Tag Archive for: Summit Success

Ama Dablam – Expedition Recap

Team celebration dinner in Kathmandu

With all of the team safely back in Kathmandu, our 2020 Ama Dablam expedition is concluding.  Thank you for following along.  The following team members successfully and safely obtained the summit of Ama Dablam (6812m / 22,349ft) on November 11, 2020, at approximately 11:30 AM NPT (local time):

# Name Country
1 Mr. Garrett Madison USA
2 Mr. Mohammed Al-Thani Qatar
3 Ms. Jennifer Drummond USA
4 Mr. Ted Hesser USA
5 Mr. Chase Merriam USA
6 Mr. Elia Saikaly Canada
7 Mr. Aang Phurba Sherpa Nepal
8 Mr. Siddhi Bahadur Tamang Nepal
9 Mr. Mingmar Sherpa Nepal
10 Mr. Ming Dorchi Sherpa Nepal
11 Mr. Pasdawa Sherpa Nepal
12 Mr. Pasang Dawa Sherpa Nepal
13 Mr. Pasang Kaji Sherpa Nepal

Here is expedition leader, Garrett Madison, with the expedition recap:

Hello, this is Garrett Madison calling in for the Ama Dablam team expedition.

We are all back in Kathmandu now at the Hotel Yak & Yeti.  We summited Ama Dablam together on November 11th.  We had a beautiful, clear, perfect day upon the summit.  Some of us went all the way down to base camp, others stayed in Camp 2 that night, and the following day we all descended to base camp, had a celebration lunch, and then helicoptered back to Kathmandu!

We just had our team celebration dinner and some members are heading off tonight back home and others will be here for a few days.  It’s been a wonderful, successful, and safe expedition here in Nepal.  We’re very happy that we got to come and experience the wonderful people with warm hearts.

We are looking forward to returning to Nepal next spring for Mount Everest!

Camp 2 on Ama Dablam

Camp 2 on Ama Dablam (📷: @tedhesser)

Summit push below the Dablam

Summit push below the Dablam

Nearing the Ama Dablam summit

Nearing the Ama Dablam summit

Jenn D. topping out on Ama Dablam

Topping out on Ama Dablam (📷: @aang_phurba_mountaineer)

Chase M. on the summit of Ama Dablam with Everest and Lhotse in the background

Chase M. on the summit of Ama Dablam with Everest and Lhotse in the background

Ama Dablam Summit

Ama Dablam Summit (📷: @aang_phurba_mountaineer)

Celebration on Ama Dablam summit

Celebration on Ama Dablam summit (📷: @aang_phurba_mountaineer)

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

– Instagram:

– our Garmin inReach Mini powered real-time tracking map:

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Ama Dablam Summit!

Ama Dablam summit track in Google Earth

Congratulations to the entire Madison Mountaineering 2020 Ama Dablam (6812m) team and crew!  100% summit success!!  Details and photos to follow.  Meanwhile, enjoy this coverage of the summit effort from The Himalayan Times.  Most of the team is safely resting at Camp 2, while others have safely descended all the way down to base camp.

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

– Instagram:

– our Garmin inReach Mini powered real-time tracking map:

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Kilimanjaro Summit!

Climbers on the summit of Kilimanjaro

Summit day began at midnight, as the team awoke for a quick breakfast then left camp to begin the ascent. They dawned headlamps and climbed through the pre-dawn hours, reaching Stella Point (18,652’) just as the sun rose over the plains of Africa. In the dawn light, they climbed the remaining distance to Uhuru Peak, the highest point in Africa at 19,341’. At the top, they savored our accomplishment and the incredible view then made their way down back to our high camp, where they had lunch, then continued down to the Mweka camp for the night.

Congratulations team!!  Well done.

Stats for Day 6:
Start: Kosovo Camp, 15,700’
Summit: Uhuru Peak, 19,341′
Finish: Mweka Camp, 10,204’
Distance: 8 miles

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

– Instagram:

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Fast, oh yeah!

Cheetah and cubs on the Serengeti

On the third day of their safari, our Kilimanjaro climbers caught sight of the world’s fastest land animal, the cheetah, capable of hitting a top speed of up to 80 miles per hour.  The game viewing has just been spectacular.  Drew reports:

@drewmaloney A mind blowing morning here in the Serengeti. We saw a male Cheetah kill a Gazelle and now a female Cheetah with her 4 cubs walk right next to our vehicle
Cheetah and cubs with giraffes on the horizon

Cheetah and cubs with giraffes on the horizon (📷: @drewmaloney)

Giraffe grazing on the trees

Giraffe grazing on the trees (📷: @drewmaloney)

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Elephants, Giraffes, and Flat Tires. Oh My!

Enjoying the African Jeep Safari

The safari continues for our Kilimanjaro climbers.  This evening they rolled on into the mighty Serengeti.  Their words speak for themselves:

@drewmaloney I have been to Africa countless times and this is my first safari. I am blown away🤯 by the beauty and majesty of the amazing wildlife. Off to the Serengeti today for two nights literally sleeping amongst the lions in tents.

Viewing elephants while on safari

Viewing elephants while on safari (📸: @drewmaloney)

Beautiful safari viewing giraffes and other amazing wildlife

Beautiful safari viewing giraffes and other amazing wildlife (📸: @drewmaloney)

Lending a helping hand to fix a flat on the Serengeti

Lending a helping hand to fix a flat on the Serengeti (📸: @drewmaloney)

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

– Instagram:

 

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Safari kicks off!

Loading up for the safari!

Still savoring their Kilimanjaro summit success, today our team of Drew and Jordan kicked off their Africa safari!  Leaving Arusha they were driven southwest to the Tarangire National Park for some game viewing.  Already they are enjoying some elephants and zebra frolicking.

Stay tuned for more safari updates at the team continues on to the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and the mighty Serengeti National Park.

Video:  Game viewing in Tarangire National Park, Tanazania

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Kilimanjaro Summit and Out!

Climbers on the summit of Kilimanjaro 06:00 Aug 15, 2020
Follow the team’s progress with our real-time tracking map

After the Kilimanjaro summit, this incredibly strong team hiked all the way down and out – what a big day!  Expedition leader, Garrett Madison calls in from Arusha with all the details:

Hello this is Garrett calling in for the Kilimanjaro dispatch.  We got back from the summit late last night after reaching the top at 06:00 am on August 15th.  It was a beautiful day, we had the mountain all to ourselves.  Stunning views over the Serengeti.  Myself, Drew, and his daughter Jordan made it to the top and back down, packed up our camp and just kept going!  We got all the way out to the [Mweka] gate and back to Arusha in time for a late dinner.

Tomorrow Drew and Jordan are heading off on safari.  It should be a beautiful time on the Serengeti and Ngorongoro game parks – good game viewing.

It’s been a wonderful Kilimanjaro expedition.  He are very happy that we got to work with our crew here in Tanzania of porters, cooks, guides, … and support their livelyhood here.  They’re just a wonderful group of guys and hopefully we will get to see them again very soon!

Sunrise on the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro

Sunrise on the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro

Beautiful African Sunrise

Beautiful African Sunrise

Happy climbers summit Kilimanjaro

Happy climbers summit Kilimanjaro

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

– Instagram:

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Antarctica Season Wrap-up

Garrett posing on Mount Vinson

Hi!  This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Antarctica season wrap-up.

 

Well, we had a great season in Antarctica this past month.  We did two Madison Mountaineering Vinson expedition climbs that were successful:  one in late December and one in early January along with co-guide Conrad Anker.  And then I stayed down with Conrad and some of his friends came in and we climbed Vinson in a day via a variation of a new route that Conrad had actually climbed 20 years ago:  The Central Ice Stream on Mount Vinson.

 

After that one day ascent, we skied down most of the mountain and then flew over to Mount Tyree, the second-highest mountain in Antarctica.  Beautiful location — the valley next to Mount Tyree, which has only been climbed a handful of times.  We spent six nights there attempting climb Mount Tyree but did not summit due to very unusual heavy snow conditions and very high avalanche risk up near the summit of Tyree.  We got up fairly high but turned around on our summit day due to the unsafe, unstable snow conditions.

 

Everybody had a great trip.  It was a wonderful season in Antarctica, and we just feel so lucky to have been down there with so many great people and very beautiful and surreal natural beauty surrounding.

 

So, great season and we are looking forward to going back next year.  Please contact us if you would like to consider joining one of our Antarctic programs!

Garrett, Conrad Anker, and Jimmy Chin on the summit of Mount Vinson


By the way, it’s not too early to start making your plans to join us on Mount Vinson for the 2020/2021 season next December!  Contact our office for details.

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

– Instagram:

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Team returns to Union Glacier and back to Punta Arenas soon

Union Glacier Camp

Here’s Conrad with the final dispatch for the second of our two successful Mount Vinson expeditions for 2019/2020:

Greetings folks, this is Conrad Anker with the final dispatch from Vinson 2020 with Madison Mountaineering. It’s a beautiful sunny day here at Vinson base camp and all the team is safely back at Union Glacier camp. They are awaiting the Ilyushin to fly home.

 

We’ve had a successful expedition. It wasn’t the best of weather, but, as we well know, the strictest teachers are the best teachers. So, we all came away with knowledge, experience, and newfound friends.

 

Thanks for listening in. Stay tuned. Talk to you soon. Bye!

(photo:  Madison Mountaineering archives)

By the way, it’s not too early to start making your plans to join us on Mount Vinson for the 2020/2021 season next December!  Contact our office for details.

In addition to these expedition dispatches, you can also follow the teams as they make their attempts to summit the highest mountain in Antarctica 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

– Instagram:

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Another day at Vinson base camp

Twin Otter aircraft at Vinson Base Camp

Another day at Vinson base camp where the team is keeping themselves entertained while waiting out a change in the weather that will allow the planes to fly:

Hello, this is Garrett calling in for the Mount Vinson climb with Conrad Anker.

 

Well, we had another nice rest day in Mount Vinson base camp and the weather wasn’t good enough for the Twin Otters to fly from Union Glacier camp.  So, we just rested and relaxed here in Vinson base camp.

 

We had a nice, leisurely pancake breakfast this morning and lounged around this afternoon and had a nice salmon, chicken, asparagus, and risotto dinner here in camp, played some music, and then a few members of our team went off to make a few laps on the ski hill here next to Vinson base camp.

 

Everyone’s doing well.  We’re still savoring our summit success and looking forward to hopefully some good weather tomorrow and getting the team back to Union Glacier and onward back to Punta Arenas, Chile and on to home to family and loved ones.

 

So, it’s been a great expedition and we’ll keep our fingers crossed for good weather tomorrow.  All’s well here at Vinson base camp.  We’ll check in soon.  Thanks!

(photo:  Madison Mountaineering archives)

By the way, it’s not too early to start making your plans to join us on Mount Vinson for the 2020/2021 season next December!  Contact our office for details.

In addition to these expedition dispatches, you can also follow the teams as they make their attempts to summit the highest mountain in Antarctica 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

– Instagram:

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