Update from Broad Peak

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

The Madison Mountaineering Broad Peak team pushed higher on the route today, working to fix lines toward the summit. However, due to tough conditions on the mountain, they made the decision to turn back. Now safely back at Camp 2, the team is resting and will evaluate their next steps soon. Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester shares this update from K2 Base Camp:

Today our Broad Peak (8051m/26,414ft) team attempted to re-establish the route above Camp 3. Working with the three other teams on the mountain, they broke trail through new snow and re-fixed several hundred meters toward the col between the central and south summits of the mountain. Unfortunately, our team, and the others, were turned around by stormy, low-visibility conditions and route-finding challenges. They’re now safely in Camp 2 while we reassess their options. I’ll be in touch with another update 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 daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

/0 Comments/by

Summit push on Broad Peak soon!

Broad Peak as seen from high on K2. Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

The Madison Mountaineering Broad Peak expedition team is in position to make their summit push! The team has crawled into their tents for the night and looks to go for the summit soon, when the weather allows. Stay tuned for more updates to come from the Karakoram! Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this brief dispatch from K2 Base Camp:

Hello again from K2 Base Camp (4968m/16,300ft)! Today our Broad Peak (8051m/26,414ft) climber moved to Camp 3, preparing for a summit push tonight or tomorrow night, weather dependent. Meanwhile our K2 (8611m/28,251ft) climbers spent an active rest day hiking on the Savoia Glacier by base camp. The team is well. 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 daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

/0 Comments/by

Summit bid underway on Broad Peak!

Broad Peak

We’re keeping busy in the Karakoram as our K2 expedition team awaits an opportunity to make their summit bid! The team took to areas surrounding base camp today to pick up more trash, bringing the season total to 275 kg / 605 lbs that will be properly removed from the mountains and disposed of. Meanwhile, our Broad Peak expedition team began their summit bid, climbing straight to Camp 2 and with plans to move to Camp 3 tomorrow! Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from K2 Base Camp:

Today was another warm, sunny day in K2 Base Camp (4968m/16,300ft). We took advantage of the dry conditions — with no snow covering the ground — to complete our final trash cleanup session. This time we focused on lower K2 Base Camp and the terrain between base camp and the Gilkey Memorial, picking up an additional 67 kilos / 148 lbs of trash. That brings our grand total for this season’s cleanup to almost exactly 275 kg / 605 lbs!

I’m very proud of our team for collecting that much waste. This effort was spearheaded by our climber, Ryan Mitchell. All of our other climbers, as well as our entire Sherpa and high altitude porter team, and our base camp staff, also participated.

Now we plan to turn over the trash to the staff of Central Karakoram National Park, who will transport it back to Askole (3040m/9,974ft). Once there it will be sorted and disposed of out of the mountains.

Today our Broad Peak (8051m/26,414ft) climber started his summit bid by moving to Camp 2 with his sherpa team. Weather permitting, they’ll move to Camp 3 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 daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

/0 Comments/by

Getting ready to go!

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

The Madison Mountaineering Karakoram expeditions team has been keeping busy in base camp as they prepare to make their summit bids on K2 and Broad Peak! The anticipation continues to build while reviewing oxygen systems, completing their climbing kits, and putting the finishing touches on technical trainings near camp. Everyone is in good spirits, feeling strong, and ready to go when the time comes to move on upwards! Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from K2 Base Camp:

Hello from K2 Base Camp (4968m/16,300ft)! Over the last two days we’ve continued our preparations for our summit bids on K2 (8611m/28,251ft) and Broad Peak (8051m/26,414ft). We’ve reviewed our oxygen systems and other elements of our equipment, and we’ve been staying active with hikes and training. Our whole team (both climbers and staff) is healthy and in good spirits. Now we’re just starting dinner and planning to follow it up with another movie in our base camp cinema. 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 daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

/0 Comments/by

Back down to K2 Base Camp

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

The Madison Mountaineering Karakoram expedition teams have returned back to their base camp after spending a few nights acclimatizing and taking part in environmental restoration efforts at K2‘s Advanced Base Camp. While they begin to prepare to make their summit bids, the team will spend some time resting and recovering over the course of the next few days, with some more activity and cleanup efforts thrown into the mix. Everyone’s in good spirits and excited for what’s ahead! Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from K2 Base Camp:

Hello from K2 Base Camp (4968m/16,300ft). We’re spending active rest days here as we prepare for our summit bids on K2 (8611m/28,251ft) and Broad Peak (8051m/26,414ft). We’re also hoping to fit in at least one more cleanup session before we conclude the waste collection aspect of this expedition. That effort was proposed by our climber, Ryan Mitchell. He’s done a great job helping with the cleanup itself, and raising funds to support it by soliciting donations to our nonprofit Madison Mountaineering Foundation, which we founded to support our waste removal efforts in the high altitude climbing zones that we cherish. The team is doing 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 daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

/1 Comment/by

456 pounds of waste collected so far!

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

The Madison Mountaineering team that’s positioned in advanced base camp at the foot of K2 continued their acclimatization efforts today, combined with more cleanup in and around camp. An additional 62 kilos of trash will be properly removed from the mountain, bringing the teams total to 207kg / 456lbs altogether! With some more cleanup planned in the days ahead, the team will also start to look for their window to move up the mountains, K2 and Broad Peak both. Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from K2:

Hello again from K2 Advanced Base Camp (5303m/17,400ft)! This morning we cleaned up 62 kilos of trash from here at ABC and the base of the Abruzzi Spur, where debris that falls from Camps 1 (6065m/19,900ft) and 2 (6700m/21,980ft) often lands. As with our previous high elevation cleanups, we picked up old tents, clothing items, food packaging, pieces of oxygen systems, and many cooking gas canisters. We were also surprised to find a GoPro 10. This was our third cleanup session, and our staff and climbers did a great job. All told, we’ve now picked up 207kg / 456lbs of waste from here at K2 (8611m/28,251ft). We’re planning at least one more cleanup push before we launch our summit bids on K2 and Broad Peak (8051m/26,414ft). 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 daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

/3 Comments/by

Settled in Advanced Base Camp

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

The Madison Mountaineering K2 expedition team reached advanced base camp today under blue skies, with great views of the surrounding peaks, and the route above them. They’ll spend several nights here acclimatizing and cleaning up some of the trash that’s accumulated in and around the camp. The team is remaining in good spirits and hopeful to move higher up the mountain soon! Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from K2‘s Advanced Base Camp:

Hello from K2 ABC (5303m/17,400ft)! This afternoon we hiked here and settled into our tents. We’re planning to spend two nights here acclimatizing and cleaning up trash before we return to base camp (4968m/16,300ft). The weather was beautiful today — sunny skies and slightly cooler temperatures. 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 daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

/0 Comments/by

More cleanup efforts in the Karakoram!

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Upon exiting their tents, the Madison Mountaineering team welcomed a blanket of fresh snow on their base camp! As they day continued on, the clouds above them cleared over head, allowing the team to conduct some further cleanup efforts around camp. Over the course of the expedition, they’ve removed over 300 pounds of trash with no plans of stopping any time soon! With plans to move up to advanced base camp soon, they’ll shift their focus to climbing, but do some cleanup in the process. Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from K2 Base Camp:

Hello from K2 Base Camp (4968m/16,300ft)! Today we woke up to several inches of fresh snow in camp and clearing skies. By lunch the snow had melted off around camp. So we headed out for a second trash cleanup session. Our climbers and staff picked up 111 kilos today. That brings our total so far to 145 kilos, or about 320 pounds. We’re planning to move our cleanup to advanced base camp (5303m/17,400ft) next. 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 daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

/0 Comments/by

Fresh snow in the Karakoram

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

The Madison Mountaineering Karakoram expeditions team awoke to sunny skies and some fresh snow in the peaks towering above them! After fueling up with some breakfast, the team got their day going with a short hike to the Gilkey Memorial, remembering the fallen climbers of the past. Excellent views of the surrounding peaks were available as climbers turned their heads towards the skies, further fueling their excitement to begin climbing. Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from the Karakoram:

We started today with a short hike to the Gilkey Memorial on the outskirts of K2 Base Camp (4968m/16,300ft). It was a sunny morning with a dusting of fresh snow on the big peaks above us. So the views from the memorial were great. After lunch, we returned to the ice pinnacles near our camp for a final technical training session, focusing on footwork technique on steep ice and fixed line skills. The team is doing well. We’re happy that cooler temperatures, plus some precipitation, have arrived at last. 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 daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

/0 Comments/by

Active rest in K2 Base Camp

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

The Madison Mountaineering Karakoram expeditions team has all gathered back together again in K2 Base Camp! Some precipitation in the air this morning was a good reason to have a slow start before getting to work for the day, and heading out onto the ice for some training. Now settled in for the night, the team looks forward to another day of active rest tomorrow before they start to look ahead to the next rotation! Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from K2 Base Camp:

Hello from K2 Base Camp (4968m/16,300ft)! Yesterday we descended back here from our camp at the foot of the unclimbed peak. With light snow in the air this morning, we spent the first half of the day resting. In the afternoon, precipitation stopped and we went ice climbing on the pinnacles of the Godwin Austen Glacier beside base camp. Now we’re settling in for dinner and looking forward to another active rest day 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 daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

/0 Comments/by