Tag Archive for: Camp 3

Settled in on the South Col

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

The Madison Mountaineering Mount Everest expedition team braved blustery conditions today on their move from Camp 3 to Camp 4, where they are now settled in on the South Col, nestled between Mount Everest and Lhotse. Camp 4 serves as the highest camp on the mountain and is where the team will launch their summit push from. The team plans to rest tomorrow before getting an alpine start the next day, targeting the top of the world on May 23rd! Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch via satellite phone from Camp 4 on Mount Everest:

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

Today is May 21st and today we climbed from Camp 3 (7230m/23,720ft) to Camp 4 (7900m/25,919ft) on Mount Everest at the South Col. Everyone did great! We left Camp 3 at about 6:00 AM and went up the Lhotse Face. There were some blustery conditions, some wind, some snow, but the team did great. We made it in here to the South Col here at Camp 4 this afternoon, set up our tents, got moved into our camp, and are getting ready for dinner. The plan is to rest tomorrow, May 22nd, and then leave at about midnight or 1:00 AM and go for the summit, hopefully reaching the top early around sunrise on May 23rd.

So, everyone’s doing well up here! We’re in good spirits and fingers crossed for (garbled)…

Everyone’s doing great! 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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Lhotse summit attempt coming up!

Lhotse (photo by Terray Sylvester)

The Madison Mountaineering Lhotse expedition team is in position to go for the summit! Now tucked into Lhotse Camp 4, the team had perfect climbing conditions today as they parted ways with our Everest team who were headed to the South Col. In just a few hours time, alarms are set to go off and the team will begin their push to the summit of the fourth-highest peak on the planet! Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from Lhotse:

Hello from Lhotse Camp 4 at 7,700m. We climbed here this morning from Everest / Lhotse Camp 3 (7230m/23,720ft) with the main Madison Mountaineering Everest (8848m/29,032ft) team. Route conditions were ideal, with perfect styrofoam snow the whole way except on the obligatory glacier ice bulges. Now we’ve settled into our tents and we’re resting in preparation for our final push to the summit of Lhotse (8516m/27,940ft), the fourth highest peak. We’re planning to start climbing toward the summit a few hours before dawn tomorrow morning. All is well here. We’ll be in touch!

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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Climbing to Camp 3

Approaching the bergschrund at the base of the Lhotse Face.

The Madison Mountaineering Mount Everest–Lhotse expedition team climbed from Camp 2 to Camp 3 today, where they’re now tucked into their tents for the night after enjoying a warm meal and epic views over the Western Cwm. The team emerged from their tents in Camp 2 earlier in the day, scarfed down some breakfast, and clipped into the fixed lines that show the way up the Lhotse Face to their next camp. Despite some windy conditions, the team did excellent, moving strongly up the route, before the winds subsided and we could enjoy a nice evening in our camp for the night. Tomorrow, we move up higher! Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from Camp 3:

Hello! This is Garrett checking in for the Everest (8848m/29,032ft) team – today is Tuesday, May 20th and we are now in Camp 3 (7230m/23,720ft), just over 7,000 meters, just over 23,000 feet.

We left Camp 2 (6500m/21,325ft) earlier this morning, 6:00 AM. (We) set out in blustery conditions, it was blowing snow and it looked pretty windy up high on Everest and Lhotse (8516m/27,940ft). We heard a lot of climbers turned back from their summit bids today. But by the time we got up to Camp 3 by mid-day, the winds calmed down, actually pretty nice day up here!

So, everyone’s doing well and we’ve been enjoying the views up here from Camp 3 looking out over the Western Cwm, Camp 2, and beyond. (We’re) looking forward to climbing up to Camp 4 (7900m/25,919ft) tomorrow at the South Col!

So, all is well here in Camp 3. We’ll check in soon!

 

Looking out tent doors from Camp 3 over the Western Cwm.

Looking out tent doors from Camp 3 over the Western Cwm.

Climbing from Camp 2 to Camp 3 today.

Climbing from Camp 2 to Camp 3 today.

Looking up at the summit of Mount Everest.

Looking up at the summit of Mount Everest.

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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Tucked in at Camp 2

Climbing through the icefall in the early morning hours of May 17.

The Madison Mountaineering Everest–Lhotse expedition team climbed through the Khumbu Icefall in the early morning hours of May 17 on their way to Camp 2, marking the start of their summit rotation. With no crowds and good conditions, the team moved swiftly through the complicated terrain of the icefall and reached Camp 2 in good time. Now, the team plans to take a rest day before moving up to higher camps! Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from Camp 2:

Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Everest (8848m/29,032ft) expedition, we are up here at Camp 2 (6500m/21,325ft).

We had a great climb from base camp (5364m/17,598ft) up through the Khumbu Icefall early this morning, we left at 1:00 AM and got up to Camp 2 about mid-day. It wasn’t crowded at all, good conditions, nice and cool for a good part of the day, then the sun came out in the afternoon.

But the team’s all settled in here at Camp 2. We’re having dinner and we’re excited for our rest day tomorrow! Beautiful conditions up here on Everest! Fingers crossed we’ll get to move up in a couple days time to push higher to Camp 3 (7230m/23,720ft) and Camp 4 (7900m/25,919ft) on our summit rotation.

All is well! We’ll check in soon.

Headlamps piercing the darkness and illuminating the route ahead.

Headlamps piercing the darkness and illuminating the route ahead.

Starting up through the Khumbu Icefall!

Starting up through the Khumbu Icefall!

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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Climbing to Camp 3

The team together during their acclimatization rotation.

The Madison Mountaineering Mount Everest–Lhotse expedition team touched Camp 3 today before descending back down to Camp 2, where they are turning in for the night after a great day high on Mount Everest. There were perfect conditions today, good company, and enjoyable climbing. The team plans to descend back down to base camp tomorrow, where they’ll rest and recover, before looking ahead to their summit rotation! Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from Camp 2 on Mount Everest:

Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Everest (8848m/29,032ft) team – we’re up at Camp 2 (6500m/21,325ft)!

Today is May 7th and today we climbed up to Camp 3 (7230m/23,720ft) for acclimatization. It was a beautiful day, awesome views, no wind, no clouds. So, had a great trip up to Camp 3, hung out for a bit, had a few snacks and came back down to Camp 2. Good acclimatization, good technical skills practice. So, we’re feeling very prepared and very ready to come back up here in a week or 10 days for our summit push!

We’re going to head down to base camp (5364m/17,598ft) tomorrow for a good, long rest, and then return to make our final summit bid on Everest and Lhotse (8516m/27,940ft)!

All is well here on Everest! We’ll check in soon.

Looking down the fixed-lines on the Lhotse Face.

Looking down the fixed-lines on the Lhotse Face.

Nearing Camp 3 with Nuptse behind.

Nearing Camp 3 with Nuptse behind.

Smiles in the Western Cwm.

Smiles in the Western Cwm.

Looking down the Western Cwm on a sunny day in the Himalaya.

Looking down the Western Cwm on a sunny day in the Himalaya.

Alpenglow on peaks surrounding.

Alpenglow on peaks surrounding.

The team stopping for a rest on the Lhotse Face.

The team stopping for a rest on the Lhotse Face.

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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Summit bid coming up!

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

We are in Camp 4 and in position for our summit push! The Madison Mountaineering Manaslu expedition team reached their high camp today and are prepared to make their bid for the summit. The team climbed from Camp 3, moving strongly and swiftly through the clouds before settling into their tents for the night with excitement in knowing that with good weather tomorrow, they’ll go for the summit. We are so proud of the team for their hard work and look forward to the climbing ahead! Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from Camp 4:

Hello from Camp 4 (7450m/24,445ft)! Today we climbed here from Camp 3 (6800m/22,310ft). We were in clouds most of the day, but we climbed above them in the afternoon and now we have excellent views from here in camp. The team is doing well. We’re resting from today’s push and preparing for tomorrow’s summit bid. Despite the clouds, the weather is excellent: no wind and very little precipitation. We’ll be in touch tomorrow!

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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Above the clouds in Camp 3!

Great views of Manaslu’s East Pinnacle and the route to Camp 4!

The Madison Mountaineering Manaslu expedition team reached Camp 3 today behind a light blanket of clouds. Upon reaching their camp, the clouds burned off opening up spectacular views of the route and mountain above, as well as other Himalayan peaks rising out of a sea of clouds below them. The team is doing great and looks forward to continuing their summit push tomorrow! Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from Camp 3:

Hello! This is Terray calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Manaslu (8156m/26,759ft) expedition – today is September 23rd, Monday.

I can’t think of a better way to spend a Monday morning than the way we just spent it! We left Camp 2 (6400m/21,000ft) at about 7:30 this morning and arrived in Camp 3 (6800m/22,310ft) a couple of hours later. Conditions were perfect for our ascent here! We were in a light cloud layer which kept the temperatures down. But now that we’ve settled into Camp 3, the skies have cleared above us, so we have excellent views from Camp 2 up to the east pinnacle. We have great views of the route up to Camp 4 (7450m/24,445ft) and the massive north face of Manaslu. We can see a few mountains out in the distance towards Tibet, east into Nepal, but below Camp 2 is a carpet of clouds.

So, it’s a really nice day here! We’re about 6,600 meters, just over 6,600. We’re going to spend the rest of the day resting and then we’ll move to Camp 4 tomorrow if all goes as planned.

All is well here in Nepal and we’ll be in touch tomorrow!

 

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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Manaslu Camp 2

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

The Madison Mountaineering Manaslu expedition team has reached Camp 2 and settled in for the night! The team moved swiftly between camps, making good time with cool temperatures as they climbed to around 6,400 m/21,000 ft. The team plans to continue their summit rotation tomorrow by moving up to Camp 3, positioning themselves one camp closer to going for the summit. Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from Manaslu Camp 2:

Hello! This is Terray calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Manaslu (8156m/26,759ft) expedition – today is Sunday, September 22nd.

Today, we left Camp 1 (5700m/18,700ft) a bit after sunrise and had a nice climb up to Camp 2 (6400m/21,000ft)! We moved very well, just four hours to Camp 2. Unfortunately, it was cloudy with a little bit of precipitation which meant we didn’t have much in the way of views, but the upshot of that was that the temperatures were lower, so it wasn’t too hot as we climbed to Camp 2.

So, now we’ve settled into our tents. We’re going to relax here for the rest of the day before moving to Camp 3 (6800m/22,310ft) tomorrow! We’ll be in touch tomorrow.

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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