Tag Archive for: Summit Push

Summit Success on Carstensz Pyramid!

Summit photo atop Carstensz Pyramid!

Exciting news from Papua New Guinea! The Madison Mountaineering Carstensz Pyramid expedition team successfully reached the summit of the highest peak on the continent and have safely returned back down to their base camp. More members of our team will fly into camp shortly, and with good weather, will be making their summit attempt soon! Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this celebratory dispatch from the Yellow Valley Base Camp at the foot of Carstensz Pyramid:

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

Today, October 20th, our first team summited! Myself with David Concannon and Chris Lind, along with local guide, Viri summited Carstensz Pyramid at 7:00 AM. We were the only ones up there, beautiful, sunny weather! We’re back in base camp (4285m/14,050ft) here with some of our other members. Hopefully, our last two members will fly in tomorrow by helicopter and the second wave of our team can go for the summit in a few days time! Fingers crossed for bluebird skies.

All is well here in Papua New Guinea on Carstensz Pyramid!

Climbing fixed-lines in the early morning hours on October 20.

Climbing fixed-lines in the early morning hours on October 20.

Crossing the famous Tyrolean Traverse on Carstensz Pyramid!

Crossing the famous Tyrolean Traverse on Carstensz Pyramid!

Our team on the summit!

Our team on the summit!

High on the mountain with our base camp far below.

High on the mountain with our base camp far below.

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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Madison Mountaineering team tops out on Cho Oyu!

From the summit of Cho Oyu!

It comes with much excitement to share that the Madison Mountaineering expedition team has reached the sixth-highest summit on Earth of Cho Oyu! Starting in the dark, the team emerged from their tents under clear, starry skies and started up the route. With our amazing Sherpa team leading the way having to break trail and help fix lines to the summit, the team moved strongly as they moved up the route. After reaching the top, the team embraced with hugs, high-fives, and a short celebration before snapping some photographs and turning back the way that they came. A huge congratulations goes out to the team! Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checked in with this dispatch from Camp 2 on Cho Oyu:

Hello, this is Garrett checking in for the Madison Mountaineering Cho Oyu expedition team!

Well, today is October 13th, and we finally made the summit of Cho Oyu! Glorious day, beautiful views all around, good climbing conditions. I’m very proud of our team, myself, along with our three climbers who continued on, Denisa, Nicole, and Serge, along with our amazing Sherpa team, Dawa Tenji, Siddhi, Ming Dorchi, Temba, and Lhakpa Wongchu. Just an amazing crew!

Great team work. We stuck it out over a week past the end of our expedition end date to wait out the storm, the high winds. Our Sherpa team led the way up the route today and broke trail and help fix lines to make it climbable for us.

So, fantastic day here! We’re heading down. We’re at Camp 2 making our way down, and just admiring the beautiful views here. It’s been a wonderful expedition here on Cho Oyu in Tibet!

On fixed-lines climbing up towards the summit.

On fixed-lines climbing up towards the summit.

Looking out at the surrounding Himalaya while climbing up the route.

Looking out at the surrounding Himalaya while climbing up the route.

Some of the team on the summit!

Some of the team 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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Cho Oyu team ready for the summit push!

Blue skies while climbing towards High Camp on Cho Oyu.

The Madison Mountaineering Cho Oyu expedition team is settled into their tents for the evening in high camp, with plans to leave for the summit in just a few hours! Under the cover of darkness, the team will awake for their alpine start, get kitted in their summit gear, hydrate and fuel before shouldering their packs and leaving for the sixth-highest summit on the planet. It was an excellent day climbing from Camp 1 to Camp 2, and we hope for more good conditions on the rest of the route! Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this pre-summit push dispatch from High Camp on Cho Oyu:

Hello, this is Garrett checking in for the Madison Mountaineering Cho Oyu team.

We are up at High Camp – 7,200 meters, about 23,600 feet. We did great today climbing up from Camp 1 to Camp 2, up over the ice cliff. We’re all tucked in here, ready for bed. We’re gonna sleep for a few hours and then wake up and depart to climb up towards the summit around midnight.

So, beautiful evening here, wonderful views, amazing sunset here from High Camp. Fingers crossed we get lucky with some good conditions tomorrow. No one summited the mountain in oh, almost two weeks since before the big snowstorm and the high winds came in.

So, wish us luck, and we’ll check in soon!

Sunset as seen from High Camp this evening.

Sunset as seen from High Camp this evening.

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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Whole team summits Mount Rainier!

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

100% summit success on the highest peak in Washington! The Madison Mountaineering Mount Rainier team left Ingraham Flats under clear, starry skies as they started up the climbing route. The team navigated technical terrain and were treated with an epic sunrise as they neared the summit, ultimately topping out and enjoying the moment and views with all of Washington below them. Congratulations to the entire team on safely and successfully reaching the summit of Mount Rainier! Team leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this final dispatch for the 2025 Mount Rainier team:

Hello! This is Terray calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Mount Rainier (4390m/14,410ft) climb with Ed Viesturs – today is August 22nd.

Yesterday morning, we topped out in perfect weather on Washington’s highest peak! The entire team summited, 100% success rate. Conditions were excellent! We left the Ingraham Flats (3383m/11,100ft) at about 1:00 am and summited not long after sunrise. We had beautiful, starry-skies and had a beautiful sunrise just as we were approaching the crater rim. Then, we descended all the way back down to Paradise (1646m/5,400ft) yesterday evening, and our climbers are all headed home!

So, all in all it was another great trip on Mount Rainier.

Guide Terray Sylvester on the summit with Ed Viesturs and our climber, Jared!

Guide Terray Sylvester on the summit with Ed Viesturs and our climber, Jared!

Guide Peter Horsman on the summit with climbers, Lewis and Sarah!

Guide Peter Horsman on the summit with climbers, Lewis and Sarah!

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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Update from Broad Peak

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

The Madison Mountaineering Broad Peak team pushed higher on the route today, working to fix lines toward the summit. However, due to tough conditions on the mountain, they made the decision to turn back. Now safely back at Camp 2, the team is resting and will evaluate their next steps soon. Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester shares this update from K2 Base Camp:

Today our Broad Peak (8051m/26,414ft) team attempted to re-establish the route above Camp 3. Working with the three other teams on the mountain, they broke trail through new snow and re-fixed several hundred meters toward the col between the central and south summits of the mountain. Unfortunately, our team, and the others, were turned around by stormy, low-visibility conditions and route-finding challenges. They’re now safely in Camp 2 while we reassess their options. I’ll be in touch with another update 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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Summit push on Broad Peak soon!

Broad Peak as seen from high on K2. Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

The Madison Mountaineering Broad Peak expedition team is in position to make their summit push! The team has crawled into their tents for the night and looks to go for the summit soon, when the weather allows. Stay tuned for more updates to come from the Karakoram! Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this brief dispatch from K2 Base Camp:

Hello again from K2 Base Camp (4968m/16,300ft)! Today our Broad Peak (8051m/26,414ft) climber moved to Camp 3, preparing for a summit push tonight or tomorrow night, weather dependent. Meanwhile our K2 (8611m/28,251ft) climbers spent an active rest day hiking on the Savoia Glacier by base camp. The team is well. 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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From the top of the world!

Members of our team on the summit!

It comes with great pleasure to share that word came in on the morning of May 23rd local time that the Madison Mountaineering Mount Everest expedition team had topped out at the highest place on Earth! Albeit a bit blustery as the team left the South Col, the team was rewarded with excellent views as they climbed to the summit. After celebrating their achievement, snapping some photographs, and taking in the moment, the team started their descent and have safely made it back to Camp 4 on the South Col. Some of the team will continue their descent soon. Others have their eyes set on Lhotse, the fourth highest peak on the planet! A huge congratulations goes out to the entire team — we’re so proud! Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from the summit of Mount Everest:

Hey! We’re up here at the summit of Mount Everest (8848m/29,032ft)! Beautiful day, 360 degree views as far as the eye can see. It was a windy one, pretty blustery coming out of high camp (7900m/25,919ft) this morning. A lot of climbers turned back, but we kept going. We got lucky, so really proud of our team. Everyone did great today! Feeling blessed to be up here at the top of Everest – top of the world. Summit #15 for me and looking forward to a safe descent. We’ll check in soon!

Climbing up the Mount Everest's Southwest Ridge to the summit.

Climbing up Mount Everest’s Southwest Ridge to 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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Lhotse team reaches the summit!

Looking out over the Western Cwm near the summit of Lhotse.

We’re thrilled to relay the message just received from the Madison Mountaineering Lhotse team! Setting off from their high camp with an alpine start, the team climbed through the early morning hours before stepping foot onto the summit of the world’s fourth-highest peak! The summit offered magnificent views of Everest, Makalu, Nuptse, and the other surrounding Himalaya. Now safely back in Camp 2, the team recounts what was an unforgettable day and look forward to continuing their descent to Everest Base Camp tomorrow. Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch via satellite phone from the Western Cwm:

This morning we summited Lhotse (8516m/27,940ft) in excellent weather! Our team left Lhotse Camp 4 (7,700m / 25,260′) after midnight and stood on the summit in calm conditions with clear skies offering excellent views of the spectacular terrain around us. Then we descended here to Camp 2 (6500m/21,325ft). Tomorrow we plan to descend back to base camp (5364m/17,598ft). Our climbers who summited Lhotse this morning had both previously climbed Everest (8848m/29,032ft). Our Everest + Lhotse combo climbers will make their Lhotse summit bid in the coming days, following their summit attempt on Everest. One of today’s summiteers, Aga Olkowicz, also successfully climbed Makalu (8463m/27,766ft) with us just 11 days ago. All is well here in Camp 2. We’ll be in touch tomorrow with more details!

# Name Country
1 Aga Olkowicz Poland
2 Andras Kassik Estonia
3 Lhakpa Wongchhu Sherpa Nepal
4 Sumbah Sherpa Nepal
5 Terray Sylvester United States of America

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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Starting up soon!

Looking up the route from Camp 4 on the South Col.

The Madison Mountaineering Everest expedition team is excited and ready to set off for the summit! The team rested today and made their final preparations before beginning their summit push in just a few hours time. Meanwhile, our Lhotse expedition team stepped onto the summit around 8:00 AM local time, reaching the fourth-highest peak on Earth, and a huge accomplishment! We’re so proud of everyone on the team and send our best wishes for a safe and smooth summit tomorrow on the world’s highest peak. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this pre-summit push dispatch from Camp 4:

Hello! This is Garrett checking in, it’s May 22nd, 4:00 PM.

Our team got up to the South Col, Camp 4 (7900m/25,919ft) yesterday evening, settled in, had a good nights rest, and today we’re making final preparations to go for the summit tonight, probably leaving around midnight or 1:00 AM!

This morning, our Lhotse (8516m/27,940ft) team, led by Terray Sylvester made the summit of Lhotse! They reported good conditions. They topped out around 8:00 AM. Congratulations to Terray, Andras, Aga, Lakpang Chu [sp?], and Sumba Sherpa [sp?]. Great job! We’re very proud of them. They topped out on Makalu (8463m/27,766ft) earlier, and now Lhotse, and they’ll be heading down to Camp 2 (6500m/21,325ft).

We’re getting ready to go for the Everest (8848m/29,032ft) summit tonight! Fingers crossed for good weather. The team’s doing great up here! Wish us luck as we set off to climb the highest mountain in the world. Check in soon!

Looking out towards Makalu from the South Col.

Looking out towards Makalu from the South Col.

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 in base camp after the summit!

The team on the summit! (Photo by Terray Sylvester)

The Madison Mountaineering Makalu expedition team has safely returned to their base camp after topping out on the world’s fifth-highest peak! Just in time for dinner, the team descended into their camp, concluding another chapter of this challenging expedition. The team climbed under the moon and stars from Camp 3, gaining Makalu’s summit ridge as the sunrise began to light-up the surrounding peaks – a welcome sight after climbing in the dark for so long! With Alex in our hearts, our team stepped onto the summit and embraced, taking in the moment as this dream was realized before turning back and heading down. We’re so proud of this team! Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from Makalu Base Camp:

Hello! This is Terray calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Makalu (8463m/27,766ft) expedition – today is May the 12th. It’s a beautiful morning here in base camp, sunny and warm, and we are relaxing after our successful summit yesterday morning! We stood on top of the fifth-highest peak on the planet yesterday, about 6:00 AM.

It was a great summit day! We left Camp 3 at about 9:30 PM on May 10th, climbed through the night under a mostly full moon and arrived on Makalu’s summit ridge just before sunrise, which meant we got to watch as the morning sun illuminated the Kangshung Face of Everest (8848m/29,032ft) and Lhotse (8516m/27,940ft), right next door. We could see headlamps of climbers way up on Everest on the southeast ridge, just below the summit. So yeah, it was a really great summit day and then we descended all the way back down to base camp yesterday evening and arrived in time for dinner at our normal time, 6:00.

It was a great climb and I think the best possible way to wrap up what has been a really difficult time here at Makalu for the whole Madison Mountaineering team after our teammate and friend, Alex Pancoe passed away so suddenly at Camp 2 during our acclimatization rotation. That event just left us all reeling, but we talked it over and it was clear to us that Alex brought, he brought so much stoke to the mountains. He loved being here so much and we were sure that he would have wanted us to keep climbing. So, on the 8th, we realized that we had just enough time to get to the summit in good weather before jet stream winds returned to the top of the mountain, so we went for it.

We will spend the rest of today packing up, wrapping up the expedition and then we are going to start making our way back down to lower elevations! We’ll be in touch.

Morning light on Lhotse and Everest (photo by Terray Sylvester)

Morning light on Lhotse and Everest (photo by Terray Sylvester)

Final steps to Makalu's summit ridge (photo by Terray Sylvester)

Final steps to Makalu’s summit ridge (photo by Terray Sylvester)

Traversing Makalu's summit ridge (photo by Terray Sylvester)

Traversing Makalu’s summit ridge (photo by 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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