Tag Archive for: Everest

Scenic helicopter ride through the Khumbu Valley

Today our climbing team departed Namche and enjoyed their scenic helicopter ride coming back through the Khumbu Valley to Everest Base Camp. We all enjoyed the powerful Airbus B3e helicopter’s that are among the most powerful in the business. I was able to post a few videos on our Madison Mountaineering FB page today of our team boarding the heli’s in Namche, check them out here! Our pilot was from Switzerland and made three trips shuttling our team back to base camp. Having enjoyed a couple days of shopping and great food in Namche the team is well rested and ready to begin the journey to the top of Mt. Everest. Tonight for dinner we enjoyed fried chicken, pot stickers, mixed vegetables, pasta, and a wonderful apple pie for dessert.

Based on current weather predictions that we have received the conditions on Everest are optimal for the next week or so before the winds begin to pick up higher on the mountain. Our team will gear up and prepare to begin the summit ascent tomorrow evening. We are all very excited here at base camp with positive energy being felt among the group. Through the summit ascent I will begin to post daily dispatches routinely at about 10pm our time. We do occasionally have breaks in wifi and if so I will post as soon as I am able.

For immediate family I can be reached throughout this ascent at: andrew@madisonmountaineering.com

To the top!

-Andrew

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Climbers helicopter to Namche before summit rotation

After a successful second rotation on Mount Everest, our entire climbing team decided to helicopter to Namche to rest at a lower altitude and prepare themselves for the summit rotation. Billy and team will be staying at the Panorama Lodge in Namche, with small luxuries such as individual showers and heated blankets. I’m sure the team will also enjoy the delicious bakery which is very close to their lodge. Current plan is to helicopter back to Everest base camp in the next 1-2 days depending on the weather forecasts higher on the mountain. Our preferred weather window is quickly approaching. For now the team will relax and rest their bodies before returning for their final rotation to the top of the world.

Our Sherpa team has assisted in the line fixing through Camp 4 and have placed oxygen at the strategic locations for our next rotation. Once climbers reach Camp 2 they will be ascending with oxygen. This next week will be exciting so stay tuned!

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Burgers and fresh baked pie at Everest Base Camp!

Today we had a wonderful lunch of cheese burgers and fresh baked pie as all of our climbers arrived into base camp. Now that we have concluded our second rotation the team will enjoy a few days of rest and recovery at lower altitude. Tomorrow morning we have scheduled a Airbus B3e helicopter coming into base camp (weather permitting) to take members of our climbing team down to Namche. Right now we have the B3e making three trips to base camp to shuttle our team down valley. Over the next 5-6 days our team will travel back down the Khumbu to rest at a lower altitude before returning for the final summit rotation. Garrett discussed with the team that by doing this it allows you to come back stronger and perform better on the summit rotation. We discussed as a team today that we WILL NOT be summiting on the 13th of this month, which happens to be a Friday! 😉

Tonight we had a few laughs after dinner while watching Happy Gilmore. Now the team is getting some well deserved sleep!

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Burgers, fries and a Coke for lunch!

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Pretty impressive baking skills for 17,500ft! 

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Jeff G. coming up toward Camp 3. You can see Camp 2 toward the bottom left.

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Team prepares for second rotation toward Camp 2

Today our team is enjoying a restful day at Everest Base Camp and will be departing on their second rotation toward Camp 2 early this morning. Yesterday Lisa, Ankur, and Conan went on a afternoon hike with beautiful views looking over the Everest region. Ankur had a special delivery DHL package delivered to basecamp a couple weeks ago with a Scrabble game. Little did we know Ankur is a extraordinary scrabble player and the rest of the team will continue to win a game. The weather has been great with clear skies in the day and colder nights once the sun goes down. We are all looking forward to our next rotation and believe that the summit day is within two weeks from today!

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Larger than a American Chuckar, very domesticated and looking for handouts!

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Spectacular views with Everest in the background 

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Lisa practicing her yoga moves at 18,500ft

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Lisa and Ankur on a relaxing day hike with Conan

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Rest day for team with day hike to Pumori base camp

Today was a relaxing day at Everest Base Camp with half the group deciding to stretch their legs and go on a four hour roundtrip hike to Pumori Base Camp. Pumori is right behind you if you are looking up at Everest from Base Camp and provides spectacular views. This afternoon Brent and Kent arrived into base camp which completes our 2016 climbing team. Kent will be acclimating over the next few days and is doing very well. Tomorrow we will go on another short day hike and begin to prepare for our second rotation up the mountain. At dinner this evening we had fresh vegetables, mango’s, chicken, and pasta.

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Sunset looking over our base camp

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View from Pumori Base Camp Hike

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View from Pumori Base Camp Hike

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Conan enjoying the sunny afternoon with our lead Sherpa’s

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Pumpkin Soup ~ Pumpkin Pie 

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Everest and Lhotse climbing team finish first rotation

Our standard Everest and Lhotse climbing team have finished the first rotation on the mountain, spending 2 nights at Camp 1 and 3 nights at Camp 2 to acclimatize and familiarize ourselves with the climbing route.  We are now in base camp resting and preparing for our second rotation. Climbers are enjoying base camp, taking hot showers, eating fresh food at every meal, and reading or watching films as we recover from our time spent up high on the mountain at over 21,000’.  Here are some reports from our climbers:

Lisa: “I felt so good at camp 2, I wanted to just keep going!”

Stuart: “I really enjoyed the climb through the icefall, and the time up at camp 2, I’m enjoying my rest time at base camp, we have a great team and looking forward to heading back up!”

Nick: “It’s cold up there at Camp 2, but I know I will be alright!”

Ankur: “Each rotation up the mountain is like an expedition itself.”

Jeff: “I felt safe and protected throughout the rotation up through the icefall and at Camp 2.”

Joel: “I’m amazed by the Sherpa, their strength, stamina, friendliness, willingness to serve and pleasant attitudes.”

Jim: “Commitment to team and a day at a time!”

Our Private Everest climbing team has arrived and is preparing for the first rotation up the mountain.  The climbers have used the Hypoxico system to pre-acclimatize, and have reduced 3 weeks from the expedition by doing so.

Andrew and Fred are managing the virtual reality (VR) Everest project and have been working hard capturing content the last 3 weeks, covering the trek to base camp, Everest Base Camp, and the Khumbu Icefall climbing route up to Camp 1. Fred will continue filming up the mountain as we climb higher, hopefully capturing the first ever VR from the summit of Mount Everest!

 

Our 18 Sherpa climbers are also resting after working hard to establish our Camp 3 on the Lhotse Face.  Things are moving fast and it looks like the fixed lines might be up to the summit by early May.  Our base camp cook team (8 Nepali staff) is taking good care of us by cooking fresh & hearty meals!  We’ve lost a few pounds up high so we need to replenish!

 

Madison Mountaineering 2016 Everest Team

Guide Team for standard Everest (& Lhotse) program:

-Garrett Madison

-Conan Bliss

-Billy Nugent

 

Guide Team for Private Everest climb:

-Brent Bishop

 

VR Everest Film Team:

-Fred Alldredge (high altitude camera man)

-Tundu Sherpa (high altitude camera assistant)

 

Everest Base Camp Manager & VR Digital Asset Manager:

-Andrew Tierney

 

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Team makes safe descent through the Khumbu Icefall

Today our team packed up from Camp 2 and made a safe descent through the Khumbu Icefall. Arriving into Base Camp a little before lunch time. Up on the mountain the winds were strong and our team spent a lot of time in our field tested Mountain Hardwear Trango 3 tents. Spending five days up on Everest our climbers were able to acclimate and get ready for the next rotation. Tomorrow will be dedicated to rest and recovery with no planned activities in the day. Tonight we had a feast of a meal and I’m sure that will continue in the days to come. Weather the past few days has been blue skies with no clouds, which means it is very cold once the sun goes down. We are all in good health and look forward to the adventures ahead of us.

 

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Climbers acclimatize at 6,400m (21,000ft)

Spending a second night at Camp 2, our climbers acclimatize and continue to move higher up the mountain. Over the past two days our team has enjoyed the comfort of our advanced base camp with hot meals and beautiful views. From base camp we watched many helicopters make rounds to Camp 1 yesterday, carrying loads dangling beneath filled with fixed ropes for higher on Everest. In years past Sherpa had carried the fixed ropes through the Khumbu Icefall. Tomorrow if the weather allows our team will descend the mountain and arrive back at Base Camp. Strong winds have been ripping across base camp at night which makes for a exciting night in the tent.

Once back at base camp our team will rest for 4-5 days before making their second rotation toward Camp 3 at 7,200, (23,635ft).

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Climbers reached Camp 2 at 6,400m (21,000ft)

Garrett reports to base camp that the team has successfully reached Camp 2 at 6,400m (21,000ft). Currently it’s snowing and very cold with high winds. Our Camp 2 is our advanced base camp with a large dining tent with food and supplies to support the expedition further up Mt. Everest in the weeks to come. Our team is healthy and doing well, they are now in their down suits staying warm as the temperature continues to drop into the evening. The plan is to stay here for 3 nights to acclimate and go on day hikes if the weather allows. Will upload pictures as soon as I am able!

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Climbers go on beautiful day hike and rest at Camp One

After successfully making it through the Khumbu Icefall yesterday our team has enjoyed a rest at Camp One. Today our lead guides, (Garrett, Conan, and Billy) made a nice breakfast for the team before taking off on a day hike to continue to acclimatize. Everyone is in good health and ready to continue the journey up Mt. Everest tomorrow. With weather conditions stable our team will climb 3-5 hours to reach Camp Two at 6,400m (21,000ft) tomorrow. Spending a couple nights at Camp Two our team will complete their first acclimatization rotation and return to base camp to rest. The views are spectacular and we will have photos up of Camp Two tomorrow!

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Madison Mountaineering Camp One

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