Ama Dablam Expedition

The name “Ama Dablam” means “Mother’s Necklace,” as the peak is said to resemble a mother embracing her child.

Climbing Ama Dablam is considered a technical climb, requiring advanced mountaineering skills and experience. The route to the summit involves steep rock, ice, and snow climbing, as well as the use of fixed ropes and other technical climbing equipment.

Despite its technical challenges, Ama Dablam is a popular destination for experienced mountaineers seeking a challenging climb in the Himalayas. The peak offers stunning views of the surrounding mountains, including Everest, Lhotse, and Makalu, as well as the Khumbu Valley and traditional Sherpa villages.

In addition to climbing, the Ama Dablam region offers several trekking options, allowing trekkers to experience the stunning natural beauty and cultural richness of the Khumbu region. Treks to Ama Dablam usually begin in Lukla and pass through the Sagarmatha National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site that is home to several rare and endangered wildlife species.

Overall, Ama Dablam is a challenging and rewarding adventure for experienced mountaineers seeking to test their skills and experience the unique beauty and culture of the Khumbu region of Nepal.

We fly from KTM to Lukla, 30 minutes on a twin-otter plane, arriving at 2800m above sea level. We have to take it easy so as to allow our bodies to acclimatize.

On our first day we walk only a couple hours and stay in the small quiet village of Phakding (“next to river”). We use local teahouses and lodges rather than camping on the trek to base camp. Our second day on the trek, it takes us across several narrow swing bridges that span the Dudh-Koshi River (“Milk River”). By mid-afternoon we arrive in the Sherpa capital of Namche Bazaar at 3,440m elevation, where we will allow our bodies to rest and acclimatize at least for two nights.

Once everyone has adjusted sufficiently to the new altitude we walk a further day to the village of Tengbouche at 3910m and we visit the famous Tangboche monastery, which is the one of the oldest and largest Buddhist monastery in the area. And next day we walk through the valley further to Dingboche, from where the spectacular views can be seen. And here we can do acclimatization hiking over 5,000m altitude on Nagarjun Peak. The following day we trek to Chukung valley and we allocate the next 3 days for climbing the Island Peak (6,160m) for better training and proper acclimatization with the high altitude and also getting ready for our main climbing peak Mt. Amadablam. After successfully climbing of Island Peak then we move to Amadablam base camp via Pangbouche where our required expedition logistic will be already set up by our Sherpa team.

Acclimatization climb to Island Peak (6,160m) or Lobuche peak (6119m)

We offer an acclimatization climb to Island peak (6160m) or to Lobuche peak (6119m), this is an additional 3 to 5 days on top of normal plan to Amadablam but this trip maximized your summit success on Amadablam. Once we ascent the 6000m altitude either on Island peak or Lobuche, we don’t need to do acclimatization climb up to that altitude on Amadablam, which minimize some risk on Amadablam. Once we ascent one of the 6000m peak, then we possible push for summit attempt on Amadablam without extra acclimatization rotation, so for this strategy has been working well and successfully accomplished.

High Camps and Climbing Routes

We establish three high camps above base camp to climb Amadablam but these days due to the high risk camping at Camp III, we might do only two high camps and do extra push for summit attempt and return.

Base camp (4,600m):

Situated on a large meadow with a wonderful views of the Imja valley.

BC to Camp 1 (5,795m):

Our first real camp is only one and half-hours walk above Yak camp. This section is marked by rock cairns and involves boulder hopping and some easy scrambling. We sometimes fix couple of sections with rope to be used as a handrail.

Camp I to Camp 2 (5,980m):

This section of the route is usually rock climbing only, depending on the season. The granite is high quality and the moves fun, challenging and exposed but “do-able”. We follow a narrow ridge, switching back and forth on each side of the ridge. This is the hardest rock climbing of the entire route. In places the exposure is extreme and you are very thankful of the fixed ropes in place. Whilst it is generally easier not to pull on the ropes all the time if you are finding the going getting a bit too hard you can just rest on the fixed rope. You can also use your jumar to help you over the odd spot of difficulties. Most of the climbing on this section is traversing on rock, so good rock-climbing skills will help you move efficiently and quickly over this terrain.

Camp two: Situated on top of the Yellow Tower on a narrow platform this campsite is rather exposed and has fantastic views. If you dropped your cup from here it would probably land in base camp!

Camp II to Camp 3 (6,440m):

Now for the hardest snow and ice pitches of the route. We follow a system of steep snow and ice gullies up to join a feature called the Mushroom Ridge. Whilst the ridge itself is not as technical as the gullies leading up to it, the exposure here is palpable. It is a narrow, windy, snow mushroom-like ridge with giant Himalayan peaks in the background. This feature leads us up onto a small plateau at 6300 m, which serves the purpose of camp three. Camp three is in a cold and exposed position. The Sherpas will often use a full climbing rope to tie our tents down as the natural shape of the mountain can at times unfortunately funnel the wind to this location. It is however the only safe flat piece of real estate within range of the summit.

Summit day:

For the summit push, we keep open the two options either direct from Camp to Summit and return or start from Camp 3. In 2006 Nov, all most half part of Camp 3 turned into avalanche since then its more risker to sleep overnight at Camp 3, therefore these days more than 80% of the climbers push their summi all the way form Camp 2 with extra push. If we push from Camp 3 the initial route is to the right of the huge “dablam” (ice cliff), up a moderately steep slope, which is often iced. Once past this feature we move toward the centre of the face. The angle eases slightly and a couple of tough hours later we emerge on the summit (6,812m). The summit is the size of a tennis court and allows us to move around and take pictures. Five of the world’s six highest peaks are clearly visible with amazing close view of Mt. Everest, along with many other 7000m and lesser peaks filling the gaps.

The Cost for the Trip is $6500 Per Person (Group Sharing Basis)

1. Permit: Expedition Royalty and permit of Nepal Government to climb Mt. Ama Dablam, Sagarmatha National Park entry permit, Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipal entry permit and fees.

2 .Liaison Officer: 1 Government Liaison officer with full equipment, salary and accommodation.

3. Garbage Management: Stool Shipment Transfer & Garbage Deposit fees.

4. Climbing Sherpa.

Note: Meals, Flight tickets, hotel in Kathmandu will be excluded which not mention above.

Regarding the Documents and Payments you need to do 1 month before.

The Full board Cost is $6500 Per Person. (Group Joining Basis)

Trip Overview

Overview

Ascending Ama Dablam: Conquering Heights, Experiencing Culture, and Embracing Challenges

Conclusion and Summary

Trip Highlight

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Ama Dablam Expedition Map

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