Spring climbing season in the Nepal Himalayas is fast approaching. I’m looking forward to more views like this: the final steps to the summit of Mt. Everest!
With @madisonmtng
#adventure #trekking #climbing #expedition #everest #himalayas #nepal #mountaineering #sevensummits
Beautiful weather for a quick flight over Camp 4, perched just below 8,000 meters on K2. Skyang Kangri, AKA Staircase Peak, comes into view on the Chinese border near the end of the clip!
With @madisonmtng
#mountaineering #karakoram #k2 #8000meters #climbing #mountains #expedition #pakistan #himalayas #chogori #gilgitbaltistan #drone #aerial
It was an honor to arrive home and find this waiting! I shared in a ‘21-‘22 Sports Emmy for contributing drone cinematography from Mt. Everest to a short documentary that aired on the @nflnetwork . The doc focused on Mark Pattison @markpattisonnfl , a retired NFL player who summited Everest with the @madisonmtng team during the 2021 spring season.
#everest #everest2021 #sagarmatha #chomolungma #nepal #nepalhimalaya #climbing #mountains #himalayas
Evening glow on the high peaks as we tucked into our tent at the foot of Pumori yesterday. Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse …
@madisonmtng
#everest #lhotse #himalayas #nepal # mountaineering
Good times training on the Khumbu Glacier over the last couple of days! Looking forward to moving up the mountain …
@madisonmtng
#everest #lhotse #himalaya #nepal #mountaineering
Team spirit and warm vibes at our pre-climb puja a few days ago! The @madisonmtng team (plus a handful of good friends) came together to ask the mountain for safe passage before we start ascending above base camp.
Best wishes to everyone on the mountain this season. 🏔️ ❤️
#everest #lhotse #himalayas #nepal #mountaineering
Photos from our most recent cleanup effort through the Madison Mountaineering Foundation!
I took a bit of a hiatus from social media over the winter and never put most of these in a post. Last fall, with inspiration and generous support from @steve_mcconnell_ and his IF (Impact Futures) initiative, we hosted a Leave No Trace workshop in Kathmandu with mountain staff. Then we headed into the Khumbu, where we picked up 170 pounds of trash from Gokyo Ri, while also trekking the Three Passes and sumitting Lobuche East and Island Peak. Our cleanup efforts were halted when Cyclone Montha dropped a surprising amount of snow, but the untapped resources have already been directed to another conservation project. We’re excited to share that soon!
For this effort, we worked with our excellent partners @spcc.nepal and @sagarmathanext . Five volunteers chipped in, in addition to our paid expedition and cleanup staff of 11 people. Eight students earned LNT certificates.
(Much of the waste we removed consisted of old prayer flags. Unfortunately most prayer flags these days are made of nylon, and tend to accumulate to a problematic extent unless periodically cleaned up. We worked with a local lodge owner to ceremonially dispose of the old flags we gathered.)
@garrettmadison1@aang_phurba_sherpa
#himalayas #nepal #khumbu #conservation #mountaineering
Everest season is here again! I can’t wait to work with the @madisonmtng team once more in this tremendous landscape. These photos are from the last five seasons on the Everest / Lhotse massif.
@garrettmadison1@aang_phurba_sherpa@cachobeiza@jp.xpeditions
#everest #sagarmatha #chomolungma #lhotse #nepal
More shots from our recent ascent of Carstensz Pyramid / Puncak Jaya! Over the Papuan rainforests and the Grasberg Mine (the world’s largest gold mine) into the Sundirman Range, then up the Harrer Route to the highest point in Oceania.
Feeling grateful for good times up high in wild places!
@madisonmtng
#mountaineering #climbing #expedition #carstensz #carstenszpyramid #puncakjaya
Feels great to arrive home after a successful six weeks of expeditions in Asia!
In late October / early November, our @madisonmtng team enjoyed a beautiful trek through Nepal’s Everest Region, with summits of Gokyo Ri, Lobuche East and Island Peak. We dealt with surprisingly heavy snowfall when Cyclone Montha swept north from the Bay of Bengal, but nonetheless made progress on the trip’s other objective: removing waste from alpine areas in the Khumbu. That cleanup effort was conducted through the Madison Mountaineering Foundation, thanks to the inspiration and generous support of @steve_mcconnell_ .
From Nepal, it was off to the highlands of New Guinea for an ascent of Carstensz Pyramid with 100% success. I was grateful for another chance to work and climb with such an excellent team there!
@madisonmtng@garrettmadison1@aang_phurba_sherpa
#mountaineering #climbing #expedition #trekking #nepal #himalayas #carstensz #puncakjaya
Today marked the start of something I’ve been dreaming about for sometime, an initiative I’m calling ‘if’ was kicked off early this morning on the 17,575 foot high summit of Gokyo-Ri, Nepal!
.
The idea behind the ‘if’ initiative is simple – link personal adventure, experiences, and fulfillment with doing something for the greater good at the same time.
.
This first ‘if’ initiative project involves sponsoring the Madison Mountaineering Foundation and its remarkable leaders and local Nepalese experts to spearhead mountain clean-up efforts across a three week adventure that is unfolding now. Primary sites for our clean-up activities include Gokyo-Ri, Lobuche East, and Island Peak. Importantly, all waste will be properly disposed of in accordance with SPCC (Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee) guidelines.
.
Especially interesting is that we will segregate discarded climbing gear such as tattered ropes, torn tents, old poles and more for Sagamartha Next - a remarkable organization based in Namche Bazar that turns waste into art among many other thoughtful programs.
.
Above all I want to thank the people who are making this all possible: Garret Madison and his Madison Mountaineering Foundation; Terray Sylvester, our team leader, senior guide and clean-up manager; Aang Phurba Sherpa, our Sirdar and clean-up manager; and all our clean-up team members including Tendi Sherpa, Kam Dorji Sherpa, and Uttar Rai - without their talent, mountain skills, and remarkable strength none of this would be possible.
.
.
.
📸 All pictures for this post shot by: Terray Sylvester @terray_s
