Tag: Mount Everest
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
Madison Mountaineering Everest 2017 Recap, “The Leader” on Everest
Success / Safety:
All of our climbers and Sherpas are off the mountain and now and preparing to head home! We have had a fantastically successful expedition, with all 8 of our clients reaching the summit of Everest, along with 4 American guides, and 15 Sherpas. We also had several of our climbers complete the Everest & Lhotse “peak to peak” combination, where they climbed Mount Lhotse (4th highest mountain) the day after reaching the summit of Mount Everest. This amazing and unmatched level of success among all the teams on Mount Everest is secondary to our number one priority, that all members (clients, guides, & Sherpas) made it safely off the peak.
Rope Fixing to the Summit:
Our team took the lead in partnership with the British – Nepal Gurkha team in fixing the ropes to the summit of Mount Everest on May 15th. This was not part of our original plan, as the rope-fixing project was taken upon by several other teams at the start of the season. Unfortunately, after several mishaps, the lead team had to abandon the rope-fixing project along with their partners. Without any clear consensus on how or when the lines would be put in to the summit, our team stepped up to finish the job. This “mission critical” project was necessary so that teams could begin their summit attempts on Mount Everest, with teams reaching the summit the following day on May 16th and continuing to reach the summit today. We are glad that our team had the capability and prowess to organize and execute such an important task, when no other teams on the mountain could summon such an effort, at such a critical stage in the climbing season.
Rescues:
Our team was at the South Col when several climbers who had pushed themselves very hard on summit day returned and needed critical medical attention. Our guides came to assist with medicine (dexamethasone, etc) and supplemental oxygen. However, what stands out the most is that one of our veteran guides, Brent Bishop, along with our Sherpas, rescued the Slovak Climber from the Balcony (27,500’), lowering him all the way down to the South Col high camp. Our Sherpas gave up their oxygen for him to use on the descent. This heroic effort by Brent and our Sherpas involved abandoning their own summit attempt, just hours away from the top, and spending the day giving their all in an effort to save a life.
We feel very fortunate that our expedition was a stunning success. We attribute this to our careful team selection and training, our top notch Everest guides and leadership, and of course our incredible Sherpa team who we invest heavily in year after year.
Photo: At the top of Mount Everest on May 23rd, 2017
Our Sherpa team in base camp
Descending Mount Everest with a little wind on our summit day!
Lhotse climbers Sid Pattison and Ingvild Settemsdal near the summit of Lhotse with Everest behind
The South Col high camp on Everest with Lhotse behind
Guide Billy Nugent taking a pause on the descent from Everest
View from the top!!
Summit ridge of Mount Everest all to ourselves May 23rd, 2017
We are now going to relax and enjoy the post summit euphoria before returning to our friends, families, and loved ones, as well as our busy lives back home! Thanks for following along!
Mount Everest 2017 Guide Billy Nugent
Moved from the Chicago area to Washington in 1999 to attend the University of Puget Sound where he found the Cascade Mountains and ultimately climbing. Before starting out as a professional guide in 2005 he spent the previous several years completing his BS in chemistry, working as a fisherman in Alaska, and as a chemist in Seattle. And for the last ten years he’s been guiding a seasonal circuit that takes him from Argentina and Ecuador, to Alaska, and then back to Rainier and the North Cascades, with an occasional bonus trip to Mexico or Antarctica. Billy loves living outside and enjoys surfing, riding, climbing, and music in his spare time.
Resume:
Mt. Everest (3 expeditions)
Mt. Rainier (125+ summits via 6 routes)
Denali (9 expeditions)
Aconcagua (8 expeditions)
Vinson Massif (1 expedition)
Orizaba (2 expeditions)
Cotopaxi and Cayambe (8 expeditions)
Mt Baker (4 summits via 4 routes)
Mt. Adams (3 summits via 3 routes)
North Cascades (numerous alpine routes)
Certifications/Training:
Wilderness First Responder, CPR
Outdoor Emergency Care
AIARE Avalanche Level II
Leave No Trace Trainer
AMGA member and Rock Guide Course graduate
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Our Mount Everest 2017 expedition is coming to an end! This morning our entire team navigated through the Khumbu icefall and arrived safely from Camp 2 back to base camp. With successful ascents of Mount Everest and Lhotse, our entire team is thankful for safe passage and excited to return home to family and loved ones. We are incredibly proud of our guides, climbers and Sherpa for working together as a team to accomplish our goals. For dinner we enjoyed steak and chicken with a few bottles of bubbly to celebrate our season. Tomorrow our team will helicopter out back to Kathmandu to conclude their expedition in the Himalayas.
Make sure to follow us on social as we will continue to post photos and videos from this expedition!
Facebook / Instagram / Twitter @MadisonMtng
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Navigating the icefall at night. Photo: AndersC
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Welcome back to base camp Ingvild!! (Everest+Lhotse summits)
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Congrats Ellen!!
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Conan, Drew and Allan returning back to base camp
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Congrats Drew!!
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Billy, Garrett, Sid and Phurba
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Safe travels John!
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Allan taking off back to Kathmandu. Safe travels!
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Descent from summit of Lhotse
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Lhotse summit with Makalu in the background
Congrats to climbers Sid Pattison and IngvildS for a successful Lhotse summit today! They made the ascent with Lakpa Dandi in great time and are now safe and sound at Camp 2. Our main team moved down from Camp 4 today and are now resting at Camp 2 before making the final descent to base camp. We’ve had an incredible expedition and look forward to having our team back down safely. We posted a beautiful 360-photo from the summit of Lhotse today on Facebook, check it out here! Epic photos below from guide Geoff Schellens 🙂
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Moving up from Camp 3 on the Lhotse face.
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Toward the summit of Lhotse
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Moving toward Everest summit
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Ascent of Everest
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Sid Pattison and IngvildS after an amazing summit today!! L for… Lhotse!!
After a successful summit on both Mount Everest (main team) and Lhotse (private team) today, our climbers made a safe descent and are now resting at Camp 4 on the South Col. With high winds today our team bunkered down in their tents after returning from their summit push. Guide Sid Pattison and climber IngvildS will climb Lhotse tonight if the weather allows. The rest of our team will return to Camp 2 tomorrow and base camp the following day. Summit photos and video will be posted soon! 🙂
Private guide Geoff Schellens and climber JohnS successfully summited Lhotse this morning! After their summit they made a safe descent to Camp 2. Tomorrow morning they will depart Camp 2 and will arrive back in to base camp before lunch time. We are incredibly proud of all our climbers and can’t wait to have the entire team back down to base camp safe and sound.
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Looking up from Camp 4 toward the summit of Everest
Amazing news from Nepal, Mount Everest 2017 summit success!! This morning our entire climbing team reached the summit with clear conditions and light wind at 8848 meters. After snapping a few pictures our team is now making their descent back down to Camp 4. Congratulations to the following:
Guides: Garrett Madison, Conan Bliss, Billy Nugent
Climbers: JohnK, AlinaZ, AllanM, IngvildS, DrewM, EllenG
Sherpa: Ang Phurba, Lakpa Dendi, Nurbu Sherpa, Pasang Dawa, Pemba Sherpa, K.B. Thapa, Tsherine Bhote, Ming Dorjee, Shere Thapa, Chhombi Sherpa, Shamgbu Bhote, Kam Dorjee, Phurba Bhote
Once the team arrives back to Camp 4, a few will evaluate their conditions and make a decision on climbing Lhotse tonight with guides Garrett and Sid Pattison. Guide Geoff Schellens and JohnS successfully summited Lhotse this morning!! The conditions were beautiful today with clear skies and 360 views!
This evening here on Everest our climbing teams had a short weather delay, then around 10pm left Camp 4 for the summit. Looking outside, the mountain is still and thousands of stars light up the sky. Little to no wind now here at base camp. Our main climbing team is currently making their ascent of Mount Everest, as they are moving well we expect them to approach the summit by sunrise.
Geoff (private guide) and JohnS. are currently climbing Lhotse together with Shidi Tamang. As our climbers approach the summits we will send another update here from base camp. Pictures and video to come 🙂
To the top!
We are happy to announce that our first team of climbers summited Everest! Guide Geoff Schellens was on the top of the world this morning with climbers John S. and Anders C. Way to go team! As our team moved up through the night they encountered a seriously injured climber at around 3am. Our team of 4 western climbers and 3 Sherpa were strong and in good health and quickly made the decision to provide this injured climber with rescue assistance. Guide Brent Bishop heroically turned around on his summit attempt near the balcony with Sherpa Tashi and brought the seriously frostbitten climber back down to Camp 4 for further medical attention.
Today our main climbing team made their ascent from Camp 3 to Camp 4. Team is well and positioned for the summit. Our entire climbing team had dinner at the South Col together and will spend the next day resting in preparation for continued summit ascents on Everest and Lhotse. All of our climbers are on oxygen as they rest at Camp 4. Tomorrow night our main team is planning to move up Mount Everest and our private team will climb Lhotse. Weather reports are positive and we are excited to to make our summit bids!
For immediate family members, please email me at any time: andrew@madisonmountaineering.com
Today our private climbing team made a safe ascent to Camp 4 on the South Col. The weather is reported to be clear with little to no winds. In a couple hours our team will move toward the summit! We will be monitoring their progress all night at they climb to 8848 meters. Forecasts are predicting a great day to stand on top of the world!
Our main climbing group with guides Garrett, Sid, Billy and Conan climbed up to Camp 3 today. The team is doing well and resting now in preparation for their next move. Tomorrow at 6am they will climb up toward Camp 4 on the South Col. Forecasts are showing great summit conditions for our team!
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Our main team climbing from Camp 2 to Camp 3. (DrewM. in picture)
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Close to Camp 3 on the Lhotse face
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Our main team moving up from Camp 2 with the Lhotse face ahead
