Tag Archive for: Summit Push

Summit Push – Camp 3

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive (Photo: Terray Sylvester)

Onward and upward! Having rested up yesterday, the team got back to work today and climbed part way up the Lhotse Face to Camp 3 (C3) where they are settled into their tents for the night. With good weather, they’ll continue on up the mountain tomorrow to their high camp at 7,900m / 25,919ft. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from C3:

Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Mount Everest (8848m/29,032ft) and Lhotse (8516m/27,940ft) expedition. Today is May 21st, and today we climbed from Camp 2 (6500m/21,325ft) up to Camp 3 (7230m/23,720ft). We left a little after 6:00 AM and had great weather today, sunny and clear all the way up to Camp 3. Then moved into our tents, had some lunch, relaxed… We had a little bit of snow in the afternoon, some clouds, but nice weather overall, hardly any wind.

The team’s doing great and we are really excited to climb up to Camp 4 (7900m/25,919ft) tomorrow! Thank you for following along and we will 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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Camp 2 – Rest Day

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive (Photo: Terray Sylvester)

Following a full day yesterday, the team took a rest day today, enjoying good weather, food, and rest. The climbing has been smooth thus far and everyone is looking forward to the move up to Camp 3 tomorrow! Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from Camp 2:

Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Everest (8848m/29,032ft) and Lhotse (8516m/27,940ft) expedition. We are up at Camp 2 (6500m/21,325ft) and everyone is doing well!

Yesterday, we climbed up from base camp (5364m/17,598ft) through the Khumbu Icefall, across Camp 1 (6050m/19,849ft), and up to Camp 2 here. Everyone is great. We have really good weather, good route conditions and got into Camp 2 in the afternoon.

It’ll be a nice restful day, dinner, and good night’s sleep. So, today we’re just resting. Our Sherpa team is up now on the Lhotse Face at Camp 3 (7230m/23,720ft), setting up our tent platforms and getting things ready for us to move up to Camp 3  tomorrow. So the plan is move up to Camp 3 on the 21st and the weather looks good! It looks like some calm days ahead, so we are excited for the forecast and moving up the mountain to give Everest and Lhotse our best shot!

So, we’ll check in soon. All is well here on Mount Everest!

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 – Camp 2

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive (Photo: Terray Sylvester)

Good news from the 2023 Madison Mountaineering Mount Everest and Lhotse expedition… The team has safely and successfully made it through the Khumbu Icefall and settled into their tents for the night at Camp 2! Good weather and route conditions made for smooth climbing through the icefall and into the Western Cwm. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checked in with this brief update from Camp 2 on Mount Everest:

We all made it up to camp 2 (6500m/21,325ft), nice weather and good conditions!

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 Rotation Delayed

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive (Photo: Terray Sylvester)

After an alpine start to their day, the team is back in Everest Base Camp (EBC) due to a collapse in the icefall. Our team is all safe and back to their beds, with hopes that the route gets reopened soon, so that they can move up the mountain tomorrow. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this brief update from EBC:

Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the Mount Everest (8848m/29,032ft) expedition team. Today is May 18th, it’s about 2:30 in the morning here at Everest Base Camp (5364m/17,598ft). We set out two or three hours ago for our first rotation to move up to Camp 2 (6500m/21,325ft), but after leaving base camp and just about getting into the icefall, we encountered some climbers coming back down who had tried to go up, and had encountered a collapse in the icefall where the route was broken about half the way up.

So, we’re going to rest today and hopefully the icefall doctors can get up there and repair that section of the route that’s broken, and then our plan is to go again tomorrow. So, one day behind our anticipated schedule, but everyone’s doing well here! Good practice, good dry run this morning, looking forward to getting some sleep and then going for it again 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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Go Time!

Expedition leader, Garrett Madison teaching the team how to use our oxygen system. (Photo: Terray Sylvester)

All the training and preparation is done, and there’s only one thing left to do! The team is settled into their base camp homes for a few more hours of shut eye before they depart out of base camp, and once again, onto the mountain. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison lays out todays plan as the team gets an alpine start in just a few short hours:

Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Everest (8848m/29,032ft) and Lhotse (8516m/27,940ft) expedition. Today is May 17th and tonight we are starting our summit rotation, heading up from Everest Base Camp (5364m/17,598ft) to Camp 2 (6500m/21,325ft). We’re departing in a few hours time, around 1:00 AM. Hopefully we’ll have a smooth climb up through the Khumbu Icefall and get up to Camp 2 mid day.

So, we’re looking forward to kicking things off here! The weather looks great, crowds have thinned, we’ve done all of our training and preparation, and we’re ready to go! So, very excited to be headed up the mountain and attempting to summit Mount Everest and Mount Lhotse.

Guide, Scott Webster and climber, Stevie Hornik. (Photo: Terray Sylvester)

Guide, Scott Webster and climber, Stevie Hornik. (Photo: Terray Sylvester)

Climber, Danah Al Ali practicing technical skills near base camp. (Photo: Terray Sylvester)

Climber, Danah Al Ali practicing technical skills near base camp. (Photo: Terray Sylvester)

Climber, Eva Perglerova ice climbing near base camp. (Photo: Terray Sylvester)

Climber, Eva Perglerova ice climbing near base camp. (Photo: Terray Sylvester)

Guide, Cacho Beiza (Photo: Terray Sylvester)

Guide, Cacho Beiza (Photo: Terray Sylvester)

Climber, Rich Draves practicing ice climbing near base camp. (Photo: Terray Sylvester)

Climber, Rich Draves practicing ice climbing near base camp. (Photo: Terray Sylvester)

Climbers, Stevie Hornik and Peter Horsman practicing with oxygen equipment. (Photo: Terray Sylvester)

Climbers, Stevie Hornik and Peter Horsman practicing with oxygen equipment. (Photo: Terray Sylvester)

Climbers, Erwin Visser and Rich Draves practicing with oxygen equipment under the instruction of Garrett Madison. (Photo: Terray Sylvester)

Climbers, Erwin Visser and Rich Draves practicing with oxygen equipment under the instruction of Garrett Madison. (Photo: 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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Summit rotation set to start!

Guide, Cacho Beiza helping climbers, Rick Irvine and Serge Larouche polish their technical skills on the Khumbu Glacier near base camp. (Photo: Terray Sylvester)

Here we go! With good weather in the forecast, technical trainings complete, and acclimatization done, the team is primed and ready to make their summit push! The team has one more day of rest and preparation before they, once again, venture through the Khumbu Icefall and up the mountain. Only this time, with plans to go for the summit! Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with today’s dispatch from Everest Base Camp:

Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Everest (8848m/29,032ft) expedition. Today is May 16th and we are preparing to head up soon to start our summit rotation!

Today, we did a little training review, went for a short hike, went over our oxygen systems and talked through what to expect on the summit push! Tomorrow, we’re going to rest and organize our final equipment, and then plan to head up tomorrow night, about 24 hours from now to start our summit rotation.

We’re looking at May 23rd for our potential Everest summit date. So, fingers crossed the weather holds, the conditions are good, and we get lucky! We’re excited, this is what we’ve been working for all year and we’re looking forward to get the climb underway.

Climber, Rick Irvine training near base camp. (Photo: Terray Sylvester)

Climber, Rick Irvine training near base camp. (Photo: Terray Sylvester)

Guide, Cacho Beiza helping climbers, Rick Irvine and Serge Larouche polish their technical skills on the Khumbu Glacier. (Photo: Terray Sylvester)

Guide, Cacho Beiza helping climbers, Rick Irvine and Serge Larouche polish their technical skills on the Khumbu Glacier. (Photo: Terray Sylvester)

Climber, Serge Larouche training near base camp. (Photo: Terray Sylvester)

Climber, Serge Larouche training near base camp. (Photo: 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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Aconcagua Summit!

Photo pulled from Madison Mountaineering Archive.

We’re ecstatic to announce that the Madison Mountaineering Aconcagua expedition team successfully reached the summit of South America’s tallest peak and have returned safely and soundly to their comforts in Camp 3! While it was a long day, the team had great weather on the ascent, and was able to enjoy a hot meal before crawling into their tents this evening. Expedition guide, Ed Viesturs, checks in with this dispatch after a successful summit on Aconcagua:

Hello everyone! This is Ed Viesturs reporting for Madison Mountaineering. We’re back at Camp 3 (5989m/19,650ft) now, we had an amazing day!

We reached the summit (6961m/22,837ft) today after an eight and a half hour climb. We had spectacular weather – it was sunny, very little wind, and once we reached the summit, the afternoon (inaudible) kind of rolled in and we got a little snow and it got a little spicy. But all in all, it was a great climb! 13 hours round trip and we’re safe and sound back at Camp 3. We just had a nice hot meal, called guamen, and tomorrow we’re heading down back to base camp (4367m/14,327ft).

Thanks for checking in!

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 Ahead!

Photo pulled from Madison Mountaineering Archive.

The Madison Mountaineering Aconcagua expedition team has arrived in their high camp and are primed for their summit push! While the anticipation built, the team spent the evening relaxing, eating dinner, and packing their bags for their alpine start. Stay tuned to hear if they make the summit! Expedition leader, Garrett Madison, checks in with today’s dispatch before the team goes for the summit tomorrow:

Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Aconcagua (6961m/22,837ft) expedition climb. Today’s February second, Thursday, and we are up at our high camp (5989m/19,650ft), Camp 3 Colera at about 19,600 feet. Everyone’s doing great!

It was a beautiful day climbing up here – not much wind and clear skies as far as the eye can see, great views all around! We just finished our dinner, did a little packing and preparation for tomorrow. The plan is to wake up at 3:00 (AM) and depart by 5:00 AM, go for the summit on the third of February, and fingers crossed we’ll get lucky with good weather and route conditions!

We’ll check in tomorrow after we get back down, but the weather is looking good right now at the moment. Really happy to be here and the team’s doing great!

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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Entire Team Safely Down to Camp 2

The climb up Mount Lhotse in Asia

With the entire team safely down to Camp 2, expedition leader Garrett Madison recaps the day and shares some exciting news about Lhotse in this dispatch sat phone call from Camp 2 (6500m/21,325ft) on Mount Everest:

Hello, this is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Everest and Lhotse expedition team.  Today is May 21th.

We are all back safely in Camp 2.

We’ve got some exciting news:  today, myself, Chase Merriam, Cameron Kenny, Josh Garrison, along with three (3) of our Nepal staff, sherpas Siddhi, Sange, and Lakpa climbed Mount Lhotse this morning.  We woke up about 2:00am and got up to the summit of Lhotse between 6:00am and 8:00am and just had a beautiful summit day – great conditions.  Now we’re all back safely to Camp 2.  Our entire team’s back safely in Camp 2.

Big congrats to our Everest climbers.  Everyone on our team summited Everest; clients, guides, and sherpas who began the summit push here departing from Camp 2.  100% success!  A total of thirty (30) members, not counting our small private team which summitted Everest on May 15th with nine (9) members.  So, another very successful season!  We’ve just got to get down to base camp safely tomorrow and then celebrations are in order.

All’s well here at Camp 2 on Everest and everyone’s in good spirits and doing well.

We’ll check in soon!

(photo from the Madison Mountaineering archives)

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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Top of the World – Summit Success!!

Woohoo!  Our Everest and Lhotse expedition team all summited Mount Everest today!  Expedition leader, Garrett Madison, calls in from Mount Everest’s South Col high camp with the happy details:

Hello, this is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Everest and Lhotse expedition team.  Today is May 20th.

Today we summitted Mount Everest!  The whole team:  all nine (9) clients, four (4) guides, and our whole team of Sherpas summitted Mount Everest today around 7:00 to 8:00am.

We had some great views from up there, good route conditions, we had the whole route to ourselves, hardly another climber up there, and we made our way back down to high camp.  The whole team made it safely back to high camp by mid-afternoon.

We’ve been resting up and we’re getting ready to go for our Lhotse attempt.  A few of us are going to set off tonight around midnight and head off towards Mount Lhotse.  The rest of the team will sleep here at the South Col Camp 4 and pack up tomorrow morning, and head down to Camp 2.  So, we’ll all be heading down to Camp 2 eventually tomorrow afternoon.

Great job today to our whole team!  100% success!  We all made it up to the summit of Everest and down safe.  I’m very proud of this team.  I couldn’t be happier.  They earned it.

We’re keeping our fingers crossed for Lhotse tonight.  Hopefuly it works out for those of us going for the double header – Everest/Lhotse combination.

So, checking in for Madison Mountaineering.  We’ll check in tomorrow.

(photo from the Madison Mountaineering archives)

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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