7 Summits in One Year: Podcast with Garrett Madison

About this episode

Alan Arnette interviews Garrett Madison about his experiences summiting the Seven Summits in 2025 and discusses future challenges in mountaineering.

As we close out 2025, I caught up with Garrett Maddison, founder of Madison Mountaineering, for a rare moment while he was home in the Seattle area. Garrett summited all of the Seven Summits (Messner List) in 2025, plus had some interesting times on Cho Oyu, watched one of his teams struggle, like the others, on K2, and is actively guiding on Vinson. We discussed all this, including what to expect for Everest in 2026, with the more expensive permit fees, new requirements for Everest applicants from China, and proposals from Nepal. Climb On! Alan Memories are Everything https://www.alanarnette.com/blog/2025/12/23/7-summits-in-one-year-podcast-with-garrett-madison/

People in this episode

Host: Alan Arnette

Guest: Garrett Madison

Topics covered

• mountaineering
• Everest
• Seven Summits
• guiding
• climbing challenges

Keywords

• Garrett Madison
• Seven Summits
• mountaineering
• Everest
• K2
• Cho Oyu
• Vinson
• 2025
• 2026
• Madison Mountaineering

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Madison Mountaineering

Places: Seattle, Everest, Nepal

More episodes of The Podcast on alanarnette.com

• Everest 2026 Season Summary–Records, Crowds, Trash & Winds · June 3, 2026 · 33 min
• Everest 2026: May 3 Weekend Update Record Season Over & 1 More Death? · May 31, 2026 · 12 min
• Everest 2026: May 24 Weekend Update Nearing the End · May 24, 2026 · 25 min
• Everest 2026: Garrett Madison Podcast from Camp 2, 2 More Deaths · May 22, 2026 · 10 min
• Everest 2026: The Western Team's Turn, My Summit Anniversary · May 22, 2026 · 26 min
• Everest 2026: Weather Alert and More Summits · May 18, 2026 · 13 min