After days of travel and spending the last week trekking towards K2 base camp, the team has finally arrived and looks forward to a few days of rest ahead! While the views trekking through the Karakoram are spectacular in every direction one looks, the team is excited to be settled into camp and for the climbing to come. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this update from K2 base camp:
Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the Madison MountaineeringK2 (8611m/28,251ft) expedition. Today is July 3rd and we have reached K2 base camp (4968m/16,300ft)!
[Garbled] Concordia (4570m/14,993ft) had an amazing view of K2, Broad Peak (8051m/26,414ft). (We) arrived in base camp this afternoon, had lunch and just putting the finishing touches on our base camp here in the next couple of days. (We’re) looking forward to settling in and taking a couple of rest days! Everyone’s doing great and we’ll check in soon.
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https://madisonmountaineering.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/20220628_K2_R5_TerraySylvester_0037.jpg8001200Garretthttps://madisonmountaineering.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/logomm-300x138.jpgGarrett2023-07-03 13:45:422023-07-03 15:34:09K2 Base Camp
The drive towards the trailhead which leads teams towards K2 base camp is only the start of the adventure! Our team has arrived in Askole where they’ll begin their trek tomorrow. But not after an exciting drive with multiple stream crossings, unloading from their Jeeps on one bank only to load back up on the other side. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch after another adventurous day in Pakistan:
Today we drove from Skardu (2220m/7283ft) to Askole (3040m/9,974ft). It was an adventurous and fun Jeep ride, had a couple of stream crossings where we had to get out and walk around, and let our drivers make it through to the other side before we got back in. (We) got to Askole here in the afternoon, had lunch, and have just been enjoying the camp, organizing equipment. We just finished our dinner, everyone’s doing well! We’re excited to start trekking tomorrow. It’s about a 20 kilometer day trekking to Johla Camp (3151m/10,338ft).
(We’re) excited to finally be underway here on the expedition and looking forward to the days ahead!
Luggage before being loaded on the Jeeps en route to Askole.
The team before departing from Skardu!
Along the Braldu River on the way to Askole! (Photo by Terray Sylvester)
Siddhi, Garrett and Ryan posing for a portrait en route to Askole. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)
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:
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https://madisonmountaineering.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/PHOTO-2023-06-27-08-29-50.jpg10661600Garretthttps://madisonmountaineering.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/logomm-300x138.jpgGarrett2023-06-27 15:07:332023-06-27 17:02:48Off-roading to Askole!
The 2023 Madison MountaineeringK2 expedition is underway in Pakistan! Over the course of the last few days, our climbers, guides and Sherpa team arrived in Islamabad and are eager to keep the expedition moving. After a short stay at the team hotel and celebrating one climbers birthday, the team once again packed their bags and boarded another plane en route to Skardu. Tomorrow, the team will enjoy a rest day and do some sight seeing before continuing their expedition the following day to the trailhead where they’ll embark on this incredible journey towards K2. Expedition guide, Terray Sylvester checks in with todays dispatch from Pakistan:
Over the last couple of days, our team arrived in Islamabad, and this morning we flew from Islamabad to Skardu (2220m/7283ft) up in Gilgit-Baltistan in the Karakoram mountains. It was a beautiful morning for the flight! We had great views of Nanga Parbat (8126m/26,660ft), and then off of the left side of the plane as we approached Skardu, excellent views of K2 (8611m/28,251ft), the Gasherbrums, Broad Peak (8051m/26,414ft) and other peaks in that zone.
We touched down, and then headed to our hotel, and spent the evening organizing and relaxing at the hotel. It’s pretty hot here, but we had a beautiful evening – beautiful sunset out over the Skardu valley – and then we enjoyed a nice dinner here at our hotel!
Tomorrow, we’ll take a rest day here in Skardu and then the next day we plan to drive to our trailhead at Askole (3040m/9,974ft) up in the mountains. So everything is going really well here in Pakistan and we’ll be in touch tomorrow!
The team preparing to board our flight from Islamabad to Skardu. Photo: Terray Sylvester
The Madison Mountaineering K2 sherpa team, with two of our Pakistani staff. Photo: Terray Sylvester
A birthday celebration this evening for our climber, Yuri!
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:
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We had great climbs of Everest (May 24th) and Lhotse (May 25th). The conditions were the best I’ve ever had on summit day; warm, calm, and hardly any other climbers on the route. We had the summit all to ourselves for over an hour. In addition to eight clients, four guides, and 15 Nepal Sherpas reaching the summit of Everest, we had three clients, two guides, and three Sherpas reach the summit of Lhotse the following day. Peter Horsman became the first Dutchman, Debbie Bulten became the first Canadian woman, and Danah Ali became the first Emirati to complete the Everest & Lhotse peak to peak combination.
Unfortunately, on the way down from Camp 4 on May 25th at 7500m, one of our climbers, Pieter Swart passed away in the evening from a rapid onset lung infection / pulmonary edema. Guides, Terray Sylvester & Scott Webster spent the entire day with him assisting in his descent, joined by myself and Cacho Beiza from 1:00 pm onwards after our Lhotse climb, as we attempted to descend with him down to Camp 3 where a helicopter rescue might be possible. We will remember him fondly for his kindness and enthusiasm towards our team and for living life to the fullest.
At this time, our focus is working with the Nepalese agencies to support Pieter’s family and our team as we conclude our expedition here in Nepal.
To higher places,
Garrett Madison
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:
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We had great climbs of Everest, Lhotse, also Nuptse earlier in the season. The last of our Sherpas are coming down the mountain tomorrow. Some of our climbers have already flown to Kathmandu (1400m/4,600ft), enjoying hot showers in a hotel room tonight. The rest of us are here in base camp and planning to head out 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.“
https://madisonmountaineering.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/PHOTO-2023-04-13-04-36-59.jpg10661600Garretthttps://madisonmountaineering.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/logomm-300x138.jpgGarrett2023-05-26 17:55:212023-05-26 20:03:46Back in Base Camp
On May 25th at approximately 10:25 AM local time, our team of Lhotse climbers successfully reached the summit of the world’s fourth highest peak and are returning to Camp 2! We are extremely proud of the team and this tremendous accomplishment. With that, we are pleased to present the 2023 Madison MountaineeringLhotse summiteers list:
#
NAME
COUNTRY
1
Garrett Madison
United States
2
Debbie Bulten
Canada
3
Danah Al Ali
United Arab Emirates
4
Javier “Cacho” Beiza
Argentina
5
Peter Horsman
Netherlands
6
Lakpa Sherpa
Nepal
7
Aang Phurba Sherpa
Nepal
8
Dawa Tenji Sherpa
Nepal
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:
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We are thrilled to announce that the 2023 Madison MountaineeringMount Everest expedition team has successfully reached the summit of the tallest mountain on Earth, and safely returned to their tents at Camp 4! The team all reached the top between 10:30 AM and 12:00 PM NPT (local time) and enjoyed a magnificent summit day complete with sunshine, little wind, great route conditions, and the route (mostly) to themselves.
Congratulations to the team and and a heartfelt thank you goes out to our rockstar Sherpa team and support staff! This incredible feat would not be possible without them.
Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with today’s dispatch as he tries to find the words for a truly special day on Mount Everest:
Hello! This is Garrett calling in from the South Col (7900m/25,919ft) for the Madison MountaineeringEverest (8848m/29,032ft) and Lhotse (8516m/27,940ft) expedition team. We had a great summit today on Mount Everest! Best summit day ever that I can remember.
We started about 2:00 AM after a brief snowstorm here on the South Col, made our way up the triangular face to the balcony, up to the south summit, and up to the top of the world – summit of Mount Everest, about 9:30 – 10:00 AM. It was a glorious day! The best conditions and best route conditions that I can remember, perfect weather. It was warm, hardly any wind, hardly any other climbers on the mountain. We spent about two hours total, some of us, after summit just basking in the views, warmth and enjoying being at the top of Mount Everest. So, we had eight clients, four guides and 15 Nepal Sherpas get to the top today, including Aang Phurba Sherpa. And now, we’re all back safe in Camp 4 (7900m/25,919ft)!
Our plan is to go to bed, we just had some dinner. Some of us are going to wake up in a few hours, and head off to climb Lhotse – a neighboring peak of Mount Everest, the fourth highest mountain in the world.
So, the perfect summit day! (I) can’t believe how lucky we were, it was so nice up there. So lucky in so many ways! It was a glorious day and glad we’re all back safe.
Tomorrow some of us will go to Lhotse, the rest of us down to Camp 2 (6500m/21,325ft), and the following day down to base camp (5364m/17,598ft). All is well here on Everest! 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:
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https://madisonmountaineering.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/PHOTO-2022-05-13-00-39-26-Everests-South-Summit.jpg355766Garretthttps://madisonmountaineering.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/logomm-300x138.jpgGarrett2023-05-24 13:43:302023-05-24 15:26:58Top of the World!
The 2023 Madison MountaineeringEverest expedition team is primed and ready to make their summit push on the world’s highest peak! In just a few short hours, the team will emerge from their tents, dawn their packs, and leave the South Col in the direction of Mount Everest’s summit ridge which will take them to the summit. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from the South Col:
Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the Madison MountaineeringEverest (8848m/29,032ft) and Lhotse (8516m/27,940ft) expedition team. Today is May 23rd and we are up here at Camp 4 (7900m/25,919ft) on the South Col. We got up here yesterday afternoon and had a good nights sleep, a restful day recovering and preparing for our summit attempt tonight. So the weather looks great, probably the best day of the season coming up, fingers crossed.
The team is ready and our plan is to wake up in a few hours time and head out around midnight to make our summit attempt on Mount Everest! So we are doing our last minute preparations here, finishing our dinner, filling our water bottles, we’ll sleep for 2 hours before we get up and go.
Wish us luck! We’ll check in 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.“
The 2023 Madison Mountaineering team is safely settled into their tents at Camp 4 (C4) on the South Col, between the summits of both Everest and Lhotse. This being their high camp, they plan to take a rest day tomorrow so that they are ready to go when it becomes time to make their summit push! Weather permitting, the team aims to begin their summit push tomorrow night. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with today’s dispatch from C4:
Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the Madison MountaineeringEverest (8848m/29,032ft) and Lhotse (8516m/27,940ft) expedition. Today is May 22nd, and we are up at Camp 4 (7900m/25,919ft) on Mount Everest, also known as the South Col here at 26,000 feet or just under 8,000 meters.
We’re doing great! We had a good climb up from Camp 3 (7230m/23,720ft) today – it was a long day. We started at about 6:30 and got up here at about 3:30 in the afternoon. We’ve had dinner and filled up some hot water bottles, changed our oxygen cylinders, and we are getting ready for bed now. Our plan is to have a restful night, rest day tomorrow, and then leave tomorrow night for the summit. So, aiming for May 24th! The weather looks great, snowing right now – it’s been snowing this afternoon, but the wind is supposed to be calm on May 24th and 25th. We’re looking forward to a nice day up here tomorrow to recover, enjoy some good views, and get all prepped and ready for our summit climb tomorrow night!
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.“
Onward and upward! Having rested up yesterday, the team got back to work today and climbed part way up the Lhotse Face to Camp 3 (C3) where they are settled into their tents for the night. With good weather, they’ll continue on up the mountain tomorrow to their high camp at 7,900m / 25,919ft. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from C3:
Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the Madison MountaineeringMount Everest (8848m/29,032ft) and Lhotse (8516m/27,940ft) expedition. Today is May 21st, and today we climbed from Camp 2 (6500m/21,325ft) up to Camp 3 (7230m/23,720ft). We left a little after 6:00 AM and had great weather today, sunny and clear all the way up to Camp 3. Then moved into our tents, had some lunch, relaxed… We had a little bit of snow in the afternoon, some clouds, but nice weather overall, hardly any wind.
The team’s doing great and we are really excited to climb up to Camp 4 (7900m/25,919ft) tomorrow! Thank you for following along and we will 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:
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.“
