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Stories: Makalu

Mountain adventures create the best stories, and we want to share some of ours with you. Dive into Alpenglow Stories to stay up to date on expeditions in the field, read blogs, and get tips and tricks from guides.

Adrian Ballinger climbing up Makalu during his ski descent of Makalu

Why Hire an IFMGA-Certified Guide for Climbing 8000-Meter Peaks?

In high altitude environments, having a skilled and experienced guide is not just beneficial: it’s crucial for ensuring safety and success. This is where the International Federation of Mountain Guides Associations (IFMGA) certification comes into play, providing assurance and expertise to stack every card in your favor while climbing at 8,000 meters.
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What it’s like to climb up and ski down Makalu, the world’s 5th-highest mountain

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Alpenglow’s Success on Makalu via Rapid Ascent

Written by Griffin Mims, International Coordinator On May 12th, 2022, Alpenglow team members Christina Ochs, Topo Mena, Ngima Tenzing Sherpa, and Phu Rita Sherpa summited the 5th tallest peak in…
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Adrian Ballinger on winter expedition

Makalu Summit Push About to Begin

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Project Makalu – A Return to Nepal

Follow the team at ProjectMakalu.com. It never fails. I’m sitting in a window seat on the right side of TG319 flying from Bangkok to Kathmandu. We’re flying at 31,000 feet,…
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Wrapping up the 2012 Himalayan Season

Sitting poolside at the Kathmandu Hyatt in November…. this is the time and place each year that the Alpenglow guides and staff wrap-up and debrief the Himalayan season. At least…
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Weather Prohibits Makalu Summit Bid

Disappointment, despair, depression, darkness and downright sadness. That could pretty much sum up the mood in our not long ago happy little ABC. After over a week of patient waiting,…
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Waiting…

Well, we have been patiently waiting in ABC for good news on the weather and are unfortunately still waiting for our “green light” to move higher towards the summit. With…
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The Base Camp Waiting Game

Sometimes waiting for a summit window is excruciating, especially on big mountains in the Himalaya where the waiting might go 1 week, 2 weeks, or longer. Here on Makalu, so…
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Shredding Powder at >7000 Meters!

Firstly, I apologise for the lack of footage to accompany this short update. There are only so many photos of ABC I can bore you with and, unfortunately for me,…
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