Tag Archive for: Khumbu Valley

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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Ama Dablam Expedition Underway!

Team dinner in Kathmandu!

The 2022 Madison Mountaineering Ama Dablam expedition has officially begun! The team all arrived in Kathmandu today, excited for the journey ahead. After arriving at the Yak and Yeti hotel, our team held a gear check and orientation to go over details of the expedition. With good weather tomorrow, the team will fly to Lukla and continue on their way towards Ama Dablam. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison, checks in from Kathmandu with todays dispatch:

Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Ama Dablam (6812m/22,349ft) expedition 2022 – today is October 20th.

The team is all in Kathmandu (1400m/4,600ft)! We had our gear checks today, had an orientation, talked through logistics, the itinerary and just finished our team dinner! Everyone’s feeling good and pumped to fly up to the Khumbu Valley tomorrow to Lukla (2860m/9,383ft), and start our trek along the way to base camp. So fingers crossed for good flying weather tomorrow morning! Hopefully we’ll be in Lukla for breakfast and on our way.

We’ll check in soon!

Gear check at the Yak and Yeti hotel - the climbers classic!

Gear check at the Yak and Yeti hotel – the climbers classic!

Expedition leader, Garrett Madison and guide, Terray Sylvester picking up the Ama Dablam climbing permits!

Expedition leader, Garrett Madison and guide, Terray Sylvester picking up the Ama Dablam climbing permits!

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 Success on Lobuche East!

Topping out on Lobuche East

Meanwhile down valley in the Khumbu, our Lobuche East climbers reached the summit and safely descended to the village of Lobuche!  Congratulations team!!  Madison Mountaineering guide Scott Webster reports in from Lobuche village with this recap of summit day:

Successful ascent of Lobuche East this morning (April 15, 2022). The team set out from high camp at 0200 and reached the summit (6119m/20,075ft) at 0730. The weather couldn’t have been any better with clear blue skies and hardly a breath of wind! After descending back to high camp we packed up and returned to Lobuche village. The clients then helicoptered back to Kathmandu! From the summit of a 6000m Himalayan peak to Kathmandu in less than 10 hours!

On the summit of Lobuche East!

On the summit of Lobuche East!

Heading up from high camp on Lobuche East

Heading up from high camp on Lobuche East

Nearing the summit of Lobuche East

Nearing the summit of Lobuche East

Climber Katherine Crociata and Tenji Sherpa on the summit of Lobuche East

Climber Katherine Crociata and Tenji Sherpa on the summit of Lobuche East

Topping out on Lobuche East

Topping out on Lobuche East

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 Garrett Madison’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my Madison Mountaineering flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

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Everest Base Camp!

The climbing team at the entrance to base camp

Today our trekking and climbing teams completed the final segment of trekking to reach Everest Base Camp!  Madison Mountaineering guide Terray Sylvester provides a recap of the day:

Hello!  This is Terray calling in for the 2022 Madison Mountaineering Mount Everest expedition!  It’s April 12th.

Today our climbing and trekking teams walked from Gorak Shep (5170m/16,962ft) to Everest Base Camp (5310m/17,421ft).  It was a beautiful day for the walk – really nice sunny weather.  Everyone stopped for some group photos at “Trekker’s Rock” right at the bottom of base camp and then came on up to camp and we started moving into our tents.

Tomorrow our trekkers will fly out in helicopters back to Kathmandu and our Island Peak and Lobuche Peak climbers will head off down the valley.  Then our Mount Everest, Lhotse, and Nuptse climbers will start getting into the routine of preparing for the ascent.  So, tomorrow we’ll go over some climbing skills, make sure our gear is dialed in, and potentially take a little foray into the Icefall.

So, all is well here.  Everyone is heathly.  And yeah, it was a beautiful day here at just over 5000m.

So, we’ll be in touch!

Nearly to Everest Base Camp

Nearly to Everest Base Camp

The trekking team at the entrance to base camp

The trekking team at the entrance to base camp

Garrett and Rob welcoming Everest climber Roi Negri base camp

Garrett and Rob welcome Everest climber Roi Negri to base camp

The climbing team at the entrance to base camp

The climbing team at the entrance to base camp

Night shot looking up into the Khumbu icefall from our base camp

Night shot looking up into the Khumbu icefall from our base camp

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 Garrett Madison’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my Madison Mountaineering flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

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Pheriche to Lobuche

Sara Safari at Thok La Pass on the way to Lobuche

Today our trekking and climbing teams move up along the Khumbu Glacier from Pheriche (4280m/14,042ft) to Lobuche (4940m/16,207ft).  Madison Mountaineering guide Terray Sylvester provides a recap of the day:

Hello!  This is Terray calling in for the 2022 Madison Mountaineering Mount Everest expedition!  It’s April 10th.

We are just walking into Lobuche village at about 16,000ft.  The weather is beautiful – mostly sunny, the air is crisp and cool.  It feels good to be in the valley of the Khumbu Glacier.  We’re getting our first close up views of Pumori, Mount Lingtren, and Nuptse.

Tomorrow we’ll, hopefully, get a great view of the summit of Everest when we hike to Gorak Shep and then up to Kala Patthar for the sunset.

The whole team is in good spirits.  Everyone’s healthy and we’re looking forward to getting to base camp.

So, we’ll be in touch!

Josh Garrison crossing a stream en route to Duk La

Josh Garrison crossing a stream en route to Duk La

Approaching the Khumbu Glacier

Approaching the Khumbu Glacier

Garrett crossing a small glacier bridge

Garrett crossing a small glacier bridge

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 Garrett Madison’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my Madison Mountaineering flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

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Active rest day in Pheriche

Acclimatization hike above Pheriche

Today our trekking and climbing teams took an active rest day in Pheriche (4280m/14,042ft).  Madison Mountaineering guide Terray Sylvester provides a recap of the day:

Hello!  This is Terray calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Mount Everest expedition!  It’s April 9th.

Today we hiked up above Pheriche (4280m/14,042ft) to about 5000m, about 16,500ft.  It was a good active rest day and a good chance to get some acclimatization done.  The whole principle with acclimating is to climb high and sleep low, so now we are back down in Pheriche.

On the way down, some of us stopped and enjoyed some hot chocolate and pastries in the bakery in Dingboche.  So we are going to bed now and looking forward to hiking up to Lobuche (4940m/16,207ft) tomorrow.

We’ll be in touch!

Acclimatization hike above Pheriche

Acclimatization hike above Pheriche

Acclimatization hike above Pheriche

Acclimatization hike above Pheriche

Happy Acclimatizers

Happy Acclimatizers

Acclimatization hike above Pheriche

Acclimatization hike above Pheriche

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 Garrett Madison’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my Madison Mountaineering flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

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Deboche to Pheriche

Climber Becks Ferry receiving a blessing from Lama Ngawang Paljur in the Pangboche Monastery

Today our trekking and climbing teams trekked from Deboche (3820m/12,532ft) to the village of Pheriche (4280m/14,042ft).  Madison Mountaineering guide Terray Sylvester provides a recap of the day.

Also, be sure to check out Alan Arnette’s recent interview with Garrett Madison from Namche Bazaar: https://www.alanarnette.com/blog/2022/04/07/everest-2022-interview-with-garrett-madison-from-namche-bazaar/

Hello!  This is Terray calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Mount Everest expedition!  It’s April 8th.

Today we made our way from Deboche (3820m/12,532ft) to Pheriche (4280m/14,042ft).  We’re here in Pheriche, about 14,000ft.  It feels good to have gained some altitude and to be among the high peaks – Ama Dablam is towering right above us.

Along the way here we stopped at the monastery in Pangboche which is one of the oldest in the Khumbu Valley.  While we were there we recieved a blessing from a high Lama.  That’s a traditional stop for climbers bound to Mount Everest and other peaks nearby.

So all is well.  We’ll have a rest day here in Pheriche tomorrow and we’ll be in touch!

Climber Carter Beck spinning prayer wheels at the monastery

Climber Carter Beck spinning prayer wheels at the monastery

Trekking to Pheriche

Trekking to Pheriche

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 Garrett Madison’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my Madison Mountaineering flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

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Ama Dablam Summit Success!

Expedition leader, Conan Bliss, and the team have returned to Ama Dablam base camp and Conan provides the happy news:

Ama Dablam Expedition Summary: At 7:40 am on November 4th, the Madison Mountaineering team stood alone on the summit of Ama Dablam. The sky was cloudless, offering amazing 360-degree views including Everest, Lhotse, and Makalu. This was the culmination of weeks of effort, patience, and perseverance and we were fortunate with an excellent weather window. The team is back at base camp today resting and will trek out tomorrow and the following day. We would like to say special thanks to our amazing Nepali crew, both climbing Sherpas as well as our outstanding base camp crew. Thanks for following us on this epic adventure; we hope to see you in the mountains soon!

(photo:  Madison Mountaineering archives)

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Ama Dablam Summit!

Kristin on Ama Dablam

First Ama Dablam summit of the season! Big Congratulations to Kristin Bennett, Aang Phurba Sherpa and the rest of our Sherpa team on Ama Dablam!  They pushed through tough snow conditions and fixed ropes to get to the top on October 10th around 6:00PM local time! 20 hour summit day. Way to go team!!

Kristin on Ama Dablam

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2018 Expedition prepared to launch…Leading the way on Everest!

Everest & Lhotse climbing

Spring is here! Our Everest & Lhotse climbing team is packed and heading off to Nepal to climb Everest and Lhotse (4th highest). An exciting change for us this year is that our team is involved with the rope fixing from Camp 2 all the way to the summit of Mount Everest, as our local agency, Himalayan Guides Nepal PVT LTD has secured an exclusive contract with the Expedition Operators Association of Nepal for this project.  Our expert team of sherpas will be leading the effort in finding the best route and placing the fixed ropes up the Lhotse Face, across the Yellow Band & Geneva Spur to the South Col high camp, up the Triangular Face to the Balcony (27,500′) and onward to the summit!  We are excited to “lead the way” up the mountain and prepare the ropes so that our team and others can ascend safely on Mount Everest.  We aim to complete this project earlier than in past seasons so that more time is available for teams to make a summit attempt during the good weather window in May. By controlling the rope fixing we can control our climbing schedule better than before.

Check back soon for more photos and video as the expedition prepares to launch!

Tracking Maps

Everest Base Camp Trek map

Everest Climb map

-Garrett Madison 

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