Tag Archive for: Everest

Lukla and the trek begins…

The team has arrived Lukla and the trek begins to Everest base camp.  Garrett called in from Lukla via satellite phone with this update:

Hello, good morning!  This is Garrett calling in for the Mount Everest expedition.  Today is April 4th and we have arrived in Lukla, Nepal (2850m) in the Khumbu Valley!  This morning we flew from Ramechhap, near Kathmandu, to Lukla and landed about 6:30 AM.  Now, we are having a leisurely start to the day:  a nice breakfast, fresh coffee and getting our bags and gear organized.  So, we are going to head out shortly and trek to Phakding (2640m), the first village for our night here on the trek towards base camp.  Everyone is doing well and are excited to be up in the mountains with the fresh air.  Good views of surrounding peaks with snow and ice on them.  We are ready to get a little exercise and get things underway.  Check in again soon.  Thanks!

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Heading to Ramechhap

Everest 2019 Team Photo

Everest 2019 expedition leader, Garrett Madison, checks in with an update on Day 2 and the team heading to Ramechhap:

Hey!  This is Garrett calling in for the Mount Everest expedition team!  We had a great day in Kathmandu doing gear checks, going out to dinner, had a city tour today, did some final shopping and this afternoon we are leaving to drive from Kathmandu towards the town of Ramechhap (27.393889°, 86.061389°).  Tomorrow morning we are going to fly from there to Lukla (2850m).  The Kathmandu airport is undergoing some renovation repairs right now on the runway.  So domestic flights are a little bit jammed up.  From Ramechhap we should have a smooth flight up to Lukla.  We are looking forward to that tomorrow and getting started on our trek to base camp.  Everyone is doing great and the whole team is here and we are excited!  The weather is good.  We will check in again soon.  Thanks!

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Welcome to Kathmandu

picture of hotel and swimming pool

Welcome to Kathmandu!  The Madison Mountaineering Everest 2019 team has nearly all arrived in Kathmandu to kick off the Everest expedition and base camp trek.  Expedition leader, Garrett Madison, provided this update:

Hello, this is Garrett calling in on April 2, 2019 for the Mount Everest expedition.  Today most of our members are arriving Kathmandu, Nepal.  Later, we are going to do our equipment check and then have a team dinner.  Tomorrow we are going on a city tour.  After the city tour, we are going to prepare for our departure to Lukla.

 

Great weather here in Kathmandu at the minute.  Everyone is doing fine.  There was a big rain storm in southern Nepal recently which didn’t affect us here.  We didn’t even notice it.  Everyone is doing well so far and we look forward to a few more of our members arriving Kathmandu today and getting started!  Thanks for checking in!

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The Blog on alanarnette.com

Garrett on Everest

As Alan Arnette continues his outstanding all-things Everest news coverage, we are delighted to see his interview with Garrett Madison posted today: http://www.alanarnette.com/blog/2019/03/28/everest-2019-interview-with-garrett-madison-a-leader-on-everest/.

In addition to our Madison Mountaineering expedition dispatches, Alan’s Everest 2019 blog provides a nexus of information for the ‘big picture’ of the Everest season.  Check it out and be sure to support his drive to end Alzheimer’s.

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Welcome to Everest 2019

Welcome to Everest 2019!  Our annual spring Mount Everest expedition begins in just 45 days.  Our strong team of international climbers will gather at the Hotel Yak and Yeti, our Kathmandu home-base and the launching point of countless Mount Everest expeditions over the years.  Here in Seattle, we are now gathering expedition equipment, food and supplies, making logistical arrangements with our Nepal support staff, and ensuring that all of our climbing team members and trekkers have everything ready to go.  Busy times at Madison Mountaineering HQ!  We are looking forward to our continued best-in-class rate of success and safety on Everest.  Leaders in setting the fixed ropes, we have put the first team on top in 2016, 2017, and 2018.  And we aim to do so again this year!

We are very excited to announce that we have added a second Mount Everest expedition for this year!  In addition to the Spring expedition, we are leading another in the much lesser-climbed Autumn season.  Looking for an alternative to climbing in the busy Spring Everest season?  In Autumn we will pretty much have the entire mountain to ourselves.  The conditions will typically be more winter-like and the days shorter, but the Autumn weather-window should present a great chance for success.

Limited spots on the team are currently available for qualified climbers, contact our office for details.

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Day 41: Main Everest Team moving up!

The main Everest team is at camp 3, with guides Garrett, Conan, Sid with climbers Josh, Matt, Randy, Tym and David. Everyone is doing well. We had a great day with nice weather climbing from our Camp 2 to Camp 3 on the Lhotse Face. The total climb took us about 5 hours. Additionally, After moving into camp 3 we had some soup and have been rehydrating, and enjoying the views from this spectacular location.

Also, we had the pleasure of seeing our advance team of Everest climbers Ed & Ant as they descended the Lhotse face after their successful summit of Mount Everest yesterday with 4 of our amazing climbing Sherpas. They were a little tired which is to be expected. But, they were in good spirits as they made their way down the Lhotse face to our camp 2 where they will spend the night. Tomorrow, they will descend to our Everest base camp.

Furthermore, our second team of Kenton, Ben, and Mark decided to rest today at the South Col high camp (Camp 4) with their Sherpas. They are planning to start their climb tonight!  Fingers crossed for good weather!

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Madison Team Opens Everest Route!

everest route Madison Sherpas open Everest Route!

Our Sherpas worked very hard today to break trail through waist deep snow and some strong winds. They have now established the climbing route to the summit of Mount Everest! They are now back at the south col high camp (camp 4).

The Rope Fixing Team Members are: Pasang Tenzing, Lakpa Dendi Sherpa, Pas Dawa Sherpa, Tenzing Gyalzen, Datuk Bhote, Pemba Sherpa, Jenjen Bhote, Siddhi Bahadur Tamang.

We are happy that our team made the first summit of Mount Everest in 2018. Now, hopefully many other climbers will be able to follow the route safely to the summit over the next week if we have good weather.

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Day 37: All Madison Everest Summit teams in position and preparing to move up!

Ready To Move For Summit Push!

Today our madison everest team climbers with guides Garrett Madison, Conan Bliss, & Sid Pattison along with climbers Josh, Matt, Randy, Tym, & David are resting in base camp up . They are waiting to begin the summit rotation, this is the final rotation on Mount Everest and hopefully will culminate in reaching the summit! The weather has been windy, more so than the specialized weather forecasts have predicted. So, we have been conservative in our decision making and decided to hold here in base camp until the weather trend looks suitable for us to move us.

Then our Everest climbers will climb from Everest base camp through the Khumbu Icefall and negotiate the many ladders which span crevasses, sometimes about 20 ft. (6m) in width, along with the steep ice and vertical sections of the route. We will go up past Camp 1 through the Western CWM (Valley) to Camp 2, our Advanced Base Camp and from there take a rest day to re evaluate the weather, route conditions, etc.

Our 2 advance teams are already enroute on the final summit rotation! Ed & Ant, our first team, are at Camp 2, having moved up from Everest base camp 2 days ago, and are assessing the mountain conditions which includes the weather, the rope fixing progress, etc.

Our second advance team with Kenton, Ben, and Mark left Everest base camp yesterday and are currently also at Camp 2. They reported very good conditions in the Khumbu Icefall and after arriving at Camp 2 are also reassessing the mountain conditions in preparation for moving up higher on Everest.

Rope Fixing Update!

Our rope fixing Sherpas moved up to the South Col (Camp 4) yesterday in preparation to fix ropes from there to the Balcony (27,500 ft. / 8,333m), despite strong winds on the Lhotse Face. Yesterday we had a huge wind storm on Everest that lasted through the night and many teams lost tents at Camp 2, fortunately we had our entire Sherpa team (22 Sherpas plus camp staff) in our Camp 2 (Advanced Base Camp) so they were able to secure and protect our camp during this massive wind event. Thankfully, our Sherpas reached the South Col (Camp 4) and established a camp there, and then commenced the first part of the rope fixing project today, reaching the Balcony (27,500 ft. / 8333m).

Weather & Other Update!

If the weather is good, and mountain conditions are favorable (they reported deep snow on the route), and our team has the physical energy and mental fortitude, then hopefully our Sherpas will be able to finish the summit rope fixing and open the route by the end of May 12th, so that the route will be open for all climbers on Mount Everest by May 13th.

This is our plan, and with determination and good luck we expect our 4 teams of climbers (Sherpa rope fixing team, advance team of Ed & Ant, second team of Kenton / Ben/ Mark, and third team of Garrett / Conan / Sid with Josh / Matt / Tym / Randy / David to be reaching the summit of Mount Everest between May 12th and May 18th, weather pending! Fortunately the weather forecast looks good through May 21st, so we have a very good weather window in which to make our summit attempts. Thanks for your kind thoughts and prayers! We hope Mount Everest (‘Sagarmatha’ in Nepal) will grant us safe passage to the top of her peak and back!

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Exhilarating electrical storm on Mount Everest

electrical storm

Lightning, Thunder & Storm!

Last night at around 3 AM we had an exhilarating electrical storm here on Mount Everest complete with lightning, thunder, then a few inches of snowfall. Today our advanced climbing team (Ed & Ant) moved up from Everest base camp and will stay at Camp 2. The ‘Everest Link’ Internet WiFi system that most of the climbers here in Everest base camp rely upon was knocked out by a lightning bolt.  So, repairs are under way and hopefully the system will be back up and working again soon!
All of our climbing Sherpas are up in camp 2, and it was a good thing today because the winds have been very high at camp 2 . As a result many teams had tents damaged or completely blown away. Fortunately our Sherpas were able to secure and protect our tents in camp 2 from blowing away.
Our plan is to re-evaluate the weather tomorrow and see if rope fixing to the summit is reasonable over the next few days given the weather forecast. Hopefully, the winds will die down in the near future and make climbing possible.
Our main team of climbers is tentatively planning to move up from Everest base camp to camp 2 on May 11th . Then, will take a rest day at camp 2 and reassess the weather, route conditions, and feasibility of making a summit attempt. Everyone here in base camp is doing well and resting up for our final rotation. That is, our attempt at the summit of Mount Everest!
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Day 35 : Ready to go for Everest Summit Attempt!

Ready For Summit Attempt!

Our team of Sherpas left Everest base camp early this morning and climbed to Camp 2, twenty two Sherpas in all. They will rest tomorrow and then 6 of our Sherpas along with 2 from Adventure Consultants team will head up to the South Col high camp (Camp 4), as long as the winds die down.  Then, begin the final stage of the rope fixing project to the summit of Mount Everest. Our plan is to have the route finished to the summit by May 12th, weather pending. Usually when the first climbers are setting the route to the summit they have to break trail through waist deep snow, and set the anchors and climbing rope along the route.

The first stage will be to move to the South Col and establish camp, the second stage will be to fix ropes up the Triangular Face to the Balcony (27,500 ft. / 8333m), and the third stage will be to fix ropes from the Balcony up the South East ridge to the rock bands just below the South Summit of Mount Everest, over the South Summit, and then along the summit ridge to the top of Mount Everest! We hope the weather and route conditions will be favorable for our Sherpas as they work hard to establish the final section of the climbing route to the top of the mountain for our team and all teams on Mount Everest, so that all climbers may have the opportunity to climb safely and efficiently.

Team Updates!

Our climbers are all now in Everest base camp and some who took a 4 day rest in Namche are back now so we are all together as we make final preparations for our summit attempt! We are checking our equipment and readying our minds and bodies for this epic challenge, the culmination of our last 6 weeks here in Nepal. In the next couple of days we will be moving up to Camp 2 (our Advanced Base Camp) and from their we will reassess the summit rope fixing progress, the weather forecast, the mountain conditions, and make a final decision on moving up to the higher camps on schedule for our summit attempt!

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