Back from the first rotation!

The Madison Mountaineering Ama Dablam expedition team is back in Base Camp after a successful rotation on the mountain where they climbed to just below Camp II! With excellent weather the entire time, the team moved strongly and swiftly up the mountain, while they gained acclimatization and got some experience on the route. Over the next few days, the team plans to rest, fuel, and get ready for the summit rotation which is expected to begin in just a short time. Our team will keep an eye on the weather and launch out of camp, next time with their sights set on a summit. Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from Base Camp:

Hello! This is Terray calling in for the 2026 Madison Mountaineering Ama Dablam (6812m/22,349ft) expedition. Today is November 6th.

Today we descended from Camp I (5791m/19,000ft) to Base Camp (4600m/15,100ft) after a successful rotation. We spent two nights at Camp I, touched the top of the Yellow Tower, which is just 10 minutes below Camp II (5980m/19,619ft), and then descended back to Base Camp today!

So, we achieved what we wanted to achieve. Now we are planning to rest and keep an eye on the weather forecast and start our summit push within a few days.

The team is doing well. The weather has been great! While we were up higher around the mountain, we had clear blue skies and hardly a breath of wind.

So all is going well here in Nepal and we’ll be in touch tomorrow!

Alpenglow on Camp 1 (photo by Terray Sylvester)

A team photo in Camp 1 before hiking back to Base Camp (photo by Terray Sylvester)

Descending back to Camp 1 (photo by Terray Sylvester)

Our climber, Rhonda, above Camp 1 (photo by Terray Sylvester)

Our climber, Calvin, approaching the top of the Yellow Tower (photo by Terray Sylvester)

Our climber, Naomi, ascending the Yellow Tower (photo by Terray Sylvester)

Snowy conditions on the way to Camp 1 (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:

• @MadisonMtng
• @GarrettMadison1
• @terray_s