2023 K2 expedition dispatches

2023 K2 Expedition – Heading Home Soon!

Madison Mountaineering clients and guides hike over Gondogoro Pass. Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

The sun is setting on the 2023 Madison Mountaineering K2 expedition with the team’s arrival back in Skardu! The team trekked out from K2 base camp over the last few days taking a different path than they did on the trek in, this time over Gondogoro Pass. After settling into their rooms in Skardu, the team enjoyed much needed and well deserved hot showers, before gathering together to celebrate the end of another great expedition!

Tomorrow, the team hopes to fly back to Islamabad for the final leg of their journey before heading their separate ways, back to everyone’s home country. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from Skardu:

Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering K2 (8611m/28,251ft) expedition. Today is July 31st and we are back in Skardu (2220m/7283ft)!

The whole team trekked out from K2 base camp (4968m/16,300ft) over the Gondogoro Pass and down to the village of Hushe (3050m/10,000ft) over the last three days. Today we arrived by Jeep into Skardu. We got in this afternoon, took a much needed hot shower, and then sorted some gear and had a very nice celebration dinner with all of our Pakistani and Nepal staff.

Our plan is to try to fly to Islamabad tomorrow! Everyone’s doing well, down safely, and we’re all in good spirits! Looking forward to heading home.

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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K2 team safely back in base camp

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

The 2023 Madison Mountaineering K2 expedition team has all arrived safely back in base camp and are settled into their tents for the night. They plan to begin their trek out of the Karakoram on the morning of July 29th after some well-deserved rest. There will be a full recap to follow from the team in the days ahead. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this update from K2 base camp:

Our entire team is now safely back in base camp (4968m/16,300ft). We will begin trekking out day after tomorrow (morning of the 29th).

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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Summit Push Called Off

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

With the recent snow on the upper reaches of K2, our team has made the prudent decision to abort their summit push. While ascending from Camp 3, the team experienced deep snow that accumulated in the days prior and had not fully consolidated. While the whole team made a strong effort to reach  K2‘s summit, it was not meant to be. We are so thankful that our team is safe and look forward to receiving them back into base camp soon. The team is making their descent now and is expected to arrive back in base camp later today.

We are very proud of the entire teams effort and special thanks to our Sherpa team who played an integral role in the expedition, fixing lines above Camp 3 and to the summit. Congratulations to Siddhi Ghising and Ahmed Hussain who are both members of our rope-fixing team and did reach K2‘s summit at 8611m/28,251ft!

Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from K2:

Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the K2 (8611m/28,251ft) expedition team – today is July 27th.

Today our team made their summit attempt and reached the bottleneck on K2 above Camp 4 (7681m/25,200ft) and decided to turn around due to deep and unconsolidated snow, and several soft snow avalanches. So, they are on their way down and everyone’s doing fine. They’re below Camp 3 (7250m/23,800ft) now on their way to Camp 2 (6700m/21,980ft), and we’re looking forward to welcoming them back into base camp (4968m/16,300ft) later this afternoon!

They had a good climb, good effort getting up to the bottleneck where they decided to turn around around 3:00 AM along with some other teams due to the risk. We’re happy they made the safe call and will be back in base camp later today.

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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K2 Summit Push Underway!

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Today’s the day that our team will make their summit push on the world’s second highest peak: K2! Our Sherpa team has been hard at work fixing lines to Camp 4 and beyond, with the plan to fix the final sections of the Abruzzi route through the night and into tomorrow morning. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this exciting update from K2:

Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering K2 (8611m/28,251ft) expedition. Today is July 26th and our team’s up at Camp 3 (7250m/23,800ft) and preparing to leave for their summit push in one hour at 9:00 PM here in Pakistan.

They took a rest day today in Camp 3 as the rope fixing team, which our Sherpas are a part of, pushed up to Camp 4 (7681m/25,200ft) and has been fixing above Camp 4, hopefully reaching the bottleneck section soon and the traverse. So, our team is a few hours behind when they leave tonight and hopefully they will be able to climb up and make good time with good conditions, good weather, and hopefully get a summit of K2 tomorrow on the morning of July 27th.

So we will be staying up tonight following their progress on the route as they climb! Praying and wishing them good luck and good conditions, and cannot wait to hear how it goes. Check 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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Camp 3 – Summit Rotation

Madison Mountaineering clients and guides move from Camp 2 to Camp 3. Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Hello from Camp 3 on K2! Today the team ascended K2‘s famous Black Pyramid and is settled into their tents for the night, with plans to move up to Camp 4 tomorrow! Our rockstar Sherpa team has been helping in the rope fixing efforts with hopes to fix ropes to the summit tomorrow. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with today’s dispatch for the team in Camp 3:

Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering K2 (8611m/28,251ft) expedition. Today is July 25th and our team is up at Camp 3 (7250m/23,800ft) on the Abruzzi route of K2. It was a good day climbing from Camp 2 (6700m/21,980ft) to Camp 3 up the Black Pyramid. Had some cloudy conditions, but a little bit of sunshine later in the day!

The plan for the team tomorrow is to move up to Camp 4 (7681m/25,200ft) and the rope fixing team, which were proud to be apart of, has been fixing lines from 3 to 4 today. So hopefully climbers can move up to 4 and hopefully they will be able to continue fixing, conditions dependent, go on up through the shoulder, the bottleneck, the traverse and to the summit of K2 on the 27th! So the goal is a summit on the 27th if conditions permit and weather of course. The fixing team is working hard up there, breaking trail through deep snow to put in the ropes for everybody.

All is well here on K2! Fingers crossed that conditions are good for them up there. The weather looks good for the next couple of days. Our prayers are with the team and for good conditions on the mountain.

All is well here on K2! We’ll check 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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Camp 2 – Summit Rotation

Drone photos of Camp 2 on K2’s Abruzzi Ridge, and surrounding mountains. Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

The 2023 Madison Mountaineering K2 expedition team has crawled into their tents at Camp 2, with hopes of continuing on up the mountain tomorrow to Camp 3! The team is doing great so far on their summit rotation. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this brief update from Pakistan:

Our team is up in camp 2 (6700m/21,980ft) now, hoping to reach camp 3 (7250m/23,800ft) tomorrow! Fixing team reached camp 3 and fixed some lines to 400m above en route to camp 4 (7681m/25,200ft).

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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Summit Rotation Underway!

Morning light on Camp 1. Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Our summit rotation is on and the team has settled into their tents at Camp 1! With good weather tomorrow, the team plans to continue their push up the Abruzzi Ridge. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from Pakistan:

Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering K2 (8611m/28,251ft) expedition. Today is July 23rd and our team is on the summit rotation and up at Camp 1 (6065m/19,900ft) now and planning to move to Camp 2 (6700m/21,980ft) tomorrow. However, it’s been tough weather recently and the rope fixing team has been delayed in Camp 2 for a couple of days, waiting to move up to Camp 3 (7250m/23,800ft) where they would be fixing Camp 4 (7681m/25,200ft) and beyond. So hoping that tomorrow’s a better day and good weather, good route conditions so the fixing team can move up, our team can move up, and all the other climbers on the mountain who are making their summit rotation at this point. So fingers crossed that!

All is well here at K2! We are here hoping for good weather and praying for some great route conditions up there for the team. This is Garrett Madison checking in from Base Camp (4968m/16,300ft) – all is well.

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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Acclimatization Rotation: Complete

Morning light on the summit of K2 from the Madison Mountaineering base camp. Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive (Photo: Terray Sylvester)

After five nights spent on K2 during their acclimatization rotation, the team has safely and successfully descended back down to base camp! We had a great rotation up on the mountain, familiarizing ourselves with the route and acclimatizing to the altitude that we’ll experience during the summit rotation. The team plans to spend the next few days resting and preparing to make their summit push! With good weather in the forecast, the team will look to head back up the mountain soon, only this time going for the summit. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from K2 Base Camp:

Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering K2 (8611m/28,251ft) expedition. Today is July 19th and our team is all in base camp (4968m/16,300ft) resting and doing well! Yesterday the team came down from Camp 2 (6700m/21,980ft), descending all the way from Camp 2 to Base Camp after concluding a great rotation – five nights of acclimatizing up on the route between Advanced Base Camp (5303m/17,400ft), Camp 1 (6065m/19,900ft), and Camp 2.

The weather has been really nice! Sunny skies, it’s warmed up quite a bit, and we are just getting ready to strategize for our final rotation – our summit push, which hopefully will come in a few days time. We’re watching the weather forecast and working with other teams, coming up with a good plan for fixing the final ropes from Camp 3 (7250m/23,800ft) to Camp 4 (7681m/25,200ft), and onto the summit!

So everyone is doing well here in K2 Base Camp and we’ll check 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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Acclimatization Rotation – Camp 2

Drone photos of Camp 2 on K2’s Abruzzi Ridge. Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Good news from K2! The Madison Mountaineering K2 expedition team’s acclimatization rotation has gone smoothly so far and will come to a conclusion tomorrow with the team descending back to base camp. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from Pakistan:

Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering K2 (8611m/28,251ft) expedition. Our team is up at Camp 2 (6700m/21,980ft) currently doing well on their acclimatization trip. (It’s) their first night up at Camp 2 and they reported good conditions climbing up from Camp 1 (6065m/19,900ft) today. Our Sherpa team and Pakistani porter team is also up in Camp 2 and they are planning to carry the oxygen and supplies up to Camp 3 (7250m/23,800ft) tomorrow.

So the first rotation is going well and it looks like some good weather ahead in the forecast for the next couple of days. So we’re looking forward to more good days climbing on K2!

This is Garrett calling in from base camp (4968m/16,300ft). All is well here on K2! We’ll check 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 Coming Up!

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

The 2023 Madison Mountaineering K2 expedition team is primed and ready to move up the mountain for their first rotation! They’ve completed technical trainings to sharpen their skills for what they’ll face in the climbing ahead, organized their gear, and all there’s left to do is start the climb. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this update from K2 base camp:

Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering K2 (8611m/28,251ft) expedition team. Today is July 12th and we had another great day here training in base camp (4968m/16,300ft), reviewing all of the fixed line climbing techniques with the ascender and repelling down. We got organized for our first rotation – the plan is the team will head up to advanced based camp (5303m/17,400ft) tomorrow on the 13th, spend one night, and then head up to Camp 1 (6065m/19,900ft) for a couple of nights and up to Camp 2 (6700m/21,980ft) for a couple of nights. Back down in base camp by the 18th.

So the weather forecast is looking very [garbled] the next few days. Our team is ready to go and gain some altitude on K2, and get some good acclimatization in! So, all is well here in base camp. We’ll check 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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