Acclimatizing to Plaza Francia (4228m/13,871ft)

Aconcagua catching the evening light

Our Aconcagua team continued their acclimatization today by hiking up to Plaza Francia below the mountain’s south face.  Expedition leader Garrett Madison has this expedition dispatch via sat phone:

Hello!  This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Aconcagua expedition.  Today is February 1st.

We had a great day here in the Horcones Valley.  We woke up, had breakfast, and then started our acclimatization day trekking up to Plaza Francia (4228m/13,871ft) at the base of the south face of Aconcagua.  It was a nice hike.  We had a little bit of shade and some nice views of the south face.

We returned in the early afternoon to camp, had a little rest, and then had a nice barbeque here Argentinian-style asado in the Confluencia Camp.  We had some beef, chicken, some chorizo sausage, veggies to go along with it, and little bit of red wine.  A very traditional, pleasant evening here in Argentina.  We are looking forward to hiking up to Plaza de Mules tomorrow.

All’s well here on Aconcagua!

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 guide’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions

– Instagram:

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Aconcagua Expedition is Underway!

Mount Aconcagua in Argentina

Our 2022 Aconcagua expedition is underway and the team hiked up to the first camp today.  Expedition leader Garrett Madison reports in via sat phone from Confluencia Camp in the Horcones Valley of Aconcagua:

Hello, this is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Aconcagua expedition.  Today’s January 31st.

Today we started our expedition.  We trekked in from the Horcones trailhead to Confluencia Camp (3436m/11,273ft) in the Horcones Valley.  Today was hot and sunny with a little bit of windy and we arrived in Confluencia Camp in the afternoon, had a nice snack, put up our tents, and then had a great dinner of Argentine beef and wine.

So, everybody’s doing well and happy to be up in the mountains.  Expedition is underway and all is well.  We’ll check in soon, thanks!

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 guide’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions

– Instagram:

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Vinson: 3rd Expedition Recap

Ed Viesturs and Garrett Madison on the summit of Mount Vinson, Antarctica

We were honored to have Ed Viesturs co-guiding our third successful Mount Vinson expedition of the season!  And here, from Punta Arenas, is Ed with an expedition recap:

Hi, this is Ed Viesturs reporting from Punta Arenas, Chile.  It’s Sunday (January 23rd).

Yesterday, very early in the morning, at around 4 AM we managed to leave Union Glacier on the 757 which flew us here to Punta Arenas.  It was the end of a pretty interesting expedition and in the end we made the summit of Vinson!

After arriving at High Camp on January 12th, the next day in a window of weather, we made an attempt for the summit which failed due to high winds and very challenging conditions.  We came back to High Camp and made the decision to wait several more days for another opportunity period.

Our patience paid off after five nights of waiting in quite a challenging storm – high winds and snow.  Eventually, we reached the summit on January 18th.  So all-in-all our patience paid off.

It was a great trip, we had a lot of fun, and I look forward to doing more guided expeditions alongside Garrett Madison and Madison Mountaineering.

Ed Viesturs signing out from Punta Arenas.

2022.01.05 Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson expedition team

2022.01.05 Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson expedition team

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 guide’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions

– Instagram:

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Celebration at Vinson Base Camp

Clients Sarah Brittain and Thomas Moore move from Low Camp to High Camp with guide Garrett Madison on a Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson expedition in the Sentinel Range of Antarctica’s Ellsworth Mountains on January 1, 2021. (📸: @terray_s)

With the full team down to Vinson Base Camp, expedition leader Garrett Madison checks in with today’s dispatch recapping summit day and the journey down to base camp where everyone is celebrating:

Hello, this is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson expedition team. Today is January 19th.

Our team came down from High Camp today after reaching the summit of Mount Vinson yesterday on January 18th. We had a good summit day and a nice trek down from High Camp. We arrived in base camp this evening and had a fun, celebratory dinner with our team – everyone was present. We enjoyed some champagne and burgers and had a good finish to our expedition here on Vinson.

We might be here another day or so at Vinson Base Camp. We’re not sure when the Twin Otters will be able to arrive to fly us out – hopefully in a day or two. But everyone’s in good spirits; we’re happy to be down safe and had a great summit yesterday, especially being up there with Ed Viesturs on the highest point in Antarctica was really special.

It was a wonderful expedition, and we’re just going to be here in Vinson Base Camp, hanging out, enjoying Antarctica until our flight back to Union Glacier and Punta Arenas, Chile.

(📸: @terray_s – Team Two climbers Sarah B. and Thomas M. moving up to high camp with guide Garrett Madison earlier this month)

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 guide’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions

– Instagram:

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Perseverance Pays Off – Vinson Summits!

Happy New Year 2022 from Antarctica!

After persevering through five nights at Mount Vinson‘s High Camp, our Team Three’s patience and tactics paid off and they were successful today in making it to the highest point in Antarctica, the summit of Vinson Massif.  Guide Terray Sylvester provided this text message from the mountain:

Good news from Antarctica! Most of our climbers summited Mount Vinson today in excellent weather.

The rest of the team is already in base camp relaxing and enjoying some good meals: pancakes, eggs and bacon for breakfast today, and hamburgers and french fries for dinner.

Tomorrow our summit team, led by Garrett and Ed Viesturs, plans to descend to base camp to await flights back to Union Glacier and Punta Arenas. We’ll be in touch!

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 guide’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions

– Instagram:

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Waiting out the weather at High Camp

Clients Sarah Brittain and Thomas Moore move from Low Camp to High Camp with guide Garrett Madison on a Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson expedition in the Sentinel Range of Antarctica’s Ellsworth Mountains on January 1, 2022. (📸: @terray_s)

Checking in from Mount Vinson, guide Terray Sylvester provides an update on Team Three’s status and plans for another summit attempt:

Hello, this is Terray calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson expedition here in Antarctica. It’s our third climb of the season.

Our climbing team is currently up in High Camp, with Garrett and Ed Viesturs waiting on a weather window to go to the summit. It’s been stormy. Two fronts have come through this weekend, and right now, it’s windy and snowy up at High Camp. But it looks like the precipitation and the wind are going to taper off tomorrow for favorable conditions on top of Antarctica‘s highest peak.

So the team is in good shape, and we’ll be in touch!

(📸: @terray_s – Team Two climbers Sarah B. and Thomas M. moving up to high camp with guide Garrett Madison earlier this month)

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 guide’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions

– Instagram:

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Vinson Team Three Update

Quick update on our third Mount Vinson expedition team:

On Friday (Jan 14th) made an attempt at the summit but were unfortunately forced to turn around due to wind and cold.  Some other teams turned around as well.  Yesterday (Jan 15th) was another stormy day, so the team hung tight at High Camp.  Conditions are expected to improve on Monday, so they are hoping for another shot then.

Everyone is doing good and all’s well at Mount Vinson High Camp.

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Vinson Team Three Moves to High Camp

Mount Vinson High Camp (📷: @johnhorgan73)

The team is in place at Mount Vinson High Camp and preparing to head for the summit tomorrow.  Guide Terray Sylvester checks in with the details:

Hello, this is Terray calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson expedition.  It’s the third climb of the season.  Today’s January 14th.

We moved from Low Camp (2774m/9,100ft) to High Camp (3536m/11,600m) today.  Now everyone’s tucked into bed and we’ll head for the summit tomorrow because tomorrow looks like the best weather – it may get a little windy after that.

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:

– Amazon Alexa devices with the Madison Mountaineering Flash Briefing skill:

  • Enable the skill and add to your flash briefing to hear our guide’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions

– Instagram:

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Active Rest Day at Low Camp

Near Vinson Low Camp (📷: @johnhorgan73)

Mount Vinson Team Three spent an active rest day at Low Camp today as they prepare to move up tomorrow.  Guide Terray Sylvester provides the details of the day:

Hello, this is Terray calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson expedition.  Today is January 12th and this is a third climb of the season.

We all spent the day at Low Camp.  We spent part of the day refreshing the skills we will need higher on the mountain and then we also hiked to col near camp which is located on the original route up that was used on the mountain back in the ’60s.  There were some great views from that col of both the Antarctica landscape and the Mount Epperly.

Tomorrow we’ll move to High Camp, if the weather permits.  So we’re looking forward to that.

We’ll be in touch!!

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 guide’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions

– Instagram:

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Team Three Moves to Vinson Low Camp

Antarctica 2021! (📷: @johnhorgan73)

Our already speedy Mount Vinson Team Three flew from Union Glacier Camp to the base camp for Mount Vinson and immediately headed up the hill to Low Camp (2774m/9,100ft)!  Guide Terray Sylvester checks in from there with today’s expedition dispatch:

Hello, this is Terray calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson expedition.  We’re on our third climb of the season.  It’s January 12th.

Today we flew from Union Glacier Camp to Vinson Base Camp – a beautiful sunny day.  Then we moved directly to Low Camp (2774m/9,100ft).  We just enjoyed a good dinner of hamburgers and tortellini with red sauce and sauted pumpkin.  Now everyone’s heading to sleep.

Tomorrow we’ll take a rest day and then hopefully move on up to High Camp (3536m/11,600ft).

All is well!  We’ll be in touch!

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 guide’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions

– Instagram:

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