Tag Archive for: Seven Summits

With a change in weather, Garrett, Mike, Sam, Iñaki, and Todd have successfully made the ascent to Camp 1 at 9,154 feet! After two days at Vinson Base Camp, the team was very excited to push onward. Garrett and team made the eight hour push through cold and breezy conditions before arriving at Camp 1. Other than the wind, todays weather report on Mount Vinson was clear and sunny. Quickly after arriving the team set up camp and started warming up with a hot dinner prepared by Garrett.

Tomorrow our team will enjoy a rest day and let their bodies recover and continue to acclimatize to todays elevation gain. Garrett, Mike, Sam, Iñaki, and Todd will work together tomorrow to develop a strategy for reaching Camp 2, with factors including weather and overall route conditions. Everyone is doing well and in high spirit!

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Audio Dispatch from Garrett Madison ~ Wednesday, December 2

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Climbing across glaciated slopes on Mount Vinson.

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Looks pretty similar to “The Wall” from Game of Thrones! This gorgeous shot was take during the ascent to Camp 1. Onward!

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Antarctica’s Mount Vinson base camp population is beginning to grow as multiple teams wait for the heavy winds and below freezing temperatures to pass. Winds today were recorded at 30 knots, or roughly 35 mph, with the temperature down to -20 degrees fahrenheit. Beyond the weather, the team had a very productive day. Garrett, Mike, Sam, Iñaki, and Todd worked together to fortify their tents by creating snow bricks of sort, then creating a wall to deflect the wind. Afterward, Garrett and team enjoyed an exploratory climb to a local peak in the Ellsworth Mountains. The team is doing well and enjoying the opportunity to spend time on this secluded continent.

Dispatch below from our Expedition Leader ~ Garrett Madison

Note: It appears that the weather conditions or the connection with the satellites breaks up the call for the first 5-10 seconds. After this time the quality improves.

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Tuesday, December 1

Garrett, Mike, Sam, Iñaki, and Todd battled sustained heavy winds with gusts of over 50 mph rolling across the Sentinel Range of the Ellsworth Mountains today. This weather related rest day allowed the team to finalize gear bags and enjoy warm meals together while avoiding the harshest of arctic conditions. With any luck the wind will subside in the morning and allow the team to push onward. Garrett and team are situated at just over 7,000 feet based on our most recent data and will be pushing to 9,100 depending on tomorrow’s weather conditions. Mike, Sam, Iñaki, and Todd are doing great and are excited for the next push. Today’s breakfast and lunch menu sounded delicious 🙂  The team is staying well fed under Garrett’s watch!

Dispatch below from our Expedition Leader ~ Garrett Madison

Monday, November 30th.

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Base Camp on Mount Vinson at 7,000ft.

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Sentinel Range of the Ellsworth Mountains.

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Blue bird day!

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Greetings from Mount Vinson Base Camp, Antarctica! Garrett, Mike, Sam, Iñaki, and Todd have flown safely from Union Glacier Camp to base camp today. The team enjoyed a crystal clear day while preparing their gear for departure. From a Douglas DC3 in Union Glacier Camp, the team made the quick flight to a closer staging area near Vinson Massif. After which they boarded a DHC-6 Twin Otter that transported the team closer to the mountain. The day was sunny and provided spectacular views of the Ellsworth Mountains for our team. Garrett, Mike, Sam, Iñaki, and Todd worked together to build a large snow wall to protect their camp from the expected 50mph winds tomorrow. After setting up camp our team enjoyed a delicious dinner of pork chops and settled in for the night. Tomorrow the team will review rope travel, ice axe arrest, and crevasse rescue techniques in preparation for the next push to Camp 1. Onward!

Audio Dispatch from Garrett Madison ~ Expedition Leader

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Our team’s arrival into Union Glacier Camp on the first ever 757. Business class seats all the way to Antarctica! Photo captured by: Adventure Network International.

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Union Glacier Camp, Antarctica.

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Beautiful photo on this sunny day!!

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Douglas DC3 at Union Glacier Camp, Antarctica.

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Union Glacier Camp Tent

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Union Glacier Camp with the Ellsworth Mountains behind.

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Gorgeous shot of Union Glacier Camp!!

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Our climbing team preparing for the ascent!

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Visual of Antarctica. North is straight up. Images by Google Earth.

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Visual representation of our climbing team’s flight travels today. Starting below at Union Glacier Camp our team flew up to Vinson Massif base camp. Images by Google Earth.

 

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The Mount Vinson team is in route to rondevu in Patagonia! I’ve been here two days and have enjoyed the vibrant architecture and bustling downtown city. Punta Arenas is a departure point for many wishing to experience the Patagonia region. Today my morning walk on the Brunswick Peninsula unveiled fishermen, kayakers, longboarders and adventure photographers enjoying the beautiful sunrise across the horizon. Among the many attractions in Punta Arena, my favorites have been the monument erected on the main square to Ferdinand Magellan, the Seaside Walkway at sunrise and the renowned Dreams Casino and Hotel (pictures below). Tomorrow our team of global explorers will begin to arrive. This is my tenth expedition to the frozen continent and I’m excited as I’ve ever been. We have journeyed to el fin del mundo (“the end of the world”), and we are about to go further.

Garrett Madison  ~  Expedition Leader

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Dreams Casino and Hotel ~ they are well known for a beautiful view from the Skybar!

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Colorful houses along the waterfront in Punta Arenas. Along the water you can see the Seaside Walkway. In the horizon is the Strait of Magellan. This navigable sea route separates mainland South America to the north and Tierra del Fuego to the south.

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Selk’nam Patagonian Indian ~ a popular tradition says that those who kiss or touch the Indian’s toe will come back to Patagonia one day. Had to do it!

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A statue in the Plaza of Punta Arenas memorializes the nearly-vanished Yamanas tribespeople.

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Punta Arenas is the capital city of Chile’s southernmost region and is among the largest cities in the entire Patagonian Region. Patagonia is a sparsely populated region located at the southern end of South America, shared by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes mountains as well as the deserts, steppes and grasslands east of this southern portion of the Andes.

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The Madison Mountaineering Carstensz Pyramid climbing team is safely back in Bali!. We flew back to Timika in the B3 helicopter and were able to catch a fixed wing flight back to Bali. Sangeeta, Ankur, and I had a nice meal together when we got back and now we are all getting some well deserved sleep. Our expedition to Carstensz Pyramid was a success! Our first team (Joe Butler & Newall Hunter) made a quick summit of Carstensz Pyramid after arriving in base camp. What was going to be a reconnaissance turned into a summit of the peak! Then, our second group of Joe Butler, Ankur & Sangeeta made an attempt. Overall, we had a few summits, and very much enjoyed our time in Papua! This peak is one of the most challenging of the seven summits from a logistics perspective, the multiple fixed wing and helicopter flights required to access the mountain from Bali are a remarkable feat by itself, and then there are the many pitches of fixed ropes necessary to climb the tough steep rock faces to the summit! We had good climbing conditions on Carstensz Pyramid, and are very happy with the outcome of our expedition. All members are now back in Bali and are safe. We look forward to returning to Carstensz Pyramid soon for another great expedition next March!!!

-Joe Butler, Expedition Leader

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Puncak Jaya Ascent:

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Our Madison Mountaineering climbing team staying safe with fixed lines:

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Beautiful scenery on the Carstensz Pyramid ascent!

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Mozes Kilangin International Airport ~ Timika, Indonesia:

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B3 helicopter ride back to Timika!

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Sangeeta looking good with a big “Thumbs UP” next to our B3 helicopter! Way to go team!!