Tag Archive for: Camp 1

Cho Oyu team ready for the summit push!

Blue skies while climbing towards High Camp on Cho Oyu.

The Madison Mountaineering Cho Oyu expedition team is settled into their tents for the evening in high camp, with plans to leave for the summit in just a few hours! Under the cover of darkness, the team will awake for their alpine start, get kitted in their summit gear, hydrate and fuel before shouldering their packs and leaving for the sixth-highest summit on the planet. It was an excellent day climbing from Camp 1 to Camp 2, and we hope for more good conditions on the rest of the route! Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this pre-summit push dispatch from High Camp on Cho Oyu:

Hello, this is Garrett checking in for the Madison Mountaineering Cho Oyu team.

We are up at High Camp – 7,200 meters, about 23,600 feet. We did great today climbing up from Camp 1 to Camp 2, up over the ice cliff. We’re all tucked in here, ready for bed. We’re gonna sleep for a few hours and then wake up and depart to climb up towards the summit around midnight.

So, beautiful evening here, wonderful views, amazing sunset here from High Camp. Fingers crossed we get lucky with some good conditions tomorrow. No one summited the mountain in oh, almost two weeks since before the big snowstorm and the high winds came in.

So, wish us luck, and we’ll check in soon!

Sunset as seen from High Camp this evening.

Sunset as seen from High Camp this evening.

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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Cho Oyu expedition team reaches Camp 1

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archives.

The Madison Mountaineering Cho Oyu expedition team has safely arrived at Camp 1. The team is settled into their camp, spirits are high, and views of the surrounding Himalayan giants plentiful. The team will rest here tonight, hydrating and acclimatizing before continuing their ascent toward Camp 2 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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Summit rotation about to begin!

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archives.

Here we go! The highly anticipated Madison Mountaineering Cho Oyu expedition’s summit rotation is about to begin. Despite multiple hurdles along the way, the team has stayed motivated and in good spirits. With the climbing set to resume again tomorrow and a possible summit date on October 13, the team is psyched and ready to go! After a good nights rest in our advanced base camp, we’ll shoulder our packs and begin the move up the mountain. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from Cho Oyu:

Hello, this is Garrett checking in for the Madison Mountaineering Cho Oyu expedition team.

Today is October 10th, and we are finally going to make our summit rotation. We’re heading up tomorrow on the 11th to Camp 1, hopefully Camp 2 on the 12th, and then go for the summit on the 13th. So wish us luck!

Looks like the winds are finally dropping here on the night of the 11th or morning of the 12th. So fingers crossed we have good conditions. No one’s been up on the mountain since before the big storm. So, hopefully the high winds have scoured the upper slopes and it’s good climbing and clear skies ahead!

So, we’ll check in soon! All’s well here on Cho Oyu.

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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Resting up for the summit rotation!

Cho Oyu

The Madison Mountaineering Cho Oyu expedition team is back in Tingri resting up and getting ready to make their summit rotation! With some weather expected to roll in over the weekend, the team is taking advantage of the lower altitude to rest, breathe in some extra oxygen, and enjoy a few acclimatization hikes. Once the weather clears, the plan is to head back up to Advanced Base Camp on Monday and continue the climb! Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from Tibet:

Hello! This is Garrett checking in for the Madison Mountaineering Cho Oyu expedition team.

We have dropped down from Advanced Base Camp to Tingri at about 14,000 feet to wait out the big snow storm that’s expected to hit later tonight for a couple of days over the weekend. So, our plan is to hunker down here in Tingri and enjoy the lower elevation, soak up the oxygen, get in a few hikes, and then we’ll head back up to Advanced Base Camp on Monday to resume our expedition climb.

Hopefully we get lucky with some good conditions up there on the upper mountain! We had a good first rotation last week – couple nights at Camp 1, we climbed higher up towards Camp 2. Beautiful views up there, but we decided to drop back down to rest up. Fingers crossed for good weather next week and hopefully a summit attempt!

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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First rotation done on Cho Oyu

Looking up towards the summit from Camp 1 on Cho Oyu

The Madison Mountaineering Cho Oyu expedition team is back in their base camp after a successful rotation up the mountain to Camp 1 and beyond. Climbing to nearly 22,000 feet, the team had excellent weather, great views, and good times on the world’s sixth-highest peak! The team is in good health and high spirits, glad to be back at base camp enjoying some well-earned rest before the next phase of the expedition. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison check in with this dispatch from Cho Oyu:

Hello, this is Garrett checking in for the Madison Mountaineering Cho Oyu (8,188m/26,864ft) expedition team.

Today is September 30th, and we’ve just come back down to base camp from our first rotation up in Camp 1 (6,400m/21,000 ft) for a couple of nights. We climbed up a little bit higher on the route to about 21,700 feet, had some good weather up there, some nice views, and now we’re back down in base camp.

We’re going to rest and get ready for the summit push here. It looks like there might be a big storm coming in on October 4th and 5th, so we might have to delay until after that big precipitation event, so we’ll keep watching the weather.

Meanwhile, everyone’s doing good. We’re happy to be back down in base camp and looking forward to some good rest here.

All is well on Cho Oyu! We’ll check in soon.

Looking out the tent door in Camp 1

Looking out the tent door in Camp 1

Alpenglow on Cho Oyu as seen from base camp

Alpenglow on Cho Oyu as seen from base camp

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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Enjoying life at over 18,000 feet

The team together after our Puja ceremony!

The Madison Mountaineering Cho Oyu expedition team has been enjoying themselves in advanced base camp! It’s been a busy few days as we prepare to move up the mountain on our first rotation. With the Puja ceremony and some technical skills training behind us, we’ll soon be shouldering our packs and stepping onto the route up to Camp 1! Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from advanced base camp on Cho Oyu:

Hello, this is Garrett checking in for the Madison Mountaineering Cho Oyu (8,188m/26,864ft) expedition team!

We have been enjoying a few great days in advanced base camp here at 18,700 feet, about 5,700 meters. Did our Puja ceremony yesterday, been doing more training and review practice here in camp with our technical equipment, and our plan is to move up tomorrow to Camp 1 (6,400m/21,000 ft) for a couple of nights for our first rotation to acclimatize and get a feel for the route. Our Sherpa team will be up there with us. Hopefully the good weather will continue, and we can enjoy some nice views up there and build some more acclimatization, and then we’ll be back in a few days time!

All’s well here on Cho Oyu in Tibet.

Scene from the Puja Ceremony.

Scene from the Puja Ceremony.

Our dining tent in advanced base camp.

Our dining tent in advanced base camp.

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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Time to rest and recharge!

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archives (photo by Terray Sylvester)

The Madison Mountaineering Everest–Lhotse expedition team is done with their acclimatization rotations on the mountain and look ahead to their summit push! After spending several days up at high-altitude building acclimatization, familiarizing themselves with the route, and putting their skills to the test, the team dropped back down to lower elevations where they’ll rest up and get ready for their final push up the mountain. This time, with eyes set on the summit! Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from the Himalaya:

Hello! This is Garrett checking in for the Madison Mountaineering Everest (8848m/29,032ft) team.

We had a great rotation up at Camps 1 (6050m/19,849ft) and 2 (6500m/21,325ft), touched Camp 3 (7230m/23,720ft), made it back down to base camp (5364m/17,598ft) yesterday afternoon. (We’re) resting and relaxing, some of us are going to head down to Namche (3440m/11,290ft) for a little bit of an acclimatization drop to get some thick oxygenated air and recharge, get ready for our final summit rotation, which will start in about a weeks time from base camp.

So, all is well here! We’re just happy that everyone had a great rotation, got some high-altitude, some technical training up on the Lhotse Face. Time to rest and recharge now. 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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Hello, from the Western Cwm!

Climbing in the early morning hours through the Khumbu Icefall with Pumori and Everest Base Camp behind.

The Madison Mountaineering Everest and Lhotse team are making great progress on their acclimatization efforts as they move higher up the mountain! In the last few days, they’ve left their base camp, climbing through the Khumbu Icefall and into Camp 1. Today, they enjoyed a nice hike up to Camp 2 and then descended back to Camp 1, with plans to continue up for a few nights at higher camps soon. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from the Himalaya:

Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Everest (8848m/29,032ft) and Lhotse (8516m/27,940ft) expedition team.

We are up at Camp 1 (6050m/19,849ft), it is May 4th – May the fourth be with you! We had a great acclimatization hike today, part way up towards Camp 2 (6500m/21,325ft) in the Western Cwm and had some cloud cover, so it stayed cool for us. Now it’s snowing a little bit. We’re back in Camp 1 enjoying a lunch and settling in for our afternoon rest. We’re going to head up to Camp 2 tomorrow.

All is well here in Camp 1! We’ll check in soon.

Morning light on Pumori as the team climbs from Everest Base Camp to Camp 1.

Morning light on Pumori as the team climbs from Everest Base Camp to Camp 1.

A beautiful morning to be climbing in the Himalayas

A beautiful morning to be climbing in the Himalayas

Navigating up, down, over, and through icy blocks of the Khumbu Icefall

Navigating up, down, over, and through icy blocks of the Khumbu Icefall

Beautiful, blue skies as climbers ascend one of the ladders on the way to Camp 1

Beautiful, blue skies as climbers ascend one of the ladders on the way to Camp 1

Climbing through the Khumbu Icefall

Climbing through the Khumbu Icefall

Crevasse crossing

Crevasse crossing

Climbers ascending one of the many ladders that connect sections of the broken Khumbu Icefall.

Climbers ascending one of the many ladders that connect sections of the broken Khumbu Icefall.

Navigating the Khumbu Icefall with morning light falling upon Lingtren behind.

Navigating the Khumbu Icefall with morning light falling upon Lingtren behind.

Our Mountain Hardwear tent in Camp 1 with Mount Everest and Lhotse behind.

Our Mountain Hardwear tent in Camp 1 with Mount Everest and Lhotse behind.

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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Heading up soon!

Mount Everest (photo by Terray Sylvester)

The Madison Mountaineering Everest and Lhotse expedition teams are turning in for the night, packed and ready to begin their next acclimatization rotation! The team plans to climb all the way up to Camp 3 over the course of the next few days, building acclimatization and putting their skills to the test along the way as they navigate new terrain on their way to the higher camps. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from Everest Base Camp:

Hey! This is Garrett checking in for the Madison Mountaineering Everest (8848m/29,032ft) and Lhotse (8516m/27,940ft) expedition team.

Today is May 2nd and we are heading up tonight to start our rotation to the higher camps! We’re going to head up the Khumbu Icefall, spend a couple of nights at Camp 1 (6050m/19,849ft), and then head up towards Camp 2 (6500m/21,325ft), spend at least a couple of nights up there, try to touch Camp 3 (7230m/23,720ft) for further acclimatization and skills practice, and then head on down to base camp.

(We’re) looking forward to getting up high on the mountain and putting our skills to the test here in the icefall, and also getting some bigger and better acclimatization, hopefully some great views up there.

So, all is well here at base camp! 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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Check in from the Ama Dablam team!

The team on the summit of Ama Dablam with Everest and Lhotse in the background! From left: Guide Terray Sylvester, our climber, Joe, and Sirdar and Guide, Aang Phurba Sherpa. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Safely back in base camp, the Madison Mountaineering Ama Dablam expedition team spent the day re-introducing themselves to the luxuries of life off of the mountain! After a great day successfully reaching the summit on the day prior, the team relaxed, celebrated, and began getting prepared to make their way back down the valley. Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this celebratory dispatch from Ama Dablam base camp:

Hello! This is Terray calling in for the autumn 2024 Madison Mountaineering Ama Dablam (6812m/22,349ft) expedition – today is November 8th. Today, we had a rest day here in base camp (4600m/15,100ft) after our successful summit push. Yesterday, we topped out on Ama Dablam at about 7:30 AM in the morning, and then we descended all the way back down to base camp and had a nice dinner here and got a good nights sleep.

So, we spent today taking showers and getting packed and prepared for our trek back down the valley to Lukla (2860m/9,383ft). Our plan is to leave for Namche Bazaar (3440m/11,290ft) tomorrow morning and then finish off the trek the following day.

All in all, we had a fantastic summit push! Two days ago, or three days ago on November 5th, we moved up to Camp 1 (5791m/19,000ft). The following day, we moved to Camp 2 (5980m/19,619ft), rested most of the day, and then that evening at about 11:00 PM we started our summit climb and topped out at about 7:30 AM in the morning! The climbing conditions were perfect – zero wind and perfectly clear skies, which meant we had great views of the peaks around us and before the sun came up, excellent views of a brilliant, starry sky over the Himalayas!

So, all is well here in base camp and we’ll be in touch from Namche Bazaar tomorrow!

Our climber, Joe, stepping onto the summit! (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Our climber, Joe, stepping onto the summit! (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Approaching Camp 2. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Approaching Camp 2. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Celebratory cake back in base camp the evening after our team summited!

Celebratory cake back in base camp the evening after our team summited!

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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