2018 K2 expedition dispatches

Nice trek day from Paiju to Urdukas

Urdukas

Hello!  This is Garrett Madison calling for the K2 expedition team.  Today is June 26th and we continued our trek toward K2 base camp.  We had a nice trek today from Paiju to Urdukas. Mixed weather today; some clouds, a bit of rain, some sun and some wind, but we had nice day overall. Had some great views of the Trango Towers on our way up to camp. Everyone is doing great and looking forward to hiking up to Goro II camp tomorrow on the Baltoro Glacier. So, one day closer to K2 base camp! Everyone is doing well and we are happy to be here. We will check in soon.  Thanks!

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Audio dispatch from Garrett Madison

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Trek from Askole to Jola, entering the Central Karakoram National Park

Jola

Today is Monday, June 25th and yesterday we started the trek from Askole into our first camp at Jola. Today we are heading up to our next camp which is Paiju at over 10,000 feet. The group is doing very well and excited to be underway, moving up toward the Baltoro Glacier and K2 base camp. The weather has been pretty good, cool and not too hot. The team is looking forward to settling in at Paiju this afternoon. Tomorrow we will pass the Great Trango Towers! All good here and we will check in soon.

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Audio dispatch from Garrett Madison

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To learn more about the Central Karakoram National Park, which is the highest national park in the world and the largest protected area in Pakistan please visit: http://www.cknp.org

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K2 Team in Skardu!

2018 K2 Skardu

Yesterday our team of climbers and Sherpas flew from Islamabad to Skardu.  Today we are organizing our equipment and tomorrow we plan to drive by jeep to Askole, from there we will begin the trek to base camp.  In total we are 10 climbers, 3 guides, 10 Sherpas, and 5 Pakistan high altitude porters (HAP), along with our 8 base camp kitchen staff.  Last week our advance team of 77 porters and 5 Pakistan HAPs arrived in K2 base camp to begin building the camp and to reserve places at Camps 1 & 2.  We will have around 150 porters trekking in with us to base camp, in addition to some horses.

Skardu is a small frontier town, and we are staying in our hotel nearby the Indus river.  It’s a big contrast from the very comfortable Serena hotel in Islamabad where we slept the past couple of nights.  The Serena was a great place to rest and recover after the long flights many of us took from our home countries.  Everyone is doing well and we are excited to begin trekking soon!   – Garrett

K2 Team Roster:

  • Garrett Madison: Expedition Leader and Guide
  • Geoffrey Schellens: Guide
  • Robert Kelso Smith: Guide

Climbers:

  • Andras Kaasik
  • Daniel Lochner
  • David Liano
  • James Clarke
  • Jason Black
  • Jesse Rosales
  • John Stenderup
  • Klara Polacova
  • Lisa Thompson
  • Takayasu Semba
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2018 K2 expedition preparing for liftoff

2018 K2 expedition

The Madison Mountaineering 2018 K2 expedition will be meeting in Islamabad, Pakistan in less than 2 weeks. We are excited to be returning to the Karakoram mountain range with a strong team of 10 international climbers. After checking gear our climbers will fly via fixed wing aircraft from Islamabad to Skardu to begin the trek toward K2 base camp at 16,500 feet. The team is excited and we look forward to making our ascent!

Stay tuned!

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