Garrett reports to base camp that the team has successfully reached Camp 2 at 6,400m (21,000ft). Currently it’s snowing and very cold with high winds. Our Camp 2 is our advanced base camp with a large dining tent with food and supplies to support the expedition further up Mt. Everest in the weeks to come. Our team is healthy and doing well, they are now in their down suits staying warm as the temperature continues to drop into the evening. The plan is to stay here for 3 nights to acclimate and go on day hikes if the weather allows. Will upload pictures as soon as I am able!
All Everest expedition dispatches
After successfully making it through the Khumbu Icefall yesterday our team has enjoyed a rest at Camp One. Today our lead guides, (Garrett, Conan, and Billy) made a nice breakfast for the team before taking off on a day hike to continue to acclimatize. Everyone is in good health and ready to continue the journey up Mt. Everest tomorrow. With weather conditions stable our team will climb 3-5 hours to reach Camp Two at 6,400m (21,000ft) tomorrow. Spending a couple nights at Camp Two our team will complete their first acclimatization rotation and return to base camp to rest. The views are spectacular and we will have photos up of Camp Two tomorrow!
.
Madison Mountaineering Camp One
Early this morning our climbers departed from base camp and successfully navigated through the Khumbu Icefall to reach Everest Camp One. Crossing the many crevasse’s with ladders fixed together and steep fixed lines our climbers worked as a team to overcome the obstacles and reach the safety of our tents above the icefall. Our weather reports in the weeks to come will be from our good friend Micheal Fagin with Everest Weather. Michael will be providing tailored weather analytics that provide the most up to date and accurate assessments, allowing our team to make data driven decisions closer to summit day. Right now we are not seeing any storms that may move out of the Bay of Bengal with light precipitation on Mount Everest over the next few days.
Tomorrow our team will go on a 2-3 hour day hike and return to Camp One in the evening. All members are doing well and I’m sure will have a good night sleep after their ascent through the Khumbu Icefall. Below is a shot of Madison Mountaineering Camp One!
.
It’s an early morning as our team gears up for an alpine start toward Everest Camp 1. It is now 2 am and the team is having a light breakfast and grabbing lunch snack packs before taking off into the Khumbu Icefall toward Camp 1. Backpacks and gear were packed before dinner and the stars and moon are out in full. The weather looks great for the ascent and everyone is excited to begin this next stage of their journey.
Yesterday we went up into the Khumbu Icefall for a 3 hour trip up toward the ladders for continued ice practice. All members of the team did very well and moved up and down the fixed ropes with ease. Garrett will be able to send brief messages and pictures via satellite connection and I will upload from base camp. To the top!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Today we enjoyed a beautiful sunrise and a few of us wondered around exploring Everest Base Camp throughout the afternoon. Surprisingly it takes about an hour to get from one side of the camp to the other! There are three helicopter landing zones that we found and dozens of camps with climbers gearing up for their first rotations. We met many interesting characters along the way including a man that is here for 6 weeks collecting personal postcards to put into a traveling art gallery. I will try and get pictures and details as his collection grows!
Our team is healthy and ready to make their first rotation up through the Khumbu Icefall tomorrow night. The plan is to trek into the icefall in the morning then relax and double check our gear before taking off at 1am the following night. Our team will spend two nights at Camp 1 and then move up to Camp 2 for an additional two nights. Camp 2 for us is a bigger establishment with a dining tent similar to base camp. Today we met all of the climbing Sherpa that will be with us as we journey to the top.
Photos from our trek around base camp! Enjoy 🙂
.
.
.
.
.
Today was our third day training on the edge of the Khumbu Icefall, with our climbing team gearing up for their first rotation to Camp 1 early this coming week. On the course today we had multiple ladder crossings and fixed rope circuits that continued to challenge the team and allowed each climber to grow stronger. Tomorrow we will rest up and go for a short hike around base camp. All of the climbing team’s in base camp are taking the day off from climbing in the icefall tomorrow in remembrance of the 2014 icefall avalanche.
The weather has been beautiful in the mornings with snow clouds rolling in early afternoon and throughout the evening. All members of the team are in good health and are excited to begin the next stage of their journey. Our meals are plentiful and delicious, we are all convinced that we will be gaining weight on this expedition.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Today our team had another great day training on the ice with evening snow showers picking up after dinner. Each day we set up progressively more difficult training courses along the Khumbu Icefall that challenge each of the climbers with different techniques and provide safe procedures for navigating across the ice. Everyone is doing very well and enjoying the training circuits that we have put together. With a couple inches of fresh snow on the ground the views are spectacular with stars in the sky and some of the largest mountains in the world surrounding our camp. Tomorrow we will continue our glacier training and design a new course to challenge each of the climbers. We plan to move to Camp 1 in early next week to begin the acclimatization rotations. Onward!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Last bridge into Lukla! The team finished the trek in great shape and good spirits. Yesterday we headed down from the mountains and ran into our first real weather of the trip. Starting out as rain and then light to moderate snow as we arrived back in Namche. The mist and cloud made for beautiful scenery and perfect hiking temps. We enjoyed hot showers and good food with our friends at the Tibet Hotel.
If the weather holds we will fly early back to Kathmandu and many will soon be on their way home. Fantastic group and an unforgettable experience! We hope that you all continue your adventures and to see you all again very soon.
Today we woke up to a great breakfast and headed back onto the ice for our second day of training in the Khumbu Icefall. We practiced the rope techniques on ice and ladders and all of the team members are learning and growing stronger. The weather was beautiful and some of the climbers took to their flip flops and shorts to fully enjoy the warmth of the sun. For dinner we had one of our best meals yet with fresh chicken and sides that came out on fire, actually! Tomorrow we will continue to train in the icefall and look forward to another exciting day at Mount Everest Base Camp.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Today we woke up to fresh powder on our Trango 3 tents and a bright sun in the sky before heading up for icefall training at the foothills of the Western Cwm. All of the team members checked their harnesses, crampons, carabiners, and other technical gear as a group before making our first journey into the icefall to train. The team did very well and will continue to train as a team over the next week. Our strong sherpa team will leave in the early morning to do a carry up to Camp 1 with gear and food. The climbing team will begin their first rotation up Mt. Everest within the week. We are all very excited and look forward to continuing our journey to the top of the world!
.
.
.
