Makalu Base Camp!!

After six days of trekking over approximately 80 miles have finally reached Makalu base camp! We are very excited to be here, as we can now settle into our new home here for a few weeks. At just under 16,000 ft, we are now above the clouds and rain that were present for much of our journey to base camp. Awaking for the first time to sun shine, and a view of the mountain, as well as the glistening peaks surrounding, deserves a moment of pause as we consider the challenge before us. Today we are enjoying hot showers, drying our gear, and organizing camp.

Camped nearby are a well provisioned team of British climbers, and further up the glacier moraine a small team of Slovenian climbers. It’s a very peaceful and scenic place to call home. After dinner last night we watched the film Top Gun, selected by our Nepali staff who really enjoyed the action scenes with fighter jets.

We will spend a few days in base camp, taking short hikes to acclimate, before heading up to the higher camps. We plan to have our Puja ceremony in the next few days as well. All is good for our team, and we look forward to checking in again soon!

– Garrett Madison