Dispatches

Everest 2016

Beautiful views at Everest View Hotel!

Today we went for a nice hike up to the Everest View Hotel, and enjoyed hot tea while admiring the views of Mount Everest, Lhotse, and Ama Dablam. Then we trekked over to the Hillary school, and the to the monastery in Kunde, and found the famed Yeti skull! Afterwards we went back to our lodge and had a nice lunch, then bought a few handcrafts from Tibet. More pastries & coffees followed. It’s been a relaxing stay here in Namche! We are planning to continue our journey in the morning and trek onward through the Khumbu Valley toward Everest Base Camp. Weather has been amazing and the team is doing very well. Onward!!

April 6, 2016/1 Comment/by Garrett

Everest Trek 2016

Namche Bazaar is an ancient nexus of trade

Namche Bazaar is an ancient nexus of trade between the lower regions of Nepal and the Tibeten Sherpa people coming over the Nangpala pass. The team arrived early afternoon into Namche and will spend at least one night here resting, acclimatizing, and enjoying the shops and bakeries before moving higher. The weather has been consistently sunny with beautiful clear views in the morning with rolling clouds coming in throughout the afternoon. Everyone is healthy and strong and looking forward to continue the journey toward Everest Base Camp! The team plans to do a few short hikes above Namche and get a glimpse of Everest in the far distance.

Photo: the team on the trek today

April 6, 2016/0 Comments/by Garrett

Everest 2016

Climbers trek to Namche Bazaar!

Today the climbers completed a beautiful trek to Namche Bazaar, the capital of the Khumbu! We had good weather, and some spectacular views of surrounding peaks! The team is strong! After arriving in Namche we visited the bakery, had a few pastries like chocolate cake & apple strudel, with a few cappuccinos. Then we went back to our lodge and took hot showers, a great way to end the day, We are now enjoying our dinner! We plan to spend two nights here in Namche as we continue to acclimatize and enjoy the spectacular views. Onward!

Photo: Stuart at the sagarmatha park entrance gate

April 5, 2016/0 Comments/by Garrett

Everest Trek 2016

Trekkers Arrive In Lukla!

The weather cleared late morning in Phapolu and the team was able to arrive in Lukla and begin our trek toward Everest Base Camp. A three hour walk took us up to Phakding where we will stay for the night. It felt great to stretch our legs for a bit and take in the sites of the Dudh Koshi River valley and the many prayer wheels, flags and rock carvings that line the trail. Tomorrow the trek will begin in ernest as we will climb to Namche Bazaar at over 12000 feet. Below is a photo from today in the trek.

April 5, 2016/0 Comments/by Garrett

Everest Trek 2016

Trekkers left Kathmandu now in Phaplou

Our Trekkers left Kathmandu this morning on the way to Lukla, but due to quickly deteriorating weather conditions the aircraft was diverted to Phaplou, nearby Lukla. The team will spend the night there and attempt to finish the flight tomorrow morning. All is well, and we are keeping our fingers crossed for good weather tomorrow!

April 4, 2016/0 Comments/by Garrett

Everest 2016

Everest climbing team travels from Kathmandu to Lukla!

Today we caught the first flight out of Kathmandu to Lukla! We lucked out before the clouds and rain, and trekked through lush green river valleys and over suspension bridges to our destination for the evening, the Paradise lodge in Phakding. We are very happy to be on our way to Everest base camp! The fresh mountain air is a nice change from the bustling capital city of Kathmandu. Our trekking team’s flight could not land at Lukla so currently they are in Phaplu, and will try to fly to Lukla later today or tomorrow. Here is a photo of our team on the trek today, and another of our plane taking off on the runway at Lukla after dropping us off.

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Arrival into Tenzing Hillary Airport, Lukla

April 4, 2016/1 Comment/by Garrett

Everest Trek 2016

Spring 2016 Everest Trekking Season Launch!

The Madison Mountaineering Spring 2016 Everest trekking season has officially launched! Today our second trekking team of the season is arriving in the capital city of Kathmandu, Nepal. Trekking through the Khumbu Valley to Everest base camp is a life changing experience for many, as the spectacular mountain scenery integrated with Sherpa culture and Buddhist religion makes for a truly engaging combination. Our team’s will follow the same route to Base Camp as the Everest climbers and recount the historical ascents with the climbers who share our lodges along the way.

Beautiful photos taken by Fred Crosetto below from our first Spring 2016 Everest Trek! Enjoy 🙂

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April 1, 2016/0 Comments/by Garrett

Everest 2016

Climbers prepare for Everest 2016!

Madison Mountaineering climbers around the world are gearing up for Everest 2016! In a few short weeks we will converge in Kathmandu, Nepal and begin the journey to Mount Everest, known by the locals as Sagarmāthā. Mount Everest is Earth’s highest mountain at 8,848m (29,035ft) above sea level. Here in Seattle,WA our team is actively preparing mountaineering gear, food supplies, and taking care of other important expedition logistics before our departure. We look forward to returning to Nepal to witness and share with you the growth and progress that has been made since last year’s season ending earthquake.

Expedition dispatches will be posted here as frequently as possible. Also follow us @MadisonMtng on Twitter , Instagram , and Facebook.

Stay tuned! 🙂

Interesting Everest Fact: The international border between Tibet and Nepal runs across Everest’s precise summit point.

Base Camp Prayer Flags

March 5, 2016/0 Comments/by Andrew

Aconcagua 2016.01

Complete success for climbing team on Aconcagua!

I am very proud to say that the Madison Mountaineering climbing team on Aconcagua had complete success! All team members stood on the highest point of the Western & Southern Hemispheres together on January 22nd. Congratulations to the following climbers:

-Audrey Cadwallader

-Linda Wohlegemuth

-Walt Harris

-Ginna Kelly

-Peter Horsman

-Bernd Horsman

-Wenny Sanchez

As many climbers are aware, this season on Aconcagua has been a very tough one with severe storms preventing teams from reaching the summit. As we approached the mountain on our trek into base camp, we encountered many teams that had not ascended past Camp 1 on the mountain, and were very discouraging. The look of defeat in their faces and of time spent suffering at high altitude without any summit attempt made us wonder….We pressed onward. After we reached base camp we received a weather forecast that suggested favorable weather, but only for a short time. In order to take advantage of this, we accelerated our climbing schedule and put our team in a position to summit on the last day of good weather (January 22nd). All team members pulled together to push the itinerary forward, with hard work and determination we succeeded in reaching our goal.

The day after we reached the summit the next storm cycle began with high winds and snow preventing any other summit attempts, we reached base camp on this day, and were informed by the park rangers that they were closing the mountain to climbers indefinitely because of landslides. We really lucked out with our weather window, and with a group individual climbers who pulled together as a team to make the summit become a reality for everyone. Great job team!

The team is doing well and we are currently waiting in Penitentes for the road to open so we can drive to Mendoza. Because of the landslides the road is currently closed in both directions. We expect the roads to be opened shorty. Onward!

-Garrett Madison

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A picnic on the approach hike

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Aconcagua from Plaza Mulas base camp

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Aconcagua team on the summit!

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Climbers head up the Canaleta

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Last rest break before the summit

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Peter climbing up the Canaleta

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Summit day!

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The team at Camp 1 on the way up

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View of the Andes from 22,500′!

January 25, 2016/0 Comments/by Andrew

Ecuador 2016.01

Successful summit of Cayambe Volcano!

Jeff, José, and I have made a safe and successful ascent of Cayambe volcano! After we finished our acclimatization hikes near Quito we departed for Cayambe hut at an elevation of 15,250 feet. After a hour of driving from Hacienda Guachala we took our expedition vehicle across rocky and steep terrain toward Cayambe. The hut was beautifully located and provided spectacular views of the mountain. After three days of glacier training we prepared our gear and left at 11pm for the summit. After 7 hours of climbing we made it over the last crevasse and to the top on a crystal clear day just as the sun came up over the horizon. We were the first climbing team to reach the summit 🙂 We had an amazing adventure and thank our guide José Luis for his expert guidance and support! I will be posting additional photos from our expedition to the Madison Mountaineering Facebook page!

Onward!

-Andrew Tierney

Photos taken below by Andrew Tierney using a GoPro Hero 4 Black and iPhone 6. Enjoy! 🙂

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Dinner at Hacienda Guachala. The Hacienda Guachalá is known as the oldest hacienda in Ecuador, and the most important hacienda until the middle of the 20th century. The oldest buildings date from the year 1580!