Tag Archive for: Seven Summits

Mount Elbrus team summits!

Summit photo atop Mount Elbrus!

We are happy to share that the Madison Mountaineering Mount Elbrus expedition team reached the summit of the highest peak in Europe on July 1! The team switched to the south side of the mountain after experiencing high winds while gearing up for their summit push from the north side. It was a beautiful climb with the entire team topping out. Congratulations to everyone on the team and to those who completed their seven summits journey: Robert, Meredith, and Josh. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this celebratory dispatch from Mount Elbrus:

Hello! This is Garrett checking in for the Madison Mountaineering Mount Elbrus (5642m/18,510ft) program.

Today we summited Mount Elbrus! 100% of the team made the top; Seven climbers, plus myself, and two Russian guides. We had a great day. We were the first team up there, had the summit all to ourselves, no clouds, so beautiful views all around! Little bit of wind, but not too much. And then we made our way back down and back to Pyatigorsk (500m/1,600ft). A few of us flew out today to Istanbul (537m/1,762ft), and the rest are flying out tomorrow.

So it’s been a great trip! We started off on the north side of Elbrus. And we’re getting ready for our summit attempt, but the winds were very high. So, we came off the mountain and then reverted to the south side of the mountain. We got lucky with the weather, good conditions, and had a great climb!

Three of our climbers finished their seven summits today. That would be Robert Alt, Meredith Mercer, and Josh Gates. Big congratulations to those three climbers on our team for finishing their seven summits!

It was a great trip and we’re looking forward to coming back to Mount Elbrus later this summer.

Sunrise while climbing towards the summit.

Sunrise while climbing towards the summit.

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 Carstensz!

Summit photo atop Carstensz Pyramid!

And just like that! We are happy to report the summit success of our entire Carstensz Pyramid team on the morning of June 16. After crawling out of their sleeping bags, gearing up, and leaving their tent walls, clear and starry skies shined overhead. Climbers scarfed down some food and coffee to fuel up for the climb ahead, before shouldering their packs and starting up the route. We enjoyed excellent climbing and conditions through the night and into the morning, making great time while climbing higher up the mountain. There were some of the best views and climbing conditions we’ve ever experienced on Carstensz, with views as far as the eye can see and the mountain entirely to ourselves; not another soul was up there! The team celebrated together on the summit before descending back down to camp, safe and sound. What a day, and what an expedition it’s been so far! Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in from the Yellow Valley Base Camp after successfully topping out on Oceania’s highest peak, Carstensz Pyramid:

Hello! This is Terray calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Carstensz Pyramid (4884m/16,024ft) Expedition. Today’s June 16th.

This morning, we left base camp (4285m/14,050ft) under perfectly clear, starry skies at about 5 a.m. By four hours later, the entire team was standing on the summit of Carstensz Pyramid, the highest point in Oceania, and one of the ‘seven summits!’ We had a really nice climb. The weather was perfect. We had perfectly clear skies as the sun rose over the Sudirman Range, which is just a really beautiful, kind of magnificent range with lots of exposed limestone, craggy peaks. And as we gained the summit ridge, we had clear skies looking down to the south as well, toward the Arafura Sea. I felt like if we’d been able to see just a little bit farther, we would have caught a glimpse of Australia! Really nice weather for Carstensz Pyramid.

Yeah, the clear skies and good weather continued all the way to the summit and back down. We are all back in base camp now and relaxing in t-shirts and shorts in the sunshine, and preparing for our flight back to Timika (31m/103ft).

All in all this expedition has gone really well so far! We arrived in Timika on schedule, flew to the mountain on schedule, summited on the day we planned to, according to our itinerary, the next day, and hopefully we’ll fly out of base camp later today or tomorrow. So, yeah, really special expedition here in the New Guinea Highlands.

This was a custom itinerary. So we are climbing outside of the usual seasons on Carstensz Pyramid, which means that we have the mountain all to ourselves. There’s no one else in base camp, just our little team, and we were the only ones on the mountain. Felt very peaceful, really special.

So yeah, all good here in the tropics in Papua. And we’ll be in touch tomorrow.

Before leaving camp on the summit push.

Before leaving camp on the summit push.

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 attempt coming up!

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

The Madison Mountaineering Carstensz Pyramid Expedition team reached their base camp today, tucked into the Yellow Valley at the foot of the peak. The flight into base camp is an exciting one, which we carried throughout the day. After settling into their tents, the team took to the lower section of the route for some technical skills review and acclimatization. Everyone did great! It won’t be long now before we start out on the summit push. Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from Carstensz Pyramid:

Hello! This is Terray calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Carstensz Pyramid (4884m/16,024ft) Expedition. Today is June 15.

Today we woke up early, headed over to the airport in Timika (31m/103ft), and the weather cleared! We were able to fly to base camp (4285m/14,050ft). So our entire team is now up at base camp, which is fantastic. It’s common for there to be some delays, because the weather in Papua is so wet and variable. But yeah, we had really good conditions and it’s fantastic to be here!

We spent the morning relaxing, and then this afternoon we headed up to the first, the “first terrace,” as it’s called. The first of three major ledges, on the lower portion of the route, just to get acquainted with the climbing on the lower route before we do it in the dark during our alpine start, and to stretch our legs and get a little bit of an activity to help us acclimatize now that we’re at 14,000 feet.

So, uh, yeah, we had really good foray on the route, rappelled back down to base camp, and now we’re just waiting for dinner. Dinner will be tuna steaks, and chicken wings, salad, french fries. Should be really good!

Yeah, it’s a beautiful evening here; calm with some mist drifting through the Yellow Valley. We’re really looking forward to making our first attempt at the summit tomorrow, if the weather cooperates. So 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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Back to Carstensz Pyramid!

Carstensz Pyramid (photo by Terray Sylvester)

We’re thrilled to be back on Carstensz Pyramid with a strong team of climbers this June! The Madison Mountaineering team arrived in Timika over the weekend and look forward to their move up to the mountain soon. Our staff have been hard at work setting up base camp and are excited to welcome the rest of our guides and climbers tomorrow! With good weather, helicopters will take us over the lush jungle below, to the foot of Carstensz Pyramid, the highest peak in Oceania and one of the famed seven summits. Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from Timika:

Hello! This is Terray calling in for the June Madison Mountaineering Carstensz Pyramid  (4884m/16,024ft) Expedition. Today is June 14th.

Our guests all arrived in Timika (31m/103ft) today and we just wrapped up dinner at our hotel. We’re looking forward to flying to the mountain tomorrow morning, weather permitting.

Our staff all flew up there today. They’ve got base camp (4285m/14,050ft) all set up in the Yellow Valley at the base of the highest peak in Oceania, at about 14,000 feet. And the forecast is looking promising for tomorrow, so we’re hoping that we’ll head up to the mountain and be able to get started with the climbing portion of the expedition.

It’s a relatively beautiful day here in Papua. Had a little bit of rain in the morning. But otherwise, it was sunny, wonderful day here in one of the lushest rainforests on the planet. 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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More good news from Carstensz Pyramid!

Garrett, Frank, and Fatima on the summit of Carstensz Pyramid!

More good news coming in from Carstensz Pyramid Base Camp… We’re happy to report that the rest of the Madison Mountaineering team successfully reached the summit today and are back in base camp safe and sound! That marks 100% summit success again for the team. While the celebration is already underway, the team looks forward to celebrating some more back in Bali!

This concludes the March, 2026 Carstensz Pyramid expedition. We’ll be back again this October… Reach out to our team to learn more and to join us on this exciting adventure!

Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this celebratory dispatch from the Yellow Valley Base Camp:

Hey! This is Garrett checking in for the Madison Mountaineering Carstensz Pyramid (4884m/16,024ft) Expedition – first one of 2026.

I’m happy to report that we’re all back in base camp (4285m/14,050ft) after a successful summit, 100% success! All six climbers, plus myself, and two local Indonesian guides made the summit this trip. So we are very stoked, very happy.

Half of our team made it down by helicopter to Timika (31m/103ft), and the other half of us, including myself, are hoping to fly out tomorrow morning down to Timika!

It’s been a grand adventure up here! Crazy weather today. We got some snow, some rain, some sun, some good views. We’re looking forward to getting down and being reunited with our climbers, and heading back to Bali (0m/0ft) for some celebrating. Woohoo! 100% success.

Onwards and upwards.

Fatima ascending up fixed lines in wintery conditions

Fatima ascending up fixed lines in wintery conditions

Crossing the famous tyrolean traverse.

Crossing the famous tyrolean traverse.

Fatima on the summit!

Fatima on the summit!

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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First team of climbers summits Carstensz Pyramid!

Summit photo atop Carstensz Pyramid!

It comes with great excitement to share that the first of our climbers have safely and successfully topped out on the highest peak in Oceania, Carstensz Pyramid! Meanwhile, the second half of our team was able to helicopter up to base camp and enjoyed technical skills review on the lower mountain while basking in the sunshine. With good weather ahead, the team plans to make their summit push soon! Congratulations to todays summiteers. Fingers crossed for more summits in the coming hours! Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from Carstensz Pyramid:

Hey! This is Garrett checking in for the Madison Mountaineering Carstensz Pyramid (4884m/16,024ft) expedition – first one of 2026.

We made it up to base camp (4285m/14,050ft) today! Our team is together. And actually, first half of our team went for the summit today, and made it to the top and all the way back down. So congrats to Frank, John, and Mickey!

The second half of the team with myself, will be going up tonight! That’s Fatima, Denisa, and Pratyay. Fingers crossed for good weather, and some good views. We’ve done our training here on the wall and the climbing route, practicing ascending, descending fixed lines, and just enjoying the nice views up here in the Yellow Valley Base Camp on Carstensz Pyramid.

Wish us luck tonight on our climb! We’ll check in soon.

Crossing the famous tyrolean traverse

Crossing the famous tyrolean traverse

Climbing through the clouds towards the summit

Climbing through the clouds towards the summit

High up on Carstensz Pyramid

High up on Carstensz Pyramid

Carstensz Pyramid summiteers: John, Mickey, and Pratyay.

Carstensz Pyramid summiteers: John, Mickey, and Frank.

The team together in base camp!

The team together in base camp!

All smiles in the sunshine!

All smiles in the sunshine!

Technical skills review on lower sections of the climbing route.

Technical skills review on lower sections of the climbing route.

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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Making moves to Yellow Valley Base Camp!

Landing in the Yellow Valley Base Camp

The Madison Mountaineering Carstensz Pyramid expedition team is making moves up to the Yellow Valley Base Camp at the foot of the peak! Those that were able to fly enjoyed a spectacular flight before touching down in camp, settling in, and then going out for some training. The rest of the team is awaiting their flight in Timika, with hopes that they’ll be able to fly and come together again tomorrow! Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from Timika:

Hey! This is Garrett checking in for the Madison Mountaineering Carstensz Pyramid (4884m/16,024ft) expedition, first one of 2026.

Well, today was a good day! We got two helicopter loads of our climbers and gear into base camp (4285m/14,050ft). And doing some training and getting ready for the summit attempt. We’re going to acclimatize probably a day or so up here at base camp.

The rest of us are still down in Timika (31m/103ft), hoping to fly in tomorrow. Fingers crossed for good weather, and we’ll all be up there soon! Alright.

Beautiful flight up from Timika to base camp!

Beautiful flight up from Timika to base camp!

Getting systems dialed before going out onto the mountain for some technical skills review.

Getting systems dialed before going out onto the mountain for some technical skills review.

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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First Carstensz climb of 2026 has begun!

March, 2026 Carstensz Pyramid expedition team

Here we go! Another Madison Mountaineering Carstensz Pyramid expedition has gotten underway in Bali. Not a bad place to start a climbing expedition if you ask us! The team gathered together, conducted a gear check, orientation and welcome dinner before setting off as they continue their journey to the highest peak in Oceania, and one of the famed ‘seven summits‘. The team is en route to Timika where they’ll then wait for their helicopter flight up to the Yellow Valley Base Camp. More to come! Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checked in with this dispatch from Indonesia:

Hello! This is Garrett checking in for the Madison Mountaineering Carstensz Pyramid (4884m/16,024ft) expedition – our first of 2026.

Our team has assembled in Bali, Indonesia (0m/0ft); beautiful paradise to begin the climbing expedition. And we are now en route to Papua, in Timika (31m/103ft), where we will meet up with our local outfitter and spend a day or two before hopefully, helicoptering up to the Yellow Valley Base Camp (4285m/14,050ft)!

All six climbers, plus myself, arrived with all of our gear. We’re happy to be here and looking forward to the experience. Hopefully we’ll have some good weather and conditions ahead! We’ll 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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Aconcagua team tops out!

On the summit of Aconcagua with blue skies over head!

Exciting news from the Madison Mountaineering Aconcagua expedition team: the team topped out at the highest point in all the Americas yesterday! Waking up for their alpine start, the team emerged from their tents, scarfed down some food, shouldered their packs and set off for the summit. Step by step up the route, the team pushed on moving strongly and swiftly with the top coming more and more into sight with every step. Upon reaching the top at around 2pm local time, the team slapped high-fives, snapped some photographs, and took in their incredible achievement. Now on their way back to base camp, the team looks forward to continuing the celebration in Mendoza and then on to their home countries. Strong work and a huge congratulations goes out to the team! Expedition leader, Cacho Beiza checked in with this brief update from Aconcagua:

We summit (6961m/22,837ft) yesterday around 2:00pm, sleep again in Camp 3 (5989m/19,650ft). All the team is in good condition!

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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Aconcagua team to Camp 2

Climbing up to Camp 2 with Aconcagua towering high above!

The Madison Mountaineering Aconcagua expedition team reached Camp 2 (Nido de Cóndores) after a strong and steady climb up the Normal Route. Despite some challenging weather and a blanket of snow on the mountain, the team moved strongly above base camp and looks forward to moving up to Camp 3 soon!

After departing Plaza de Mulas, the route climbs gradually but relentlessly, with expansive views of the Andes opening up behind us. The team maintained a smooth pace, managing the increasing altitude well as we ascended to roughly 18,000 feet / 5,500 meters. Spirits are high, and everyone is feeling strong and well-acclimatized as we continue to move up the mountain.

We’ll continue to monitor conditions closely and move thoughtfully as we work higher on the mountain. The team plans to move to Camp 3 tomorrow and eyes a potential summit date of December 18. Expedition leader, Cacho Beiza checked in with this message from Camp 2:

The team reached Camp 2 (5522m/18,117ft) today. Team feels good!

Great views of the Andes as we climb higher up the mountain!

Great views of the Andes as we climb higher up the mountain!

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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