2024 Cho Oyu expedition dispatches

Cho Oyu Summit Success!

Summit photo on the top of Cho Oyu!

After several years off the mountain, it comes with great pleasure to share that 100% of our 2024 Cho Oyu expedition team has successfully reached the summit of the world’s sixth-highest peak! We are so proud of the team for their hard work and determination after a challenging season weather-wise. A HUGE shoutout and thank you goes out to our Sherpa team – these feats would not be possible without you. We’ve returned safely to base camp and will begin our departure home soon! Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this celebratory dispatch from Cho Oyu base camp:

Hello! This is Garrett checking in for the Madison Mountaineering Cho Oyu (8188m/26,864ft) expedition team!

We are back down in base camp today and yesterday, October 7th, we summited Cho Oyu, the sixth-highest mountain in the world. All team members made it – 100% success! (I) couldn’t be more proud of our team. Everyone did awesome! We were so lucky with the weather. We had a beautiful, bluebird day, views in all directions (with) great views of Everest (8848m/29,032ft), Lhotse (8516m/27,940ft), Nuptse (7861m/25,791ft), Makalu (8485m/27,838ft), Shishapangma (8027m/26,335ft). Just so happy that this climb worked out! It was a little tenuous there last week with the big storm, all the snow, and the season being delayed about a week here in Tibet. But, all is well!

We’re packing up base camp today. We’re going to start trekking out tomorrow, Jeeps down to Tingri (4348m/14,268ft), and onwards to Lhasa (3,656m/11,995ft). There’s no land border crossings back into Nepal open at this point after the massive flooding, they’re all washed out. So, we are going to be flying back from Lhasa! So, very excited about that.

It’s a beautiful day here in base camp! We’re doing well, and happy, and looking forward to getting home soon.

High Camp with otherworldly views of the surrounding Himalayas!

High Camp with otherworldly views of the surrounding Himalayas!

Views of Everest, Lhotse, and Nuptse from high on the mountain!

Views of Everest, Lhotse, and Nuptse from high on the mountain!

Evening light high in the alpine.

Morning light high in the alpine.

The team on our summit rotation under blue skies!

The team on our summit rotation under blue skies!

Climbing up on the summit rotation!

Climbing up on the summit rotation!

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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Moving up on Cho Oyu!

Advanced Base Camp earlier in the expedition.

Here we go! The Madison Mountaineering Cho Oyu expedition team is ready to begin their summit push. Well-rested and highly motivated, the team plans to depart from their advanced base camp soon to Camp 1 and will continue climbing up to the higher camps in the days following en route toward the summit. Good weather and route conditions will be important for our summit push, which we’ll continue to assess as we move on up the mountain. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this pre-summit push dispatch from Tibet:

Hello! This is Garrett checking in for the Madison Mountaineering Cho Oyu (8188m/26,864ft) expedition – today is October 3rd.

We have been back at base camp a few days after a good rest down in Tingri (4348m/14,268ft) and we are ready to make our summit push! We’re going to head up tomorrow to Camp 1, and next day from there up to Camp 2, and next day maybe go for the summit. So, fingers crossed for good weather, good route conditions. We’ll be checking in as soon as we get down off the mighty Cho Oyu, sixth-highest mountain in the world!

All is well here at base camp and we look forward to checking in soon.

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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First rotation in Tibet is complete!

The team during their first acclimatization rotation on Cho Oyu!

The Madison Mountaineering Cho Oyu expedition team is back in base camp after completing their first acclimatization rotation on the mountain! By climbing to some of the higher camps, we become better acclimated to the increased altitude and lower oxygen levels. Now back in base camp, the team will rest up, recover, and wait out some weather before heading up once again! Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this brief dispatch from Cho Oyu:

First rotation complete! Back in base camp now and waiting out some weather.

Looking up the route towards the summit behind the clouds!

Looking up the route towards the summit behind the clouds!

Our Mountain Hardwear tents on a beautiful, sunny day in Tibet!

Our Mountain Hardwear tents on a beautiful, sunny day in Tibet!

Looking up at Cho Oyu from one of our camps on a perfect day in the Himalayas!

Looking up at Cho Oyu from one of our camps on a perfect day in the Himalayas!

Climbing under clear, blue skies.

Climbing under clear, blue skies.

Looking back on the route towards one of our camps.

Looking back on the route towards one of our camps.

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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First rotation on Cho Oyu coming up!

Our team during yesterday's Puja ceremony!

The Madison Mountaineering Cho Oyu expedition team is about to begin their first rotation on the world’s sixth-highest peak! The team has spent the last few days settling into their base camp, reviewing technical skills, packing for their rotation up to Camp 2, and taking part in a Puja ceremony! The Puja ceremony is a crucial piece to all of our 8,000-meter expeditions, asking the mountain for safe passage before going up. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from Tibet:

Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Cho Oyu (8188m/26,864ft) expedition here in Tibet on the sixth-highest mountain in the world in China! Today is September 21st.

We had our Puja ceremony yesterday, it went very well asking the mountain for safe passage. A Tibetan monk came up and officiated the ceremony with us! Tomorrow we’re planning to head up on our first rotation to acclimatize on Cho Oyu up to Camps 1 and 2. It’s been a little snowy the last few days, but hopefully, we’ll get a break in the weather. The team’s doing great! We’re really excited to be here. There’s just a handful of teams and a few climbers each here on the mountain, so pretty small compared to some of the other peaks we’ve been on this year. But, all is going well here!

We’re thinking of our team on Manaslu (8156m/26,759ft) in Nepal, the eighth-highest peak in the world. They’re starting their summit rotation tomorrow heading up to Camp 1, hopefully summiting around September 25th or 26th. So, fingers crossed and they’ll be in our prayers!

All is well here and we’ll check in soon!

Madison Mountaineering Cho Oyu base camp!

Madison Mountaineering Cho Oyu base camp!

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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Arrived in Advanced Base Camp on Cho Oyu!

The team out for an acclimatization hike!

The Madison Mountaineering Cho Oyu expedition team has made it to advanced base camp on Cho Oyu, which will serve as their base camp for the duration of the expedition while they move up and down between there and the summit. The expedition has gone seamlessly so far and the team is looking forward to what lies ahead on the world’s sixth-highest peak! Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from Tibet:

Hello! This is Garrett checking in for the Madison Mountaineering Cho Oyu (8188m/26,864ft) expedition on the sixth-highest peak in the world here in Tibet!

Our team arrived in advanced base camp (5700m/18,700ft) yesterday, which is our base camp for the season, 18,600 feet – about 5-7 meters, 5,700 meters. We’re doing great! We’re just settling into our base camp, getting everything set up the way we would like it to be for the season, and looking forward to doing some more acclimatization hikes and some training before we head up for our first rotation on the route up to the higher camps.

It’s been beautiful weather here in Tibet! It’s been clear and cold, so great views and it’s great to be up high in the mountains. We’re really excited that everything has been going well on schedule. We’re here in the Himalayas just having a great time! We’ll check in soon.

Advanced Base Camp on a clear and starry night!

Advanced Base Camp on a clear and starry night!

Our base camp dining tent.

Our base camp dining tent.

The team during an acclimatization hike earlier in the expedition.

The team during an acclimatization hike earlier in the expedition.

The team during an acclimatization hike earlier in the expedition.

The team during an acclimatization hike earlier in the expedition.

Taking in the scenery during a hike high in Tibet!

Taking in the scenery during a hike high in Tibet!

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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Cho Oyu team arrives in Tibet!

The Madison Mountaineering Cho Oyu expedition team after arriving in Tibet!

The Madison Mountaineering Cho Oyu expedition team has officially arrived in Tibet! This long-awaited expedition is off to a great start so far and spirits are high after getting one step closer to reaching the mountain. We’ll continue our journey tomorrow and will be arriving in base camp soon! Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this celebratory dispatch from Tibet:

Hello! This is Garrett checking in for the Madison Mountaineering Cho Oyu (8188m/26,864ft) expedition team. Today is September 12th and today we entered Tibet!

We drove from Kathmandu (1400m/4,600ft) and across the border and got to our hotel here in the village of Kerung (2774m/9,101ft) in Tibet. We’re really happy that everything has gone perfectly so far and according to our schedule! Our Sherpa team is with us and we’re excited to head to the town of Tingri (4348m/ 14,268ft) tomorrow where we’ll be a couple of nights acclimatizing, and then the following day to Chinese Base Camp (4900m/16,076ft) at Cho Oyu! So, the team’s doing great and we’re so happy to be here. (We’re) really excited for the climb ahead.

We’re also following our team over on Manaslu (8156m/26,759ft) led by Terray Sylvester as they’re up on the mountain doing their first rotation above base camp! So, having a good fall season in the Himalayas and looking forward to checking in soon.

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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