Camp 1 Archives

K2 2021

K2 Camp 2 on Summit Push

Chase staying cool at K2 Camp 2 earlier today

On their summit push, our K2 team climbed up from Camp 1 to Camp 2 (6700m/21,980ft.) today under beautiful weather and route conditions. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison, provides today’s expedition dispatch from 6,700 meters:

Hello, this is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering K2 and Broad Peak expedition team. Today is July 25th and we are up at Camp 2.

Our whole team’s up here: all nine climbers and most of our sherpa team, except for five of our Nepal sherpas who are up at Camp 4 (7681m/25,200ft.) tonight. They climbed up from Camp 2 to Camp 4 today and tomorrow and the next day they are going to work on fixing lines above Camp 4 in anticipation of our arrival.

So, we had a beautiful day today, sunny skies, warm temps, almost too warm for us. But we got into Camp 2 around noon and have just been relaxing, enjoying the amazing views up here, and getting ready for some dinner and a good night’s rest. And then tomorrow, we’ll be off early on our way up to Camp 3 (7250m/23,800ft.).

All’s well here, the team’s doing excellent, and we’re excited that more good weather is on the way and we’re headed up the route! We’ll check-in soon, 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:

https://madisonmountaineering.com/maps/k2-2021

July 25, 2021/0 Comments/by Garrett

K2 2021

(Almost) Live from the Karakorum!

Garrett video interview by Alan Arnette from Broad Peak base camp

Great video interview of Garrett Madison by the nexus of all high-altitude climbing news, Alan Arnette.

Garrett Madison, founder of Madison Mountaineering is one of the few people on the planet to have summited K2 twice. He’s hoping to get his third this 2021 summer. This is his sixth expedition to K2 making him the most experienced western operator to run regular trips to the Northern Terrorities of Pakistan.

With the new 4G Cell tower in Concordia, Garret took the hour walk from K2 Base Camp to Broad Peak Base Camp to talk with me over Zoom about his expedition. We discussed their rotations to Camp 1 and 2, the snow conditions on the mountain, what happens when he finds bodies on the mountain, and more. I think you’ll enjoy getting this first-hand information directly from Northern Pakistan.

Watch the video interview here: https://www.alanarnette.com/blog/2021/07/14/k2-2021-summer-coverage-video-interview-with-garrett-madison-from-the-karakorum/

July 15, 2021/0 Comments/by Garrett

K2 2021

1st Rotation Complete!

The K2 team has completed the first acclimatization rotation up the mountain to Camp 2 and Garrett Madison, expedition leader, provides all the details in today’s expedition dispatch from K2 base camp:

Hello, this is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering K2 and Broad Peak expedition. Today is July 13 and yesterday we got down from our first rotation on the Abruzzi Ridge of K2. We spent five nights in total above base camp: one night in Advanced Base Camp (ABC), two nights in Camp 1, and two nights in Camp 2 at about 22,200 ft.

We’re back in base camp and it’s stormin’! It’s snowing, windy, and we’re hunkering down to stay warm. Hopefully good weather’s on the way; we could use some sun and some warmth. But everyone’s doing well here, we’re staying entertained with books, movies, board games, and just resting up and enjoying some GREAT food. So, we’re very comfortable here and looking forward to some good weather in the days ahead.

We’ll check in soon, thanks!

Garrett Madison says “hello” from the Abruzzi Ridge on K2

The view from K2’s Abruzzi Ridge

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:

https://madisonmountaineering.com/maps/k2-2021

July 13, 2021/0 Comments/by Garrett

K2 2021

K2 Camp 2 on 1st Rotation

Satellite comms are up again and Garrett and team check-in for K2’s Camp 2 on the Abruzzi Ridge with today’s dispatch:

Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering K2 and Broad Peak expedition team. Today is July 10^th, and today we climbed from Camp 1 up to Camp 2 on the Abruzzi Ridge – about 22,000 ft. or almost 6700m.

We had great weather – beautiful sunny day today, awesome views all around. The team is doing great, and we’re really enjoying this first rotation to acclimatize, getting familiar with the climbing route, and spend a couple of nights up here at Camp 2, and then we’ll be heading down to rest in base camp.

The sherpa team is doing great – they pushed up to Camp 3 and above yesterday. So they’ve made great progress on the route, and they’re gonna head down tomorrow and take a little rest. Looks like we’re going to take some high winds coming in a few day’s time, so it will be good to go down to base camp and rest for a bit and then revisit the upper mountain.

So all’s well here on K2, we’re enjoying ourselves, and having a great time here in Pakistan.

Climbing up K2 Abruzzi with the Black Pyramid above

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:

https://madisonmountaineering.com/maps/k2-2021

July 10, 2021/0 Comments/by Garrett

Everest 2021

Team back at EBC

The first acclimatization rotation up the mountain is complete and the Everest team is now safely back in base camp. Here’s expedition leader, Garrett Madison, with the details:

Hello, this is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Everest and Lhotse team. Today, April 28th, we came down from Camp II. We did our first rotation; we had two nights at Camp I, two nights at Camp II. We had a great time up there – good weather and got some great views.

Today we came down from Camp II through the Khumbu Icefall to base camp. It was a beautiful day – we got into base camp, had a nice lunch, some showers, naps, and we just finished up our dinner and now we are having a movie.

Everyone’s doing well here. We’ve been enjoying the time on the mountain. We’re all healthy, enjoying the climb, and looking forward to a few days of rest here in base camp. And then heading back up on our next rotation here in a few days and hopefully touching Camp III.

All’s well here in Everest Base Camp!

Climbers in the Western Cwm with the Lhotse Face in the background

The Western Cwm

Everest Camp 2

Climbers descending through the Khumbu Icefall

Art M. loves acclimatizing!

Heading down through the Khumbu Icefall with base camp below

If climbing Mount Everest 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:

https://madisonmountaineering.com/maps/everest-2021

April 28, 2021/0 Comments/by Garrett

Everest 2021

First Rotation – Camp 2

On their first acclimatization rotation, our Everest team moved up to Camp 2 in the Western Cwm today marking a personal high-point for some of the climbers at nearly 21,300 ft (6490m). Expedition leader, Garrett Madison, phones in the details via satellite phone:

Hello, this is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Mount Everest and Lhotse expedition. We are up at Camp 2! It is April 26th and we had a great day climbing from Camp 1 to Camp 2 today – beautiful weather, no wind, no clouds – just a perfect day up here in the mountains. We got into Camp 2 in the afternoon. Our Sherpa team did a great job in setting up Camp 2 for us. We’ve got a nice dining tent with a heater, all of our personal tents are up, and great views all the way around. It’s really great to be up here.

We spent two nights at Camp 1; restful but a little windy at times, but it was good to acclimatize at Camp 1. We plan to spend two nights up here before heading back down to base camp before the big snow starts.

All’s well up here and we’ll check in soon.

(photo: Everest South Col route Camp 2 from the Madison Mountaineering archives)

If climbing Mount Everest 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:

https://madisonmountaineering.com/maps/everest-2021

April 26, 2021/0 Comments/by Garrett

Ama Dablam 2020

Summit Push – Camp 2

The Ama Dablam team have once again completed the crux of the route, The Yellow Tower, while making the move to Camp 2 (6000m) on their summit push. Tonight is the night! Within the next few hours, they will start the climb to the summit. Godspeed team! Here’s today’s audio dispatch courtesy of team member, Moe Al Thani from his Instagram feed @moealthani:

This is Moe Al Thani calling you from Camp 2, Ama Dablam. I can see the summit, it’s so close I can touch it. We arrived here like within three hours since we left Camp 1 after the tough hike up to Camp 2. We are feeling really good!

The sherpa team just fixed the fixed lines all the way up to the summit. So now we have the go-ahead to go this evening for our summit push. We will leave around 1 AM for an 8-9 hour summit push to the summit. [Arabic] Keep us in your prayers and will talk to you 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 Garrett Madison’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions

– Instagram:

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

https://madisonmountaineering.com/maps/ama-dablam-2020/

November 10, 2020/1 Comment/by Garrett

Ama Dablam 2020

Summit Push – Camp 1

First day of the summit push, the Ama Dablam team made the move from base camp to Camp 1. Courtesy of his Instagram feed, team member @moealthani provides the recap of the day in this expedition dispatch:

Hi guys! This is Moe Al Thani calling you from Camp 1 (5800m). It’s freezing cold, I’m wearing my big down jacket, enjoying the most beautiful sunset in the world. Behind me is Ama Dablam, it’s so close I can almost touch it but at the same time it seem so far.

Just want to let you all know that we’re doing amazing, we’re doing great! The oxygen and the air is thin, but we’re all strong over here. So, we are looking forward our move to Camp 2 tomorrow and we’ll keep you posted!

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

– Instagram:

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

https://madisonmountaineering.com/maps/ama-dablam-2020/

November 9, 2020/0 Comments/by Garrett

Ama Dablam 2020

Back at Base Camp

The Ama Dablam team is back at base camp after successfully completing their first acclimatization rotation. With the comforts of base camp, including Internet, everyone has been busy with the important work of updating their Instagram accounts with amazing photos – check out @garrettmadison1, @moealthani, @boldbravebeautifullife, @chase.merriam, @tedhesser, and @eliasaikaly.

Today, team member Ted Hesser provides a detailed recap of the rotation:

This is Ted Hesser calling in from the Ama Dablam team. We are back, safe and sound, at Base Camp after an eventful couple of days up at Camp 1 and Camp 2 on our first acclimitization rotation.

We hiked up a few days ago with heavy packs and burning lungs and got to a beautiful Camp 1 in time for sunset – beautiful clouds and golden rays and Himalayan peaks surrounding in all directions. We ran out of breath, just like I’m running out of breath right now trying to read this to you [laugh], but we woke up the next day and continued onwards to Camp 2 where we tested ourselves against the first technical cruxes of the route and I believe the actual crux of the route on The Yellow Tower – which is, about, an 80 foot, maybe a full rope pitch, of technical climbing at about 19,000 – 20,000 feet.

So very difficult on the body and on the lungs – very cold. But the whole team successfully made it up there. We were greeted with more beautiful views and a view of the rest of the route, which looks daunting, to say the least. A fair amount of elevation and technical terrian awaits us after Camp 2. But we turned around, came back to Camp 1, spent the night, rested up, and then came on back down to base camp today.

We’re all feeling pretty pooped, pretty tired. We are going to try to treat ourselves to alot of rest and food and hydration in the next few days and hope for good weather and a successful climb a few days from now!

Alright, ending the dispatch…

Oh(!) and Garrett says that we had the famous Chicken Sizzler dish tonight, which I almost forgot about [laugh]. But it was really good, it was on fire, the tent may have almost burned down [laugh], no I’m just joking – the tent’s fine. But dinner was great, there was hot showers when we got back down, which was really lovely, and warm tea and all the accoutrements of base camp!

Okay, over and out! Bye!

Elia receives his Chicken Sizzler dinner (🎥: @eliasaikaly)

Climbing between Ama Dablam C1 and C2 (📷: @tedhesser)

The beauty of climbing Ama Dablam (📷: @tedhesser)

Garrett Madison climbing around Ama Dablam Camp 1 and Camp 2 (📷: @tedhesser)

Jenn D and Garrett touching Ama Dablam Camp 2 (📷: @tedhesser)

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

– Instagram:

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

https://madisonmountaineering.com/maps/ama-dablam-2020/

November 6, 2020/0 Comments/by Garrett

Ama Dablam 2020

First Rotation – Touched Camp 2

The Ama Dablam team touched their high point so far by climbing to Camp 2 (5980m) today before returning to Camp 1 for the night. Just before reaching Camp 2, they enjoyed some of the route’s best climbing by tackling the technical crux: Ama Dablam’s Yellow Tower. Tomorrow they will descend to base camp and rest up for their summit bid. Team member Moe Al Thani returns with today’s dispatch, again courtesy of his Instagram feed: @moealthani:

This is Moe Al Thani from Camp 1. We are back at Camp 1 after climbing to Camp 2. It was harder than I expected.

Climbing the Yellow Tower was whatever people say and even more. It’s really difficult, rock climbing at 6,000m with no oxygen. However, we made it! Now we’re back at Camp 1 and acclimatized better.

So tomorrow morning we’re going to head back down to base camp where we will enjoy internet, shower, food, and a good place to sleep. Now that’s Heaven to me! That’s it. I’m really tired, we had a very long day.