We have just arrived in Plaza Argentina base camp (14,000′) after the three day trek from the trail head, and are happy to be here, after having said good bye to our team of Arrieros and mules. It’s a very social environment, with some other climbers that we know from previous expeditions / climbs. Our […]
As we set off from the trail head at Punta de Vaca (8,000′), we are happy to report that the weather is very nice. We are excited to finally get the expedition underway as the last few days we have been preparing our food and equipment. Our trek will take us three days as we […]
Tonight we are in Penitents enjoying our last night in ‘civilization’ before beginning the trek to base camp. The Ayelen hotel does a fantastic job with the meals and services and its great to see my old friend Steve Allen who runs the place. Tomorrow we will start at Punta de Vaca and trek up […]
The Madison Mountaineering team is arriving in Mendoza, Argentina over the next few days and will soon begin our expedition and ascent of the highest mountain in the western and southern hemispheres. Aconcagua (the stone sentinel) stands at an impressive 6962m (22,834 ft.) above sea level and is great training for high altitude peaks in […]
Today we successfully completed the “Main Range Walk” to the summit of Koscuiszko. We began our ascent at 9:30 AM in sunny conditions from Charlotte Pass, hiking some of the greatest alpine country in New South Wales, passing through grasslands along ridges with views of lakes and forest below until reaching the summit, where we […]
The Madison Mountaineering team has arrived in Melbourne to climb/hike the highest point on Oceania and one of the “original” Seven Summits. Kosciuszko (2228m / 7,310ft.) located in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales is the highest point on the Australian continent. Climbers aspiring to reach the highest point on all 7 continents that […]
Since the April 18th, 2014 tragedy that killed 16 Nepali mountain workers, many people have asked me if I plan to return to Everest. My answer is ‘yes absolutely’, as our team for the 2015 spring season on the Nepal side of Everest is nearly complete at this time. I enjoy the challenge and experience […]
We had a wonderful climb to the summit of Ama Dablam just a few days ago, and since then have trekked down the Khumbu Valley to Lukla, and just this morning we flew by twin otter to Kathmandu. We are very happy to be back in the city after more than six weeks in the […]
After a few days in Ama Dablam base camp we are now ready to begin our summit attempt. We have been reviewing fixed line techniques, rappelling and have sorted our equipment and food for the high camps. The weather forecast looks good, and the recent snowfall has negligible effect on our route as it is […]
This morning we flew by helicopter (a brand new AS350 B3e) from the lower Makalu base camp to Ama Dablam base camp, it was a spectacular ride! We flew right by Baruntse, and many other high peaks before swooping down into Ama Dablam base camp. As you likely know, we called off our Makalu climb […]