We are excited to report that the Madison MountaineeringMont Blanc expedition team successfully summited over the weekend! It’s been an unforgettable week in the Alps filled with excellent weather, a rockstar team, smooth climbing and enjoying all that Chamonix has to offer. Climbing in the French Alps is a unique experience offering comfortable accommodations, beautiful climbing, good food, and more! Reach out about 2027 dates to get signed up. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from Mont Blanc:
We had a great climb, reached the summit of Mont Blanc the other day. It was perfect weather, great views all around, no clouds, and safe descent. We had a great week here in Chamonix, France, climbing throughout the French and Swiss Alps. Everyone had a wonderful time. We climbed many different peaks while we were here. And we’re looking forward to more mountain adventures in the future!
Thanks for following along! And off to the next expedition on Mount Elbrus, Russia.
Climbing towards the summit under sunny morning skies.
Taking in the views!
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https://madisonmountaineering.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/PHOTO-2026-06-22-03-20-22-1.jpg16001200Garretthttps://madisonmountaineering.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/logomm-300x138.jpgGarrett2026-06-22 13:16:002026-06-22 16:22:34Success on Mont Blanc!
The Madison MountaineeringMont Blanc expedition team has been hard at work over the course of the last few days, training and getting ready for the climb ahead. With a few smaller climbs under their belts, they’re heading back up and onto the Mont Blanc Massif for an attempt in a few days time. Good luck, team! Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from the French Alps:
Hey! This is Garrett checking in for the Mont Blanc (4808m/15,774ft) program.
Our private team here has had a few nice days up high in the alpine zone. We hiked up above the village of Le Tour to the Albert Premier Hut, and the following day, climbed Petite Fourche (3512m/11,522ft)! From Petite Fourche, we traversed over into Switzerland and stayed in the Cabane du Trient, the Trient Refuge. (We) dad a nice meal there, and then the following day, yesterday, climbed Aiguille du Tour (3540m/11,614ft) and descended back down to Chamonix (1035m/3,396ft).
We are now heading up Mont Blanc for the next few days. Fingers crossed for good weather, good conditions! We’re excited for some spectacular views, and we’ll be back in Chamonix on Saturday or Sunday.
All is well here! We’ll check in soon.
Early morning sunshine in the French Alps
Perfect climbing conditions
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:
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.“
https://madisonmountaineering.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/PHOTO-2026-06-17-22-41-56.jpg1024768Garretthttps://madisonmountaineering.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/logomm-300x138.jpgGarrett2026-06-18 07:26:212026-06-18 18:08:03Ready for Mont Blanc
And just like that! We are happy to report the summit success of our entire Carstensz Pyramid team on the morning of June 16. After crawling out of their sleeping bags, gearing up, and leaving their tent walls, clear and starry skies shined overhead. Climbers scarfed down some food and coffee to fuel up for the climb ahead, before shouldering their packs and starting up the route. We enjoyed excellent climbing and conditions through the night and into the morning, making great time while climbing higher up the mountain. There were some of the best views and climbing conditions we’ve ever experienced on Carstensz, with views as far as the eye can see and the mountain entirely to ourselves; not another soul was up there! The team celebrated together on the summit before descending back down to camp, safe and sound. What a day, and what an expedition it’s been so far! Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in from the Yellow Valley Base Camp after successfully topping out on Oceania’s highest peak, Carstensz Pyramid:
This morning, we left base camp (4285m/14,050ft) under perfectly clear, starry skies at about 5 a.m. By four hours later, the entire team was standing on the summit of Carstensz Pyramid, the highest point in Oceania, and one of the ‘seven summits!’ We had a really nice climb. The weather was perfect. We had perfectly clear skies as the sun rose over the Sudirman Range, which is just a really beautiful, kind of magnificent range with lots of exposed limestone, craggy peaks. And as we gained the summit ridge, we had clear skies looking down to the south as well, toward the Arafura Sea. I felt like if we’d been able to see just a little bit farther, we would have caught a glimpse of Australia! Really nice weather for Carstensz Pyramid.
Yeah, the clear skies and good weather continued all the way to the summit and back down. We are all back in base camp now and relaxing in t-shirts and shorts in the sunshine, and preparing for our flight back to Timika (31m/103ft).
All in all this expedition has gone really well so far! We arrived in Timika on schedule, flew to the mountain on schedule, summited on the day we planned to, according to our itinerary, the next day, and hopefully we’ll fly out of base camp later today or tomorrow. So, yeah, really special expedition here in the New Guinea Highlands.
This was a custom itinerary. So we are climbing outside of the usual seasons on Carstensz Pyramid, which means that we have the mountain all to ourselves. There’s no one else in base camp, just our little team, and we were the only ones on the mountain. Felt very peaceful, really special.
So yeah, all good here in the tropics in Papua. And we’ll be in touch tomorrow.
Before leaving camp on the summit push.
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:
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.“
The Madison Mountaineering team has arrived in the beautiful Chamonix Valley, taken to the hills with eyes set on the legendary peak, Mont Blanc! Chamonix is a magical place with lots of mountaineering history. Treated with excellent weather and views so far, the team is psyched to be underway! They’ll spend the next few days acclimatizing and practicing technical skills before making their attempt on this famed summit. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from the French Alps:
Our team is enjoying the Chamonix Valley. We arrived here yesterday. And today, we set out for Le Tour at the end of the valley and hiked up to the Albert Premier refuge. It was a great day, beautiful views of Mont Blanc in the valley. We got up to the refuge in the afternoon, had some cakes and coffee, and then went out and did some technical training on the glacier and on rock. We just had dinner, winding down here.
Great to be up here at the hut! The team’s doing well, weather looks good, spectacular views up here, and we’re looking forward to our climb of the Peak Petite Fourche (3512m/11,522ft) tomorrow.
So all’s well here in France. French Alps are magnificent, “magnifique,” as the French say! And we’re looking forward to more great days ahead. We’ll check in soon!
Excellent views of Mont Blanc!
Beautiful day for climbing in the French Alps.
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:
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.“
The Madison MountaineeringCarstensz Pyramid Expedition team reached their base camp today, tucked into the Yellow Valley at the foot of the peak. The flight into base camp is an exciting one, which we carried throughout the day. After settling into their tents, the team took to the lower section of the route for some technical skills review and acclimatization. Everyone did great! It won’t be long now before we start out on the summit push. Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from Carstensz Pyramid:
Today we woke up early, headed over to the airport in Timika (31m/103ft), and the weather cleared! We were able to fly to base camp (4285m/14,050ft). So our entire team is now up at base camp, which is fantastic. It’s common for there to be some delays, because the weather in Papua is so wet and variable. But yeah, we had really good conditions and it’s fantastic to be here!
We spent the morning relaxing, and then this afternoon we headed up to the first, the “first terrace,” as it’s called. The first of three major ledges, on the lower portion of the route, just to get acquainted with the climbing on the lower route before we do it in the dark during our alpine start, and to stretch our legs and get a little bit of an activity to help us acclimatize now that we’re at 14,000 feet.
So, uh, yeah, we had really good foray on the route, rappelled back down to base camp, and now we’re just waiting for dinner. Dinner will be tuna steaks, and chicken wings, salad, french fries. Should be really good!
Yeah, it’s a beautiful evening here; calm with some mist drifting through the Yellow Valley. We’re really looking forward to making our first attempt at the summit tomorrow, if the weather cooperates. So we’ll be in touch tomorrow!
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:
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.“
We’re thrilled to be back on Carstensz Pyramid with a strong team of climbers this June! The Madison Mountaineering team arrived in Timika over the weekend and look forward to their move up to the mountain soon. Our staff have been hard at work setting up base camp and are excited to welcome the rest of our guides and climbers tomorrow! With good weather, helicopters will take us over the lush jungle below, to the foot of Carstensz Pyramid, the highest peak in Oceania and one of the famed seven summits. Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from Timika:
Our guests all arrived in Timika (31m/103ft) today and we just wrapped up dinner at our hotel. We’re looking forward to flying to the mountain tomorrow morning, weather permitting.
Our staff all flew up there today. They’ve got base camp (4285m/14,050ft) all set up in the Yellow Valley at the base of the highest peak in Oceania, at about 14,000 feet. And the forecast is looking promising for tomorrow, so we’re hoping that we’ll head up to the mountain and be able to get started with the climbing portion of the expedition.
It’s a relatively beautiful day here in Papua. Had a little bit of rain in the morning. But otherwise, it was sunny, wonderful day here in one of the lushest rainforests on the planet. We’ll be in touch tomorrow.
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:
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.“
And again! It comes with much excitement to report that the Madison MountaineeringEcuador Volcanoes team has successfully reached the summit of Chimborazo and returned back to Quito, safe and sound. It was a near perfect day on Ecuador‘s highest peak. Standing at 6263m/20,549ft, the team basked in the sunshine and took in the 360 degree views before shouldering their packs once again and turning back towards camp. We’ll say our goodbyes this evening as another remarkable trip to Ecuador comes to a close. We’re back again this November! Reach out to our team to learn more. Expedition leader, Estalin Suárez checks in with this dispatch from the summit of Chimborazo:
Hey, hello to everyone! This is Estalin calling in for the Madison MountaineeringEcuador Volcanoes expedition, directly from the summit of Chimborazo (6263m/20,549ft), 6,268 meters, the farthest point from the center of the Earth!
So we got a glorious day, beautiful, beautiful day. We can see all the volcanoes around, no wind at all. The snow is pretty good.
Yeah, so… Stay tuned for the pictures later. Bye!
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:
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.“
https://madisonmountaineering.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/PHOTO-2026-06-11-07-36-46.jpg1280960Garretthttps://madisonmountaineering.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/logomm-300x138.jpgGarrett2026-06-11 14:57:362026-06-12 00:18:19Cumbre on Chimborazo!
We are psyched to be back in Ecuador! The Madison Mountaineering team has been hard at work acclimatizing on smaller peaks that surround Quito. And now, we are excited to share that the team successfully reached the summit of Cotopaxi with 100% summit success! The team had an excellent day on this iconic mountain; clear skies, no wind, and good route conditions made for smooth climbing to the summit. Now that they are off the mountain safely, it’s back down to lower elevations to rest up, recover, and get ready for their next big objective: Chimborazo! Expedition leader, Estalin Suárez checks in with this dispatch from the summit of Cotopaxi:
So, it took us a little bit more than seven hours to reach the summit, but worth it! We got that really, really beautiful day, zero wind, clear sky. The snow, it was pretty pretty good.
So Travis and Rob, they’re feeling really great! Yeah, so stay tuned for the photos later.
Nearing the summit of Cotopaxi while above the clouds
Aerial shot above Cotopaxi
Drone shot of climbers taking the final steps towards the summit of Cotopaxi.
Climbers, Rob and Travis on an acclimatization day on one of the many peaks surrounding Quito.
Above the clouds on the Illinizas.
Sunrise while climbing Illiniza Norte.
Summit! Illiniza Norte
Cumbre on El Corazon!
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:
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.“
https://madisonmountaineering.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/PHOTO-2026-06-07-08-22-31.jpg9601280Garretthttps://madisonmountaineering.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/logomm-300x138.jpgGarrett2026-06-07 13:42:422026-06-11 23:47:57Back in Ecuador with summits on Cotopaxi!
With happy hearts, we’re excited to report that the entire Madison Mountaineering team is now safely off of the mountain and heading home! Some of the team is back in Kathmandu, reintroducing themselves to the comforts of life in the city. A few team members, guides, the Sherpa team, and base camp staff are wrapping up the season in Everest Base Camp! While climbers are quick to pack their bags one last time before boarding their flights back home, there are sure to be many hugs and ‘see you laters’ as this special season comes to a close. We are so proud of the entire team for another incredible season in the Himalaya! With over 30 summits on Mount Everest, memories, and new friends that will last a lifetime, the past month and a half is one we won’t soon forget. With that, we are proud to present the 2026 Mount Everest summiteers list:
#
Name
Nationality
1
Francisco Arenas
United States of America
2
Richard Draves
United States of America
3
Ashley Keightley
United States of America
4
Brandon Scott
Canada
5
Andrew Green
United States of America
6
Frank McCarthy
Ireland
7
Pratyay Poddar
United Kingdom
8
Tomas Walsh
United States of America
9
Jeffery Arnold
Canada
10
Reid Tileston
United States of America
11
Garrett Madison
United States of America
12
Terray Sylvester
United States of America
13
Juan Pablo Escobar
Argentina
14
Javier Beiza
Argentina
15
Aang Phurba Sherpa
Nepal
16
Dawa Sange Sherpa
Nepal
17
Dorchi Sherpa
Nepal
18
Chhong Ngima Sherp
Nepal
19
Ngima Tashi Sherpa
Nepal
20
Sumba Sherpa
Nepal
21
Shere Thapa Magar
Nepal
22
Ngima Sona Sherpa
Nepal
23
Lale Tamang
Nepal
24
Dawa Sungder Sherpa
Nepal
25
Nima Sange Sherpa
Nepal
26
Pemba Sherp
Nepal
27
Pemba Serwa
Nepal
28
Chheten Dorgee Sherpa
Nepal
29
Dorchi one Sherpa
Nepal
30
Siddhi Tamang
Nepal
31
Hira Bhote
Nepal
32
R D Tamang
Nepal
33
Mane Tamang
Nepal
34
Santosh Bhote
Nepal
Bookings for the 2027 Mount Everest expedition are OPEN! Reach out to our team to learn more. We are already looking forward to coming back again next year!
Hey! This is Garrett checking in for the Mount Everest (8848m/29,032ft) expedition team.
We are all down off the mountain now. The last of us, myself, Terray, Reid, and Jeff, along with our incredible Sherpa team came down to base camp (5364m/17,598ft) today from Camp IV (7900m/25,919ft). Everyone’s down from Camp II (6500m/21,325ft). And we’re happy that the whole crew is safely down off the mountain.
Most of our main team is already down in Kathmandu (1400m/4,600ft), enjoying the city life, and hot showers, warm beds, and looking forward to getting home soon.
It’s been a great expedition! Just incredible success all around. Everybody who went for the summit made it. That’s 10 clients, four guides, and, over 20 Nepal Sherpa. So just an amazing expedition! Very thankful, very grateful we were so fortunate and had so much success and safety all around.
So it’s been a great season here in Nepal. So fortunate, so thankful, and we’ll check in soon.
(From left to right) Aang Phurba Sherpa, Garrett Madison, and Jeff Arnold nearing base camp after descending from Camp IV.
Looking up at the summit from the South Col.
The team moving together beneath the Lhotse Face.
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:
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.“
https://madisonmountaineering.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/PHOTO-2026-04-28-06-31-57.jpg7681024Garretthttps://madisonmountaineering.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/logomm-300x138.jpgGarrett2026-05-28 14:29:282026-05-28 15:04:07Safely back in Base Camp
At 18:57 NPT, we received word from the South Col that the Madison MountaineeringMount Everest expedition team had successfully reached the summit and made it back down to Camp IV! It comes with great pleasure to share this exciting news that nine climbers, guides, and Sherpas topped out at the world’s highest point today, adding to the total from a few days prior. The team enjoyed excellent views and no crowds while climbing on the way to the summit. With the summit to themselves, the celebration commenced, summit photos were taken, and the moment cherished before turning back. What an incredible way to finish the 2026 climbing season on Mount Everest! Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in from Camp IV:
We have great news to report… Today, the last members of our expedition, Everest team all reached the summit! That’s myself, Jeff Arnold, Terray Sylvester, Reid Tileston, along with the incredible Sherpa team: Siddhi Ghising, and Mani, and Ardi, and Hira, and Santosh. And we are all back in Camp IV (7900m/25,919ft) now, safe and sound, resting, recovering, and planning to head down to Camp II (6500m/21,325ft) and base camp (5364m/17,598ft) the following day.
(We) had a great day! The weather cooperated, winds dropped down, and we had some great views on the way up. It was a little cloudy up top, but not crowded at all, and we just had a wonderful time up there. A great way to conclude our expedition with all the members that were up here at the South Col, and going for the summit, topping out on Everest!
So, been a fantastic expedition, and we will check in soon.
Summit photo atop Mount Everest!
Clear skies and excellent views while climbing high on Everest.
Garrett Madison on the summit for his 16th time.
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:
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.“
https://madisonmountaineering.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/PHOTO-2026-05-27-06-12-38-scaled.jpg25601920Garretthttps://madisonmountaineering.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/logomm-300x138.jpgGarrett2026-05-27 13:12:242026-05-27 14:11:47More Everest Summits on May 27!
