Dialing in the Best Summit Day

Mount Aconcagua

Making a slight change of plans to optimize the summit day forecasted weather, our Aconcagua team made a light carry up to High Camp (C3) (5989m/19,650ft) and returned to Nido de Condores Camp (C2) (5522m/18,117ft) for the night.  Calling in via sat phone, here’s team member Peter Horsman with today’s expedition dispatch:

Hey everyone, this is Peter Horsman calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Aconcagua expedition.  Today is… (what date is it?) …February 8th maybe.

Instead of moving to Camp 3, we actually had a change in schedule because it looks like weather is significantly improving.  So instead of summiting on the 9th, we are now summiting on the 10th, hopefully.   So today we actually had a great day.  We had, again, a wonderful breakfast by our Agentinian guides Neno and Cacho.  Then we took some gear and food and clothing up to Camp 3.  A pretty nice hike – wonderful weather, great scenery.

Overall the team is doing really, really well.  We’re all feeling very strong and are very excited to move to Camp 3 tomorrow where we will then spend a couple of hours of sleep and then the day after tomorrow we’re going to go for a summit attempt.

All is well here in Camp 2 and Melina, I love you.  Bye bye.

(photo from the Madison Mountaineering Aconcagua archives)

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:

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Nido de Condores Camp (C2)

Aconcagua

Our Aconcagua team moved up to Nido de Condores Camp (C2) (5522m/18,117ft) yesterday and are enjoying a rest day today.  Here’s team member, Peter Horsman, with today’s dispatch and the plan for the days ahead:

Hey everyone, this is Peter Horsman calling in from the Madison Mountaineering Aconcagua expedition.  We are at Camp 2 on Aconcagua at 18,000ft or so (5500m).

Today we are having a really nice rest day.  We’ve just been served amazing pizza by Neno and Cacho, who are our Argentinian guides and are amazing.  Everything is going really well!  The team’s feeling well.  It’s a really nice, sunny day here.  We’re all feeling the altitude a little bit, but that’s normal at this altitude.

Our plan is to move to Camp 3 tomorrow.  And then, hopefully, try for the summit on the 9th, so the day after tomorrow.

Everybody is feeling really strong.  Garrett‘s doing well, he’s smiling, cutting the pizza for us!  Maybe the whole team can say something like… I don’t know… shout something.  “Yee-haw!”  That was [garbled] in case you were wondering.  “Viva Aconcagua!”  Viva Aconcagua, that’s good.

All right, well thank you.  You’ll hear more from us tomorrow.  Melina, I love you and I’ll see you soon.  Bye, 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:

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Canada Camp on Aconcagua

The view from Canada Camp (C1) on Aconcagua

Our Aconcagua team moved up to Camp 1 (5060m/16,600ft) (aka Canada Camp) today where they plan to spend one night before making a single carry/move to Camp 2 (5522m/18,117ft) tomorrow. Here’s team member, Josh G., from Camp 1 with today’s expedition dispatch:

Hey!  Josh here from Aconcagua in Argentina!  We made it up to Camp 1 today.  2,200 foot climb and made it in three hours and ten minutes with all of our team members making it safely up to Camp 1.  Tomorrow we move up to Camp 2 at about 5500m (18,045ft) and it’s going to be one of our heaviest days.  So, we’re looking forward to the challenge.

I would like to say hey to [garbled], April, and all my friends back in Helen, Georgia.  I miss you guys!

Camp 1 on Aconcagua

Camp 1 on Aconcagua

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:

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Carry to Camp 1 Complete!

Back in base camp (4367m/14,327ft) for the night, our Aconcagua team completed their gear carry to Camp 1 (5060m/16,600ft) today to prepare for their move up to Camp 1 tomorrow, weather pending.  Here’s team member, Erwin Visser, from Plaza de Mulas base camp with today’s expedition dispatch:

Hey! This is Erwin Visser calling from Aconcagua base camp.  We had a great day today.

We went up to camp 1, or also called Camp Canada (5060m/16,600ft), to do a carry.  We brought water and fuel and food already to camp 1 so when we are going to go on our move trying to make the summit, we already didn’t have to carry that up at the same time.  It was a pretty special day today for me – because it was my first time reaching 5000m!  I did all my climbing in Europe in the Alps as well as in the state of Washington and, frankly, there are no peaks there of 5000m.  So it was kind of a personal record and a nice moment for me to hit that altitude.

We have a great team here.  I saw everybody made it easy up to camp 1.  Everybody’s pretty strong here, so it was great to see how well we did – how fast we did.  The second milestone for today is that we also did our medical test and everybody passed – also great news.  They test your blood pressure, as well as your blood oxygen levels to make sure that you are safe going up to the mountain.  And great to hear that everybody made it.  So, yeah, we as a team we’re ready to go when the weather is good.  Tomorrow that is our plan.  Our plan is that when the weather is good, we are going up to camp 1 with all our stuff and start our summit attempt.  Which means going to camp 1, camp 2, camp 3, hopefully the summit, camp 3, and then back to base camp.

I also have a couple of personal messages here:  First, big thanks to all the people that are following us as a team, but also personally me.  Your encourging words or texts means a lot to everyone.  A couple of call outs specifically, one is that it’s really super to hear that my nine-year-old nephew Will that his whole class is following the climb.  It’s exciting to hear that they do it!  And hey Will when I’m back I’m coming to your class again and will show the pictures.  Yeah, also a quick shout out to Juliette, my 17-year-old daughter who becomes 18 on the 12th.  I feel really bad that I’m not going to be there and hey Juliette I’m going to make it up with you so I promise.

Yes, that’s kinda it.  Hey as a closing I really wanna thank everybody again following us, following the whole team.  Special call out to Sara, my Mom of course, Karen, and all the kids.

So hey we will check in with a new dispatch hopefully tomorrow.  Thank you!

Camp 1 on Aconcagua

Camp 1 on Aconcagua

Plaza de Mulas base camp on Aconcagua

Plaza de Mulas base camp on Aconcagua

Sunset on Aconcagua

Sunset on Aconcagua

Trekking up to base camp on Aconcagua

Trekking up to base camp on Aconcagua

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 guide’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions

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Rest Day at Plaza de Mulas base camp

Asado (Argentine BBQ) at Plaza de Mulas base camp - Cacho and Garrett

Our Aconcagua team enjoyed a nice rest day at Plaza de Mulas base camp as they prepare to make their first carry to Camp 1 tomorrow.  Once again, here’s team member Peter Horsman with the expedition dispatch:

Hello everyone, this is Peter Horsman calling in from the Madison Mountaineering Aconcagua expedition!

We had a great rest day here at Plaza de Mulas Aconcagua base camp.  Really good, kind of mixed weather with some snow, some rain, some hail.  It’s a little bit chilly but beautiful views of the huge mountain ahead of us.  We are having a really great time – we’re all in great spirit, we’re having a lot of fun together and we’re excited about tomorrow because tomorrow we are going to do a carry to Camp 1.  And then we’re going to come back here for the rest of the night.

Everything is going well.  We’re all in good spirits.  And quick “Hi!” to Melina.  I love you and I’ll see you soon.  Bye-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 guide’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions

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Plaza de Mulas Base Camp!

Plaza de Mulas base camp

Today the Aconcagua team completed the trek in by hiking from Confluencia Camp (3436m/11,273ft) to Plaza de Mulas base camp (4367m/14,327ft).  Here’s team member, Peter Horsman, taking full advantage of the base camp Wi-Fi to provide today’s dispatch:

Hello, this is Peter Horsman calling in from the Madison Mountaineering Aconcagua expedition!

We are here at base camp at Plaza de Mulas.  It is a beautiful day.  We had a great hike up from the first camp and everyone is doing really well.  We have a really strong team with a lot of fun and some experience, as well.  We just saw, just a stunning sunset on Mount Aconcagua.

It’s really nice to be here, we have great food, and, of course we have a great guide team with Garrett but also with Cacho and Neno, two local Argentinian guides who are really, really good people.

So yeah, we’re very excited and looking forward to the days ahead.  Looks like tomorrow we’ll have a well-deserved rest day!

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 guide’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions

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Acclimatizing to Plaza Francia (4228m/13,871ft)

Aconcagua catching the evening light

Our Aconcagua team continued their acclimatization today by hiking up to Plaza Francia below the mountain’s south face.  Expedition leader Garrett Madison has this expedition dispatch via sat phone:

Hello!  This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Aconcagua expedition.  Today is February 1st.

We had a great day here in the Horcones Valley.  We woke up, had breakfast, and then started our acclimatization day trekking up to Plaza Francia (4228m/13,871ft) at the base of the south face of Aconcagua.  It was a nice hike.  We had a little bit of shade and some nice views of the south face.

We returned in the early afternoon to camp, had a little rest, and then had a nice barbeque here Argentinian-style asado in the Confluencia Camp.  We had some beef, chicken, some chorizo sausage, veggies to go along with it, and little bit of red wine.  A very traditional, pleasant evening here in Argentina.  We are looking forward to hiking up to Plaza de Mules tomorrow.

All’s well here on Aconcagua!

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 guide’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions

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Aconcagua Expedition is Underway!

Mount Aconcagua in Argentina

Our 2022 Aconcagua expedition is underway and the team hiked up to the first camp today.  Expedition leader Garrett Madison reports in via sat phone from Confluencia Camp in the Horcones Valley of Aconcagua:

Hello, this is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Aconcagua expedition.  Today’s January 31st.

Today we started our expedition.  We trekked in from the Horcones trailhead to Confluencia Camp (3436m/11,273ft) in the Horcones Valley.  Today was hot and sunny with a little bit of windy and we arrived in Confluencia Camp in the afternoon, had a nice snack, put up our tents, and then had a great dinner of Argentine beef and wine.

So, everybody’s doing well and happy to be up in the mountains.  Expedition is underway and all is well.  We’ll check in soon, thanks!

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 guide’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions

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Vinson: 3rd Expedition Recap

Ed Viesturs and Garrett Madison on the summit of Mount Vinson, Antarctica

We were honored to have Ed Viesturs co-guiding our third successful Mount Vinson expedition of the season!  And here, from Punta Arenas, is Ed with an expedition recap:

Hi, this is Ed Viesturs reporting from Punta Arenas, Chile.  It’s Sunday (January 23rd).

Yesterday, very early in the morning, at around 4 AM we managed to leave Union Glacier on the 757 which flew us here to Punta Arenas.  It was the end of a pretty interesting expedition and in the end we made the summit of Vinson!

After arriving at High Camp on January 12th, the next day in a window of weather, we made an attempt for the summit which failed due to high winds and very challenging conditions.  We came back to High Camp and made the decision to wait several more days for another opportunity period.

Our patience paid off after five nights of waiting in quite a challenging storm – high winds and snow.  Eventually, we reached the summit on January 18th.  So all-in-all our patience paid off.

It was a great trip, we had a lot of fun, and I look forward to doing more guided expeditions alongside Garrett Madison and Madison Mountaineering.

Ed Viesturs signing out from Punta Arenas.

2022.01.05 Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson expedition team

2022.01.05 Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson expedition team

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 guide’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions

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Celebration at Vinson Base Camp

Clients Sarah Brittain and Thomas Moore move from Low Camp to High Camp with guide Garrett Madison on a Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson expedition in the Sentinel Range of Antarctica’s Ellsworth Mountains on January 1, 2021. (📸: @terray_s)

With the full team down to Vinson Base Camp, expedition leader Garrett Madison checks in with today’s dispatch recapping summit day and the journey down to base camp where everyone is celebrating:

Hello, this is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson expedition team. Today is January 19th.

Our team came down from High Camp today after reaching the summit of Mount Vinson yesterday on January 18th. We had a good summit day and a nice trek down from High Camp. We arrived in base camp this evening and had a fun, celebratory dinner with our team – everyone was present. We enjoyed some champagne and burgers and had a good finish to our expedition here on Vinson.

We might be here another day or so at Vinson Base Camp. We’re not sure when the Twin Otters will be able to arrive to fly us out – hopefully in a day or two. But everyone’s in good spirits; we’re happy to be down safe and had a great summit yesterday, especially being up there with Ed Viesturs on the highest point in Antarctica was really special.

It was a wonderful expedition, and we’re just going to be here in Vinson Base Camp, hanging out, enjoying Antarctica until our flight back to Union Glacier and Punta Arenas, Chile.

(📸: @terray_s – Team Two climbers Sarah B. and Thomas M. moving up to high camp with guide Garrett Madison earlier this month)

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 guide’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions

– Instagram:

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