Tag Archive for: Mountain Hardwear

Acclimating above Namche

Above Namche Bazaar

Resting and acclimatization in and around Namche Bazaar, the Everest team hiked up to the Hotel Everest View.  Here’s expedition leader Garrett Madison‘s recap of the day:

Hello, this is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Mount Everest expedition team.  Today is April 6th and we had a nice rest day in Namche.

We trekked up to the Everest View Hotel and had a good view up the valley of Ama Dablam and Everest, but it was a little bit hazy because of the smoke from forest fires here in Nepal at the moment.  We came back to our lodge, the Panorama Lodge & Restaurant, in Namche, had a nice lunch, and then explored the town of Namche in the afternoon.

We just had a good dinner and now we’re off to bed.  Our plan is to head out tomorrow and trek up the valley to Deboche.

All’s well here in the Khumbu Valley of Nepal.  We’ll check in soon!

Acclimatization hike from Namche to the Everest View Hotel

Acclimatization hike from Namche to the Everest View Hotel

Hanging out at the Everest View Hotel

Hanging out at the Everest View Hotel

Acclimatization hike from Namche to the Everest View Hotel

Acclimatization hike from Namche to the Everest View Hotel

Acclimatization hike from Namche to the Everest View Hotel

Acclimatization hike from Namche to the Everest View Hotel

If climbing Mount Everest is in your future, please contact our office, we would love to have you climb with us!

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:

– our Garmin inReach Mini powered real-time tracking map:

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Phakding to Namche Bazaar

Happy Madison Mountaineering trekkers

Today the base camp trekking team and the Everest climb team trekked along the Dudh Koshi and up the big hill to the capital village of the Khumbu, Namche Bazaar.  Expedition leader, Garrett Madison, provides the details of the day’s trek:

Hello, this is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Everest expedition team and trek.  Today we trekked from Phakding up to Namche.

It was a beautiful day, with some nice views crossing suspension bridges over the river gorge and of some snow-capped peaks.  We had a nice lunch in Jorsalle en route.

We arrived at Namche this afternoon, checked into our rooms, and walked around town a bit.  We just finished a nice dinner here, and we’re looking forward to a good night’s rest.

Tomorrow we are excited for an acclimatization hike and a rest here in Namche!

All’s well in Nepal and we’ll check in soon.

Thamserku rising high above the river Dudh Koshi

Thamserku rising high above the river Dudh Koshi

Garrett and Art M trekking to Namche

Garrett and Art M trekking to Namche

Kristin B crossing the Dudh Koshi before the big hill up to Namche

Kristin B crossing the Dudh Koshi before the big hill up to Namche

Trekking up to Namche Bazaar

Trekking up to Namche Bazaar

Kristin H enjoying the trek

Kristin H enjoying the trek

Arriving Namche Bazaar on a beautiful afternoon in Nepal

Arriving Namche Bazaar on a beautiful afternoon in Nepal

If climbing Mount Everest is in your future, please contact our office, we would love to have you climb with us!

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:

– our Garmin inReach Mini powered real-time tracking map:

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The Trek to Base Camp Begins!

Mani stones along the trek from Lukla to Phakding

The team has left Kathmandu, and the trek to Mount Everest base camp is officially underway!  Here’s expedition leader, Garrett Madison, with today’s dispatch from the mountain village of Lukla, Nepal:

Hello!  This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Mount Everest expedition team.  Today is April 4th, and we flew from Kathmandu up to Lukla to begin our trek – the first day up the Khumbu Valley.

Yesterday we went sightseeing around Kathmandu. We visited three sites:  Pashupatinath, Monkey Temple (Swayambhunath), and Boudhanath. We genuinely enjoyed Kathmandu and finished the day with a nice team dinner.  This morning we got up early, went to the airport, and got on our flights to Lukla.

So, we’re all up here in Lukla enjoying a nice day – it’s a little hazy from the forest fire smoke down below, but not too bad.  We are just really happy to be here and looking forward to getting the trek underway, enjoying some fresh air, some good view, and a little exercise.

So, all’s well from the Khumbu Valley in Nepal!  We’ll check in soon.

Kathmandu city tour - Baudhanath

Kathmandu city tour – Baudhanath

Monkey Temple - Kathmandu

Monkey Temple – Kathmandu

Kathmandu city tour

Kathmandu city tour

Enjoying one of the Lukla tea houses

Enjoying one of the Lukla tea houses

Amazing views trekking from Lukla to Phakding!

Amazing views trekking from Lukla to Phakding!

The village of Phakding along the Dudh Koshi

The village of Phakding along the Dudh Koshi

If climbing Mount Everest is in your future, please contact our office, we would love to have you climb with us!

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:

– our Garmin inReach Mini powered real-time tracking map:

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Welcome to Everest 2021!

The Everest summit ridge on May 23rd

Welcome to Everest 2021! Our annual spring Mount Everest expedition begins in just 30 days. Our strong team of international climbers will gather at the Hotel Yak and Yeti, our Kathmandu home-base and the launching point of countless Mount Everest expeditions over the years. Here in Seattle, we are now gathering expedition equipment, food and supplies, making logistical arrangements with our Nepal support staff, and ensuring that all of our climbing team members and trekkers have everything ready to go. Busy times at Madison Mountaineering HQ! We are looking forward to our continued best-in-class rate of success and safety on Everest. Leaders in setting the fixed ropes, we have put the first team on top in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019.

We are excited by the upcoming season and hope that you will all follow along with our expedition dispatches as the team makes their way to base camp and then up the mountain!

If climbing Mount Everest is in your future, please contact our office, we would love to have you climb with us!

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

– Instagram:

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Virtual Everest 2020 – Support the Sherpas

Climbers on the Lhotse face

Normally, at this time, our Everest climbing team would have just finished two nights at Namche Bazaar and trekked on to the village of Deboche where they would be spending the evening with our friends at the Rivendell Lodge and looking forward to six more days on the trail towards Everest Base Camp.

But as you know, this terrible COVID-19 pandemic has changed just about everything for all of us.  Our thoughts are with everyone impacted from the dire to the inconvenienced.  Included in that are all of our Nepal staff, including Sherpa and other mountain workers who depend on the spring climbing season for such a large percentage of their annual income.  Income that is used to support their families, buy food, pay school costs, maintain their homes, and more.  This year’s loss of income will be a considerable hardship for many of them.

While Madison Mountaineering will be doing what we can to lessen the loss, we need your help!  Please consider making a generous donation to the GoFundMe campaign we have established to assist our impacted Nepal staff.  All proceeds will be distributed directly to them.

Also, friend of Madison Mountaineering, Alan Arnette, who for many years has been providing excellent daily coverage of the Everest climbing season (and other climbing expeditions year-round) has this year created a wonderfully entertaining fictional day-by-day ‘coverage’ – Virtual Everest 2020 – that we hope you will follow and enjoy!

We will get through this together and be climbing again soon!

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Nepal announces all expeditions cancelled for Spring 2020

Climber on Mount Everest

Late last week amid all of the rapidly evolving global cancelations and shutdowns to slow the spread of the coronavirus, the government of Nepal officially announced the cancellation of all Spring expeditions along with additional changes to their tourist visa requirements.

While we are saddened that all of the hard work and preparations of our team members, our guides, Sherpa, and staff won’t allow us to enjoy the challenge and beauty of Himalayas this spring, we applaud and respect Nepal’s decision.  The health and wellbeing of all of us global citizens is top priority.

The mountain will always be there — let’s go climb Everest next season together!

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Welcome to Everest 2020!

The Everest summit ridge on May 23rd

Welcome to Everest 2020! Our annual spring Mount Everest expedition begins in just 30 days. Our strong team of international climbers will gather at the Hotel Yak and Yeti, our Kathmandu home-base and the launching point of countless Mount Everest expeditions over the years. Here in Seattle, we are now gathering expedition equipment, food and supplies, making logistical arrangements with our Nepal support staff, and ensuring that all of our climbing team members and trekkers have everything ready to go. Busy times at Madison Mountaineering HQ! We are looking forward to our continued best-in-class rate of success and safety on Everest. Leaders in setting the fixed ropes, we have put the first team on top in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019.

We are excited by the upcoming season and hope that you will all follow along with our expedition dispatches as the team makes their way to base camp and then up the mountain!

If climbing Mount Everest is in your future, please contact our office, we would love to have you climb with us!

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

– Instagram:

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Climb Conclusion Celebration

Aconcagua team celebrates at Plaza de Mulas base camp

Our team of climbers, cameramen and Argentina support staff after our climb and celebratory ‘asado’ (barbecue) in base camp. We had a wonderful expedition on Aconcagua, everyone is safely off the mountain, and now beginning the trek out from base camp. We are looking forward to arriving in Mendoza tonight and enjoying some warm weather!

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

– Instagram:

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Team safely down to base camp

Base camp, everyone down safe! Great expedition, stay tuned for the TV show and what happened in the summit push!

With all of the Aconcagua team safely down to base camp, expedition leader, Garrett Madison, provides today’s expedition dispatch:

Hello, this is Garrett calling in for the Aconcagua team.  We are all back down in Plaza de Mulas base camp – 14,000 ft. on the normal route of Aconcagua.  We had a great time on our expedition.

Yesterday our team went for the summit and we don’t want to reveal what happened on our summit attempt because we want to save it for TV show which is forecoming.  But we’re all back down safe and the weather’s great.  It’s been a fantastic team, great expedition.  Just a wonderful experence here on Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the Western and Southern Hemispheres.  Wonderful time in Argentina.

And our plan tomorrow is to trek out and head back to Mendoza.  We’ll probaby get in late to Mendoza after an 18 mile trek out and 3 hour drive back to Mendoza.  All’s well here on Aconcagua.  We’ll check-in soon!

Sid Pattison, the barbecue chief!

Sid Pattison, the barbecue chief!

Cacho, our Argentinian guide who leads our climbs exclusively and reached the summit of Aconcagua for his 50th time!

Cacho, our Argentinian guide who leads our climbs exclusively and reached the summit of Aconcagua for his 50th time!

By the way, it’s not too early to start making your plans to join us on other expeditions in the 2020 season!  Contact our office for details.

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

– Instagram:

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Did they summit??

High camp 3 on Aconcagua, new MHW Trango 3 tents in action! Served us well!

With drama and suspense worthy of a TV show, expedition leader Garrett Madison provides a recap of summit day on Aconcagua:

Hello, this is Garrett calling in for the Aconcagua team.  Today we went for our summit push and we had good weather, but we’re not going to tell what happened because we want you to watch the show when it comes out.

Everyone’s back down safe, which is the most important thing, and doing well.  The team is in high camp 3 – Cholera Camp, tonight and will be heading down to base camp tomorrow.  And then heading out the following day back to Mendoza.

So everyone’s doing well, lots of great filming, and exciting times here on Aconcagua and we’re looking forward to the final production of the show.

(photo:  earlier this week at base camp)

By the way, it’s not too early to start making your plans to join us on other expeditions in the 2020 season!  Contact our office for details.

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

– Instagram:

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