Tag Archive for: Mount Everest

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We made it to Everest Base Camp!

Hello, from Everest Base Camp! (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

The Madison Mountaineering Himalayan expedition teams have arrived in Everest Base Camp! It’s here that our trekkers will begin their descent back down the Khumbu Valley, while our climbers fix their sights on 8,000-meter summits high above them. After settling into our temporary homes, some of the team climbed up Kala Patthar – a trekkers peak that sits above Everest Base Camp that offers excellent views of Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse, and more. It’s good to be here and we’re excited for the journey ahead! Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from Everest Base Camp:

Hello! This is Garrett checking in for the Madison Mountaineering team.

We arrived in Everest Base Camp (5364m/17,598ft) today! Another glorious day here in the Khumbu Valley – no clouds, blue skies, magnificent views of all the peaks. Some of our team hiked up Kala Patthar (5644m/18,519ft) and had extraordinary views of Everest (8848m/29,032ft), Lhotse (8516m/27,940ft), Nuptse (7861m/25,791ft), and up at Everest Base Camp. The rest of us are, we’re all moved into base camp today, getting comfortable, settling into our home here for the next five – six weeks. (We’re) looking forward to a nice rest day tomorrow!

All is well here at Everest Base Camp. We’ll check in soon!

Some of our team atop Kala Patthar!

Some of our team atop Kala Patthar!

Looking up at Pumori

Looking up at Pumori

Some of our team posing in front of Everest, Lhotse, and Nuptse!

Some of our team posing in front of Everest, Lhotse, and Nuptse!

Crystal-clear views of Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse, and Everest Base Camp.

Crystal-clear views of Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse, and Everest 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 our daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions.  Just say, “Alexa, play my flash briefing.“

– Instagram:

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Acclimatizing amongst the clouds

The team at about 5,000m on Nangkartshang above Pheriche Village today (photo by Terray Sylvester)

The Madison Mountaineering Himalayan expedition teams had a great day building their acclimatization above the village of Pheriche! After a good nights rest after the trek from Deboche to Pheriche, the team fueled up with a good breakfast and took to the trail that climbs high above the villages below. Climbing through some clouds, we ascended higher and higher up Nangkartshang Peak (5083m/16,676ft) with views of Ama Dablam and other surrounding Himalayan giants. After coming together again at the high point for the day, we took in the views, hydrated, snacked, and enjoyed each others company before descending back down to the tea house below. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from Pheriche:

Hello! This is Garrett checking in for the Madison Mountaineering Everest (8848m/29,032ft) and Lhotse (8516m/27,940ft) team.

Today’s April 19 and we hiked up from the village of Pheriche (4371m/14,340ft) on Nangkartshang Peak (5083m/16,676ft) today. We had a gear acclimatization hike and got up to about 16,700 feet or so. Everyone did awesome and we had some nice views up there! We’re back down at the lodge here in Pheriche ready for dinner.

So, wonderful day and we’re going to head up to Lobuche village (4940m/16,210ft) tomorrow.

All is well here! We’ll check in soon.

Guide Cacho Beiza with his wife, Andrea Berlanga, and excellent views of Ama Dablam (photo by Terray Sylvester)

Guide Cacho Beiza with his wife, Andrea Berlanga, and excellent views of Ama Dablam (photo by Terray Sylvester)

Garrett Madison with climbers Mike and Caroline in front of Thamserku peak (photo by Terray Sylvester)

Garrett Madison with climbers, Mike and Caroline in front of Thamserku peak (photo by Terray Sylvester)

Guide, Conan Bliss with climber, Aga (photo by Terray Sylvester)

Guide, Conan Bliss with climber, Aga (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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Back on the move!

The team departing Namche Bazaar after receiving a blessing from our friends at the Panorama Lodge.

The Madison Mountaineering expedition teams took to the trail again today under blue skies, saying ‘see you later’ to Namche Bazaar after a pleasant stay in the busy mountain village. Todays trek offered spectacular mountain views of Ama Dablam, Mount Everest, and more before we made a short stop at the Tengboche Monastery and neighboring bakery. After filling their bellies with pastries, treats, coffee, and tea, we made our final descent down to our next stop at the beautiful, Rivendell Lodge. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison check in with this dispatch from Deboche:

Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Everest (8848m/29,032ft)-Lhotse (8516m/27,940ft) climbing teams, Makalu (8463m/27,766ft) team, and the Base Camp (5364m/17,598ft) trekking team – today is April 17!

Today we left Namche (3440m/11,290ft) and trekked up to the Tengboche Monastery (3867m/12,687ft) and then down to the rhododendron forest and the town of Deboche (3820m/12,532ft), here in the Rivendell Lodge. We had a great day! It was a beautiful morning, lots of mountain  views. We stopped into the Tengboche Monastery and got to witness the afternoon prayer which is really special, and then had some apple pie and coffee, and then came down to our lodge here for a nice, restful evening and a great dinner!

Very special morning leaving Namche! We were blessed by our family friends at the Panorama Lodge, Mingma and his mother, Lhakpa Doma. Very wonderful ceremony and looking forward to heading up the Khumbu further tomorrow!

All is well and we’ll check in soon!

Lunch in Phungithanka!

Lunch in Phungithanka!

Visiting Tengboche Monastery (photo by Terray Sylvester)

Visiting Tengboche Monastery (photo by Terray Sylvester)

Our trekker, Jeff, sending positive vibes into the ether at Tengboche Monastery (photo by Terray Sylvester)

Our trekker, Jeff, sending positive vibes into the ether at Tengboche Monastery (photo by Terray

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 Namche Bazaar!

Climbers, Blake and Aga, crossing the famous Hillary Suspension Bridge below Namche (photo by Terray Sylvester)

Today, the Madison Mountaineering spring expedition teams trekked along the Dudh Koshi River, across the famous Hillary Suspension Bridge, and up to Namche Bazaar where they’ll spend two nights acclimatizing before continuing their journey. Namche is the main hub in the Khumbu Region, offering those passing through many cafe’s to visit, shops to check out, art galleries, and more! The team is in high spirits and happy to be making their way further up the Khumbu Valley. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from Namche Bazaar:

Hello! This is Garrett checking in for the Mount Everest (8848m/29,032ft), Lhotse (8516m/27,940ft), Makalu (8463m/27,766ft), and base camp trekking (5364m/17,598ft) teams.

Today is April 15th and we trekked up to Namche Bazaar (3440m/11,290ft). Everyone’s doing great! We had a nice, cool day, some good views of the mountains. We got into Namche around mid-day, relaxed, went down into town, visited some of the shops in Namche, and had a great dinner with our friends at the Panorama Lodge! We’re looking forward to a good nights rest.

Tomorrow, we’re planning to hike up to the Everest View! Hopefully, get a nice view of Mount Everest if it’s clear. So, all good here in the Khumbu! We’re happy to be here. Check in soon!

Guides, Conan and Garrett, with Everest Base Camp trekker, Amy and Base Camp Manager Bhola on the way to Namche Bazaar (photo by Terray Sylvester)

Guides, Conan and Garrett with Everest Base Camp trekker, Amy and Base Camp Manager, Bhola on the way to Namche Bazaar (photo by Terray Sylvester)

Spring colors in the Khumbu (photo by Terray Sylvester)

Spring colors in the Khumbu (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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2025 Makalu expedition is here!

All of the spring Nepal climbing and trekking teams at the Pasang Lhamu Gate in Lukla, the gateway to the Khumbu Valley (photo by Terray Sylvester)

Madison Mountaineering is excited for this highly anticipated expedition – Makalu, the world’s fifth-highest peak! Over the course of the last few days, our team gathered in Kathmandu before boarding their next flight. This time, they were flying into the mountains to begin the expedition! Our Makalu climbers will trek alongside our Everest and Lhotse climbers to Everest Base Camp, before flying over to Makalu where they’ll begin their climb. It’s been a great start to the expedition so far, spirits are high, and we’re excited to continue higher into the alpine! Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from Phakding:

Hello! This is Terray calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Makalu (8463m/27,766ft) expedition this spring – today is April 14.

Yesterday, all of the team came together in Kathmandu (1400m/4,600ft). We had a nice welcome dinner and then headed to bed early. We woke up this morning for our heli flight up to Lukla (2860m/9,383ft). The weather was great for the flight! It was a little hazy in Kathmandu in the days leading up to our arrival, but then some rain started which cleared out the sky. So, we had a spectacular flight into Lukla, had a nice breakfast there, and then walked to Phakding (2610m/8,562ft). We’re getting settled into our rooms now, looking forward to a nice meal, and looking forward to our move to Namche Bazaar (3440m/11,290ft) tomorrow!

Our plan is to acclimatize here in the Khumbu Valley all the way up to Everest Base Camp (5364m/17,598ft), and then we’ll fly over to Makalu Base Camp to begin our ascent of the fifth-highest mountain. 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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Spring Himalayan Expeditions are underway!

Team dinner in Kathmandu!

The Madison Mountaineering spring 2025 Himalayan season is underway in Nepal! After a brief stopover in Kathmandu to gather as a team, conduct gear checks, and make final preparations, the team boarded helicopters and took a scenic flight to Lukla where we started the trek. This marks the beginning of our 2025 Everest, Lhotse, Makalu, and Everest Base Camp expeditions! Everest and Lhotse expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this inaugural dispatch from the Himalaya:

Hey! This is Garrett checking in for the Madison Mountaineering Everest (8848m/29,032ft) and Lhotse (8516m/27,940ft) team – today is April 14.

We’re trekking up the Khumbu Valley, we flew from Kathmandu (1400m/4,600ft) to Lukla (2860m/9,383ft) this morning. Today is Nepali New Year, 2082! We had a nice trek, it was cool and a little bit of rain. So, it kept the dust down and now we’re in the Sunrise Lodge in Phakding (2610m/8,562ft). Tomorrow, we’re trekking up to Namche (3440m/11,290ft)!

It’s great to be underway here on the expedition, heading up towards base camp (5364m/17,598ft). Everyone’s doing well and very excited to be here! We’ll check in soon.

Some of the team getting ready to board helicopters en route to Lukla!

Some of the team getting ready to board helicopters en route to Lukla!

On the trail!

On the trail!

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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