A renowned US mountain guide has achieved the rare ‘triple crown’ of the Everest region, climbing three peaks – Mount Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse – in one season, a trekking company official said on Friday.
Garrett Madison, 44, scaled Lhotse, the world’s fourth highest peak at 8,516m (27,939ft), on Thursday, a day after making his 13th ascent of Everest, the 8,849m (29,032ft) mountain. highest in the world, said Ishwari Paudel of the Himalayan Guides company, which is helping Madison with logistics.
Madison, which owns the Seattle-based company Madison Mountaineering, climbed the smaller but technically difficult Nuptse Peak at 25,770 feet (7,855 m) on May 8.
“It is very difficult to climb all three peaks in one season and only a few climbers have done it,” Paudel said.
Paudel said Madison was accompanied by three Sherpa climbers on all three peaks.
“We are extremely proud of the team and this tremendous achievement,” Madison said on his company website.
British climber Kenton Cool, who climbed the triple crown in 2013, said Garrett was an “unflappable expedition leader” who went about his work in silence.
“When I climbed what became known as the Triple Crown in one season, I said I wouldn’t do it again for 10 years,” Cool told Reuters in a text message.
“I am happy now that 10 years later it is Garrett who has managed to achieve the same feat… bravo!!”
Cool, 49, last week set a new record of 17 summits of Everest, the world’s highest peak, by a foreign climber.
A Nepali, Kami Rita Sherpa, this week climbed Everest for the 28th time, the most by any mountaineer.