Tag Archive for: Nepal

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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Manaslu team back in Kathmandu!

Our climbers, Sherpa team and base camp staff posing for a final team photo before leaving base camp a few days ago!

The Madison Mountaineering Manaslu expedition team arrived back in Kathmandu after an exciting heli ride, following several days of waiting the weather out in the mountains. The team had excellent views throughout the entire flight of awe-inspiring peaks high above and the valleys, rivers, and waterfalls below. Upon reaching Kathmandu and settling back into our team hotel, the team went out for one final meal together before boarding their planes back to their home countries – a fantastic way to end an unforgettable expedition! Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from Kathmandu:

Hello! This is Terray calling in with the final dispatch of the 2024 Madison Mountaineering Manaslu (8156m/26,759ft) expedition – today is September 30th.

We spent the last few nights in Sama village waiting for the weather to clear so that we could fly back to Kathmandu (1400m/4,600ft). Late last week and into the weekend, a really heavy precipitation system came into Nepal which brought very heavy snow to the mountain. But this morning, fortunately, we woke up to perfectly clear, blue skies and so we were able to take a heli back to Nepal’s capital! It was a fantastic flight following the Budhi Gandaki River with beautiful glaciated peaks high above us on either side and really spectacular waterfalls pretty much the whole way till you get down into the foothills in the Gorkha District of Nepal.

We landed in Kathmandu mid-morning! We just wrapped up our farewell meal. It’s a beautiful evening here in Kathmandu and this evening our guests will start to depart for home – the last members of the team will leave tomorrow morning.

So, all in all it was a very successful expedition, 100% success on the planet’s eighth-highest peak! I for one am really looking forward to the next trip to Nepal. We’ll be in touch then!

The team after touching down in Kathmandu!

The team after touching down in Kathmandu!

A final, celebratory dinner in Kathmandu.

A final, celebratory dinner in Kathmandu.

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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2024 Manaslu expedition conclusion!

From left: Tenzi Sherpa and Temba Sherpa with our climber Chie Takeshita and Guide Terray Sylvester on the summit of Manaslu at 4:44 a.m. on September 25.

The Madison Mountaineering Manaslu expedition team has safely descended off of the mountain after successfully reaching the summit of the world’s eighth-highest peak! The team was welcomed back to camp by our rockstar base camp staff with a celebratory meal and cake, which we enjoyed while reflecting on the accomplishment from the day prior. The team has now begun to head their separate ways after saying their goodbyes with memories that won’t soon be forgotten from this hugely successful expedition! Awesome work, team. Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this final dispatch from Manaslu base camp:

Hello! This is Terray calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Manaslu (8156m/26,759ft) expedition – today is September 26.

Today we descended from Camp 2 (6400m/21,000ft) back down to base camp (4859m/15,944ft). We spent last night at Camp 2 after our successful summit on the 25th! We aimed for the 25th as our summit date because the forecast was good for the 25th, but the forecast was predicting significant precipitation for today. Fortunately, that precipitation held off until the afternoon, so we had very pleasant conditions when we woke up in Camp 2 this morning and really nice weather for most of our descent back here to base camp.

It’s great to be here and to reunite with our excellent base camp staff, Khamba, Ram Kumar, and Dipesh, and with our whole Sherpa crew! So as of now, we are completely off of Manaslu! We’ve cleaned out all of our gear and taken down all of our trash, and anything else we brought up there from the mountain from all of the camps we used. All of our Sherpa crew and of course, all of our climbers are safely off of the mountain!

So, that concludes the climbing portion of the expedition. We had a really successful climb, it was just excellent! Tomorrow we plan to descend down to Sama village. We’ll spend one night there before beginning to make our way back to Kathmandu (1400m/4,600ft).

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

Our climbers, James and Sara, with Ming Dorchi Sherpa at the summit of Manaslu! (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Our climbers, James and Sara, with Ming Dorchi Sherpa at the summit of Manaslu! (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

Our guests celebrating with a “summit cake” and our excellent base camp staff. From left: Khumba, Ram Kumar, and Dipesh.

Our guests celebrating with a “summit cake” and our excellent base camp staff. From left: Khamba, Ram Kumar, and Dipesh.

Our climbers Sara, James, and Chie with Expedition Leader Terray Sylvester.

Our climbers Sara, James, and Chie with Expedition Leader 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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100% Summit Success on Manaslu!

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

We are thrilled to announce that the entire Madison Mountaineering Manaslu expedition team has successfully reached the summit of the world’s eighth-highest peak! Standing at 8156m / 26,759ft, the team ascended the northeast ridge route which culminates in a peak that towers steeply above its surrounding landscape, and is a dominant feature when viewed from afar. The team enjoyed a beautiful morning on the summit, taking in the views and sharing a special moment together from the top. The team has safely descended all the way down to Camp 2 and will continue their descent down to base camp tomorrow. Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this celebratory dispatch from Camp 2:

100% success on Manaslu (8156m/26,759ft)! This morning just before 5 a.m. our entire team touched the top of the eighth highest peak. That includes our three guests, four climbing Sherpas, and myself. We left Camp 4 (7450m/24,445ft) around midnight and were one of the first teams to summit today. That was important because the narrow route to Manaslu’s true summit — a high point on a knife edge ridge — can be crowded. The weather was excellent: we left Camp 4 in light snowfall but emerged from the clouds at about 7,800m. At the top we were treated to clear, starry skies and, importantly, completely still air with zero wind. In the distance to the south we could see lighting flickering in the clouds over the Himalayan foothills. At dawn, we could make out the Annapurna (8091m/26,545ft) and Dhaulagiri (8167m/26,795ft) massifs off to the west. After a short break at Camp 4, we descended to Camp 2 (6400m/21,000ft) in good form. We’re going to enjoy some well-earned rest here tonight, then drop back to base camp (4859m/15,944ft) tomorrow. Here’s the complete summit list:

# Name Country
1 Chie Takeshita Japan
2 Sara Myers USA
3 James Morris USA
4 Siddhi Tamang Nepal
5 Temba Sherpa Nepal
6 Ming Dorchi Sherpa Nepal
7 Tenzi Sherpa Nepal
8 Terray Sylvester USA

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 bid coming up!

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

We are in Camp 4 and in position for our summit push! The Madison Mountaineering Manaslu expedition team reached their high camp today and are prepared to make their bid for the summit. The team climbed from Camp 3, moving strongly and swiftly through the clouds before settling into their tents for the night with excitement in knowing that with good weather tomorrow, they’ll go for the summit. We are so proud of the team for their hard work and look forward to the climbing ahead! Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from Camp 4:

Hello from Camp 4 (7450m/24,445ft)! Today we climbed here from Camp 3 (6800m/22,310ft). We were in clouds most of the day, but we climbed above them in the afternoon and now we have excellent views from here in camp. The team is doing well. We’re resting from today’s push and preparing for tomorrow’s summit bid. Despite the clouds, the weather is excellent: no wind and very little precipitation. We’ll be in touch tomorrow!

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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Above the clouds in Camp 3!

Great views of Manaslu’s East Pinnacle and the route to Camp 4!

The Madison Mountaineering Manaslu expedition team reached Camp 3 today behind a light blanket of clouds. Upon reaching their camp, the clouds burned off opening up spectacular views of the route and mountain above, as well as other Himalayan peaks rising out of a sea of clouds below them. The team is doing great and looks forward to continuing their summit push tomorrow! Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from Camp 3:

Hello! This is Terray calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Manaslu (8156m/26,759ft) expedition – today is September 23rd, Monday.

I can’t think of a better way to spend a Monday morning than the way we just spent it! We left Camp 2 (6400m/21,000ft) at about 7:30 this morning and arrived in Camp 3 (6800m/22,310ft) a couple of hours later. Conditions were perfect for our ascent here! We were in a light cloud layer which kept the temperatures down. But now that we’ve settled into Camp 3, the skies have cleared above us, so we have excellent views from Camp 2 up to the east pinnacle. We have great views of the route up to Camp 4 (7450m/24,445ft) and the massive north face of Manaslu. We can see a few mountains out in the distance towards Tibet, east into Nepal, but below Camp 2 is a carpet of clouds.

So, it’s a really nice day here! We’re about 6,600 meters, just over 6,600. We’re going to spend the rest of the day resting and then we’ll move to Camp 4 tomorrow if all goes as planned.

All is well here in Nepal and we’ll be in touch tomorrow!

 

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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Manaslu Camp 2

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

The Madison Mountaineering Manaslu expedition team has reached Camp 2 and settled in for the night! The team moved swiftly between camps, making good time with cool temperatures as they climbed to around 6,400 m/21,000 ft. The team plans to continue their summit rotation tomorrow by moving up to Camp 3, positioning themselves one camp closer to going for the summit. Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from Manaslu Camp 2:

Hello! This is Terray calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Manaslu (8156m/26,759ft) expedition – today is Sunday, September 22nd.

Today, we left Camp 1 (5700m/18,700ft) a bit after sunrise and had a nice climb up to Camp 2 (6400m/21,000ft)! We moved very well, just four hours to Camp 2. Unfortunately, it was cloudy with a little bit of precipitation which meant we didn’t have much in the way of views, but the upshot of that was that the temperatures were lower, so it wasn’t too hot as we climbed to Camp 2.

So, now we’ve settled into our tents. We’re going to relax here for the rest of the day before moving to Camp 3 (6800m/22,310ft) tomorrow! We’ll be in touch tomorrow.

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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Manaslu summit rotation is underway!

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

The Madison Mountaineering Manaslu expedition team has arrived in Camp 1, marking the start of their summit rotation! The team’s hard work was on display today, as they moved strongly and efficiently up to their first camp. With good weather tomorrow, the team plans to continue on up to Camp 2! Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from Camp 1:

Hello from Camp 1 (5700m/18,700ft). With our ascent here from Base Camp (4859m/15,944ft) after lunch today, our summit push is underway! The team moved very efficiently on the way here. Now we’re watching the evening sun on the mountains around us and settling in for dinner. We’ll be in touch tomorrow!

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!

Morning light on Manaslu’s East Pinnacle, which towers over base camp. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

The Madison Mountaineering Manaslu expedition team is ready to go! Acclimatization is done, their final preparations are complete, and the team plans to depart on their summit rotation soon. The team is excited and ready to start their climbing! Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from Manaslu base camp:

Hello! This is Terray calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Manaslu (8156m/26,759ft) expedition – today is September 20th.

Today we passed another pleasant day here in base camp (4859m/15,944ft). Today was a rest day, we also worked on our final preparation for our summit push! We sorted out food for our upper camps and worked through our packing list, made sure that all of our devices are charged, and all the other little items that we need to do before we head back up the mountain.

The weather was great today! Another beautiful sunny morning and then a few rain showers this evening. We’re just about to sit down to dinner and then have another restful night here in base camp! All is well and we’ll be in touch tomorrow.

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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Getting ready to go up!

Our team dialing in their down suits for their upcoming summit push!

The Madison Mountaineering Manaslu expedition team spent the day reviewing their oxygen systems and down suits, which they’ll use on their summit push! Today was somewhat of a rest day, albeit a productive day nonetheless as the skills reviewed are important to be familiar with as we climb above 8,000 meters. With this review behind us, the team is now one step closer to heading off on their summit push! Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from Manaslu base camp:

Hello! This is Terray calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Manaslu (8156m/26,759ft) expedition – today is September 19th.

Today we’re taking a rest day here in base camp (4859m/15,944ft) since at this point we have completed our acclimatization on the upper mountain. This morning has been very beautiful – blue skies and warm temps. We’ve been walking around base camp in sandals! Yesterday evening was also really nice. We watched the full moon rise over Saula Himal (6235m/20,456ft), it’s the mountain range just across the Nubri valley from us to the east.

We also have ticked off a couple of important tasks this morning! We started the day by going over our oxygen systems to make sure our climbers are totally familiar with masks, regulators, and cylinders we’ll be using during our summit push. We had what we call a down suit party where everyone puts on their down suits and we make sure they’re adjusted properly and everyone’s familiar with all the features so that we’re good to go once we start climbing in the colder temps above Camp 2 (6400m/21,000ft), above Camp 3 (6800m/22,310ft).

So, it’s been a productive day here! We’re about to sit down to dinner and then we’ll watch a movie, and we’ll be in touch tomorrow! All is well here in Nepal.

Our climber, Chie, practicing with our oxygen system.

Our climber, Chie, practicing with our oxygen system.

Our climber, James, practicing with our oxygen system.

Our climber, James, practicing with our oxygen system.

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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