Tag Archive for: Sherpa

Today private guides Brent and Geoff moved up to Camp 3 with climbers John and Anders in three hours. The route conditions and weather made for a quick ascent. Tomorrow they will depart at 8am and continue the ascent to Camp 4 and prepare for their summit push on Everest and Lhotse. We are excited to have our team in summit position and will be up all night here at base camp to monitor their progress.

Our main team spent today resting at Camp 2 and will move up to Camp 3 early tomorrow morning. Mountain winds are expected to decrease and allow our climbers to be well positioned for clear summit days on Everest and Lhotse. The weather has been clear and sunny the past few days with little to no precipitation. All of our high camps have been stocked with oxygen and supplies by our strong Sherpa team.

To the top!

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Beautiful weather at Camp 2 today

Camp 3

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Moving between Camp 1 and 2

Our Mount Everest and Lhotse summit rotation has launched! At 2am this morning our climbing team departed Everest base camp and began the ascent though the Khumbu Icefall. Now resting at Camp 2, our entire team will rest and prepare for the next move to Camp 3. Weather forecasts are predicting for increased wind over the next couple says so we will hold till the conditions settle down. We are all in good spirits and health and excited to continue our journey to the top of the world.

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Celebratory photo with our Ghurka neighbors! 

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Relaxing in our dining tent the evening before taking off on our summit rotation

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Happy Birthday Ellen!!

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Anders, Brent, Geoff and John taking off for Camp 2

Lhotse summit rotation

Yesterday, 2 of our top fixing Sherpas in partnership with the British-Gurkha team (Sherpas and Nepali climbers) were able to reach the summit around 2:15 PM.  We are very happy that our plan succeeded, and now climbers will begin making attempts on the peak.  Our 2 Sherpas who aided in the rope fixing effort today are Lakpa Dandi and Tashi Sherpa, 2 of the 7 rope fixing Sherpas to reach the summit.

As we are now in the final phase of our Mount Everest expedition, our sights are set on climbing to the summit of the world’s highest peak, and for some of us after that also climbing to the top of the world’s 4th highest peak, Lhotse.  We have completed our acclimatization rotations on Everest, reaching Camp 3 and spending several nights at Camp 2 (21,300’) on each of our rotations. Our Sherpa team has stocked all of our high camps with essential equipment for our climb including tents, oxygen cylinders, food, etc.  We are now well rested after spending the last week in base camp or down in Namche at the comfortable Panorama lodge.  We are now waiting in base camp for a favorable weather forecast.

The current weather models show that high winds will arrive over Everest in the next day or two, so we will wait until these winds pass before making our summit attempt. Some teams may try to summit in the next day or shortly after, we prefer to wait for a better forecast before making out attempt. Our main team hopes to be ready to climb on the tail end of this wind event, perhaps as early as May 22nd if the winds do indeed drop down by then.

Currently we are all resting in base camp and passing the time watching films, reading books, going for short hikes, occasional camp maintenance projects, reviewing our climbing kit and oxygen systems, and of course coming together as a team for meal times in our dining tent.  We will continue to monitor the weather forecasts, and hopefully begin our summit attempt in a few days time, stay tuned!

Garrett Madison

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Rope fixing Sherpas

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Rope fixing Sherpas

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Rope fixing Sherpas

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Rope fixing Sherpas

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Rope fixing Sherpas

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Rope fixing Sherpas

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Rope fixing Sherpas

Minutes ago the first 2017 Mount Everest summits were made by a group of climbing Sherpa’s. This team included two of our best climbing Sherpa’s that were chosen to fix the ropes to the summit. Lakpa Dandi and Tashi were among seven climbing Sherpa’s that fixed the summit route. Now that the route to the summit is fixed we will start to see climber summits as early as tomorrow morning.

Our team is holding at base camp as high winds will be hitting the mountain over the next 1-2 days. Based on current weather forecasts we are looking to move up to our high camps by Wednesday. Stay tuned!

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2017 Mount Everest summits

The high Buddhist monk journeyed to Mount Everest base camp this afternoon and blessed our team with a joyful Puja ceremony. Our climbing and Sherpa team gathered together as one to give thanks to Sagarmatha and present gifts for safe passage. The lama was graceful and presented each climber with a blessing. After the ceremony concluded our friends on the Gurkha team (Nepal and UK) came down to our camp and joined in the festivities. Winds have finally settled down and we were all able to relax outside together and enjoy the cultural Nepalese experience.

In the afternoon, a few members of our team went out into the Khumbu icefall for additional training on the ice. We are all settling down for the night now and about to enjoy another of Antony Dubber’s amazing meals, I do believe that we are all gaining weight up here with his extraordinary high altitude culinary skills. After supper we typically partake in watching a film in our the movie theater, tonight we watched Top Gun.

Tomorrow we will not be climbing or training in the icefall in remembrance of the 2014 icefall tragedy. Our team will rest and prepare equipment for the first rotation in the days to come. The stoke is high and we are all ready to move up the mountain. To higher places!

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Joyful Puja ceremony

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Joyful Puja ceremony

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Joyful Puja ceremony

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Joyful Puja ceremony

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Joyful Puja ceremony

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Joyful Puja ceremony

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Joyful Puja ceremony

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Joyful Puja ceremony

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Joyful Puja ceremony

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Joyful Puja ceremony

Today our Mount Everest 2017 climbing team had an amazing day training in the Khumbu icefall. The winds have been fierce the past few days, gusting to 50mph at times. While we have been training between the ice towers we are protected for the most part. The sun was out all day today and the recent snowfall is slowly melting.

After a few rounds on the training circuit with fixed lines and ladders, we enjoyed a few laps of epic ice climbing on a sweet Serac. We practiced with ice climbing tools and then a select few climbers were able to scale the ice with just crampons. From the top of the ice we had great views of Everest base camp and the surrounding glaciers.

Tomorrow we will have our Puja ceremony here at base camp. Our weather forecasts are predicting decreased winds and sun, we hope this is accurate! Soon after our Puja ceremony we will begin preparations for our first rotation up to Camp 1. Enjoy the photos from today!

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Everest 2017 climbing

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Everest 2017 climbing

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Everest 2017 climbing

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Everest 2017 climbing

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Everest 2017 climbing

After a wild thunder and lightning storm last night, we awoke to about 8 inches of fresh snow here at Mount Everest base camp! Our team of climbers set off for their first day of technical training in the Khumbu Icefall. Our guides reviewed the basics to refresh our team and covered best practices for a safe climb on Mount Everest. Our amazing base camp chef, Antony Dubber, continues to impress our taste buds with amazing meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We had a special guest join us for lunch today. Ueli Steck, from Switzerland known as the ‘Swiss Machine’ shared a meal with our team and we chatted about our past and upcoming ascents.

Tomorrow we will continue our icefall training and build a more difficult course for our climbers to navigate. On the 17th we will have our Puja ceremony here at base camp where we will all be blessed for a safe season on Everest. Enjoy the pictures below!

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lightning storm

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After an amazing trek through the Khumbu Valley, our team of climbers and trekkers have arrived safely to Mount Everest 2017 base camp. As we arrived to camp we caught two time Grammy Award nominee Paul Oakenfold playing a set at Everest base camp. Our Sherpa team danced along with fans from around the world as we laughed and enjoyed the beautiful setting.

With a warm welcome from our chef (Antony Dubber), we all enjoyed fresh Norwegian salmon and a tasty variety of side dishes. I think we will be eating well on this expedition! The weather here at Mount Everest base camp has been warm and sunny the past few days, allowing for ample reading outside with magnificent 360 degree views of some of the tallest mountains in the world. Today we are having a personal day where we are able to do laundry and set up personal tents. Over the next few days we will start training in the Khumbu icefall in preparation for our first rotation to Camp 1 on Mount Everest. We are excited to be here and look forward to making our ascent. Onward!

Follow us on social media @MadisonMtng on InstagramFacebook, and Twitter. Thank you Mountain Hardwear, MusclePharm, Thuraya, Wicis and Modern Oats for your support on this expedition!!

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Kala Patthar, meaning ‘black rock’ in Nepali and Hindi, is a notable landmark located on the south ridge of Pumori in the Nepalese Himalayas. Thank you to our expedition friend Rob Mens for sharing these.

Mount Everest 2017 Kala Patthar

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Kala Patthar view at sunset

Mount Everest 2017 Kala Patthar

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Kala Patthar view at sunset

Mount Everest 2017 Kala Patthar

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Kala Patthar view at sunset

Mount Everest 2017 Kala Patthar

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Yak train looking over Mount Everest base camp and the Khumbu Icefall

Mount Everest 2017 base camp

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So happy to have the world traveling chef Antony Dubber here with us this season!! 🙂 

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Norwegian salmon as our team arrives at base camp. So tasty!!

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Mount Everest 2017 base camp

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Madison Mountaineering’s Sherpa team enjoying an awesome gig by Paul Oakenfold!

Mount Everest 2017 base camp

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Paul Oakenfold rocking the stage on Mount Everest!

Mount Everest 2017 base camp

Our climbers and trekkers have all made it safely from Kathmandu to Tenzing Hillary Airport in Lukla. From here we passed through several Sherpa villages, and entered the beautiful Sagarmatha (Everest) National Park. After crossing the river by suspension bridge, we arrived in the village of Phakding. After a good nights sleep we continued trekking along the scenic Dudh Kosi River through the village of Monjo, then up the steep hill to Namche Bazaar. Currently we are spending our second night in our comfortable lodge acclimatizing and enjoying the sights, cafes and tasty pastries in Namche. This afternoon we saw our first view of Mount Everest!

Follow us on social media @MadisonMtng on InstagramFacebook, and Twitter. We love to hear from you 🙂

Onward and upward!

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Prayer wheel in Kathmandu 

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Early morning flight from Kathmandu to Lukla

Tenzing Hillary Airport

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Tenzing Hillary Airport

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Last chance for Starbucks 🙂 

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Prayer wheel near Lukla

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2017 Mount Everest climbing and trekking team leaving Lukla 

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Relaxing at a local tea house

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Geoff and John

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Amazing views on the trek to Namche

Madison Mountaineering’s 2017 Himalayan expedition team of Everest & Lhotse climbers have arrived from around the world. We are now  in the final stages of logistical preparation before our exciting flight to Lukla. After our short flight tomorrow from Kathmandu to Lukla, we will begin the journey toward Mount Everest, known by the locals as Sagarmāthā. Mount Everest is earth’s highest mountain at 8,848m (29,035ft) above sea level. Tonight our team of trekkers and climbers will enjoy the comforts of the city before we take off early tomorrow morning. Here we go!

Expedition dispatches will be posted here as frequently as possible. Follow us on social media @MadisonMtng on InstagramFacebook, and Twitter!!

Below are some photos of our city tour today around Kathmandu.

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2017 Himalayan

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2017 Himalayan

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2017 Himalayan

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2017 Himalayan

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2017 Himalayan

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2017 Himalayan

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2017 Himalayan

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Local Nepal street art

2017 Himalayan

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Monkey Temple 

2017 Himalayan

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Money Temple

2017 Himalayan

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Received a departing blessing for a safe passage through the Himalaya.

2017 Himalayan