Tag Archive for: Seven Summits

Summit Bid Time

Jon and Becks on the summit of Mount Everest!

It’s Summit Bid time!  Garrett and the team are ready to head up the mountain tonight to go for the summit!  Here’s Garrett with the details from Everest base camp:

Hello!  This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Everest and Lhotse expedition 2021.

We’re in base camp and went through all of our oxygen systems today and our food for the high camps and talked about our plan.  We’re gonna head up to Camp II tonight and reevaluate the weather at Camp II, take a rest day there, and look at potential summit days of the 20th, 21st, 22nd.  But we’ll definitely have to reevaluate the weather forecast.  Looks like it could be good, but still a lot of uncertainly in the weather forecast model.  So, we want to give it a day or two to verify what’s in the forecast.

But everyone’s doing well here.  We’re excited to head up, it’s a beautiful evening here at Everest base camp:  no clouds, the stars are out, just a spectacular day here.  So we’re feeling good, we’re excited, and we’re looking forward to getting up the mountain here.

Also, today our British friends, Kenton, Jon, Becks, and Ardavan, all flew out from base camp down to Kathmandu.  So they’re doing well in Kathmandu at the moment.  They had a great climb of Everest and Lhotse.  So, we’re hoping to repeat their success here sometime in the near future.

We’ll check in soon, thanks!

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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Everest Summits with More to Come!

The view of Everest, Lhotse, and Nuptse from Pumori base camp

From Everest base camp, expedition leader Garrett Madison checks in with some exciting news and a look ahead for what’s still to come:

Hello, this is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Everest and Lhotse expedition!  Today is May 11 and we have some exciting news to report.

Jon Gupta, Kenton Cool, and Rebecca Ferry have all summited Everest along with three of our Nepal Sherpa team (Dorjee Gelgen Sherpa, Chhetan Dorjee Sherpa, Lakpa Wongchu Sherpa).  They are back in Camp IV on the South Col now resting up.  It sounds like tonight some of them will be going for Lhotse, the fourth highest mountain in the world.  Hopefully they’ll have another great day up there.  It sounded like almost no wind today on the Everest summit and they got some great photos and video.  Another great day coming tomorrow in the weather forecast before the winds pick up.

The rest of our team is doing well.  We had some members return from Namche today and the rest of the team is coming back from Namche tomorrow.  We will be doing our distancing and isolating when people come back – staying away from the group for 72 hours and testing upon arrival and after 72 hours.  So we’re feeling good about that and looking forward to a good long time here in base camp resting up before we head up on our summit rotation.  We’re waiting for that weather forecast to look good for us.

So, all’s well here in base camp.  We’ll be training with our oxygen systems over the next few days and doing some hikes to the surrounding areas and just enjoying Everest base camp.

All’s well here and we’ll check in soon!

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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Everest Summits!

The Everest summit ridge on May 23rd

We are very pleased to report the following Mount Everest summits today ranging from 06:45 to 08:34 local NPT time:

  • Dorjee Gelgen Sherpa
  • Chhetan Dorjee Sherpa
  • Lakpa Wongchu Sherpa
  • Kenton Cool
  • Jon Gupta
  • Rebecca Ferry

Congratulations all!  Godspeed for a safe descent.

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BREAKING: Climbers Nearing Everest Summit

BREAKING NEWS:  Climbers Kenton Cool, Jon Gupta, and Becks Ferry have been climbing throughout the night from Camp IV on the South Col and are now just about 100m below the South Summit.  Follow along with Jon’s inReach tracker.

Fingers crossed for a summit and safe descent to soon!!  Stay tuned, more news as we get it.

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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Dropback Period

Arrival at Everest Base Camp

As the “dropback” period begins, Garrett Madison checks in from Everest base camp with today’s update:

Hello!  This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Everest and Lhotse expedition.  Today is May 9 and our team is resting on the dropback.  Most all of our members are down in Namche resting for a few days at the Panorama Lodge.

Climbers Kenton Cool, Jon Gupta, and Becks Ferry are up in Camp III on their summit rotation.  The weather’s good right now and the winds are suposed to stay calm through May 13.  After that the winds are going to rise for a bit.

But we’re doing well, we’re resting, and we’re setting our sights on a summit push sometime in the second half of May.

All’s well here at Everest base camp and in Nepal and we’ll check in soon.  Thanks!

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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Second Rotation Gets Underway

Views from base camp

With some of the team now up at Camp I, the rest of the group is ready to head up from base camp tonight.  Here are the details from expedition leader, Garrett Madison:

Hello!  This is Garrett calling in for the Everest and Lhotse team dispatch.  Today’s May 3rd.

We had a restful day in base camp and are preparing to head up tonight on our second rotation.  Half of our team went up yesterday to Camp I and spent the night.  They’ve been resting there today.  The rest of us will head up tonight and join them hopefully early tomorrow morning and we’ll all make our way together up to Camp II for three nights in Camp II.

Our entire team of climbers, guides, and Sherpas, and Nepal staff are doing well here at Everest base camp and on the mountain and we’re looking forward to heading up and continuing our expedition.  The weather looks pretty good – a little snow in the forecast but not much wind as far as we can see.  So, that bodes well perhaps for an earlier summit than normal, maybe a mid-May summit if we’re lucky – fingers crossed.

All’s well and we’ll check in soon!

Eating breakfast outside this morning, a nice day!

Eating breakfast outside this morning, a nice day!

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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Ready for Second Rotation

Our Everest team is ready for the second rotation.  From Mount Everest base camp, expedition leader Garrett Madison has the plan for what’s next:

Hello, this is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Everest and Lhotse team dispatch.  Today is May 2nd and tonight we are embarking on second rotation.

Our first wave of climbers is heading up tonight, climbing early tomorrow morning of May 3rd through the Icefall to Camp I and will sleep there the night of May 3rd.  Our second wave will depart base camp early on May 4th and climb up to Camp II and join the members who will be sleeping at Camp I.  So we’ll all arrive Camp II together on May 4th for our second rotation and spend about three nights there.

Everone’s doing great here on Everest.  We’re healthy, we’re enjoying the nice weather, and looking forward to getting up high again and hopefully some good views.

We’ll check in soon, thanks!

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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Prepping for Second Rotation

Aang Purba hanging around in the ice.

With our Everest Express team members arriving, the full 2021 Everest team is now in base camp and making their preparations for the Second Rotation.  Everest guide, Terray Sylvester has all the facts:

Hello, this is Terray calling in for the Madison Mountaineering 2021 Mount Everest expedition.  It’s Saturday, May 1st.  Today we had a beautiful morning in camp.  Our Express climbers have arrived, so we spent part of the morning refreshing skills, climbing fixed lines, and repelling out on the ice pyramids just below base camp so we did with the main team a few weeks ago.  Then in the afternoon, we had a light snowfall.

There’s been a convective storm pattern each day, so we’ve had beautiful, sunny mornings then light snow and increasing cloudness each evening.  Right now it’s misty.  We just watched the documentary “Mountain” which was great – some beautiful footage there, including of the Everest area.

Tomorrow, we’ll begin our second acclimatization rotation.  Some of our climbers, including our Express team, will head up to Camp I for a night, and then the following night, the entire team will be up at Camp II.  We’ll spend two nights at Camp II.  We’ll head up on touch Camp III, but not sleep there, descend back down to Camp II for a third night, and then head on back down to base camp – subject to weather and route conditions, of course.

So, all is well here and we will be in touch!

 

Ice training just below base camp

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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Rest day at EBC

The Madison Mountaineering Sherpa Team at EBC

Today the team was kicking back at base camp, playing around with the drone, and generally resting up before the next rotation.  Here’s Madison Mountaineering guide, Rob Smith with his recap of the day:

This is Rob [Smith] from Everest Base Camp.  We’ve all had a nice day here today.  Jim arrived up the trail so that’s the team all complete!  Pretty nice rest day – folks taking it easy, doing some laundry, catching a shower, and this evening we had another fine meal from Deepak and then I gave a chat to everyone on an Axel Heiberg ski trip to the South Pole which was kinda same, same, but different; pictures of snow from Antarctica.  But, it was all good and looking forward to another good day tomorrow.

Bye for now!

 

Aerial view of the 2021 Madison Mountaineering Mount Everest Base Camp

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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Team back at EBC

Acclimatization hike above Camp 2

The first acclimatization rotation up the mountain is complete and the Everest team is now safely back in base camp.  Here’s expedition leader, Garrett Madison, with the details:

Hello, this is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Everest and Lhotse team.  Today, April 28th, we came down from Camp II.  We did our first rotation; we had two nights at Camp I, two nights at Camp II.  We had a great time up there – good weather and got some great views.

Today we came down from Camp II through the Khumbu Icefall to base camp.  It was a beautiful day – we got into base camp, had a nice lunch, some showers, naps, and we just finished up our dinner and now we are having a movie.

Everyone’s doing well here.  We’ve been enjoying the time on the mountain.  We’re all healthy, enjoying the climb, and looking forward to a few days of rest here in base camp.  And then heading back up on our next rotation here in a few days and hopefully touching Camp III.

All’s well here in Everest Base Camp!

Climbers in the Western Cwm with the Lhotse Face in the background

Climbers in the Western Cwm with the Lhotse Face in the background

The Western Cwm

The Western Cwm

Everest Camp 2

Everest Camp 2

Climbers descending through the Khumbu Icefall

Climbers descending through the Khumbu Icefall

Art M. loves acclimatizing!

Art M. loves acclimatizing!

Heading down through the Khumbu Icefall with base camp below

Heading down through the Khumbu Icefall with base camp below

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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