Tag Archive for: Lhotse

Check in from the Ama Dablam team!

The team on the summit of Ama Dablam with Everest and Lhotse in the background! From left: Guide Terray Sylvester, our climber, Joe, and Sirdar and Guide, Aang Phurba Sherpa. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Safely back in base camp, the Madison Mountaineering Ama Dablam expedition team spent the day re-introducing themselves to the luxuries of life off of the mountain! After a great day successfully reaching the summit on the day prior, the team relaxed, celebrated, and began getting prepared to make their way back down the valley. Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this celebratory dispatch from Ama Dablam base camp:

Hello! This is Terray calling in for the autumn 2024 Madison Mountaineering Ama Dablam (6812m/22,349ft) expedition – today is November 8th. Today, we had a rest day here in base camp (4600m/15,100ft) after our successful summit push. Yesterday, we topped out on Ama Dablam at about 7:30 AM in the morning, and then we descended all the way back down to base camp and had a nice dinner here and got a good nights sleep.

So, we spent today taking showers and getting packed and prepared for our trek back down the valley to Lukla (2860m/9,383ft). Our plan is to leave for Namche Bazaar (3440m/11,290ft) tomorrow morning and then finish off the trek the following day.

All in all, we had a fantastic summit push! Two days ago, or three days ago on November 5th, we moved up to Camp 1 (5791m/19,000ft). The following day, we moved to Camp 2 (5980m/19,619ft), rested most of the day, and then that evening at about 11:00 PM we started our summit climb and topped out at about 7:30 AM in the morning! The climbing conditions were perfect – zero wind and perfectly clear skies, which meant we had great views of the peaks around us and before the sun came up, excellent views of a brilliant, starry sky over the Himalayas!

So, all is well here in base camp and we’ll be in touch from Namche Bazaar tomorrow!

Our climber, Joe, stepping onto the summit! (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Our climber, Joe, stepping onto the summit! (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Approaching Camp 2. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Approaching Camp 2. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Celebratory cake back in base camp the evening after our team summited!

Celebratory cake back in base camp the evening after our team summited!

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 Summits!

It comes with great excitement to share that at 7:36 AM local time on November 7, the Madison Mountaineering Ama Dablam expedition team successfully reached the summit! The team left their tents at Camp 2 and climbed through the night, navigating technical terrain under starry skies. In the morning hours, the sun began to come up revealing excellent views of many surrounding peaks and the route below. It was near perfect weather and route conditions for our summit day! After taking the final few steps onto the summit, the team shared hugs and high-fives in celebration before reporting the good news to our other teams in the Khumbu region. The team is now safely back in base camp and will begin to pack their bags and start their departure from the Himalaya soon! Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from Ama Dablam:

Hello from base camp! This morning we summited Ama Dablam (6812m/22,349ft) from Camp 2 (5980m/19,619ft) in excellent weather. We left Camp 2 at about 11 p.m. and stepped onto the summit not long after sunrise in perfectly clear skies without a breath of wind. After soaking up the views of Everest (8848m/29,032ft), Lhotse (8516m/27,940ft), Makalu (8463m/27,766ft), Kanchenjunga (8586m/28,169ft) and other peaks, we descended all the way here to base camp (4600m/15,100ft). We just wrapped up dinner and we’re looking forward to some well-earned sleep!

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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Active rest in the heart of the Khumbu!

The team hiking above Namche Bazaar in excellent weather! (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

The Madison Mountaineering Himalayan expedition teams spent today exploring the beautiful Namche Bazaar! A major hub in the Khumbu Valley, Namche has much to offer including cafes, bars, shopping, and more. After fueling up at breakfast, we ventured out under a beautiful blue sky and started walking through the village on our way to the Everest View Hotel. Together, the team topped out on the ridge and were greeted with crystal clear, unobstructed views of Himalayan peaks in any direction you looked! The team is in high spirits and we look forward to moving deeper into the Khumbu Valley. Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from Nepal:

Hello! This is Terray calling in for the Madison Mountaineering fall programs here in the Khumbu Valley of Nepal – today is October 24th. This morning we woke up to beautiful, clear, sunny skies here in Namche Bazaar (3440m/11,290ft) and we went for an acclimatization hike up to the Everest View Hotel. Along the way, we had excellent views of all the major peaks that you can ever see from the Everest View Hotel: Everest (8848m/29,032ft), Lhotse (8516m/27,940ft), Nuptse (7861m/25,791ft), Taboche (6495m/21,309ft), and one of our objectives for this trip, Ama Dablam (6812m/22,349ft)! Then we descended back down into town and spent the afternoon relaxing in Namche Bazaar, right in the hub of the, the heart of the Khumbu Valley. Our guests have been enjoying sports massages offered by Lehara, the charity that operates here in Namche Bazaar. And, we’ve had some great meals at Sherpa Barista and other restaurants around town! We’re just about to settle into dinner and then we’ll head to bed.

Tomorrow, our plan is to continue moving up the valley. Our EBC (5364m/17,598ft) trekkers and Ama Dablam climbers will continue past Tengboche Monastery (3867m/12,687ft) to Deboche (3820m/12,532ft) and our guest who is heading to Gokyo Ri (5340m/17,519ft) and then on to Lobuche East (6119m/20,075ft) and Island Peak (6189m/20,305ft) will take a left, head up past Phortse (3840m, 12,598ft) to the town of Dole (4038m/13,248ft).

So, all is well here and we’ll be in touch tomorrow!

Views of Ama Dablam. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Views of Ama Dablam. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse rising in the distance behind the Everest View Hotel. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse rising in the distance behind the Everest View Hotel. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Good times in the sun on our active rest day! (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Good times in the sun on our active rest day! (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Sirdar and guide Aang Phurba Sherpa relaxing with our guests Kat, Joe and Thierry at the Everest View Hotel! (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Sirdar and guide Aang Phurba Sherpa relaxing with our guests Kat, Joe and Thierry at the Everest View Hotel! (Photo by 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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Cho Oyu Summit Success!

Summit photo on the top of Cho Oyu!

After several years off the mountain, it comes with great pleasure to share that 100% of our 2024 Cho Oyu expedition team has successfully reached the summit of the world’s sixth-highest peak! We are so proud of the team for their hard work and determination after a challenging season weather-wise. A HUGE shoutout and thank you goes out to our Sherpa team – these feats would not be possible without you. We’ve returned safely to base camp and will begin our departure home soon! Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this celebratory dispatch from Cho Oyu base camp:

Hello! This is Garrett checking in for the Madison Mountaineering Cho Oyu (8188m/26,864ft) expedition team!

We are back down in base camp today and yesterday, October 7th, we summited Cho Oyu, the sixth-highest mountain in the world. All team members made it – 100% success! (I) couldn’t be more proud of our team. Everyone did awesome! We were so lucky with the weather. We had a beautiful, bluebird day, views in all directions (with) great views of Everest (8848m/29,032ft), Lhotse (8516m/27,940ft), Nuptse (7861m/25,791ft), Makalu (8485m/27,838ft), Shishapangma (8027m/26,335ft). Just so happy that this climb worked out! It was a little tenuous there last week with the big storm, all the snow, and the season being delayed about a week here in Tibet. But, all is well!

We’re packing up base camp today. We’re going to start trekking out tomorrow, Jeeps down to Tingri (4348m/14,268ft), and onwards to Lhasa (3,656m/11,995ft). There’s no land border crossings back into Nepal open at this point after the massive flooding, they’re all washed out. So, we are going to be flying back from Lhasa! So, very excited about that.

It’s a beautiful day here in base camp! We’re doing well, and happy, and looking forward to getting home soon.

High Camp with otherworldly views of the surrounding Himalayas!

High Camp with otherworldly views of the surrounding Himalayas!

Views of Everest, Lhotse, and Nuptse from high on the mountain!

Views of Everest, Lhotse, and Nuptse from high on the mountain!

Evening light high in the alpine.

Morning light high in the alpine.

The team on our summit rotation under blue skies!

The team on our summit rotation under blue skies!

Climbing up on the summit rotation!

Climbing up on the summit rotation!

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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Down to Camp 2!

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

The Madison Mountaineering Mount Everest expedition team descended from Camp 4 today on Mount Everest, down the Lhotse Face and over 4,000 vertical feet back to Camp 2. Now back in the Western Cwm and the comforts of a heated dining tent, the team recounts the memories from yesterday’s summit day. Again, we are so proud of the entire team and their accomplishments this season! Climber, Courtenay Roche checks in with this celebratory dispatch from Camp 2:

Hello, friends of Madison Mountaineering! Courtenay here with a very exciting post-summit dispatch. As you probably heard from Garrett yesterday, all of our climbers and our amazing Sherpa team summited Everest (8848m/29,032ft) at 8:00 AM on Thursday, May 23rd – a day none of us will soon forget!

After basking in the warmth of our accomplishments and our -40 degree sleeping bags in Camp 4 (7900m/25,919ft) on Thursday night, it was time to head down the mountain. As my childhood idol and friend of Madison Mountaineering Ed Viesturs famously says, “Getting to the top is optional, getting down is mandatory.” Well, we have used his directive and have made it safely down to Camp 2 (6500m/21,325ft) losing over 4,000 feet of elevation in just a few hours.

I’m currently dispatching from the comfort of our heated Camp 2 dining tent – a luxury after four days of freeze-dried meals up high on the mountain! We are all certainly eager to be reunited with our base camp (5364m/17,598ft) friends and the amenities tomorrow. Thank you for following along with our many expeditions this season. We’ve got just one more dispatch to go!

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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100% Summit Success!

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

It comes with great pleasure to share that 100% of the Madison Mountaineering Mount Everest expedition team has successfully reached the highest point on Earth at 8,848 meters/29,032 feet – the summit of Mount Everest! The team all gathered on the top to share photos, hugs, and high-fives before safely making the descent back to Camp 4. After some well-deserved rest tonight, they’ll continue their descent tomorrow down to Camp 2. Congratulations to the entire team on this incredible achievement! We are so proud and look forward to welcoming everyone back into base camp soon. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from Camp 4:

Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Mount Everest (8848m/29,032ft) expedition climb. Today is May 23rd and I’m happy to report that we all summited Mount Everest, 100 percent success and all safely back in Camp 4 (7900m/25,919ft)! That’s four climber/clients, myself as the guide/expedition leader, plus our stellar Sherpa team! We’ll put out that name list shortly, but all in all there was about 15 of us on the summit of Everest this morning.

We had a great day, a beautiful sunrise up on the Southeast Ridge! Not too many climbers on the route. It was very uncrowded, so we enjoyed the climb and the summit! We were all up there together to celebrate and savor the moment on top, and then of course made our way safely back down to Camp 4 by about midday here on May 23rd. Everyone’s just resting, rehydrating, eating some noodles and other food, and looking forward to a good night’s rest here on oxygen, then we’ll head down to Camp 2 (6500m/21,325ft) tomorrow!

All is well here! (I’m) really proud of our team. Great job to everyone! (We’re) looking forward to getting down to Camp 2 tomorrow and we’ll check in then. Thank you!

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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Primed and ready for the summit push!

The 2024 Mount Everest expedition team in base camp earlier in the expedition. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

The Madison Mountaineering Mount Everest expedition team is primed and ready to make their summit push! In just a few short hours, with packs shouldered, crampons on, and after some food and liquids, they’ll be headed out their tent doors and on their way to the world’s highest point. Their training and acclimatization is done – so much hard work and dreaming of this day and it is finally here! Best of luck to the team as they set off on their summit push. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from the South Col:

Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Everest (8848m/29,032ft) climb – today is May 22nd. (It is) 6:40 PM and we are about to go to sleep up here at the South Col (7900m/25,919ft) on Mount Everest, Camp 4 at nearly 8,000 meters, 26,000 feet.

We had a great rest day up here after pulling in about 24 hours ago. The team is doing excellent! Everyone has been very productive on their rest, eating, drinking, and getting their gear organized and ready for the big climb tonight! The weather forecast looks amazing. It looks like we’re going to have awesome weather tomorrow on the 23rd, so fingers crossed that the forecast holds true.

We’re just feeling very lucky, very fortunate, and grateful to be up here in position at Camp 4 on Mount Everest, ready to go for the summit tonight! The team has worked really hard for this night, months if not years of sacrifice! We’re here in position. We’re feeling strong and healthy! Our team is excited to go for the big climb tonight! So, wish us luck.

We’re going to start out around midnight, hopefully get to the top around 7:00 or 8:00 AM, and be back midday in high camp here, Camp 4. We’re going to bed with anticipation for a beautiful summit day ahead and returning back safely here to Camp 4!

All is well. 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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Hello from Camp 4!

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

The Madison Mountaineering Mount Everest expedition team has settled into Camp 4 after ascending the final section of the Lhotse Face and is in position to make their summit push! Over the Yellow Band and past the Geneva Spur the team went, making good time as they had the route mostly to themselves. It won’t be long before we set out for the summit! Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from Camp 4:

Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Mount Everest (8848m/29,032ft) expedition team – today is May 21st.

We are in Camp 4 (7900m/25,919ft) at the South Col on Mount Everest! We had a great day. We started out from Camp 3 (7230m/23,720ft) and climbed from about 6:30 AM all the way up the Lhotse Face. The team did an amazing job! We had incredible views all throughout the Western Cwm of Nuptse (7861m/25,791ft), Cho Oyu (8188m/26,864ft), and of course Everest. We got up here to Camp 4 in great time – we got in a little after noon and set up our camp a little ways away from the main group of tents to have some privacy. We had a late lunch with some [garbled], relaxed, everyone had dinner, and now we’re just going to bed.

Our plan is to rest tonight and tomorrow, then leave the following night and summit on the morning of the 23rd. It looks like great weather, shouldn’t be too crowded, and we’re looking forward to a glorious day on the mountain!

Everyone’s doing great. (I’m) really proud of the team. Everyone did awesome today and we’re enjoying our night up here at Camp 4! We’ll check in soon.

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive. (Photo by 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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Made it to Camp 3!

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

The Madison Mountaineering Mount Everest expedition team has crawled into their tents for the night after successfully climbing up to Camp 3 on Mount Everest! The team had the route to themselves and made good time moving out of the Western Cwm and up the lower section of the Lhotse Face. Coming up, the team will ascend to their final camp on Mount Everest which can only mean one thing – it won’t be long before we go for the summit! Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from Camp 3:

Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Everest (8848m/29,032ft) climb.

Today is Monday the 20th and today we climbed from Camp 2 (6500m/21,325ft) to Camp 3 (7230m/23,720ft) on the Lhotse Face! Beautiful day, it started off a little cloudy and warmed up as we made our way up the Lhotse Face. It was very calm, not many climbers on the route today going up, so we’re very lucky to have no crowds. We saw some friends up here, and tucked into our tents midday and just relaxed, recuperated, just finished our dinner, and now we’re getting ready for bed. We have to wake up early and head up to Camp 4 (7900m/25,919ft) tomorrow!

So, all is well here on the Lhotse Face of Mount Everest! We’ll check in soon. Thanks!

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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Ready to move to Camp 3!

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

The Madison Mountaineering Mount Everest expedition team is soon to be on the move again up to Camp 3! After a shift in the forecast, the team decided to stay put in Camp 2, setting themselves up for a tentative summit attempt on May 23rd. Spirits are high, everyone is doing great, and we’re ready to move up soon! Climber, Ryan Moore checks in with this dispatch from Camp 2 on Mount Everest:

Hey, everybody! It’s day 36 of the Madison Mountaineering Mount Everest (8848m/29,032ft) expedition.

We’re all feeling good here! It turns out that our initial summit day of May 22nd isn’t looking that good. The weatherman said that we should wait until the 23rd. Therefore, we decided to wait in Camp 2 (6500m/21,325ft) for one more day. So, that’s giving us a little bit more acclimatization time. We’re going to be stronger, ready to move up to Camp 3 (7230m/23,720ft) tomorrow morning – a nice alpine, 6:00 AM start. Not really “alpine,” but it’ll be nice.

Other than that, we’re all prepared, we’re getting those macros in. Better to be at Camp 2 rather than up higher waiting. It turns out a lot of teams actually turned back, so we made the right decision and we’re ready to go!

I’d like to shout out my dog, Harley! He’s technically my mom’s dog, but we all know that he likes me more! Sorry mom…

That’s all! Oh, this is Ryan by the way.

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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