Tag Archive for: Abruzzi ridge

Members of the Madison Mountaineering team on the summit of K2!

We are pleased to announce the following Madison Mountaineering team members successfully obtained the summit of K2 (8,611 m / 28,251 ft) on July 22, 2022 at approximately 3:00 AM PKT (local time):

# Name  Country
1 Mr. Terray Ellington Sylvester USA
2 Mr. Claudio “Cacho” Javier Beiza Argentina
3 Ms. Nelly Attar Lebanon
4 Ms. Krisli Melesk Estonia
5 Mr. Aang Phurba Sherpa Nepal
6 Mr. Siddhi Bahadur Tamang Nepal
7 Mr. Dorji Gyeljen Sherpa Nepal
8 Mr. Kamdorji Sherpa Nepal
9 Mr. Lhakpa Wongchu Sherpa Nepal
10 Mr. Mingdorji Sherpa Nepal
11 Mr. Lakpa Bhote Nepal
12 Mr. Rinji Sherpa Nepal
13 Mr. Temba Sherpa Nepal
14 Mr. Lakpa Sherpa Nepal
15 Mr. Inayat Ali Pakistan

All members are now back safely in camp 4 (7681m/25,200ft) and will continue their descent to camp 2 (6700m/21,980ft).

Sunrise on summit day from above the serac.

Sunrise on summit day from above the serac.

Climbers on the upper slope of K2, above the serac.

Climbers on the upper slope of K2, above the serac.

Members of the team at the top of the bottleneck.

Members of the team at the top of the bottleneck.

Climbers making their way down from the summit!

Climbers making their way down from the summit!

Looking down from the summit of K2!

Looking down from the summit of K2!


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:

The team has begun their summit push, after members of our rope fixing team have fixed ropes and successfully reached the summit of K2!

The Madison Mountaineering expedition team had its first members of the team reach the summit of K2! Members of our sherpa team fixed lines between camp 4 and the summit, reaching the summit themselves at 10:40 PM Pakistan time. Expedition lead, Garrett Madison, checks in with another dispatch from K2 base camp:

Update July 21st 10:40 PM Pakistan time: Our rope fixing team of Sherpa’s (Siddhi, Dorjee, Rinji) along with 2 Sherpas from the 8k team (Pasdawa & Chhring) have reached the summit of K2 (8611m/28,251ft). We are very proud of their hard work in setting the route and leading the way. Our climbers in camp 4 (7681m/25,200ft) have just begun their climb, hopefully reaching the top in about 8 hours, just after sunrise on the 22nd of July.


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:

The team has begun their summit push, after members of our rope fixing team have fixed ropes and successfully reached the summit of K2!

The Madison Mountaineering K2 expedition team is tucked into camp 4 for the night, getting some rest and preparing for their summit push which is set to start in just a few hours! Expedition lead, Garrett Madison, checks in with today’s dispatch from K2 base camp:

Hello! This is Garrett calling in from K2 base camp (4968m/16,300ft) – today is Thursday, July 21st.

Our climbing team is up in camp 4 (7681m/25,200ft) on K2. Meanwhile, our sherpa team has been fixing lines since yesterday – they’ve made great progress up from camp 4 through the shoulder, the bottleneck, the traverse, and they are continuing up this evening!

Our team is planning to depart camp 4 in a few hours, around 10 PM tonight assuming the rope fixing team is able to continue their progress. Fingers crossed the route conditions will be good for them! The weather should hold – it looks like it’s going to be a great day tomorrow, so we’re really excited to monitor their progress tonight and tomorrow as they climb. Hopefully they’ll be standing on the summit of K2 (8611m/28,251ft) in about 12 or 14 hours from now.


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:

K2 earlier during this expedition. Photo pulled from Madison Mountaineering archive. (📸: @terray_s)

The Madison Mountaineering K2 expedition team has reached camp 3 and our sherpa team has fixed ropes all the way to camp 4! With more good weather on the way, the team will continue on to camp 4 tomorrow, while our sherpa team plans to continue fixing lines above camp 4. Expedition lead, Garrett Madison, checks in with today’s dispatch from K2 base camp:

Hello! This is Garrett checking in for the K2 expedition team – today is Wednesday, July 20th.

Today our team climbed from camp 2 (6700m/21,980ft) up the black pyramid to camp 3 (7250m/23,800ft) on K2! Our team’s doing great. Everyone’s in camp 3 having dinner, getting ready to go to sleep, and have a restful night.

Today our sherpa rope fixing team was able to fix lines up to camp 4 (7681m/25,200ft). They reported some semi-deep snow conditions, but not too bad. They all returned back to camp 3 after their work today. So, the ropes are into camp 4 – that’s good news! Tomorrow they’re going to go back to camp 4 and work on fixing above camp 4 on the shoulder and through the bottleneck. Hopefully they’ll make good progress! Our climbing team is planning to climb from 3 to 4 tomorrow as well.

All is well on K2! It was a little breezy today at 7,000 meters, but clear at the moment! Looks like it’ll be a nice day tomorrow for climbing.


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:

Evening light on the panorama of peaks and ice fields visible from camp 2 on the Abruzzi Ridge. (📸: @terray_s)

The Madison Mountaineering K2 expedition team is settled into camp 2 for the night and plans to move up to camp 3 tomorrow! There has been good weather so far and the team hopes for good route conditions as they make their way higher up the mountain. Here’s expedition lead, Garrett Madison, with today’s dispatch from K2 base camp:

Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering K2 expedition team – today is Tuesday, July 19th!

Beautiful day here in K2 base camp (4968m/16,300ft) and today the team climbed up to camp 2 (6700m/21,980ft). They reported good conditions, a lot of climbers up on the route – mostly below them because they got an early start! The sherpa team got up to camp 3 (7250m/23,800ft), and then fixed lines part way up to camp 4 today (7681m/25,200ft). So, things are going well up on the Abruzzi route! Hopefully the team will climb up to camp 3 tomorrow and the sherpas will be able to continue fixing up to camp 4.

All is well here. It looks like good weather in the forecast, so fingers crossed for good route conditions high up on K2!

Sirdar and guide, Aang Phurba Sherpa climbing on the Abruzzi Ridge. (📸: @terray_s)

Sirdar and guide, Aang Phurba Sherpa climbing on the Abruzzi Ridge. (📸: @terray_s)


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:

Heading off to begin the final rotation

Our 2021 K2 expedition is now concluded with just Garrett and our crew preparing to fly home.  Expedition leader, Garrett Madison, calls in from Skardu, Pakistan with this final expedition dispatch:

Hello, this is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering K2 expedition which now has concluded!

We’re back in Skardu and all of our members from the UK, the USA, and Ukraine have flown out and are back home now. Just myself and the Nepal Sherpa team and the Pakastani team are here in Skardu. We arrived last night from the trek out from base camp to Skardu. It took us four days.

Today we did some gear organizing, and some sight-seeing around Skardu. We are hoping tomorrow that we have good weather to fly to Islamabad. All’s well here in Skardu. Nice weather and we are looking forward to getting back to Islamabad and on our way home.

It’s been a wonderful expedition here. We had 100% summit success with 21 summits of K2 on our team in total and everyone made it down safely and is on their way home healthy, which is the most important.

So, we had a wonderful expedition. Thanks for following along. Looking forward to our next expeditions out there on the horizon.

Starry skies above K2

Starry skies above K2

The day we set off from base camp for the K2 summit push. Serious faces..

The day we set off from base camp for the K2 summit push. Serious faces..

A very happy 3-time K2 summiteer at base camp

A very happy 3-time K2 summiteer at base camp

After getting down from the successful K2 summit rotation, happy face!

After getting down from the successful K2 summit rotation, happy face!

Garrett with Sherpa and Pakistani crew departing K2 base camp

Garrett with Sherpa and Pakistani crew departing K2 base camp

Cutting the celebratory K2 cake in Skardu

Cutting the celebratory K2 cake in Skardu

Post K2 celebration in Skardu

Post-K2 celebration in Skardu

If climbing K2 or Broad Peak is in your future, please contact our office, we would love to have you climb with us!


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 Garrett Madison’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my Madison Mountaineering flash briefing.

Instagram:

– our Garmin inReach Mini powered real-time tracking map:

Flying down the Baltoro Glacier at the conclusion of the K2 expedition

Well how do we sum up our Madison Mountaineering K2 2021 expedition?

Today Chase, Becks, Jon and Rob flew from K2 Base Camp to Skardu on 2 helicopters with the Pakistan Army. The flight was spectacular, skimming low down the rugged Baltoro Glacier, where we had trekked up several weeks before. Leaving the cloud capped K2 behind us, we sped past the 3 summits of Broad Peak, before swooping right at Concordia. We strained our necks out the side windows as the soaring granite bulks of Cathedral, Trango and Uili Biaho zipped past. Sights we had taken days to approach and march past on the way in to Base Camp, as we each personally contemplated what lay ahead.

Now we were completing the return journey, content with our efforts and the conclusion we all hoped for but knew was unlikely. Our entire team had safely and successfully climbed K2 to its summit and returned to Base Camp. Rarely are expeditions harmonious, safe and successful in their objective. However K2 2021 was just that. A small team of dedicated climbers were happy to commit despite uncertainty and no guaranteed outcome. The odds of summiting K2 in any year are low. At times in the lead up, the odds of this trip simply running seemed low. But problems were overcome, and the team assembled a week behind the original schedule.

We acclimatized, ropes were fixed in stages and our Sherpa team worked hard. We had an extended wait of 12 days waiting for the right weather window. Patience was tested as other teams attempted Broad Peak while we waited.

On 28 July all decisions were vindicated as we climbed steadily in the darkness, under a starlit sky. The sunrise lit the horizon like a band of gold as the sky lightened to reveal a sea of cloud over China. We reached the summit in windless conditions, and it was hard to believe the top of K2 could feel so benign. Relief was palpable and the whole team spent as much time on the summit as they desired in this unique place. Congratulations were exchanged, embraces given, prayer flags were strung out, photographs taken and quiet moments of contemplation had.

The descent was as testing as the summit was benign. It felt that K2 wanted to remind us that attempting a climb was as serious an undertaking as ever, though we needed no reminder. Snow had been stripped off the lower slopes, removing the frozen bond that held the mass of rocks safely in place. It was a relief to get everyone to the base of the mountain the following day, and we walked down the glacier knowing we had been allowed to leave the clutches of K2.

It is somewhat of a shock to find ourselves suddenly in Skardu, in the presence of strangers and unfamiliar sights, sounds and smells. Such are the ends of expeditions where intense shared experience and close communal living comes to an end, replaced by new encounters with those who have little idea of what has been invested or endured to reach a point meaningless to the majority, but absolutely worthwhile and so memorable to those who stand there. We have set foot on top of K2 and shall remember that for the rest of our lives.

Rob Smith and the Madison Mountaineering K2 2021 team.

Helis at K2 Base Camp

Helis at K2 Base Camp

Chase, Jon, and Becks back in Skardu after flying from K2 base camp

Chase, Jon, and Becks back in Skardu after flying from K2 base camp

Remainder of our K2 team preparing to depart base camp

We’re packing up base camp and our expedition team is heading home after an incredibly successful and safe K2 climb. Here’s the latest from Garrett Madison:

Hello, this is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering K2 expedition team. Today is August 3rd.

Today the remainder of our members flew out of K2 base camp by helicopter and it’s just me left with our Pakistani and Nepal Sherpa team here in base camp. We’re going to pack up and head out the day after tomorrow with our mule train back to Skardu.

Nice weather today but we decided not to go for Broad Peak due to the snow fall and high winds that had made the route seemingly very challenging and a very low probability of success. But we’re very happy with our K2 summit success and everyone getting down safely.

Everyone is heading home now. We had a great expedition! We’ll be packing up here and heading down the

in the next few days, back towards Skardu.

All’s well here in Pakistan. Thanks!

If climbing K2 or Broad Peak is in your future, please contact our office, we would love to have you climb with us!


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 Garrett Madison’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my Madison Mountaineering flash briefing.

Instagram:

– our Garmin inReach Mini powered real-time tracking map:

K2 summit celebration at base camp

Party-time at K2 base camp!  Our own, guide extraordinaire, Conan Bliss calls in with today’s expedition dispatch:

Yeah, hey!  This is Conan Bliss checking-in with Madison Mountaineering.  Hey everybody!   Woo!

We’re having a fun, relaxing recovery day here at base camp after a successful K2 summit two days ago.  Woohoo!  Yup, and today we gotta celebrate Kenton Cool‘s birthday.  Yeah!!  Yup, another young man in the group!  Anyways, everyone’s doing very well.

Thanks again for following us on this amazing expedition.  We’ll check-in with you later!

Kenton and his birthday cake at K2 base camp. Make a wish!

Kenton and his birthday cake at K2 base camp. Make a wish!

Conan pouring the champagne!

Conan pouring the champagne!

Guide Rob Smith cuts the K2 Summit Celebration cake!

Guide Rob Smith cuts the K2 Summit Celebration cake!

If climbing K2 or Broad Peak is in your future, please contact our office, we would love to have you climb with us!


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 Garrett Madison’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my Madison Mountaineering flash briefing.

Instagram:

– our Garmin inReach Mini powered real-time tracking map:

Conan, Rob, and Garrett on the summit of K2!

The full K2 team is now safely back to base camp and getting so very, very much deserved and needed rest.  Outstanding climb one and all!  Thank you, weather Gods.  Before falling into a deep slumber, expedition leader Garrett Madison provided this recap of the descent to base camp:

Hello, this is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering K2 expedition team.  Today is July 29th and we have all arrived safely back in base camp.

Yesterday we summitted K2.  It was a perfect day, just a magical experience on top with our whole team – 100% success!  We came down to Camp 3 and today descended from Camp 3 all the way down to base camp.  So, just very happy that everyone is down, off the mountain safely and back in base camp.  We’re just thrilled with the outcome here on K2!

We’re gonna have a celebration dinner tonight and a good night’s rest, some showers, and think about further plans – either heading out or, perhaps, attempting Broad Peak depending on conditions.

We’re very happy to be down off the mountain and back in base camp.  All’s well here.  Thanks for following along!

Morning views on the way to the top of K2!

Morning views on the way to the top of K2!

Three time K2 summiteer Garrett Madison with with youngest American K2 summiteer Chase M.

Three-time K2 summiteer Garrett Madison with the youngest American K2 summiteer Chase M.

Happy team on the summit of K2!

Happy team on the summit of K2!

At The Bottleneck on K2 on the way down

At The Bottleneck on K2 on the way down

If climbing K2 or Broad Peak is in your future, please contact our office, we would love to have you climb with us!


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 Garrett Madison’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my Madison Mountaineering flash briefing.

Instagram:

– our Garmin inReach Mini powered real-time tracking map: