K2 Summit Success!
We just received a sat phone call from the summit of K2 (8611m/28,251ft), the second highest point on Earth. Garrett Madison, Matt Du Puy, and Alan Arnette have just become the 16th, 17th, and 18th Americans to stand on the summit of K2, the first American K2 summit success since 2007. Garrett sounded fantastic! A transcript of the call is provided below.
[UPDATE] The Sherpa team members are Kami Rita Sherpa, Fur Kancha Sherpa (both of Thame Solu Khumbu, Nepal) and Kami Tshering Sherpa (of Pangbotse, Nepal).
Transcript:
Okay! Hey, this is Garrett Madison calling in from Madison Mountaineering. It is July 27th, eight o’clock in the morning (0800 PKT) and today myself and two of the climbers on our team, Alan Arnette and Matt Du Puy are standing on the summit of K2. It’s a glorious morning, hardly any wind, views in every direction for 360 degrees, some clouds building on the horizon, but just a spectacular day.
We are up here all alone with our three climbing Sherpas who we have climbed all over the world with. They are like brothers to us. I have personally climbed Everest five times with two of them and many other Himalayan peaks. We are just so thrilled to be here. It’s a special moment for us and a great, great moment for Madison Mountaineering and also for all the climbers on the team here, so we are just looking forward to a safe descent and rejoining our friends and family in due time. So we will check in when we get down to high camp. And hey beautiful, beautiful day on the summit, thanks for following along and we will check in soon. Bye bye.
Congratulations to you & your team!!