All K2 expedition dispatches

Full K2 Team Safely Back to Base Camp

Conan, Rob, and Garrett on the summit of K2!

The full K2 team is now safely back to base camp and getting so very, very much deserved and needed rest.  Outstanding climb one and all!  Thank you, weather Gods.  Before falling into a deep slumber, expedition leader Garrett Madison provided this recap of the descent to base camp:

Hello, this is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering K2 expedition team.  Today is July 29th and we have all arrived safely back in base camp.

Yesterday we summitted K2.  It was a perfect day, just a magical experience on top with our whole team – 100% success!  We came down to Camp 3 and today descended from Camp 3 all the way down to base camp.  So, just very happy that everyone is down, off the mountain safely and back in base camp.  We’re just thrilled with the outcome here on K2!

We’re gonna have a celebration dinner tonight and a good night’s rest, some showers, and think about further plans – either heading out or, perhaps, attempting Broad Peak depending on conditions.

We’re very happy to be down off the mountain and back in base camp.  All’s well here.  Thanks for following along!

Morning views on the way to the top of K2!

Morning views on the way to the top of K2!

Three time K2 summiteer Garrett Madison with with youngest American K2 summiteer Chase M.

Three-time K2 summiteer Garrett Madison with the youngest American K2 summiteer Chase M.

Happy team on the summit of K2!

Happy team on the summit of K2!

At The Bottleneck on K2 on the way down

At The Bottleneck on K2 on the way down

If climbing K2 or Broad Peak is in your future, please contact our office, we would love to have you climb with us!

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 Garrett Madison’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my Madison Mountaineering flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

– our Garmin inReach Mini powered real-time tracking map:

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Madison Mountaineering 2021 K2 Summiteers List

Climbing the final slopes to the top of K2

We are pleased to announce the following team members successfully obtained the summit of K2 (8,611 m / 28,251 ft) on July 28, 2018 at approximately 6:07 AM PKT (local time):

# Name Country
1 Mr. Garrett Madison USA
2 Mr. Conan Bliss USA
3 Mr. Robert Smith Ireland
4 Mr. Chase Merriam USA
5 Ms. Oksana Litynska Ukraine
6 Mr. Kenton Cool United Kingdom
7 Mr. Robert Lucas United Kingdom
8 Mr. Jonathan Gupta United Kingdom
9 Ms. Rebecca Ferry United Kingdom
10 Mr. Aang Phurba Sherpa Nepal
11 Mr. Siddhi Bahadur Tamang Nepal
12 Mr. Dorje Gyeljen Sherpa Nepal
13 Mr. Pasdawa Sherpa Nepal
14 Mr. Kamdorji Sherpa Nepal
15 Mr. Mingdorchi Sherpa Nepal
16 Mr. Dawa Nupu Sherpa Nepal
17 Mr. Lhakpa Wongchu Sherpa Nepal
18 Mr. Mingmar Sherpa Nepal
19 Mr. Muhammad Ali Pakistan
20 Mr. Hussain Ali Pakistan
21 Mr. Zahir Hussain Pakistan
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K2 – Its time!

View of K2 from base camp

Our K2 team is safely resting up at high camp, Camp 4 (7681m/25,200ft.), and preparing to go for the summit in about 90 minutes!!  Be sure to follow along with our real-time location tracker:  https://madisonmountaineering.com/maps/k2-2021.

Godspeed team!  Get up and back down safely.

If climbing K2 or Broad Peak is in your future, please contact our office, we would love to have you climb with us!

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 Garrett Madison’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my Madison Mountaineering flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

– our Garmin inReach Mini powered real-time tracking map:

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K2 Camp 3

Broad Peak as seen from the K2 Camp 3 tent

The K2 team is now in place at Camp 3 (7250m/23,800ft.) and setting their sights on a summit attempt in two days on the 28th.  Here’s expedition leader Garrett Madison’s recap of the day’s climbing and the plan for what’s next:

Hello, this is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering K2 and Broad Peak expedition team.  Today is July 26th and we are up at Camp 3.

It was a beautiful day climbing up from Camp 2, clear skys, not much wind, and not many people on the route actually.  We were the only team moving up.  So, we had a great day climbing the Black Pyramid and got into Camp 3 here, about 24,000 ft., this afternoon.  We’re just taking it easy, resting.

Our Sherpa team, which was fixing lines today, was able to make it up The Shoulder through The Bottleneck, around the Traverse, and nearly up to The Bench on the way towards the final pitches to the summit.  So that’s great news!

I think the Pioneer team is going for it tonight and we wish them the best of luck and good conditions.

Our plan is to rest here tomorrow and head up tomorrow evening.  So our plan is to leave the evening of the 27th and hopefully get to the top on the morning of the 28th.  Fingers crossed!  I’m praying this great weather continues and these good conditions hold.

Everyone’s doing well here in Camp 3.  Thanks for following!

Kenton and Rob on the way to K2 Camp 3

Kenton and Rob on the way to K2 Camp 3

If climbing K2 or Broad Peak is in your future, please contact our office, we would love to have you climb with us!

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 Garrett Madison’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my Madison Mountaineering flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

– our Garmin inReach Mini powered real-time tracking map:

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K2 Camp 2 on Summit Push

Chase staying cool at K2 Camp 2 earlier today

On their summit push, our K2 team climbed up from Camp 1 to Camp 2 (6700m/21,980ft.) today under beautiful weather and route conditions.  Expedition leader, Garrett Madison, provides today’s expedition dispatch from 6,700 meters:

Hello, this is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering K2 and Broad Peak expedition team.  Today is July 25th and we are up at Camp 2.

Our whole team’s up here: all nine climbers and most of our sherpa team, except for five of our Nepal sherpas who are up at Camp 4 (7681m/25,200ft.) tonight.  They climbed up from Camp 2 to Camp 4 today and tomorrow and the next day they are going to work on fixing lines above Camp 4 in anticipation of our arrival.

So, we had a beautiful day today, sunny skies, warm temps, almost too warm for us.  But we got into Camp 2 around noon and have just been relaxing, enjoying the amazing views up here, and getting ready for some dinner and a good night’s rest.  And then tomorrow, we’ll be off early on our way up to Camp 3 (7250m/23,800ft.).

All’s well here, the team’s doing excellent, and we’re excited that more good weather is on the way and we’re headed up the route!  We’ll check-in soon, thanks!

If climbing K2 or Broad Peak is in your future, please contact our office, we would love to have you climb with us!

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 Garrett Madison’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my Madison Mountaineering flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

– our Garmin inReach Mini powered real-time tracking map:

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K2 Summit Push Begins Tomorrow!

Helicopter rescue today in K2 base camp of some Broad Peak climbers with frostbite

The weather looks good and our K2 team will begin their summit push tomorrow morning!  Expedition Leader, Garrett Madison has called in with this expedition dispatch:

Hello, this is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering K2 and Broad Peak expedition team. Today’s July 23rd and we are about to head up on our summit rotation.

Our plan is to leave base camp tomorrow morning on the 24th and head up to Camp 1, following day up to Camp 2, next day to Camp 3, following day to Camp 4 and to go for the summit on July 28th! So, fingers crossed we’ll have good weather and good route conditions and some great views up there. We’re looking forward to getting up high on the mountain and returning to Base Camp in about a week.

All’s well here, everyone’s excited, feeling well rested, healthy, strong, and looking forward to getting up the mountain. We’ll check in soon. Thanks!

The view of K2 on the eve of our summit push

The view of K2 on the eve of our summit push

The view of Broad Peak on the eve of our summit push

The view of Broad Peak on the eve of our summit push

If climbing K2 or Broad Peak is in your future, please contact our office, we would love to have you climb with us!

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 Garrett Madison’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my Madison Mountaineering flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

– our Garmin inReach Mini powered real-time tracking map:

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Waiting Out the Weather

The always awe-inspiring view from K2 base camp

Our K2/Broad Peak team is still waiting out the weather at K2 base camp.  Here’s Garrett with the latest status update:

Hello, this is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering K2 and Broad Peak expedition team.  Today’s July 22nd and we’ve had another easy, restful day here in base camp.

The stormy weather seems to be passing at the moment, but still windy up high.  We’re all doing well here in base camp, had a few showers today, and just going over our gear and our food, and our plan for our summit push which we hope to start sometime in the next week, but not sure when.  It all depends on the weather forecast.

So all’s well here in K2 and we’ll check in soon.

If climbing K2 or Broad Peak is in your future, please contact our office, we would love to have you climb with us!

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 Garrett Madison’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my Madison Mountaineering flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

– our Garmin inReach Mini powered real-time tracking map:

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BBQ in K2 Base Camp!

BBQ in K2 Base Camp!

With some great weather during their rest period, the team enjoyed some BBQ in K2 base camp.  Here is expedition leader Garrett Madison with today’s expedition dispatch:

Hello, this is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering K2 and Broad Peak expedition team.  Today is July 18th and we’ve add a restful few days in base camp with some great weather the last few days.

Our sherpa team has finished carrying all of the equipment, oxygen, ropes, tents up to Camp 4 and fixing lines to Camp 4 on K2 and they’re all back in base camp now.  So, we’re resting here in base camp and there is a storm perdicted to develop starting tomorrow.  Big snowfall starting tomorrow over the next few days and then some very high winds up to 100km per hour near the summit.

So, our plan is to hunker down here in base camp for a few days, let the storm pass, and then, hopefully, we’ll have some good weather the last week of July starting the 24th or 25th and we can plan for our summit attempt.

We’ve been following the teams making their summit attempts on Broad Peak today and fingers crossed for them.  Wishing them the best of luck and a safe descent.  We’ll wait to see how that all plays out for them.  But all’s good here in K2 base camp and we look forward to checking in soon.

Today's view of K2 from base camp

Today’s view of K2 from base camp

BBQ in K2 Base Camp!

BBQ in K2 Base Camp!

If climbing K2 or Broad Peak is in your future, please contact our office, we would love to have you climb with us!

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 Garrett Madison’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my Madison Mountaineering flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

– our Garmin inReach Mini powered real-time tracking map:

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Good Weather for Resting in Base Camp

Broad peak from the Gilkey memorial

The K2 team is enjoying some good weather for resting in base camp and looking forward to making their summit attempt plans after the next storm system passes through.  Here’s expedition leader Garrett Madison with all the details:

Hello, this is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering K2 and Broad Peak expedition team.  We are here in K2 Base Camp and weather is great.  It’s beautiful day and we’re just resting up.

Our sherpas are up on K2 on the Abruzzi Route finishing some load carries to Camp 3 and Camp 4 and some rope fixing as well and getting Camp 4 all stocked up with our equipment for our summit push which we hope do some time in late July.

It looks like after the next couple of days of good weather there will be some snow, a lot of snow actually, and some high winds for a few days.  So we are gonna let that storm system pass through and then hopefully by around July 24th we’ll have another patch of good weather enough to make a plan for a summit attempt.

So everyone’s doing well here, we’re just resting up, admiring the views.  We’re watching a few climbers make their summit push on Broad Peak right now.  They’re going up to Camp 3 and probably going for the summit tomorrow.  So it will be fun to watch their progress.

But, all’s well here in Pakistan on the Baltoro Glacier and we’ll check in soon.  Thanks!

Looking down the glacier towards Chogolisa from the Gilkey memorial

Looking down the glacier towards Chogolisa from the Gilkey memorial

If climbing K2 or Broad Peak is in your future, please contact our office, we would love to have you climb with us!

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 Garrett Madison’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my Madison Mountaineering flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

– our Garmin inReach Mini powered real-time tracking map:

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(Almost) Live from the Karakorum!

Garrett video interview by Alan Arnette from Broad Peak base camp

Great video interview of Garrett Madison by the nexus of all high-altitude climbing news, Alan Arnette.

Garrett Madison, founder of Madison Mountaineering is one of the few people on the planet to have summited K2 twice. He’s hoping to get his third this 2021 summer. This is his sixth expedition to K2 making him the most experienced western operator to run regular trips to the Northern Terrorities of Pakistan.

With the new 4G Cell tower in Concordia, Garret took the hour walk from K2 Base Camp to Broad Peak Base Camp to talk with me over Zoom about his expedition. We discussed their rotations to Camp 1 and 2, the snow conditions on the mountain, what happens when he finds bodies on the mountain, and more. I think you’ll enjoy getting this first-hand information directly from Northern Pakistan.

Watch the video interview here:  https://www.alanarnette.com/blog/2021/07/14/k2-2021-summer-coverage-video-interview-with-garrett-madison-from-the-karakorum/

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