Tag Archive for: Western Cwm

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:

/0 Comments/by

Climbing to Camp 3

Approaching the bergschrund at the base of the Lhotse Face.

The Madison Mountaineering Mount Everest–Lhotse expedition team climbed from Camp 2 to Camp 3 today, where they’re now tucked into their tents for the night after enjoying a warm meal and epic views over the Western Cwm. The team emerged from their tents in Camp 2 earlier in the day, scarfed down some breakfast, and clipped into the fixed lines that show the way up the Lhotse Face to their next camp. Despite some windy conditions, the team did excellent, moving strongly up the route, before the winds subsided and we could enjoy a nice evening in our camp for the night. Tomorrow, we move up higher! Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from Camp 3:

Hello! This is Garrett checking in for the Everest (8848m/29,032ft) team – today is Tuesday, May 20th and we are now in Camp 3 (7230m/23,720ft), just over 7,000 meters, just over 23,000 feet.

We left Camp 2 (6500m/21,325ft) earlier this morning, 6:00 AM. (We) set out in blustery conditions, it was blowing snow and it looked pretty windy up high on Everest and Lhotse (8516m/27,940ft). We heard a lot of climbers turned back from their summit bids today. But by the time we got up to Camp 3 by mid-day, the winds calmed down, actually pretty nice day up here!

So, everyone’s doing well and we’ve been enjoying the views up here from Camp 3 looking out over the Western Cwm, Camp 2, and beyond. (We’re) looking forward to climbing up to Camp 4 (7900m/25,919ft) tomorrow at the South Col!

So, all is well here in Camp 3. We’ll check in soon!

 

Looking out tent doors from Camp 3 over the Western Cwm.

Looking out tent doors from Camp 3 over the Western Cwm.

Climbing from Camp 2 to Camp 3 today.

Climbing from Camp 2 to Camp 3 today.

Looking up at the summit of Mount Everest.

Looking up at the summit of 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:

/0 Comments/by

Hello, from the Western Cwm!

Climbing in the early morning hours through the Khumbu Icefall with Pumori and Everest Base Camp behind.

The Madison Mountaineering Everest and Lhotse team are making great progress on their acclimatization efforts as they move higher up the mountain! In the last few days, they’ve left their base camp, climbing through the Khumbu Icefall and into Camp 1. Today, they enjoyed a nice hike up to Camp 2 and then descended back to Camp 1, with plans to continue up for a few nights at higher camps soon. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from the Himalaya:

Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Everest (8848m/29,032ft) and Lhotse (8516m/27,940ft) expedition team.

We are up at Camp 1 (6050m/19,849ft), it is May 4th – May the fourth be with you! We had a great acclimatization hike today, part way up towards Camp 2 (6500m/21,325ft) in the Western Cwm and had some cloud cover, so it stayed cool for us. Now it’s snowing a little bit. We’re back in Camp 1 enjoying a lunch and settling in for our afternoon rest. We’re going to head up to Camp 2 tomorrow.

All is well here in Camp 1! We’ll check in soon.

Morning light on Pumori as the team climbs from Everest Base Camp to Camp 1.

Morning light on Pumori as the team climbs from Everest Base Camp to Camp 1.

A beautiful morning to be climbing in the Himalayas

A beautiful morning to be climbing in the Himalayas

Navigating up, down, over, and through icy blocks of the Khumbu Icefall

Navigating up, down, over, and through icy blocks of the Khumbu Icefall

Beautiful, blue skies as climbers ascend one of the ladders on the way to Camp 1

Beautiful, blue skies as climbers ascend one of the ladders on the way to Camp 1

Climbing through the Khumbu Icefall

Climbing through the Khumbu Icefall

Crevasse crossing

Crevasse crossing

Climbers ascending one of the many ladders that connect sections of the broken Khumbu Icefall.

Climbers ascending one of the many ladders that connect sections of the broken Khumbu Icefall.

Navigating the Khumbu Icefall with morning light falling upon Lingtren behind.

Navigating the Khumbu Icefall with morning light falling upon Lingtren behind.

Our Mountain Hardwear tent in Camp 1 with Mount Everest and Lhotse behind.

Our Mountain Hardwear tent in Camp 1 with Mount Everest and Lhotse behind.

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:

/0 Comments/by

Hello from Camp 4!

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

The Madison Mountaineering Mount Everest expedition team has settled into Camp 4 after ascending the final section of the Lhotse Face and is in position to make their summit push! Over the Yellow Band and past the Geneva Spur the team went, making good time as they had the route mostly to themselves. It won’t be long before we set out for the summit! Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from Camp 4:

Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Mount Everest (8848m/29,032ft) expedition team – today is May 21st.

We are in Camp 4 (7900m/25,919ft) at the South Col on Mount Everest! We had a great day. We started out from Camp 3 (7230m/23,720ft) and climbed from about 6:30 AM all the way up the Lhotse Face. The team did an amazing job! We had incredible views all throughout the Western Cwm of Nuptse (7861m/25,791ft), Cho Oyu (8188m/26,864ft), and of course Everest. We got up here to Camp 4 in great time – we got in a little after noon and set up our camp a little ways away from the main group of tents to have some privacy. We had a late lunch with some [garbled], relaxed, everyone had dinner, and now we’re just going to bed.

Our plan is to rest tonight and tomorrow, then leave the following night and summit on the morning of the 23rd. It looks like great weather, shouldn’t be too crowded, and we’re looking forward to a glorious day on the mountain!

Everyone’s doing great. (I’m) really proud of the team. Everyone did awesome today and we’re enjoying our night up here at Camp 4! We’ll check in soon.

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

Photo pulled from the Madison Mountaineering archive. (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:

/1 Comment/by

Made it to Camp 3!

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

The Madison Mountaineering Mount Everest expedition team has crawled into their tents for the night after successfully climbing up to Camp 3 on Mount Everest! The team had the route to themselves and made good time moving out of the Western Cwm and up the lower section of the Lhotse Face. Coming up, the team will ascend to their final camp on Mount Everest which can only mean one thing – it won’t be long before we go for the summit! Expedition leader, Garrett Madison checks in with this dispatch from Camp 3:

Hello! This is Garrett calling in for the Madison Mountaineering Everest (8848m/29,032ft) climb.

Today is Monday the 20th and today we climbed from Camp 2 (6500m/21,325ft) to Camp 3 (7230m/23,720ft) on the Lhotse Face! Beautiful day, it started off a little cloudy and warmed up as we made our way up the Lhotse Face. It was very calm, not many climbers on the route today going up, so we’re very lucky to have no crowds. We saw some friends up here, and tucked into our tents midday and just relaxed, recuperated, just finished our dinner, and now we’re getting ready for bed. We have to wake up early and head up to Camp 4 (7900m/25,919ft) tomorrow!

So, all is well here on the Lhotse Face of Mount Everest! We’ll check in soon. Thanks!

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:

/0 Comments/by

Ready to move to Camp 3!

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

The Madison Mountaineering Mount Everest expedition team is soon to be on the move again up to Camp 3! After a shift in the forecast, the team decided to stay put in Camp 2, setting themselves up for a tentative summit attempt on May 23rd. Spirits are high, everyone is doing great, and we’re ready to move up soon! Climber, Ryan Moore checks in with this dispatch from Camp 2 on Mount Everest:

Hey, everybody! It’s day 36 of the Madison Mountaineering Mount Everest (8848m/29,032ft) expedition.

We’re all feeling good here! It turns out that our initial summit day of May 22nd isn’t looking that good. The weatherman said that we should wait until the 23rd. Therefore, we decided to wait in Camp 2 (6500m/21,325ft) for one more day. So, that’s giving us a little bit more acclimatization time. We’re going to be stronger, ready to move up to Camp 3 (7230m/23,720ft) tomorrow morning – a nice alpine, 6:00 AM start. Not really “alpine,” but it’ll be nice.

Other than that, we’re all prepared, we’re getting those macros in. Better to be at Camp 2 rather than up higher waiting. It turns out a lot of teams actually turned back, so we made the right decision and we’re ready to go!

I’d like to shout out my dog, Harley! He’s technically my mom’s dog, but we all know that he likes me more! Sorry mom…

That’s all! Oh, this is Ryan by the way.

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:

/0 Comments/by

Resting in Camp 2

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

The Madison Mountaineering Mount Everest expedition team moved swiftly through the Khumbu Icefall, making good time and settling into their camp while they await their next move. The team plans to take a rest day before moving up to Camp 3 sitting over 2,000 feet above them on the Lhotse Face. Situated in the middle of the Western Cwm, Camp 2 is positioned at the foot of Himalayan giants in every direction you look – a dramatic place to call home even if just for a few nights! Climber, Hannah Wise checks in with this dispatch from Camp 2 on Mount Everest:

Hello! This is Hannah Wise calling in with tonight’s dispatch. A quick recap, yesterday we climbed through the icefall for the second time. We moved faster than last time, but it’s pretty crazy how much it changes week over week. Less ladders this time around which was great, but the icefall was making more noise which was a little scary! We then climbed over Camp 1 (6050m/19,849ft) and climbed straight to Camp 2 (6500m/21,325ft). It was super hot, so a few stops near the end made for a much-needed break.

We spent today resting at Camp 2. Everyone is doing well! Tomorrow we’ll ascend up the Lhotse Face to Camp 3 (7230m/23,720ft) and spend the night there before we move on to Camp 4 (7900m/25,919ft).

This is Hannah, checking out!

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:

/0 Comments/by

Cleanup in the Western Cwm

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

The Madison Mountaineering Mountain Cleanup Project expedition team had a productive weekend cleaning and climbing as they continued their efforts in the camps shared by Mount Everest and Lhotse. The team cleaned up more than 100kg of waste from Camp 2 and will keep collecting trash as they climb to higher camps before making a summit attempt on Lhotse. Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from Camp 2:

Hello from our advanced base camp at Camp 2 (6500m/21,325ft)! Yesterday and today we picked up more than 100kg of waste here. Tomorrow we plan to wake up early and move up to Camp 3 (7230m/23,720ft). We’ve had beautiful warm weather here at 6,500m / 21,300′ in the Western Cwm. Low winds are in the forecast. We’ll be in touch!

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:

/0 Comments/by

Mountain Cleanup team on the move!

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

Through the Khumbu Icefall and into Camp 2! The Madison Mountaineering Mountain Cleanup Project expedition team moved swiftly through the lower section of the route climbers take to climb Mount Everest and Lhotse. With a summit attempt on Lhotse ahead, the team’s first objective is to clean up the camps along the route, shared by both Mount Everest and Lhotse. Expedition leader, Terray Sylvester checks in with this dispatch from the Western Cwm:

Hello from Camp 2 (6500m/21,325ft)! Today we enjoyed a spectacular walk up the Western Cwm from Camp 1 (6050m/19,849ft). In general, the weather was excellent: partly sunny skies with occasional snow flurries. We plan to spend the next few days here in Camp 2 cleaning up waste. Then we’ll continue higher, to make our summit attempt on Lhotse (8516m/27,940ft) and pursue our cleaning work in the higher camps. We’ll keep in touch!

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:

/0 Comments/by

Making Progress!

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

The Madison Mountaineering Everest, Lhotse, and Nuptse expedition teams are making good progress towards their different objectives! While the sun shined on the Lhotse Face as the team ascended to Camp 3, our Sherpa team was able to be seen over the “valley of silence” fixing the route up the Nuptse Face! Madison Mountaineering climber, Casey Diener checks in with this dispatch from Camp 2 on Mount Everest:

This is Casey Diener calling in from Camp 2 (6500m/21,325ft) with Madison Mountaineering! I’m just a climber on the team here.

We had a good acclimatization day. All the crew who set out for Lhotse Camp 3 (7230m/23,720ft) made it in good fashion. It was a mix of sun and clouds on the Lhotse Face today. Yeah, everyone made it in good [garbled]. Enjoying some good dinner tonight – curry chicken and some popcorn! Currently, the lines have been fixed to the summit of Lhotse (8516m/27,940ft). Hopefully sometime in the near future Krisli, Nelly, and Terray will be ready to make a charge up the Lhotse Face once a weather window opens. They have camped for a couple of more recovery days [garbled]… Positive news, there has been more snow around here lately which has accumulated on the Lhotse Face which will help prevent future rockfall.

Today, the team was able to see the Sherpa team over on the Nuptse Face fixing the lines up the Nuptse (7861m/25,791ft) route! So, progress is being made on that front as well. Tomorrow, the majority of the team will be heading down to base camp (5364m/17,598ft) for some recovery before the next rotation.

This is Casey Diener, checking out!

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:

/0 Comments/by