Dispatches

Ecuador 2021.01.24

Ecuador Volcanoes Group Expedition Kicks-off

Guides and clients with Madison Mountaineering climb mountains and travel in Ecuador, between January 24 and February 4, 2021.

Our third Ecuador Volcanoes expedition of the season kicked-off today with all of the team arrived in Quito and already tackling their first acclimatization climb. Here is expedition leader, Terray Sylvester with today’s dispatch:

Hello, this is Terray calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Ecuador Volcanoes trip. The whole team arrived safely and smoothly in Quito over the last couple of days and today, January 25th, we left Quito and did our first acclimatization ascent on the old, extinct volcano Pasochoa – it’s a couple of hours south of Quito. The climb went well, went up to the summit at 13,700 ft. It was a peaceful, beautiful walk through the very lush Ecuadorean highlands here.

Then we drove down to the little town of El Chaupi where we just had a great dinner at the Chuquiragua lodge and now we are going to get to bed early in anticipation of an early start tomorrow for our second acclimatization ascent – that will be another extinct volcano called Corazón. We’re all looking forward to the two main objectives on our trip, which will be Cotopaxi and Chimborazo. Those are the two highest points in Ecuador and they are two of the world’s most famous high altitude volcanoes.

So, all is well and we’ll be in touch!

Heading up Pasochoa for some acclimatization

Crossing the beautiful heathered slopes of Pasochoa

Happy guides and happy climbers on their way up Pasochoa

Krisli, Jonathan, Mary Lynne, and Cokie on the summit of Pasochoa with guide 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 guide’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions

– Instagram:

January 26, 2021/1 Comment/by Kurt

Kenya 2021.01

Mount Kenya Expedition Photos and Recap

With the expedition complete and the team relaxing in a comfortable hotel with great Wi-Fi, expedition leader Garrett Madison provided this expedition recap and a cache of amazing climb photos:

Hello, this is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Mount Kenya expedition. We are back in Nanyuki, Kenya at the base of Mount Kenya. We had a wonderful climb yesterday to the summit – all three high points were reached on the peak: Lenana, Nelion, and Batian, the highest point on Mount Kenya. It was a beautiful 18-pitch technical rock climb and rappel back down. It was about a 16-hour day for us.

Today we descend down, back into the lush forest, and to the Soames Hotel here, a very comfortable place to stay in Nanyuki. Tomorrow, we’ll head back to Nairboi and fly back to the USA.

It’s been a great trip and we look forward to returning to Kenya at some point in the future.

Comfortable breakfast in camp

Chase on the climb!

On one of the traverse sections of the route

Making our way to the Batian summit of Mount Kenya

Climbing the final pitch of snow

At the summit of Mount Kenya, Africa’s 2nd highest peak

The final 18 pitches of 5.6 – 5.7 rock climbing on summit 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 Garrett Madison’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions

– Instagram:

– our Garmin inReach Mini powered real-time tracking map:

https://madisonmountaineering.com/maps/kenya-2021-01

January 21, 2021/0 Comments/by Garrett

Kenya 2021.01

Mount Kenya Summit!

Congratulations to our team on reaching the highest point in Kenya and the second-highest in Africa, Mount Kenya! With yesterday’s Point Lenana (4985m) summit and this morning’s top out on both the summits of Nelion (5188m) and Batian (5199m), our team touched all three of Mount Kenya‘s high peaks. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison, provides the happy news from the very top of Mount Kenya via satellite phone:

Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Mount Kenya team! Today is January 20th and myself and Chase are up here on the summit of Mount Kenya – the Batian summit. We reached Point Lenana yesterday and the Nelion summit today and we got up here (Batian summit) about 2:00 PM Kenyian time. Great climb — took us 8-1/2 hours, 18+ pitches of technical rock and a little snow.

We are looking forward to heading back down, getting a good night’s rest, and then trekking out tomorrow back to the trailhead. So, all’s well here on Mount Kenya. We’ve had a great climb and we’re looking forward to heading home soon.

[While the team is without connectivity we will be sharing some stock photos of the general locations]

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 Garrett Madison’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions

– Instagram:

– our Garmin inReach Mini powered real-time tracking map:

https://madisonmountaineering.com/maps/kenya-2021-01

January 20, 2021/0 Comments/by Garrett

Kenya 2021.01

Mount Kenya’s Point Lenana! (4985m/16,355ft)

Austrian hut at the summit of Mount Kenya (Shutterstock 1214301250)

Today our Mount Kenya team ascended from the camp at Lake Michaelson to Mount Kenya’s third-highest peak, Point Lenana (4985m)! One down, two to go! They reached Point Lenana around 2:00 PM local time after hitting the trail at 08:30 AM. Afterward, they descended to the high Austrian hut for dinner and the evening.

An alpine start is in store for tomorrow’s summit day, as they will be making their attempt on the Nelion (5188m) and Batian peaks (5199m) which will involve multiple pitches of technical rock climbing. Godspeed guys!

[While the team is without connectivity we will be sharing some stock photos of the general locations]

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 Garrett Madison’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions

– Instagram:

– our Garmin inReach Mini powered real-time tracking map:

https://madisonmountaineering.com/maps/kenya-2021-01

January 19, 2021/0 Comments/by Kurt

Kenya 2021.01

Lake Ellis to Lake Michaelson

Day two of the trek to Mount Kenya and our team moved up from their camp on the shore of Lake Ellis (3460m) to Lake Michaelson (4100m). The day’s trek was a beautiful walk along the ridge overlooking the Gorges Valley. Later in the day, Lake Michelson came in to view and they enjoyed lunch overlooking the lake with a spectacular view. From there a gentle traverse and descent lead to Lake Michaelson camp.

Tomorrow the team will climb up to the first of Mount Kenya‘s three high points, Point Lenana (4985m/16,355ft) before descending slightly to the Austrian high hut (4670m) for the night.

[While the team is without connectivity we will be sharing some stock photos of the general locations]

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 Garrett Madison’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions

– Instagram:

– our Garmin inReach Mini powered real-time tracking map:

https://madisonmountaineering.com/maps/kenya-2021-01

January 18, 2021/0 Comments/by Kurt

Kenya 2021.01

First day of trekking – Lake Ellis

View of Lake Ellis on the way to the top of Mount Kenya

This morning our Mount Kenya team lead by Garrett Madison trekked the 8.38km from the Meru Bandas trailhead on the Chogoria route up to their camp at Lake Ellis (3471m/11,388ft). After breakfast, they packed up camp and hit trail around 8:00 AM local time enjoying spectacular views of the rolling hills along the way and catching a glimpse of the snow-capped peaks of Batian (5199m) and Nelion (5188m) high above. They made it up to Lake Ellis just time for lunch just before 1:00 PM. They spent the afternoon exploring around the lake with a hike up to nearby Mugi Hill to enjoy the sunset.

Tomorrow, they will continue the trek and camp near Lake Michaelson at the head of the Gorges Valley. And the following day they should reach the first of the first high points of Mount Kenya: Point Lenana (4985m). Stay tuned!

[The team is without connectivity, so we will be sharing some stock photos of the general locations]

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 Garrett Madison’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions

– Instagram:

– our Garmin inReach Mini powered real-time tracking map:

https://madisonmountaineering.com/maps/kenya-2021-01

January 17, 2021/0 Comments/by Kurt

Kenya 2021.01

Mount Kenya Kick Off

After arrival in Nairobi last night, our Mount Kenya private expedition with Chase and expedition leader, Garrett Madison, kicked off this morning with a drive to the Meru Bandas trailhead on the Chogoria route. Here’s Garrett’s audio dispatch:

Hello, this is Garrett calling in for the Mount Kenya expedition. Today is Saturday, January 16th and we departed Nairobi this morning from our hotel and drove a few hours to the trailhead here at Mount Kenya. We just arrived and had lunch and settled into our camp. We’re going to have a relaxing afternoon and then have dinner this evening and go to bed.

Tomorrow we start trekking up the mountain. So, hopefully we will reach the summit in a few days, 4 or 5 or 6 days, and be back in Nairobi in about a week!

Chase enjoying his personal tent - Bandas trailhead, Mount Kenya

Chase enjoying his personal tent – Meru Bandas trailhead, Mount Kenya

Homo Erectus skeleton in Nairobi airport (1.6 million years old)

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 Garrett Madison’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions

– Instagram:

– our Garmin inReach Mini powered real-time tracking map:

https://madisonmountaineering.com/maps/kenya-2021-01

January 16, 2021/0 Comments/by Garrett

Ecuador 2021.01.10

Lake Cuicocha – Wow!

Mark and Estalin hiking around Laguna Cuicocha

Our Ecuador Volcanoes team continued their acclimatization today with a hike around Laguna Cuicocha just west of Otavalo. They enjoyed some really good weather with some cooling clouds but no rain. It was a nice, relaxing hike over six hours between 3000 and 3512 meters (over 11,500 ft. MSL). The views of Laguna Cuicocha are beautiful all the way around the looping trail.

Everyone is feeling good and getting stronger at altitude. Tomorrow they will hike Imbabura volcano with a summit over 15,000 ft.

Acclimatizing around Cuicocha Lake

The crater lake of Cuicocha set among volcanic mountains

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 Garrett Madison’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions

– Instagram:

January 13, 2021/0 Comments/by Kurt

Ecuador 2021.01.10

Fuya Fuya For Acclimatizing

Today our second Ecuador expedition (of four in a row), got going with the team making the drive up from Quito and starting out with their acclimatizing on the extinct volcanic peak, Fuya Fuya (~14,000 ft.) just south of the town of Otavalo. Everyone is feeling good – healthy and strong!

Tonight they will spend the evening at the Hacienda Pinsaqui before another great day of acclimatizing as they get ready for the first major volcano climb of Cayambe.

A beautiful view of Mojanda Lake

Reaching the top of Fuya Fuya

Mojanda Lake

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 Garrett Madison’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions

– Instagram:

January 11, 2021/0 Comments/by Kurt

Ecuador 2020.12

Chimborazo Summit!

With the Chimborazo summit success yesterday, our very successful Ecuador 16-day expedition concluded today and everyone is headed home safe. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison, provides this final dispatch:

Hello, this is Garrett calling in for the Ecuador Volcanoes program. Yesterday we summited Chimborazo, the highest volcano, highest peak in Ecuador, and closest point to the Sun, furthest point from the center of the Earth as well.

We had a great climb, concluded a wonderful program here in Ecuador – three volcanoes, three summits (!) and we’re all heading home safe. It’s been a wonderful trip!