Relaxing in Paiju on the trek to K2 base camp.
Matthew Du Puy and Alan Arnette
K2 team doing well, enjoying a relaxing day in Skardu, we plan to drive to Askole tomorrow.
left to right: Alan Arnette, Terray Sylvester, Todd Du Puy, Robert Whiteford, Rick Sylvester, Matthew Du Puy and Garrett Madison in Skardu, Pakistan.
Nanga Parbat from the flight from Islamabad to Skardu, Pakistan
Downtown Skardu, Pakistan
Our ride to Skardu
We flew early today from Islamabad to Skardu, and are very happy that the weather cooperated for the flight. We are very thankful that our local agent could rebook our tickets from yesterday, allowing us to bypass the 2 day overland drive along the Karakoram Highway. Skardu is a small yet bustling town, we have mostly been enjoying our time relaxing at the hotel, with a short walk through the village bazaar. Tomorrow we plan to organize gear in preparation for departure the following day. We will be travelling via 4WD Jeeps to the village of Askole where we will kick off our trek to K2 base camp.
After two days of flying from North America our K2 team has finally assembled in Islamabad and our first challenge is to travel to Skardu, where we begin the jeep ride to Askole to begin the trek. Today we spent a few hours at the airport waiting for this domestic flight, however because of bad weather the flight was cancelled. We hope to fly tomorrow morning.
We made good use of our free time this afternoon by enjoying a wonderful lunch at the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad (see photo). The buffet featured American, European, and Pakistani culinary delights, and after generous helpings we retired to our hotel for a nap.
It’s been a life long dream of mine to climb “The Savage Mountain”, and with weather and route conditions permitting myself and three other American climbers will attempt to scale K2. We will be climbing with some very good friends of mine including Kami Rita Sherpa, Fur Kancha Sherpa, and Kami Tshering Sherpa, as well as a few others. I have climbed with Kami and Fur Kancha to the summit of Everest 5 times, as well as other Himalayan peaks such as Ama Dablam and Manaslu. We are great friends, and I respect them tremendously as climbers. Often they are among the lead route setters on the Everest, I have shared many good and hard days in the mountains with these men.
After months of careful preparation and planning that included extensive research of the route, dedicated fitness training, logistics for shipping our gear and food, obtaining the climbing permits and visas, and rearranging personal schedules to accommodate a 6 week expedition, we are very excited to finally make this climb a reality.
Climbing Team:
- Garrett Madison, Climb Leader
- Alan Arnette, Climber
- Matthew Dupuy, Climber
- Fredrick Sylvester, Climber
Trekking Team:
- Todd Dupuy
- Robert Whiteford
- Terray Sylvester
Climbing Support Team:
- Kami Rita Sherpa
- Fur Kancha Sherpa
- Kami Tshering Sherpa
- Mingma Sherpa
- Pemba Sherpa
- Dawa Sherpa
The K2 climbing team and trekking team have arrived in Islamabad and we are now waiting for the flight to Skardu. Hopefully the weather will be good and we can fly today.
The K2 climbing team and trekking team have arrived in Islamabad and we are now waiting for the flight to Skardu. Hopefully the weather will be good and we can fly today.
Tomorrow night (May 4, 2014) at 9pm please watch the Discovery Channel special Everest Avalanche Tragedy to learn more about Mt. Everest, Nepal, and the amazing Sherpa people. I’m certain that the special will highlight the heroic and unselfish rescue and recovery efforts that brought together everyone in base camp which were all effected by this terrible act of Mother Nature and feature first hand accounts by Garrett Madison, the leader of one of the recovery teams.
As you watch the special, please provide your generous support to the Sherpa families of the fallen by donating to the charity of your choice such as American Himalayan Foundation Sherpa Family Fund or The Juniper Fund.
For me, I’m still stunned that the avalanche I witnessed in full outside the door of our comms tent took the lives of so many men. I had been up early on the morning of Friday, April 18th as we I agreed with our team the night before to start radio checkins at 6am as they ascended through the ice fall to the Western Cwm. I talked to the team around 6:20am and they decided to carry loads only up to Camp 1 (and not on to Camp 2) due “wind and traffic” on the route. At about 6:45am, we were talking with Dorjee Khatri, our sirdar, up on the mountain when we heard shouting and yelling over the radio and then absolute silence – the radio had gone dead. Almost at the same time, the sound of the start of the avalanche reached our tent and we ran out of the door, fearing the worst. Our greatest fears were quickly confirmed when we saw the ice calving off the West Shoulder directly onto the climbing route at the top of the Khumbu Ice Fall. Certainly not largest avalanche I’ve witnessed but definitely the wrong place at the wrong time. The rest of the day was consumed with working the radio running down the checklist of our team members on the mountain and hopefully waiting for all to be found safe – but it was not to be and, in the end, half of our team of six was lost.
I will be profoundly emotionally impacted by this event for the rest of my life – but in many ways you might not expect. The loss of so many people in one single event, several of which I was dancing, singing, and celebrating with just 18 hours before after our puja ceremony, and the lifelong hardship and impact on their families is rightly the strongest and deepest of these emotions. But at the same time, the valiant and heroic rescue efforts of those Sherpa on the scene who’s split-second dodge of a house sized block of ice by mere feet or inches saved their lives and provided the inner strength and resolve for them to then work for hours to save and recover others leaves me in a state of awe. The same can be said for those who also put their lives at risk to climb up the ice fall to the scene of the accident to provide assistance with absolutely no hesitation.
Overlaying all of this is the one thing that remains common about all expeditions and adventures, the one thing that keeps me coming back for more, and that is — the wonderful people that you meet and the amazing friendships that you form. That’s why I do this and why I love it so much.
Kurt Hunter
Madison Mountaineering
Everest Base Camp Manager 2014
We just spoke with our team via VHF radio as they were enjoying the views from the summit of Lobuche East (6105m)! They reported good route conditions with little to no wind and unobstructed views of the surrounding peaks, including Cholatse, Taboche, and Ama Dablam. They are making their descent to high camp and then on to the Lobuche lodge. Tomorrow they will hike back up to Everest Base Camp.
Currently in EBC there is a meeting taking place between a delegation from the Ministry and a representative group of Sherpas to discuss the requests being made to the government. It is a significant and unprecedented, perhaps even historical, event that a meeting such as this is being held at Everest Base Camp – fitting of the magnitude of the tragedy that occurred last Friday. While we wait to hear the outcome of this meeting, many of the major teams have already made their own decisions to end their expeditions for this season.
In other news, Garrett was interviewed by Discovery/NBC for a news special which will air in place of the Everest Jump Live show and also by a group of studio-backed documentary film makers producing a feature film on Nepal, the Sherpa, and the climbing industry.
Photo: post-recovery at the “football field” in the ice fall. Garrett with the recovery team.
Today we returned from our short outing at Gorak Shep to the comforts of our Everest base camp, and we are all very happy to be back in our “home away from home”. The mood in base camp seems to be improving,
At 10 AM tomorrow morning we are going to partake in a Puja “aatma shanti” (peace of the soul) ceremony with all individuals in base camp. This event will be held at the SPCC camp and the purpose will be to pay respect to the men who lost their lives in the Khumbu Icefall on April 18th. We are very excited to participate in this ceremony as we feel this community gathering to recognize the importance of the life of all of these men is an essential piece of the grieving process. This ‘coming together’ in base camp has been a missing element the last few days and we hope will give solidarity to our climbing community on Everest.
After the ceremony our team will head down valley to Lobuche where we plan to spend the night. The next day we will climb to Lobuche high camp, and then the following day awake before dawn to climb the glaciated slopes of Lobuche East. After the climb we plan to stay in the Lobuche lodge and then return to Everest base camp the following day. We are very excited to be “going climbing” the next few days!
Recovery Recap:
I wanted to touch upon the recovery that occurred on April 18th & 19th. After the accident on the morning of April 18th, I climbed up to the accident site and worked for several hours with others who had also climbed up to assist such as Dave Hahn, Jeffrey Justman, Ben Jones and Andy Tyson. The following day on April 19th several of us flew up to the “football field” and then climbed up to the accident site and proceeded to finish our work in extricating the body of my Sirdar, Dorji Kartri, as well as search for a few of the missing Sherpas who are now buried under massive amounts of ice. The other recovery volunteers (Damien Benegas, Melissa Arnot, and several Sherpas) worked for several hours and in the end we flew off the body, then descended to base camp by helicopter. This recovery effort was a fine example of how foreign climbers and Nepali Sherpas can work together to accomplish a common goal, and I am very proud to have been part of this effort.
Today our team decided to hike down from base camp and enjoy the thicker air and lodge setting of Gorak Shep. After the tough day on the mountain and additional recovery efforts yesterday we were in need of a change of setting and some exercise. We had a nice hike down and just finished lunch. We are happy to be together and look forward to returning to base camp tomorrow.
Garrett Madison