Tag Archive for: Antarctica

Update from Low Camp

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive.

The Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson expedition team is in low camp with plans to continue up the mountain soon! We hunkered down for a few days to stay out of some high winds, but the weather has improved. The forecast for the next few days is looking good, the team is feeling strong, excited, and motivated to continue on up! Expedition leader, Benny Lieber checks in with this update from Mount Vinson:

Hey! This is Benny from the Mount Vinson (4892m/16,050ft) expedition, we’re here at low camp (2774m/9,100ft) – about 9,000 or so feet, maybe a little higher.

The team’s all doing great! We had a big dinner just now. Last night we had a huge wind storm, so today we were enjoying some calmer weather. Tomorrow, we’re looking forward to moving up to the high camp (3536m/11,600ft)! The forecast is looking great and everyone’s feeling strong. In a few days time, we’re going to try for the summit!

We hope our families are doing well and we’ll check in again in a day or two. Thanks! Bye.

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:

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Ready to fly!

The first of our Mount Vinson expedition teams for the 2024 / 2025 season!

The Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson expedition team is packed and ready to go! In just a short time, they’ll be boarding another plane. This time en route to Union Glacier Camp in Antarctica! So much time, preparation, and training has gone into getting here and the team is psyched to finally be flying onto the ice with an epic expedition ahead of them. This marks the start of our 2024 / 2025 Antarctic season! Stay tuned for more from the team as they travel to the edge of the Earth to climb Antarctica’s highest peak and one of the famed ‘seven summits!’ Expedition leader, Benny Lieber checks in with this brief dispatch from Punta Arenas, Chile:

The team is all packed and ready to fly onto the frozen continent to climb to the roof of Antarctica: Mount Vinson (4892m/16,050ft).

For the last few days we have been getting organized and enjoying the sights & sounds of Punta Arenas, Chile (34m/112ft). The bustling city is full of life and beautiful architecture and a stark contrast from the vast icy landscape of Antarctica.

Exploring Punta Arenas before we take off for the frozen continent!

Exploring Punta Arenas before we take off for the frozen continent!

The team enjoying sunny Punta Arenas, Chile!

The team enjoying sunny Punta Arenas, Chile!

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:

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Another Mount Vinson Summit!

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive.

It’s with great excitement to share that the Madison Mountaineering team has safely and successfully reached the summit of Mount Vinson, the highest peak in Antarctica, and one of the famed ‘seven summits!’ After some stormy weather the past few days, the team took advantage of a weather window when it presented itself to go for the summit. The team climbed under beautiful weather with great views all around and shared lots of hugs and high-fives upon reaching the summit. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from the roof of Antarctica:

Hey, this is Garrett with the Mount Vinson (4892m/16,050ft) team! We are on the summit of Mount Vinson, the highest peak in Antarctica! It is a beautiful day!

Hey, it’s Hunter Argenbright. Happy to be here!

Hey, it’s (garbled) on the summit. Loving Madison – have a good day!

Hi, it’s Laura from (garbled). Thank you to Garrett for getting us up this mountain! To all of those (garbled) kids out there, keep on taking it one step at a time and follow your dreams, don’t ever give up! (Garbled) boys, I love you more than you’ll ever know.

Oh, beautiful day up here on the summit with the team! We’re looking forward to getting back down to high camp (3536m/11,600ft) this afternoon. All is well here on Vinson! We’ll check in soon.

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:

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Made it to High Camp!

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive (Photo by Ted Hesser)

The Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson expedition team has reached their high camp, putting them one camp closer to reaching the summit of Antarctica’s highest peak! While the day started out nice, a bit of a storm rolled in as the team was coming into camp. But, the team quickly worked together to set up their temporary home and then sat down for hot water, a warm meal, and to reflect on another good day in Antarctica! Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from high camp:

Hey, this is Garrett and Benny up here at high camp (3536m/11,600ft) on Mount Vinson (4892m/16,050ft)! We climbed from low camp (2774m/9,100ft) today with our team up to high camp.

It started off a beautiful day, but then the winds picked up and some clouds rolled in, so it was pretty stormy getting into high camp! We had to set up our tents in a bit of a blizzard, but got all of our tents set up and every person moved into their tents. We melted some snow for hot water, had dinner, filled hot water bottles, and now we’re getting ready to go to bed. We’re going to take a rest day tomorrow – it’s supposed to be very windy tomorrow and then hopefully a nice day after that. Fingers crossed it’s a good day coming up for the summit day!

Everyone’s doing well, we’re happy to be up here, had some great views on the way up, and looking forward to a rest day tomorrow! We’ll check in soon.

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:

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Mount Vinson Low Camp

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive (Photo by Ted Hesser)

The Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson expedition team spent another day in low camp while they await good weather for their move up to high camp and then the summit. Good company, food, and the anticipation for what’s still to come is keeping the team excited and ready for their move up the mountain. Fingers crossed for good weather in the coming days! Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from low camp:

Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson (4892m/16,050ft) expedition team. We are still in low camp (2774m/9,100ft) – decided to take one more rest day here. Hopefully, if the weather is good, we’ll keep moving up to high camp (3536m/11,600ft) tomorrow! The forecast was calling for high winds today so we decided to stay put, as well as a few other teams here. We’re thinking hopefully the weather forecast will be good tomorrow, clear skies, calm winds, and we’ll move up!

Everyone’s doing well. We spent the day building some snow walls around our tents to fortify our camp and had a couple of good meals. So, everyone’s doing well here, enjoying the views and our time in Antarctica! We’re looking forward to what lies ahead. We’ll check in soon!

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:

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Active Rest on Mount Vinson

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive (Photo by Ted Hesser)

The Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson expedition team stayed put in low camp after their ascent on the previous day. Some good rest and a tasty breakfast fueled a technical skills review for the team where they practiced the skills needed for the coming days as their expedition continues on Antarctica’s highest peak! The team had great weather today and will see what tomorrow brings. With good weather, the team plans to make the move up to high camp. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from low camp:

Hey! This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson (4892m/16,050ft) expedition number three of our season. We are up here at low camp (2774m/9,100ft). We had a great rest day today, slept in, had a nice long breakfast: pancakes, eggs, and bacon. Then we did some training! We reviewed fixed line climbing technique, ascending and descending. We actually had a pretty nice afternoon – nice weather, great views of the mountains, it wasn’t windy at all. We just enjoyed our rest day, had a nice dinner, and now we are heading to bed.

We are going to see what tomorrow brings! If the winds die down up high, we might move up to high camp (3536m/11,600ft) tomorrow. Otherwise, if it looks like high wind, we will probably stay here and rest another day. The team’s doing great and we are really enjoying our time here in Antarctica. We will check in soon!

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:

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Mount Vinson Low Camp

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive (Photo by Ted Hesser)

Despite clouds in the sky, the Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson expedition team’s spirits did not waver! The team left the comforts of their base camp today and set forth up the Branscomb Glacier to their low camp. After setting up camp and eating a warm dinner, the team crawled into their tents for the night and are looking forward to a day of rest and training tomorrow! Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from Antarctica:

Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the Mount Vinson (4892m/16,050ft) expedition team. We made it up to low camp (2774m/9,100ft) today! We set off from base camp (2140m/7,020ft) around noon and climbed up. It was a cloudy day, but nice and cool. We got into low camp this evening, pitched our tents, and made some dinner. Now we’re tucking in for bed! It’s a little stormy up here – windy and cloudy with some snowfall. But it’s nice, it’s a good mountain storm.

We’re doing well! We’re just tucked in, we’re going to take a rest day tomorrow and do some training. The team’s doing well and we’re really excited to be here on Mount Vinson. We’re looking forward to the next few days. Check in soon!

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:

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Another Vinson Expedition Underway!

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive (Photo by Ted Hesser)

The final Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson expedition of the season is off in Antarctica! The team has arrived in Vinson base camp after several days spent in Union Glacier Camp. When the skies cleared and allowed them to fly to their next camp, the team was gifted with spectacular views looking down on Antarctica below and the many mountains in all directions. With good weather ahead, the team plans to start their ascent on Antarctica’s highest peak! Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from Antarctica:

Hey! This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson (4892m/16,050ft) expedition number three – last one of the season! Today we arrived in Mount Vinson base camp (2140m/7,020ft) after a couple of days delay at Union Glacier Camp (700m/2,297ft). We finally had good weather to fly in by twin otter with the team and arrived at Mount Vinson. It was a beautiful flight over, clear views, great views of mountains all around Antarctica, and now we’re reunited with my colleague/co-guide, Benny Lieber. So, happy to have the team together.

We got our camp set up and did some training today, some review, and organized our group loads. We’re getting ready to move up to low camp (2774m/9,100ft) tomorrow assuming it’s good weather. (There’s) a little bit of wind in the forecast the next few days, but hopefully not enough to prevent us from moving up!

Everyone’s doing great! We’re really happy and excited to be here, and looking forward to getting our final expedition here of the season in Antarctica underway! All is well and we’ll check in soon.

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:

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100% Summit Success on Mount Vinson!

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive (Photo by Ted Hesser)

It’s with great excitement to share that 100% of the Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson expedition team has safely and successfully reached the summit of Antarctica’s highest peak and returned to their High Camp! The team experienced a steady wind throughout the day while climbing the ridge toward the summit, but having practiced cold weather self-care, the team put those skills to use so they could enjoy the climb. Congratulations to the entire team on an incredible feat in Antarctica! The entire team checks in with this celebratory dispatch from their High Camp after a successful ascent of Mount Vinson:

Hello! This is Garrett at High Camp (3536m/11,600ft) on Mount Vinson (4892m/16,050ft) with the team. We are just back from the summit! We are extremely happy, just finished some macaroni & cheese, burgers, and veggies, and we’re going to say a few words to talk about our climb today.

(Garbled) from Mexico, coming down from the highest point in Antarctica! It’s another planet here. (Speaks Spanish).

Thais Herrera, (speaks Spanish).

Malu from Mexico! So happy to be here with this team and so grateful for the summit with it.

Hi everyone! This is Juan Francisco from Ecuador. I am so excited that we were able to summit! It was 100% success, we were all able to summit! It’s such a privilege to be in this beautiful group and to have this experience. By the way, (garbled).

Hi, this is Kat Gilson from Minnesota. Super stoked that we all got up there safely and no injuries. We had a beautiful summit, (garbled). It’s awesome to climb with all of these people!

Ahoy! (Speaks foreign language).

Hey! Josh Garrison here. This is my third of the seven summits with Garrett here, pretty cool! We’re just trying to keep the mission up in front of us of raising awareness for the (garbled). Wonderful summit but keep those guys in your hearts and in your prayers. See you on top next time!

Hello, everyone! This is Benny. We made the top today, it was awesome! We’re all here in the kitchen tent. We’re all super psyched, everyone’s happy, smiling, and healthy and thinking of our friends and family back home. Over and out!

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:

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In position for the summit push!

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive (Photo by Ted Hesser)

The Madison Mountaineering Mount Vinson expedition team has crawled into their tents at their High Camp and are ready to make a summit push! The team had excellent weather and climbing conditions as they ascended the fixed lines up several thousand feet of elevation gain towards their next camp. A much-deserved day of rest is in the plans until they once again emerge from their tents, only this time going for the summit. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from Mount Vinson:

Hello! This is Garrett and Benny calling in for the Mount Vinson (4892m/16,050ft) expedition team. We are in High Camp (3536m/11,600ft)!

We had a great day climbing up from Low Camp (2774m/9,100ft) to High Camp on the fixed lines. Everyone on the team did well today. We had a beautiful day, great views all around looking out around the surrounding peaks here in Antarctica – Mount Epperly (4359m/14,301ft), Mount Shinn (4661m/15,292ft). We rolled into High Camp, set up our tents, had dinner, got some hot water bottles, now we’re looking forward to a good night’s rest.

Our plan is to take a rest day and maybe go for the summit on January 8th. All is well here up at Mount Vinson High Camp! Check in soon.

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:

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