Summit Push Update: Rest day at Camp II

The Lhotse Face covered in snow as seen from Camp II

Our Everest team had a rest day today at Camp II in the Western Cwm.  Garrett Madison checks-in via sat phone with all the details and the plans for the summit attempt:

Hello, it’s May 16th and this is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Everest and Lhotse team.

Today was our rest day at Camp II after coming up here yesterday through the Khumbu Icefall, past Camp I, and through the Western Cwm to Camp II.  We had a wonderful day coming up here – didn’t see many people at all actually on the route.  It was a bit windy which kept it cool in the Western Cwm where it usually gets too hot.  After we pulled in here yesterday we had a nice lunch, a restful afternoon, and dinner.

Today we’ve just been resting all day and watching the weather.  It looks like we might have a weather window around the 21st of May but too be sure, we’ll check the weather forecast tomorrow to confirm and probably head up the following day or perhaps delay another day or two before heading up from Camp II.

It’s great up here, everyone’s well – we’re healthy, happy, in good spirits, and eating well.  We were out taking photos and videos today and just admiring the views – it’s been clear and sunny and warm.  So, life is good here at Camp II.

We’re fortunate to be here and feel very lucky to be on Everest.  We are setting our sights on a summit attempt here, hopefully, sometime in the next few days – weather pending.

All’s well here at Camp II and we’ll check in soon.  Thanks!

If climbing Mount Everest 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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Summit Push Update: Camp II

The Lhotse Face covered in snow as seen from Camp II

Quick update:  the team is now safely up at Camp II.  More to come!!

Follow along with our real-time location tracker:  https://madisonmountaineering.com/maps/everest-2021

 

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Summit Bid Time

Jon and Becks on the summit of Mount Everest!

It’s Summit Bid time!  Garrett and the team are ready to head up the mountain tonight to go for the summit!  Here’s Garrett with the details from Everest base camp:

Hello!  This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Everest and Lhotse expedition 2021.

We’re in base camp and went through all of our oxygen systems today and our food for the high camps and talked about our plan.  We’re gonna head up to Camp II tonight and reevaluate the weather at Camp II, take a rest day there, and look at potential summit days of the 20th, 21st, 22nd.  But we’ll definitely have to reevaluate the weather forecast.  Looks like it could be good, but still a lot of uncertainly in the weather forecast model.  So, we want to give it a day or two to verify what’s in the forecast.

But everyone’s doing well here.  We’re excited to head up, it’s a beautiful evening here at Everest base camp:  no clouds, the stars are out, just a spectacular day here.  So we’re feeling good, we’re excited, and we’re looking forward to getting up the mountain here.

Also, today our British friends, Kenton, Jon, Becks, and Ardavan, all flew out from base camp down to Kathmandu.  So they’re doing well in Kathmandu at the moment.  They had a great climb of Everest and Lhotse.  So, we’re hoping to repeat their success here sometime in the near future.

We’ll check in soon, thanks!

If climbing Mount Everest 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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EVEREST/LHOSTE COMBO!!!

First 2021 MM Everest Lhotse Combos - tracking map

Big congratulations to Kenton Cool, Dorjee Gelgen Sherpa, Jon Gupta, Rebecca Ferry, Chhetan Dojree Sherpa, and Lakpa Wongchu Sherpa for successfully and safely completing the combination climb of both Everest and Lhotse. Absolutely perfect weather for both summits for these strong climbers! Amazing job by the entire team.

Everyone is safely down to Camp 2 in the Western Cwm and resting up for the final descent to base camp tomorrow.

Kenton and Jon at Everest Camp II

Kenton and Jon at Everest Camp II

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Everest Summits with More to Come!

The view of Everest, Lhotse, and Nuptse from Pumori base camp

From Everest base camp, expedition leader Garrett Madison checks in with some exciting news and a look ahead for what’s still to come:

Hello, this is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Everest and Lhotse expedition!  Today is May 11 and we have some exciting news to report.

Jon Gupta, Kenton Cool, and Rebecca Ferry have all summited Everest along with three of our Nepal Sherpa team (Dorjee Gelgen Sherpa, Chhetan Dorjee Sherpa, Lakpa Wongchu Sherpa).  They are back in Camp IV on the South Col now resting up.  It sounds like tonight some of them will be going for Lhotse, the fourth highest mountain in the world.  Hopefully they’ll have another great day up there.  It sounded like almost no wind today on the Everest summit and they got some great photos and video.  Another great day coming tomorrow in the weather forecast before the winds pick up.

The rest of our team is doing well.  We had some members return from Namche today and the rest of the team is coming back from Namche tomorrow.  We will be doing our distancing and isolating when people come back – staying away from the group for 72 hours and testing upon arrival and after 72 hours.  So we’re feeling good about that and looking forward to a good long time here in base camp resting up before we head up on our summit rotation.  We’re waiting for that weather forecast to look good for us.

So, all’s well here in base camp.  We’ll be training with our oxygen systems over the next few days and doing some hikes to the surrounding areas and just enjoying Everest base camp.

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

If climbing Mount Everest 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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Everest Summits!

The Everest summit ridge on May 23rd

We are very pleased to report the following Mount Everest summits today ranging from 06:45 to 08:34 local NPT time:

  • Dorjee Gelgen Sherpa
  • Chhetan Dorjee Sherpa
  • Lakpa Wongchu Sherpa
  • Kenton Cool
  • Jon Gupta
  • Rebecca Ferry

Congratulations all!  Godspeed for a safe descent.

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BREAKING: Climbers Nearing Everest Summit

BREAKING NEWS:  Climbers Kenton Cool, Jon Gupta, and Becks Ferry have been climbing throughout the night from Camp IV on the South Col and are now just about 100m below the South Summit.  Follow along with Jon’s inReach tracker.

Fingers crossed for a summit and safe descent to soon!!  Stay tuned, more news as we get it.

If climbing Mount Everest 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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Dropback Period

Arrival at Everest Base Camp

As the “dropback” period begins, Garrett Madison checks in from Everest base camp with today’s update:

Hello!  This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Everest and Lhotse expedition.  Today is May 9 and our team is resting on the dropback.  Most all of our members are down in Namche resting for a few days at the Panorama Lodge.

Climbers Kenton Cool, Jon Gupta, and Becks Ferry are up in Camp III on their summit rotation.  The weather’s good right now and the winds are suposed to stay calm through May 13.  After that the winds are going to rise for a bit.

But we’re doing well, we’re resting, and we’re setting our sights on a summit push sometime in the second half of May.

All’s well here at Everest base camp and in Nepal and we’ll check in soon.  Thanks!

If climbing Mount Everest 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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2nd Rotation Complete

On the way to Camp III

A great second rotation is complete and the team is back at base camp.  Garrett phoned in with today’s expedition dispatch:

Hello, this is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Everest/Lhotse expedition.  Today is May 7th and we arrived in Everest base camp after a great rotation up at Camp II for three nights and touching Camp III.

We all came down today through the Western Cwm and the Khumbu Icefall and made it back to base camp this afternoon in time for lunch and some hot showers.  Tomorrow most of our team is going to head down to Namche for a rest before we come back and set our sights on the summit.

We learned today that the rope-fixing team made the summit.  So the lines are in to the top – that’s great news – and the weather looks good.  So hopefully, our climbers Kenton Cool with Ardavan and Jon Gupta with Becks will be able to make a summit attempt here in the next few days.  They’re up at Camp II right now.

We are just happy to be here!  Great weather on Mount Everest.  All is well and we’ll check in soon.

Our 2 Kristins on the Lhotse Face

Our 2 Kristins on the Lhotse Face

The Lhotse Face covered in snow as seen from Camp II

The Lhotse Face covered in snow as seen from Camp II

Our Camp I on the way to Camp II with fresh snow

Our Camp I on the way to Camp II with fresh snow

Camp III on the Lhotse Face with lots of fresh snow

Camp III on the Lhotse Face with lots of fresh snow

Climbing under the bergschrund at the base of the Lhotse Face

Climbing under the bergschrund at the base of the Lhotse Face

If climbing Mount Everest 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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Camp III Touched!

The Western Cwm

After touching Camp III, the Everest team is back in Camp II and preparing to head down tomorrow to base camp.  Expedition leader, Garrett Madison, has all the details:

Hello, this is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Everest and Lhotse expedition.  Today is May 6th and today we climbed up to Camp III on the Lhotse Face.  We had a great day, beautiful weather here on Mount Everest.  A lot of fresh snow on the Lhotse Face made for really good climbing, good conditions.  We made it back in time for a late lunch in Camp II and just finished our dinner here tonight.

We’re gonna head down to base camp tomorrow.  Everyone’s doing okay.  All’s well here with our team on Mount Everest.  And our British climbing friends, Kenton Cool and Jon Gupta, along with their climbers, Ardavan and Rebecca, are planning to head up soon, they’re here at Camp II, and they’re going to make their summit bid, probably, in a few day’s time.  So, it was nice to see them today and wish them good luck.

We’re looking forward to getting down to base camp and resting and relaxing and having a hot shower and enjoying base camp life very soon.

All’s well here on Everest.  We’ll check in soon.  Thanks!

If climbing Mount Everest 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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