The Madison MountaineeringCho Oyu expedition team is back in base camp after completing their first acclimatization rotation on the mountain! By climbing to some of the higher camps, we become better acclimated to the increased altitude and lower oxygen levels. Now back in base camp, the team will rest up, recover, and wait out some weather before heading up once again! Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this brief dispatch from Cho Oyu:
First rotation complete! Back in base camp now and waiting out some weather.
Looking up the route towards the summit behind the clouds!
Our Mountain Hardwear tents on a beautiful, sunny day in Tibet!
Looking up at Cho Oyu from one of our camps on a perfect day in the Himalayas!
Climbing under clear, blue skies.
Looking back on the route towards one of our camps.
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:
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.“
https://madisonmountaineering.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/PHOTO-2024-09-25-03-47-18-1.jpg12001600Garretthttps://madisonmountaineering.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/logomm-300x138.jpgGarrett2024-09-25 10:47:502024-09-25 16:47:47First rotation in Tibet is complete!
The Madison MountaineeringManaslu expedition team reached Camp 3 today behind a light blanket of clouds. Upon reaching their camp, the clouds burned off opening up spectacular views of the route and mountain above, as well as other Himalayan peaks rising out of a sea of clouds below them. The team is doing great and looks forward to continuing their summit push tomorrow! Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from Camp 3:
I can’t think of a better way to spend a Monday morning than the way we just spent it! We left Camp 2 (6400m/21,000ft) at about 7:30 this morning and arrived in Camp 3 (6800m/22,310ft) a couple of hours later. Conditions were perfect for our ascent here! We were in a light cloud layer which kept the temperatures down. But now that we’ve settled into Camp 3, the skies have cleared above us, so we have excellent views from Camp 2 up to the east pinnacle. We have great views of the route up to Camp 4 (7450m/24,445ft) and the massive north face of Manaslu. We can see a few mountains out in the distance towards Tibet, east into Nepal, but below Camp 2 is a carpet of clouds.
So, it’s a really nice day here! We’re about 6,600 meters, just over 6,600. We’re going to spend the rest of the day resting and then we’ll move to Camp 4 tomorrow if all goes as planned.
All is well here in Nepal and 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:
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.“
https://madisonmountaineering.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/PHOTO-2024-09-22-23-36-28.jpg12001600Garretthttps://madisonmountaineering.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/logomm-300x138.jpgGarrett2024-09-23 06:34:352024-09-23 13:56:55Above the clouds in Camp 3!
The Madison MountaineeringCho Oyu expedition team is about to begin their first rotation on the world’s sixth-highest peak! The team has spent the last few days settling into their base camp, reviewing technical skills, packing for their rotation up to Camp 2, and taking part in a Puja ceremony! The Puja ceremony is a crucial piece to all of our 8,000-meter expeditions, asking the mountain for safe passage before going up. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from Tibet:
Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the Madison MountaineeringCho Oyu (8188m/26,864ft) expedition here in Tibet on the sixth-highest mountain in the world in China! Today is September 21st.
We had our Puja ceremony yesterday, it went very well asking the mountain for safe passage. A Tibetan monk came up and officiated the ceremony with us! Tomorrow we’re planning to head up on our first rotation to acclimatize on Cho Oyu up to Camps 1 and 2. It’s been a little snowy the last few days, but hopefully, we’ll get a break in the weather. The team’s doing great! We’re really excited to be here. There’s just a handful of teams and a few climbers each here on the mountain, so pretty small compared to some of the other peaks we’ve been on this year. But, all is going well here!
We’re thinking of our team on Manaslu (8156m/26,759ft) in Nepal, the eighth-highest peak in the world. They’re starting their summit rotation tomorrow heading up to Camp 1, hopefully summiting around September 25th or 26th. So, fingers crossed and they’ll be in our prayers!
All is well here and we’ll check in soon!
Madison Mountaineering Cho Oyu 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:
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.“
https://madisonmountaineering.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/PHOTO-2024-09-21-04-07-14-1.jpg12001600Garretthttps://madisonmountaineering.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/logomm-300x138.jpgGarrett2024-09-21 11:08:162024-09-21 16:49:02First rotation on Cho Oyu coming up!
The Madison MountaineeringManaslu expedition team has made their way back to base camp after finishing up their final acclimatization rotation before making their summit push! The team had great weather overall on the mountain, with great views of the route, the mountain above, and the far-off peaks and valleys surrounding them. The team is feeling great and looks forward to a few days enjoying the comforts of their base camp before getting back on the mountain and going for the summit! Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from the Himalayas:
Today we woke up early in Camp 2 (6400m/21,000ft) and descended back to base camp (4859m/15,944ft). We arrived just before lunch, had a good meal, and then everyone spent the afternoon taking showers, starting on some laundry, and getting settled back in our cozy box tents here in base camp.
With that, we’ve wrapped up our acclimatization before our summit push. At this point, we’ve spent three nights in Camp 1 (5700m/18,700ft) and two nights in Camp 2. It seems like the whole team is doing really well! Everyone was feeling good higher on the mountain, feeling strong. So, I’m looking forward to a good summit push!
We’ll probably spend three to four days here in base camp and then hopefully start up toward the summit! But, it all depends on the weather and conditions on the mountain.
This last rotation was a lot of fun, in large part because we had such great weather! Yesterday afternoon and today we had really clear skies, which meant we could see out into the hills of Tibet and far down the Nubri valley, which is surrounded by glaciated peaks out toward the Ganesh range, and then even out toward Shishapangma (8027m/26,335ft), far in the distance.
So, all is well here! We’re just about to have dinner and watch a movie. It’ll probably be another Indiana Jones film, and then we’ll go to bed! We’ll be in touch tomorrow.
The team descending back to base camp at the end of a successful acclimatization rotation. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)
Our climbers, Chie and Sara, in their tent at Camp 1. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)
Approaching Camp 1. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)
Climbing through the icefall below Camp 2. (Photo by Terray Sylvester)
Sara with Siddhi Tamung, a member of our Sherpa team, during the rotation. (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:
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.“
https://madisonmountaineering.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/PHOTO-2024-09-18-05-12-15.jpg13642048Garretthttps://madisonmountaineering.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/logomm-300x138.jpgGarrett2024-09-18 12:12:492024-09-18 15:18:51Acclimatization is complete!
The Madison MountaineeringCho Oyu expedition team has made it to advanced base camp on Cho Oyu, which will serve as their base camp for the duration of the expedition while they move up and down between there and the summit. The expedition has gone seamlessly so far and the team is looking forward to what lies ahead on the world’s sixth-highest peak! Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from Tibet:
Our team arrived in advanced base camp (5700m/18,700ft) yesterday, which is our base camp for the season, 18,600 feet – about 5-7 meters, 5,700 meters. We’re doing great! We’re just settling into our base camp, getting everything set up the way we would like it to be for the season, and looking forward to doing some more acclimatization hikes and some training before we head up for our first rotation on the route up to the higher camps.
It’s been beautiful weather here in Tibet! It’s been clear and cold, so great views and it’s great to be up high in the mountains. We’re really excited that everything has been going well on schedule. We’re here in the Himalayas just having a great time! We’ll check in soon.
Advanced Base Camp on a clear and starry night!
Our base camp dining tent.
The team during an acclimatization hike earlier in the expedition.
The team during an acclimatization hike earlier in the expedition.
Taking in the scenery during a hike high in Tibet!
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:
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.“
https://madisonmountaineering.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/PHOTO-2024-09-17-21-44-55-1.jpg9601280Garretthttps://madisonmountaineering.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/logomm-300x138.jpgGarrett2024-09-18 03:54:142024-09-18 14:44:40Arrived in Advanced Base Camp on Cho Oyu!
The Madison MountaineeringCho Oyu expedition team has officially arrived in Tibet! This long-awaited expedition is off to a great start so far and spirits are high after getting one step closer to reaching the mountain. We’ll continue our journey tomorrow and will be arriving in base camp soon! Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this celebratory dispatch from Tibet:
We drove from Kathmandu (1400m/4,600ft) and across the border and got to our hotel here in the village of Kerung (2774m/9,101ft) in Tibet. We’re really happy that everything has gone perfectly so far and according to our schedule! Our Sherpa team is with us and we’re excited to head to the town of Tingri (4348m/ 14,268ft) tomorrow where we’ll be a couple of nights acclimatizing, and then the following day to Chinese Base Camp (4900m/16,076ft) at Cho Oyu! So, the team’s doing great and we’re so happy to be here. (We’re) really excited for the climb ahead.
We’re also following our team over on Manaslu (8156m/26,759ft) led by Terray Sylvester as they’re up on the mountain doing their first rotation above base camp! So, having a good fall season in the Himalayas and looking forward to checking 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:
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.“
https://madisonmountaineering.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/PHOTO-2024-09-12-07-41-23-1.jpg12001600Garretthttps://madisonmountaineering.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/logomm-300x138.jpgGarrett2024-09-12 14:42:432024-09-12 15:29:01Cho Oyu team arrives in Tibet!
