Tag Archive for: Everest Base Camp

Into the Khumbu!

The team ready to set off on the trek to Everest Base Camp! Photo: Terray Sylvester)

Climbers and trekkers alike have left the comforts of the Yak and Yeti hotel in pursuit of their journey towards Everest Base Camp, Lobuche, Lhotse and Mount Everest! The team awoke early this morning in excitement for what lies ahead, boarded helicopters, and lifted off from Kathmandu en route to the famous Lukla airport. Their trek got underway following a stop for breakfast to fuel up, taking in first sights of the beautiful Khumbu Valley. Now in Phakding, the team is resting up and prepared to continue on towards Namche Bazaar tomorrow. Expedition guide, Terray Sylvester, checks in with today’s update from the Himalayas:

Hello, this is Terray calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Mount Everest (8848m/29,032ft) expedition! Today is April fourth.

Today we woke up early and took helicopters from Kathmandu (1400m/4,600ft) to Lukla (2860m/9,383ft). We had great weather, beautiful sunny skies, and excellent views of Everest and the surrounding peaks. We had breakfast in Lukla, and then walked to Phakding (2610m/8,562ft). We arrived in time for lunch and just in time to (inaudible) rain shower…

Tomorrow, we plan to walk to the famous town of Namche Bazaar (3440m/11,290ft)! We’re looking forward to that. All is well here in the Khumbu! We’ll be in touch tomorrow.

Among the clouds on the helicopter flight from Kathmandu to Lukla. Photo: Terray Sylvester

Among the clouds on the helicopter flight from Kathmandu to Lukla. Photo: Terray Sylvester

Climbers trekking across one of the many suspension bridges in the Khumbu Valley. Photo: Terray Sylvester

Climbers trekking across one of the many suspension bridges in the Khumbu Valley. Photo: Terray Sylvester

Climber spinning one of the many prayer wheels that you encounter when in Nepal. Photo: Terray Sylvester

Climber spinning one of the many prayer wheels that you encounter when in Nepal. Photo: Terray Sylvester

Expedition leader, Garrett Madison, talking with the team during a break on their first day of trekking! Photo: Terray Sylvester

Expedition leader, Garrett Madison, talking with the team during a break on their first day of trekking! Photo: Terray Sylvester

Walls of mani stones line the trail with prayer and meditation along the trek. Photo: Terray Sylvester

Walls of mani stones line the trail with prayer and meditation along the trek. Photo: Terray Sylvester

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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Himalayan Expeditions Underway!

The first wave of Madison Mountaineering climbers! (Photo: Terray Sylvester)

The 2023 Madison Mountaineering spring Himalayan season is officially underway! After settling into the Yak and Yeti hotel and resting up after their long flights, members of the team greeted each other over a welcome dinner and retreated back to their rooms for more rest and relaxation for the days ahead. With gear checks complete and bags repacked for the expedition, the anticipation is really starting to set in for the team, who with good weather tomorrow, will fly to Lukla and start making their trek towards Everest Base Camp! Expedition guide, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from Kathmandu:

Hello! This is Terray calling in for the 2023 Madison Mountaineering Everest (8848m/29,032ft), Lhotse (8516m/27,940ft), and Nuptse (7861m/25,791ft) expedition.

All of our climbers who will be part of our first wave going into the Khumbu have arrived here in Kathmandu (1400m/4,600ft)! We had a great welcome dinner last night, and then today our climbers headed out for a city tour! We visited Pashupatinath Temple and Boudhanath Stupa. Pashupati is a Unesco World Heritage site and the most important Hindu temple in the city. And, the Boudhanath Stupa is one of the largest Buddhist stupa’s in the world – it dates back to the fourth century.

So, today our team is relaxing in Kathmandu and we’re looking forward to our flights to Lukla via helicopter early tomorrow morning. The weathers great, really sunny and beautiful here in Kathmandu and we’re looking forward to those mountain views tomorrow. We’ll be in touch!

Boudhanath Stupa (Photo: Terray Sylvester)

Boudhanath Stupa (Photo: Terray Sylvester)

Climbers taking the sights, sounds, and smells during the city tour on April 3, 2023 (Photo: Terray Sylvester)

Climbers taking in the sights, sounds, and smells during the city tour on April 3, 2023 (Photo: Terray Sylvester)

Sightseeing around Kathmandu (Photo: Terray Sylvester)

Sightseeing around Kathmandu (Photo: Terray Sylvester)

One of the many forms of transportation in Kathmandu! (Photo: Terray Sylvester)

One of the many forms of transportation in Kathmandu! (Photo: Terray Sylvester)

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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Into the Himalayas!

Our team in Phakding. Photo: Terray Sylvester

The team had spectacular flying conditions today with views of the towering Himalayas before landing in Lukla! Upon their arrival, a few moments were spent in town before hitting the trail and heading to their next stop, Phakding. Expedition guide, Terray Sylvester checks in with todays dispatch:

Hello! This is Terray calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Ama Dablam (6812m/22,349ft) expedition – it’s October 21st.

Today we had excellent weather for our helicopter flights from Kathmandu (1400m/4,600ft) to Lukla (2860m/9,383ft). Our entire Ama Dablam team plus our Everest Base Camp trekkers touched down in Lukla at about 2,900 meters in, yeah, just beautiful weather with excellent views of the mountains to the north. We had a great view of Everest (8848m/29,032ft) and Lhotse (8516m/27,940ft) just before we touched down.

Then we hiked to Phakding (2610m/8,562ft). We’ve had a relaxing evening here with a walk up to the monastery above town. We just wrapped up dinner and we’re looking forward to a nice peaceful night, with the sound of the Dudh Koshi River below us.

We’ll be in touch tomorrow!

Inbound to Lukla. Photo: Terray Sylvester

Inbound to Lukla. Photo: Terray Sylvester

Climbers Jocelyn, Serge, Stephane and Alix after touching down in Lukla! Photo: Terray Sylvester

Climbers Jocelyn, Serge, Stephane and Alix after touching down in Lukla! Photo: Terray Sylvester

Walking to Phakding. Photo: Terray Sylvester

Walking to Phakding. Photo: Terray Sylvester

Visiting the monastery above Phakding. Photo: Terray Sylvester

Visiting the monastery above Phakding. Photo: Terray Sylvester

Ama Dablam climber, Stephane en route to the helicopter pad. Photo: Terray Sylvester

Ama Dablam climber, Stephane en route to the helicopter pad. Photo: Terray Sylvester

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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Everyone Safely Back to Base Camp

On the summit of Mount Everest - May 20, 2022

All of the Madison Mountaineering Everest and Lhotse team is safely back to base camp.  Expedition leader Garrett Madison calls in with today’s expedition dispatch:

Hello, this is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Everest and Lhotse expedition.  Today is Sunday, the 22nd of May.

We got down from Camp 2 today.   Our whole team made it down to base camp and we’re all back safe in Everest Base Camp.

We’re looking forward to heading home after a very successful expedition.  We had thirty (30) climbers reach the summit of Everest, that’s nine (9) clients, four (4) guides, seventeen (17) Nepal sherpa.  Another four (4) of us reached the summit of Lhotse, along with three (3) sherpa, seven (7) total.  And, of course, our private team summited Everest on May 15th with nine (9) members.  So it’s been a very successful here.

We’re just so fortunate and thankful that we had great weather and great route conditions and everyone had a good expirence and made it home safely.  So, we’re looking forward to packing up here tomorrow and making our way down the Khumbu Valley and back towards home.

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 Push – Preparing to Head Up!

Camp 4

The Everest and Lhotse expedition team is staged to head up from Camp 4 (7900m/25,919ft) to the summit very soon now!  Expedition leader, Garrett Madison, checks in via Garmin inReach Mini with this brief update:

Good morning from C4! Having brkfast now, inst oatmeal then dehy eggs, yum! But hardly any wind!..everyone doing well at the moment:) we’re the only team here! Resting up to probably head up tonight around 1:00am.

(photo from the Madison Mountaineering archives)

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 Push – Camp 4

The route up the Lhotse Face above Camp 3, over the Yellow Band and left over the Geneva Spur (📸: @terray_s)

The team is safely in place on Mount Everest’s South Col at Camp 4.  It’s now just over 24 hours before they will start out for the summit – weather permitting.  Everest guide Terray Sylvester sends today’s expedition dispatch via Garmin inReach Mini:

Hello from Camp 4 (7900m/25,919ft) on the South Col of Mount Everest!

Today we had beautiful weather as we moved up from Camp 3 (7230m/23,720ft). There were no other teams on the route. So we moved efficiently without traffic jams and made great time. Along the way we had spectacular views back down the Western Cwm and of some of Everest’s giant neighbors, including Cho Oyu.

We plan to rest here tomorrow before heading for the summit.

We’ll be in touch!

(photo from the Madison Mountaineering archives, 📸: @terray_s)

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 Push – Camp 3

Tents at Camp 3 and the Western Cwm below it (📸: @terray_s)

The Everest and Lhotse expedition team has climbed from Camp 2 (6500m/21,325ft) up the Lhotse Face to Camp 3 (7230m/23,720ft) on their summit push.  Expedition leader, Garrett Madison, checks in via Garmin inReach Mini with this brief update:

Greetings from C3. Everyone made it up here today and doing great! Planning to climb to C4 tmrw. A little windy but all good.

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 Push – C2

Mount Everest and Lhotse (📸: @terray_s)

On their summit push, the Everest and Lhotse expedition team strategically took another rest day at Camp 2 (6500m/21,325ft).  Expedition leader, Garrett Madison, checks in via Garmin inReach Mini with this brief update:

All is well in C2. Our main team is planning to move to C3 tmrw, targeting the 20th. Kenton & team all safely in EBC.

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 Push – Rest Day at C2

The team getting comfortable with their down suits before the climb to Camp 3 the following day

Our Everest team has extended their rest period at Camp 2 to time their summit attempt for the best-forecasted weather.  Everest guide Terray Sylvester sends this evening’s expedition dispatch via Garmin inReach Mini:

Hello from Camp 2!  All is well.

Our team rested here today, reading, napping and admiring the scenery, including a paraglider(!) who launched from the South Col. Our forecast indicates we’ll have the best summit weather if we rest here one more day before climbing higher. So our plan is now to move to Camp 3 on the 17th.

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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Summit Push – Camp 2

Camp 2 (📸: @terray_s)

Our Everest team has safely moved up to Camp 2 in the Western Cwm to kick off their summit push!  Everest guide Terray Sylvester sends this expedition dispatch via Garmin inReach Mini:

Hello from Camp 2!

Our Everest and Lhotse climbers ascended from base camp to our advanced base camp (aka Camp 2) here at 21,300′ (6500m) yesterday in great weather. We’ll rest here now before climbing to Camp 3 (7230m/23,720ft), where we’ll spend a night before continuing up to Camp 4 (7900m/25,919ft) at the South Col.

The team is feeling good!

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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