárez)

Summit push on Pequeño Alpamayo! (Photo: Estalin Suárez)

Nearing the summit Pequeño Alpamayo! (Photo: Estalin Suárez)

Nearing the summit Pequeño Alpamayo! (Photo: Estalin Suárez)

Under the night sky in Bolivia's Cordillera Real. (Photo: Estalin Suárez)

Under the night sky in Bolivia’s Cordillera Real. (Photo: Estalin Suárez)

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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One summit down… One to go!

Climber, Stephane Mayer on the summit of Pequeño Alpamayo! (Photo: Estalin Suárez)

With one summit down and one to go, the Madison Mountaineering Bolivia expedition is going excellent so far! In the last few days, our team reached the summit of Pequeño Alpamayo under beautiful, clear-blue skies and with great climbing conditions! After returning to La Paz, the team is set to depart for their next objective, Huayna Potosí. Expedition leader, Estalin Suárez checks in with this dispatch from Bolivia:

Hello! This is Estalin calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Bolivia expedition – today is September 23rd. Yesterday we summit Pequeño Alpamayo! After the night, we went back to La Paz. Just a great, great day – it was a beautiful day, clear skies! It was great climbing.

At the moment we are getting ready to go to Huayna Potosí! This is going to be our last climb.

I left you a couple of pictures of our days in the Kunturiri area with the summit of Pequeño Alpamayo. Stay tuned – bye!

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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Climbing in the Kunturiri!

The team hiking along with Lake Titicaca behind! (Photo: Estalin Suárez)

The team enjoyed their last day of acclimatization and sight-seeing before they depart for the mountains tomorrow! Another magnificent lake day with views and tasty meals have the team feeling strong, relaxed, and ready to go. Expedition leader, Estalin Suárez, checks in with this dispatch from La Paz before tomorrows journey takes them into the the Kunturiri:

Hello, this is Estalin calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Bolivia expedition. Today is September 19th – another great day in Bolivia! Today we visited the Island of the Moon, did a short hike there and visited ruins on the island. After that we went back to Copacabana, which is the main town there, and had a great lunch!

After that, we drove back to La Paz. Now we are just resting. Tomorrow, we are going to the area of Kunturiri where there are a couple mountains that we are going to climb. Hopefully the weather will help us a little bit! We are motivated to climb those mountains, so tomorrow we are going to leave more or less, 9:00 AM and will be in the mountains for about five days.

We are not going to be in contact in the next days, but hope everything goes very well and to come back with great news and summits! Stay tuned… Bye!

The Island of the Moon (Photo: Estalin Suárez)

The Island of the Moon (Photo: Estalin Suárez)

Visiting ruins on the Island of the Moon! (Photo: Estalin Suárez)

Visiting ruins on the Island of the Moon! (Photo: Estalin Suárez)

Climber, Stephane Mayer taking in views of lake Titicaca! (Photo: Estalin Suárez)

Climber, Stephane Mayer taking in views of lake Titicaca! (Photo: Estalin Suárez)

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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Exploring Lake Titicaca!

Views from today's adventures around Lake Titicaca! (Photo: Estalin Suárez)

The Madison Mountaineering Bolivia expedition team spent the day venturing around Bolivias’ beautiful Lake Titicaca! First by car, the team drove to Copacabana for site seeing before boarding their private boat towards Isla del Sol! They enjoyed a delicious lunch of local cuisine upon their arrival, fueling the rest of the day for a visit to Temple del Sol, which translates to “Temple of the Sun,” and the hike to their lodge where they watched the sunset over Lake Titicaca. Expedition Leader, Estalin Suárez checks in with this dispatch from Bolivia:

Hello, this is Estalin calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Bolivia expedition – today is September 18th!

We started early in the morning from La Paz, drove for about three and a half hours to Copacabana, which is the city located right there on the Titicaca Lake. The first thing that we did was visit the (Mount) Calvario, which is a small peak that’s almost 4,000 meters located just in the sight of Copacabana. This is a very special place for the locals because on top, there are some shamans. The local people are going there if they need to clean the body from bad energies – there are shamans there who can help them. Also, if you have a wish for the future that you want to have, he’ll bless you to give you luck to get all that you wish. It’s very interesting because they mix different cultures and religions – Catholic and the ancestral traditions from the local people.

After that we took our private boat to Isla del Sol where the local people were waiting for us to have a really good lunch – local dish! Then we visited the Temple del Sol. In the afternoon we did a hike to our lodge, which is a really beautiful lodge where we watched the sunset here in Titicaca Lake.

Well, it was a really beautiful, beautiful day with amazing views! The landscape is really beautiful. It was our first day for acclimatizing and tomorrow we will visit a different island, and back to La Paz.

Stay tuned – bye!

Hiking under beautiful, clear-blue skies! (Photo: Estalin Suárez)

Hiking under beautiful, clear-blue skies! (Photo: Estalin Suárez)

Lunch is served! (Photo: Estalin Suárez)

Lunch is served! (Photo: Estalin Suárez)

Beautiful views from the days lunch spot! (Photo: Estalin Suárez)

Beautiful views from the days lunch spot! (Photo: Estalin Suárez)

Sunset over Lake Titicaca (Photo: Estalin Suárez)

Sunset over Lake Titicaca (Photo: Estalin Suárez)

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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2023 Bolivia Expedition is Underway!

The Madison Mountaineering team touring the city of La Paz!

Hello, from Bolivia! This custom expedition is off to a beautiful start in La Paz! After getting settled into our team hotel in the bustling city center, we ventured out taking in the sights, smells and sounds of the starting point for this special trip. Towering peaks look over the city from afar – a taste of whats to come!

With some acclimatization in the days ahead, our team will then set forth on technical climbing routes for what’s sure to be a fun and exciting adventure! Expedition leader, Estalin Suárez checks in with this dispatch from La Paz:

Hello, this is Estalin calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Bolivia expedition. Today is September 17 and Stephane, Patricia and I just arrived in La Paz (3640m/11,942ft)! After a couple hours of resting, we did a short tour around La Paz – mostly in the center of La Paz.

Now, everybody is resting after a nice dinner and getting ready for tomorrow which is going to be our first day in Titicaca Lake (3812m/12,507ft). Stay tuned – bye!

Towering peaks watching from afar over the city streets. Photo: Estalin Suárez

Towering peaks watching from afar over the city streets. Photo: Estalin Suárez

The streets of La Paz! Photo: Estalin Suárez

The streets of La Paz! Photo: Estalin Suárez

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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2023 K2 Expedition – Heading Home Soon!

Madison Mountaineering clients and guides hike over Gondogoro Pass. Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

The sun is setting on the 2023 Madison Mountaineering K2 expedition with the team’s arrival back in Skardu! The team trekked out from K2 base camp over the last few days taking a different path than they did on the trek in, this time over Gondogoro Pass. After settling into their rooms in Skardu, the team enjoyed much needed and well deserved hot showers, before gathering together to celebrate the end of another great expedition!

Tomorrow, the team hopes to fly back to Islamabad for the final leg of their journey before heading their separate ways, back to everyone’s home country. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from Skardu:

Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering K2 (8611m/28,251ft) expedition. Today is July 31st and we are back in Skardu (2220m/7283ft)!

The whole team trekked out from K2 base camp (4968m/16,300ft) over the Gondogoro Pass and down to the village of Hushe (3050m/10,000ft) over the last three days. Today we arrived by Jeep into Skardu. We got in this afternoon, took a much needed hot shower, and then sorted some gear and had a very nice celebration dinner with all of our Pakistani and Nepal staff.

Our plan is to try to fly to Islamabad tomorrow! Everyone’s doing well, down safely, and we’re all in good spirits! Looking forward to heading home.

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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K2 team safely back in base camp

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

The 2023 Madison Mountaineering K2 expedition team has all arrived safely back in base camp and are settled into their tents for the night. They plan to begin their trek out of the Karakoram on the morning of July 29th after some well-deserved rest. There will be a full recap to follow from the team in the days ahead. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this update from K2 base camp:

Our entire team is now safely back in base camp (4968m/16,300ft). We will begin trekking out day after tomorrow (morning of the 29th).

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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Summit Push Called Off

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

With the recent snow on the upper reaches of K2, our team has made the prudent decision to abort their summit push. While ascending from Camp 3, the team experienced deep snow that accumulated in the days prior and had not fully consolidated. While the whole team made a strong effort to reach  K2‘s summit, it was not meant to be. We are so thankful that our team is safe and look forward to receiving them back into base camp soon. The team is making their descent now and is expected to arrive back in base camp later today.

We are very proud of the entire teams effort and special thanks to our Sherpa team who played an integral role in the expedition, fixing lines above Camp 3 and to the summit. Congratulations to Siddhi Ghising and Ahmed Hussain who are both members of our rope-fixing team and did reach K2‘s summit at 8611m/28,251ft!

Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from K2:

Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the K2 (8611m/28,251ft) expedition team – today is July 27th.

Today our team made their summit attempt and reached the bottleneck on K2 above Camp 4 (7681m/25,200ft) and decided to turn around due to deep and unconsolidated snow, and several soft snow avalanches. So, they are on their way down and everyone’s doing fine. They’re below Camp 3 (7250m/23,800ft) now on their way to Camp 2 (6700m/21,980ft), and we’re looking forward to welcoming them back into base camp (4968m/16,300ft) later this afternoon!

They had a good climb, good effort getting up to the bottleneck where they decided to turn around around 3:00 AM along with some other teams due to the risk. We’re happy they made the safe call and will be back in base camp later today.

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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100% Summit Success on Rainier!

Mount Rainier summit photo!

On the evening of July 25th, the 2023 Madison Mountaineering Mount Rainier (4392m/14,411ft) team successfully reached the summit of the tallest peak in Washington! Sunny skies to start the climb was followed by stormier conditions, forcing the team to hunker down at Ingraham Flats (3383m/11,100ft). While the team waited out the adverse weather conditions, they worked on the skills needed for the climbing ahead, made lasting friendships, and bonded as a team who was motivated and ready to make their push for the summit when the storm abated. Guides, Max Strotbeck and Benny Lieber positioned the team out of the way of high winds and in a position to make their summit bid when the time came.

At approximately, 3:00 PM PST on Tuesday, July 25, the storm dissipated giving them the window they needed to make their summit push. As the only team on the route at that time, the team set off for the summit, and five hours later found themselves reaching Mount Rainier’s summit crater and counting the final steps towards its true summit. The team’s hard work, determination, and well thought out strategy gifted them with a memorable sunset summit to themselves, with views all around from the roof of Washington.

Congratulations again to the team on one awesome climb!

The team celebrating their summit success on the evening of July 25 under a beautiful sunset painted sky!

The team celebrating their summit success on the evening of July 25 under a beautiful sunset painted sky!

The team settled into our bombproof Mountain Hardwear tents!

The team settled into our bombproof Mountain Hardwear tents!

The view of camp from Ingraham Flats.

The view of camp from Ingraham Flats.

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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