Massive avalanche on K2, camps 3 and 4 totally gone without a trace: All members currently safe in camp 2. Expedition now finished as all equipment for summit attempt (tents, oxygen, ropes, food, etc) has been lost.
-Garrett Madison
Tag Archive for: Camp 3
Expedition leader Garrett Madison called in this morning to report that the team has safely reached Camp 1 and are now pinned down with harsh weather conditions. The team will wait and see if the weather stabilizes before moving higher on K2.
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This is a wind graph that we use to make data driven decisions on K2. Michael Fagin and team at West Coast Weather provide our expeditions around the world with advanced forecasting models. Michael Fagin has a background in weather forecasting for major expedition groups that climb K2 and other climbing venues. He is experienced in climate data retrieval and analysis for clients around the world.
*Forecast issued on July 22, 2016 and weather needs to be monitored as the weather patterns can and do change over time.
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Our climbers and guides climbing to Camp 1.
In one day or so our international expedition of four climbers, two guides and six Sherpas will be leaving on their third and final climbing rotation, their K2 summit rotation. We expect the summit rotation to take six days to summit and return to K2 Base Camp.
Beautiful photos taken by Stuart Erskine.
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This is the first time we’ve seen K2 in a week or so as it has been non-stop fog and blowing snow.
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Broad Peak, the Godwin Austin Glacier and K2 Base Camp from partway up K2 Glacier.
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K2 glacier looking up to K2.
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K2 glacier and K2 in the middle, with Angle Peak to the left and Broad Peak to the right.
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At K2 Base Camp we’ve had snow, fog and rain for over a week now since July 13, 2016. This is our first nice day of weather and we are experiencing a lot of avalanches. This avalanche coming high off K2 from the bottleneck at over 27,000 ft has some serious propulsion and just misses the top of K2 Base Camp. The debris goes all the way across the valley towards the base of Broad Peak.
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Life is a balance. Stuart, a rock and K2.
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Stuart and his Sherpa climbed up onto the K2 glacier to the base of K2 to ponder their upcoming summit bid and contemplate safe passage on the mountain.
The Madison Mountaineering USA International K2 Expedition are having a 7-8 day break between their second rotation that got them up as high as Camp 3 at 24,500 ft on K2 and their final K2 summit rotation. During that rest time it’s important for the guides, climbers and Sherpas to eat well, stay healthy and active.
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Photos taken by K2 2016 climber Stuart Erskine
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Climbers, Guides, Sherpas and Porters at Camp 3 at 24,500 ft or 7,550 meters in the morning during their second rotation. Everyone is getting ready to head back down to K2 Base Camp after the weather conditions changed and high summit winds started for the next 6-10 days. Broad Peak the 12th highest mountain in the world at 8,051 meters or 26,414 ft high is in the background right. The high summit winds are obvious on the summit of Broad Peak in this photo and K2 is 560 meters or 1,837 ft higher than Broad Peak.
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Garrett and Simba climbing down part of the Black Pyramid from Camp 3 to Camp 2 on K2.
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Climbers, Sherpas and Porters resting part way down from K2 Camp 3 at 24,500 ft and on their way to Advance Base Camp (ABC) at 17,500 ft. K2 is so steep, rocky and icy that 80 to 90 percent of the 7,000 ft climb down has to be done by repelling on fixed ropes for most climbers which will take about 8 to 9 hours. This is normally followed by a 2 to 3 hour trek from ABC at 17,500 ft to K2 Base Camp at 16,500 ft, all in the same day.
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An avalanche across the valley from Broad Peak Base Camp. Avalanches, rock and ice fall are regular occurrences each day during the climbing season in the Karakoram Mountain Range. The mountains are very steep and the constant changes in temperature, weather and ground conditions creates a lot of falling debris which can be very dangerous for climbers and their support teams.
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Anyone have the phone number for the K2 Fire Department?
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During this rest day the two guides and four climbers walked down to Broad Peak Base Camp which is about three hours round trip. Broad Peak is the neighboring mountain to K2 and is the 12th highest mountain in the world at 8,051 meters or 26,414 ft high. In this photo the Madison Mountaineering team is enjoying some hospitality from a climbing team attempting to climb Broad Peak, in their dinning tent.
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Our four climbers and two guides with the staff from Broad Peak Base Camp when we trekked down to visit their Base Camp.
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Our chef Antony and his kitchen staff are barbecuing some fresh chicken for supper.
After reaching Camp 3 yesterday our team was faced with high winds on the upper face of K2 and were forced to return to base camp. All team members are now down safely enjoying a warm meal by our amazing chef Antony Dubber. Our team will now rest and prepare for a third ascent within the next week based on weather forecasts.
Photos taken by Stuart Erskine.
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Madison Mountaineering Base Camp with K2 in the background.
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A banner on one of our tents in K2 Base Camp shows our teams route up K2 and the location of our camps.
Today our K2 climbing team safely climbed the Black Pyramid section between Camp 2 and Camp 3 along the Abruzzi Spur route. The weather is changing quickly and our team is unsure if they will be able to push higher up the mountain with high winds approaching. Tomorrow morning our team will assess the weather conditions and make a decision.
Photos taken by Stuart Erskine.
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Climbers, Sherpas and Porters leaving K2 Camp 2 for Camp 3 at 8:00 AM July 12, 2016.
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Climbers, Sherpas and Porters climbing from Camp 2 to Camp 3 on K2 on July 12, 2016.
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Climbers, Sherpas and Porters climbing from Camp 2 to Camp 3 on K2 on July 12, 2016. In the background is Broad Peak and the Godwin Austin Glacier flowing down to Concordia junction where it meets up with the Baltoro Glacier.
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Climbers, Sherpas and Porters climbing from Camp 2 to Camp 3 on K2 on July 12, 2016.
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Climbers, Sherpas and Porters climbing from Camp 2 to Camp 3 on K2 on July 12, 2016. In the background is Broad Peak and the Godwin Austin Glacier flowing down to Concordia junction where it meets up with the Baltoro Glacier.
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Broad Peak and the Godwin Austin Glacier flowing down to Concordia junction where it meets up with the Baltoro Glacier. Photo is from 23,500 ft up the Abruzi Ridge on K2.
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Climbers, Sherpas and Porters climbing from Camp 2 to Camp 3 on K2 on July 12, 2016. In the background is Broad Peak and the Godwin Austin Glacier flowing down to Concordia junction where it meets up with the Baltoro Glacier.
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Our Japanese climber Simba is just leaving Camp 1 on K2 on his way to Camp 2. Camp 1 and the Godwin Austin Glacier is in the background.
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Arriving at Camp 2 on K2, on the afternoon of July 11, 2016.
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Looking at the pass and border between Pakistan and China. This photo is taken halfway between Camp 1 and Camp 2 on K2 at about 21,000 ft ASL.
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Broad Peak and the Godwin Austin Glacier flowing down to Concordia junction where it meets up with the Baltoro Glacier. This photo is taken between Camp 2 and Camp 3 on K2 at about 23,000 ft ASL on July 12, 2014.
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Climbers, Guides, Sherpas and Porters climbing from Camp 2 to Camp 3 up the steep, rocky and icy section called the Black Pyramid at about 23,000 ft ASL on K2 on July 12, 2016.
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Our Nepalese Sherpas take a break for a moment on a ridge as they climb from Camp 2 to Camp 3 on K2 at about 23,000 ft ASL on July 12, 2016. In the background is Broad Peak and the Godwin Austin Glacier flowing down to Concordia junction where it meets up with the Baltoro Glacier.
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Climbers, Guides, Sherpas and Porters climbing from Camp 2 to Camp 3 up the steep, rocky and icy section called the Black Pyramid at about 23,000 ft ASL on K2 on July 12, 2016.
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Rene our climber takes a break for a moment on a ridge as he climbs from Camp 2 to Camp 3 on K2 at about 23,000 ft ASL on July 12, 2016. In the background is Broad Peak and the Godwin Austin Glacier flowing down to Concordia junction where it meets up with the Baltoro Glacier.
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Our Climber, Guides, Sherpas and Porters climb up the steep, rocky and icy section called the Black Pyramid from Camp 2 to Camp 3 on K2 at about 23,000 ft ASL on July 12, 2016.
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Our Climber, Guides, Sherpas and Porters climb up the steep, rocky and icy section called the Black Pyramid from Camp 2 to Camp 3 on K2 at about 23,000 ft ASL on July 12, 2016. We are experiencing all kinds of snow, rock and ice conditions on K2.
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Arriving at Camp 3 on K2 at about 24,000 ft ASL and about 4:00 PM after a long nine hours of steep, rocky, icy and all sorts of snow condition in the Black Pyramid section between Camp 2 and Camp 3 of K2 on July 12, 2016.
Garrett called in via sat phone from Everest Camp 3 on the Lhoste face (7230m/23,720ft) to report:
Hey this is Garrett calling in for the Everest team. Today is May 16th, it’s 5:00PM and we are up at Camp 3! Everyone’s doing great and we are tucked in here getting ready to have dinner and go to bed. Tomorrow we are going to head up to Camp 4 on the South Col. We are on schedule for a summit of May 18th. The weather is looking good. And hopefully Lhotse May 19th! So we are just keeping an eye on the weather and moving up the mountain slowly here. Everyone is doing well and we’ll check in soon.
Early tomorrow morning our climbing team will have the much anticipated departure toward Camp 3 at 7,200m (23,625ft). After spending a few days at Camp 2 waiting for the weather to materialize we are all very excited here for our team’s movement up the mountain. The team is in good health and spirits with bags packed and ready to go. Weather forecasts are looking positive for our summit date of May 18 or 19, seems to be changing between the two days as we receive new weather data. The 18th has higher humidity with lower winds while the 19th has lower humidity but slightly higher winds at 20-30 kilometer’s per hour. Tomorrow our team will reach Camp 3 and spend the night on oxygen.
Happy Birthday to Fred, our virtual reality camera man and guide! He enjoyed a mountain birthday up high at Camp 2 today.
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Beautiful image taken of our climbers!
After departing Camp 2 at around 5am this morning, members of our climbing team wrapped up a successful second rotation and returned to base camp. The team had a positive experience up on the mountain and as you can see below enjoyed spectacular views along the way (more pictures to come!). The weather was cold and windy at night and heated up considerably during the day while climbing. Billy, Joel and Jim are spending an additional acclimatization night at Camp 2 with Brent and will be coming back down to base camp tomorrow. The team is in good health and we all look forward to a week of R&R before our last rotation.
The many teams at base camp from around the world are working together now to fix the ropes up through Camp 4, we expect this to happen tomorrow. At this point we will be able to begin to put in place the gear and oxygen necessary for our summit rotation. Michael Fagin, our meteorologist based in Seattle, will soon be reporting to us the weather window for summit day. Our team has been training for months in preparation for the days to come, we are all very excited to begin the ascent to the top of of the world. Stay tuned!
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Camp Two viewed from Camp Three
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Camp Two
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Madison Mountaineering 2016 Everest Team
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On the ascent toward Camp Three
Today our team woke up at 6:30am and began the climb toward Camp 3 at 7,200m (23,625ft). The weather today is beautiful with no clouds in sight. Yesterday our climbers took a rest day at Camp 2 after the direct ascent from base camp. The game plan for today is to touch Camp 3 then return to Camp 2 for the night. Tomorrow our team will come back down the mountain and arrive at base camp early afternoon. A few members of the team are planning to helicopter back down to Namche for 3-4 nights to rest at lower altitude before returning for the summit rotation. We are expecting 5-6 days between this next rotation depending on the weather window for our summit push.
All climbers are in good health and we are all looking forward to the next rotation!
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Ankur enjoying the view of Everest!
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Climbers moving up from Camp 1
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