Garrett Madison

Last updated
Garrett Madison
Garrett Madison on Mountain 3.JPG
BornNovember 3, 1978 (1978-11-03) (age 44)
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Education Western Washington University
Occupation Mountaineer
Parent(s)James Christian and Mary Margaret Madison

Garrett Madison (born November 3, 1978) is an American mountaineer, guide and expedition leader. [1] Madison began guiding professionally in 1999 on Mount Rainier and has reached the summit of Mount Everest 13 times. His company, Madison Mountaineering, specializes in climbs on Mount Everest and other high altitude peaks, operates on the highest peaks on all seven continents, and also provides training programs and summit climbs in Washington State. [2]

Contents

Climbing career

On May 19–20, 2011, he reached the summit of Mount Everest on his fourth successful attempt as expedition leader and guide for Alpine Ascents International, and reached the summit of Lhotse (4th highest mountain in the world) 21 hours later as guide to climber Tom Halliday. [3] [4] Also on the expedition was guide Michael Horst who made both summits as well in under a 24-hour period, a few days earlier. [5] This was the first time that both Everest and Lhotse were summited together in less than 24 hours, and Madison repeated the "double header" feat again in 2013, 2018, 2022 and 2023 and is currently the only climber in the world to have done so five times. [6] [7] [8] Madison holds the record for guiding the most number of climbers (12) in reaching the summits of two 8000-meter peaks within 24 hours.

In 2014, Madison led the first successfully guided ascent of K2, arguably the hardest and most dangerous mountain in the world. He reached the summit with two climbers and three Sherpas on July 27, 2014, again on July 22, 2018, with 8 clients, 3 guides, and 15 Sherpas, [9] [10] on July 28, 2021, with a summit team of 21, [11] and most recently on July 22, 2022, with a summit team of 15. Madison also regularly guides many Seven Summits expeditions during the year such as Carstensz Pyramid, Aconcagua, Vinson Massif, Kilimanjaro and Elbrus as well as first ascents of unclimbed peaks in the Himalayas.

In addition, Madison is regularly involved with film productions on Everest, participating in four different features over three years. [12] Most recently, Madison's company, Madison Mountaineering, brought a virtual reality camera to the summit of Mount Everest. [13] As an executive producer, Garrett Madison was awarded the 2017 Sports Emmy in Outstanding Digital Innovation for the resulting SI.com/Life VR production, Capturing Everest. [14] [15]

Madison was leading a team of climbers up Mount Everest when the April 2015 Nepal earthquake triggered an avalanche, resulting in the deadliest day in Everest's history. The team's doctor, Eve Girawong, was one of the American fatalities.

Madison holds multiple high altitude mountaineering world records such as being the only person to climb Mount Everest and nearby Lhotse in a day, five times. He is the only American to climb K2 three times, and personally has led more climbers to the summits of Mount Everest and K2 than anyone. [16]

In addition to leading high-altitude expeditions worldwide throughout the year, Madison consults on mountaineering equipment development and testing and is an athlete for Mountain Hardwear. [17] Mountain Hardwear offers a selection of high-altitude expedition gear personally designed and endorsed by Madison in the Garrett Madison Collection. [18]

Madison speaks professionally to organizations and teams about his mountaineering experiences, leadership, and managing risk. Some recent examples include Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook, SAP, and many others. Madison’s forthcoming book “High-Stakes Leadership: When Your Life And The Lives Of Others Hang In The Balance” is coming soon.

Media

Outside Magazine 's story of the deadly September 2012 avalanche on Manaslu is supported with photos and notes of Madison's mountain rescue and recovery efforts. [19]

An interview and story of Madison's 2012 Mount Everest summit was published in the October 2012 issue of Outside Magazine. [20]

The MTN Meister Podcast featured an interview with Madison in 2014 detailing, among other things, his ascent of K2 that was the mountain's first guided climb. [21]

Outside Magazine featured Madison on the cover of their 2015 Adventure Issue. [22]

People Magazine and The Today Show both highlighted Madison's experience during the April 2015 Nepal earthquake while covering the tragedy. [23] [24]

In July 2015, ESPN featured Madison in a video about Mount Everest. [25]

The Himalayan Times covered Madison’s successful first ascent of Nupla Khang in November 2018. [26]

Madison frequently provides narration and commentary for mountaineering media productions, such as Netflix's 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible film. [27]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">K2</span> 2nd-highest mountain on Earth

K2, at 8,611 metres (28,251 ft) above sea level, is the second-highest mountain on Earth, after Mount Everest at 8,849 metres (29,032 ft). It lies in the Karakoram range, partially in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan-administered Kashmir and partially in the China-administered Trans-Karakoram Tract in the Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County of Xinjiang.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Everest</span> Earths highest mountain

Mount Everest is Earth's highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point. Its elevation of 8,848.86 m was most recently established in 2020 by the Chinese and Nepali authorities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lhotse</span> Eight-thousander and 4th-highest mountain on Earth, located in Nepal and China

Lhotse is the fourth highest mountain in the world at 8,516 metres (27,940 ft), after Mount Everest, K2, and Kangchenjunga. The main summit is on the border between Tibet Autonomous Region of China and the Khumbu region of Nepal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manaslu</span> Eight-thousander and 8th-highest mountain on Earth, located in Nepal

Manaslu is the eighth-highest mountain in the world at 8,163 metres (26,781 ft) above sea level. It is in the Mansiri Himal, part of the Nepalese Himalayas, in the west-central part of Nepal. The name Manaslu means "mountain of the spirit" and is derived from the Sanskrit word manasa, meaning "intellect" or "soul". Manaslu was first climbed on May 9, 1956, by Toshio Imanishi and Gyalzen Norbu, members of a Japanese expedition. It is said that, given the many unsuccessful attempts by the British to climb Everest before Nepali Tenzing Norgay and New Zealander Edmund Hillary, "just as the British consider Everest their mountain, Manaslu has always been a Japanese mountain".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anatoli Boukreev</span> Russian mountain climber

Anatoli Nikolaevich Boukreev was a Soviet and Kazakhstani mountaineer who made ascents of 10 of the 14 eight-thousander peaks—those above 8,000 m (26,247 ft)—without supplemental oxygen. From 1989 through 1997, he made 18 successful ascents of peaks above 8000 m.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Fischer</span> American mountaineer (1955–1996)

Scott Eugene Fischer was an American mountaineer and mountain guide. He was renowned for his ascents of the world's highest mountains made without the use of supplemental oxygen. Fischer and Wally Berg were the first Americans to summit Lhotse, the world's fourth highest peak. Fischer, Charley Mace, and Ed Viesturs summitted K2 without supplemental oxygen. Fischer first climbed Mount Everest in 1994 and later died during the 1996 blizzard on Everest while descending from the peak.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Hinkes</span> British Himalayan mountaineer

Alan Hinkes OBE is an English Himalayan high-altitude mountaineer from Northallerton in North Yorkshire. He is the first British mountaineer to claim all 14 Himalayan eight-thousanders, which he did on 30 May 2005.

Andrew James Lock OAM is an Australian high-altitude mountaineer. He became the first, and still remains the only, Australian to climb all 14 "eight-thousanders" on 2 October 2009, and is the 18th person to ever complete this feat. He climbed 13 of the 14 without using bottled oxygen, only using it on Mount Everest, which he has summited three times. He retired from eight-thousander climbing in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phurba Tashi</span> Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer

Phurba Tashi Sherpa Mendewa is a Nepalese Sherpa mountaineer known for his numerous ascents of major Himalayan peaks. These include 21 ascents of Mount Everest, five on Cho Oyu, two on Manaslu, and one each on Shishapangma and Lhotse.

Lopsang Jangbu Sherpa was a Nepalese Sherpa mountaineering guide, climber and porter, best known for his work as the climbing Sirdar for Scott Fischer's Mountain Madness expedition to Everest in Spring 1996, when a freak storm led to the deaths of eight climbers from several expeditions, considered one of the worst disasters in the history of Everest mountaineering. Notwithstanding controversy over his actions during that expedition, Lopsang was well-regarded in the mountaineering community, having summited Everest four times. Lopsang was killed in an avalanche in September 1996, while again on an expedition to climb Everest for what would have been a fifth ascent.

Ralf Dujmovits is a German mountaineer. In May 2009 he became the 16th person, and the first German, to climb the 14 eight-thousanders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adrian Ballinger</span> American climber

Adrian Ballinger is a British-American certified IFMGA/AMGA mountain guide, certified through the American Mountain Guides Association and a sponsored climber and skier. Ballinger is the founder and CEO of Alpenglow Expeditions, and has been guiding full-time for 25 years. He has led over 150 international climbing expeditions on six continents, and made 18 successful summits of 8,000m peaks. He is known for pioneering the use of pre-acclimatization for commercial expeditions as early as 2012, which can cut the amount of time typically spent on an expedition in half. Adrian is the only American to have made three successful ski descents of 8,000m peaks, including the first ski descent of Manaslu from its summit. He is also the fourth American to have summited both Mount Everest and K2 without the use of supplemental oxygen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asian Trekking</span>

Asian Trekking is a commercial adventure company based out of Kathmandu, Nepal started by Sherpa Ang Tshering. In 2001, it was recorded that Asian Trekking ran 25 large mountain expeditions per year. Asian Trekking made international news in 2006 when four of its clients and two of its Sherpas died in a single season. One of their clients, David Sharp, died near the summit, and this event became the center of an international climbing ethics controversy. Founder of the company Ang said that climbers can die if they use all their energy getting to the summit of Mount Everest, only to be too fatigued of the descent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Everest in 2017</span>

The Mount Everest climbing season of 2017 began in spring with the first climbers reaching the top on May 11, from the north side. The first team on the south side reached the top on May 15. By early June, reports from Nepal indicated that 445 people had made it to the summit from the Nepali side. Reports indicate 160–200 summits on the north side, with 600–660 summiters overall for early 2017. This year had a roughly 50% success rate on that side for visiting climbers, which was down from other years. By 2018, the figure for the number of summiters of Everest was refined to 648. This includes 449 which summited via Nepal and 120 from Chinese Tibet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Everest in 2013</span>

The Mount Everest climbing season of 2013 included 658 summits and 8 deaths. Due to avalanches in 2014 and 2015, this was the last big summiting year until 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kami Rita</span> Record-setting Sherpa mountain climber of highest peaks

Kami Rita, Thame, Solukhumbu District, Nepal is a Nepali Sherpa guide who, since May 2018, has held the record for most ascents to the summit of Mount Everest. Most recently, he scaled the mountain for a 28th time on 23 May 2023, breaking his own record set on 17 May 2023. His father was among the first professional Sherpa guides after Everest was opened to foreign mountaineers in 1950. His brother Lakpa Rita, also a guide, scaled Everest 17 times.

References

  1. ↑ "Alpine Ascents International Guide Staff". Archived from the original on March 18, 2016. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Madison Mountaineering Official Website". Madison Mountaineering.
  3. ↑ "Everest News". Alpine Ascents Everest Expedition, 2011: Team is back in Everest Base Camp. Archived from the original on February 24, 2012. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  4. ↑ "Record-setting performances highlight a bizarre week on Mt. Everest". GrindTV.
  5. ↑ "Everest and Lhotse in Less Than 21 Hours". Climbing Magazine. Archived from the original on September 20, 2011. Retrieved March 31, 2012.
  6. ↑ Hawley, Elizabeth (2004–2011). The Himalayan Database: The Expedition Archives of Elizabeth Hawley. Golden, CO: American Alpine Club. ISBN   978-9937-506-64-9.
  7. ↑ "Alpine Ascents Everest Expedition, 2011: Team is back in Everest Base Camp". Everest News. Archived from the original on February 24, 2012. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  8. ↑ "Garrett Madison biography" . Retrieved October 7, 2015.
  9. ↑ "K2 2018 Summer Coverage: Record Weekend on K2 and a Death". The Blog on alanarnette.com. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Madison Mountaineering: Dispatches: K2 2018".
  11. ↑ "K2 2021 Summer Coverage: Post Summit Video Interview with Garrett Madison". The Blog on alanarnette.com. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
  12. ↑ "Garrett Madison biography" . Retrieved October 7, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Sports Illustrated partnering to produce first complete Mt. Everest climb in virtual reality".
  14. ↑ "39th Annual Sports Emmy Awards Winners Announced" . Retrieved September 21, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Capturing Everest" . Retrieved September 21, 2018.
  16. ↑ "Foreign climbers arrive in Pakistan to summit K2 as COVID-19 curbs relaxed". gulfnews.com.
  17. ↑ "Athletes and Ambassadors". Mountain Hardwear. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
  18. ↑ "Garrett Madison Expedition Collection". Mountain Hardwear. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
  19. ↑ "11 Dead or Missing, Scores Injured in Manaslu Avalanche". Outside.
  20. ↑ "Take a Number". Outside.
  21. ↑ "Garrett Madison: Paving the Way". MTN Meister Podcast.
  22. ↑ "Outside Magazine, May 2015". Outside Online.
  23. ↑ "Everest Avalanche Survivor Garrett Madison: 'I Was Powerless to Help'". People.
  24. ↑ "Mount Everest climber describes 'awful noise' of avalanche". TODAY.
  25. ↑ "SC Featured: At the Top of the World". ESPN.
  26. ↑ "Six climbers, five Sherpa guides summit Mt Nupla Khang".
  27. ↑ "Netflix Official Site".

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