Climbing in the Kunturiri!

The team hiking along with Lake Titicaca behind! (Photo: Estalin Suárez)

The team enjoyed their last day of acclimatization and sight-seeing before they depart for the mountains tomorrow! Another magnificent lake day with views and tasty meals have the team feeling strong, relaxed, and ready to go. Expedition leader, Estalin Suárez, checks in with this dispatch from La Paz before tomorrows journey takes them into the the Kunturiri:

Hello, this is Estalin calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Bolivia expedition. Today is September 19th – another great day in Bolivia! Today we visited the Island of the Moon, did a short hike there and visited ruins on the island. After that we went back to Copacabana, which is the main town there, and had a great lunch!

After that, we drove back to La Paz. Now we are just resting. Tomorrow, we are going to the area of Kunturiri where there are a couple mountains that we are going to climb. Hopefully the weather will help us a little bit! We are motivated to climb those mountains, so tomorrow we are going to leave more or less, 9:00 AM and will be in the mountains for about five days.

We are not going to be in contact in the next days, but hope everything goes very well and to come back with great news and summits! Stay tuned… Bye!

The Island of the Moon (Photo: Estalin Suárez)

The Island of the Moon (Photo: Estalin Suárez)

Visiting ruins on the Island of the Moon! (Photo: Estalin Suárez)

Visiting ruins on the Island of the Moon! (Photo: Estalin Suárez)

Climber, Stephane Mayer taking in views of lake Titicaca! (Photo: Estalin Suárez)

Climber, Stephane Mayer taking in views of lake Titicaca! (Photo: Estalin Suárez)

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.“

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Exploring Lake Titicaca!

Views from today's adventures around Lake Titicaca! (Photo: Estalin Suárez)

The Madison Mountaineering Bolivia expedition team spent the day venturing around Bolivias’ beautiful Lake Titicaca! First by car, the team drove to Copacabana for site seeing before boarding their private boat towards Isla del Sol! They enjoyed a delicious lunch of local cuisine upon their arrival, fueling the rest of the day for a visit to Temple del Sol, which translates to “Temple of the Sun,” and the hike to their lodge where they watched the sunset over Lake Titicaca. Expedition Leader, Estalin Suárez checks in with this dispatch from Bolivia:

Hello, this is Estalin calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Bolivia expedition – today is September 18th!

We started early in the morning from La Paz, drove for about three and a half hours to Copacabana, which is the city located right there on the Titicaca Lake. The first thing that we did was visit the (Mount) Calvario, which is a small peak that’s almost 4,000 meters located just in the sight of Copacabana. This is a very special place for the locals because on top, there are some shamans. The local people are going there if they need to clean the body from bad energies – there are shamans there who can help them. Also, if you have a wish for the future that you want to have, he’ll bless you to give you luck to get all that you wish. It’s very interesting because they mix different cultures and religions – Catholic and the ancestral traditions from the local people.

After that we took our private boat to Isla del Sol where the local people were waiting for us to have a really good lunch – local dish! Then we visited the Temple del Sol. In the afternoon we did a hike to our lodge, which is a really beautiful lodge where we watched the sunset here in Titicaca Lake.

Well, it was a really beautiful, beautiful day with amazing views! The landscape is really beautiful. It was our first day for acclimatizing and tomorrow we will visit a different island, and back to La Paz.

Stay tuned – bye!

Hiking under beautiful, clear-blue skies! (Photo: Estalin Suárez)

Hiking under beautiful, clear-blue skies! (Photo: Estalin Suárez)

Lunch is served! (Photo: Estalin Suárez)

Lunch is served! (Photo: Estalin Suárez)

Beautiful views from the days lunch spot! (Photo: Estalin Suárez)

Beautiful views from the days lunch spot! (Photo: Estalin Suárez)

Sunset over Lake Titicaca (Photo: Estalin Suárez)

Sunset over Lake Titicaca (Photo: Estalin Suárez)

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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2023 Bolivia Expedition is Underway!

The Madison Mountaineering team touring the city of La Paz!

Hello, from Bolivia! This custom expedition is off to a beautiful start in La Paz! After getting settled into our team hotel in the bustling city center, we ventured out taking in the sights, smells and sounds of the starting point for this special trip. Towering peaks look over the city from afar – a taste of whats to come!

With some acclimatization in the days ahead, our team will then set forth on technical climbing routes for what’s sure to be a fun and exciting adventure! Expedition leader, Estalin Suárez checks in with this dispatch from La Paz:

Hello, this is Estalin calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Bolivia expedition. Today is September 17 and Stephane, Patricia and I just arrived in La Paz (3640m/11,942ft)! After a couple hours of resting, we did a short tour around La Paz – mostly in the center of La Paz.

Now, everybody is resting after a nice dinner and getting ready for tomorrow which is going to be our first day in Titicaca Lake (3812m/12,507ft). Stay tuned – bye!

Towering peaks watching from afar over the city streets. Photo: Estalin Suárez

Towering peaks watching from afar over the city streets. Photo: Estalin Suárez

The streets of La Paz! Photo: Estalin Suárez

The streets of La Paz! Photo: Estalin Suárez

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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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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100% Summit Success on Rainier!

Mount Rainier summit photo!

On the evening of July 25th, the 2023 Madison Mountaineering Mount Rainier (4392m/14,411ft) team successfully reached the summit of the tallest peak in Washington! Sunny skies to start the climb was followed by stormier conditions, forcing the team to hunker down at Ingraham Flats (3383m/11,100ft). While the team waited out the adverse weather conditions, they worked on the skills needed for the climbing ahead, made lasting friendships, and bonded as a team who was motivated and ready to make their push for the summit when the storm abated. Guides, Max Strotbeck and Benny Lieber positioned the team out of the way of high winds and in a position to make their summit bid when the time came.

At approximately, 3:00 PM PST on Tuesday, July 25, the storm dissipated giving them the window they needed to make their summit push. As the only team on the route at that time, the team set off for the summit, and five hours later found themselves reaching Mount Rainier’s summit crater and counting the final steps towards its true summit. The team’s hard work, determination, and well thought out strategy gifted them with a memorable sunset summit to themselves, with views all around from the roof of Washington.

Congratulations again to the team on one awesome climb!

The team celebrating their summit success on the evening of July 25 under a beautiful sunset painted sky!

The team celebrating their summit success on the evening of July 25 under a beautiful sunset painted sky!

The team settled into our bombproof Mountain Hardwear tents!

The team settled into our bombproof Mountain Hardwear tents!

The view of camp from Ingraham Flats.

The view of camp from Ingraham Flats.

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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