Climbing on the Southwest Ridge of Ama Dablam, 6828m / 22,402 ft. Guy Cotter

Ama Dablam is one of the most beautiful mountains in the world, and our route on its Southwest Ridge has a technical quality that matches its aesthetics. This is a fairly steep line on very high quality rock, snow, and ice, and both the route itself and the remarkable scenery surrounding us make it extremely photogenic from beginning to end. This is an Adventure Consultants expedition and will be a joint American-New Zealand effort, similar to the one which made the first ascent in 1961.

View and download the expedition notes for this trip.

Ama Dablam from Khumjung Village, the southwest ridge is on the right. Guy Cotter

After our arrival in Kathmandu, we will fly by helicopter or fixed-wing aircraft to Lukla and then make a six-day trek to our base camp at a little over 14,000 feet. We will get a rich and rewarding exposure to the Sherpa culture as we trek through the villages of Namche Bazaar, Tengboche, Deboche, and Pangboche. When we reach Namche, we take an acclimatization day and enjoy this busy town which is on one of the traditional trans-Himalaya trading routes. We'll also visit the old Sherpa villages of Khunde and Khumbjung as well as the Hillary Hospital and School.

We continue deeper into the mountains, visiting Pangboche's remarkable monastery, then leave the standard trekking route at there to travel cross-country to the base of Ama Dablam. Once established in base camp, we will move loads to Camp 1 at 17,400' via easy terrain to the base of the SW Ridge. From this point on we'll enjoy technical climbing as our route follows the spine of the rock ridge, and the very exposed nature of the route makes for exciting climbing. From Camp 1 to the summit we will follow existing fixed lines and establish new ropes where necessary to safeguard our climbing route for both our ascent and descent. Sections of the rock ascent will be very steep and exposed, and team members will need to be comfortable climbing 5.8 in rock shoes so they can handle this terrain in boots.

Climber Traversing Rock Towers to Camp 2. Guy Cotter

During our ascent, our panoramic view includes the famous mountains of the Khumbu from Kwangde to Tamserku, Kantega and Taweche. Below them we see the numerous smaller unnamed peaks of the region and at night, the lights of the villages in the Khumbu.

The final climb to the summit above Camp 2 will involve very steep snow and ice, with short sections up to 80 degrees, so team members will also need to be comfortable climbing at least half-pitches of vertical ice with a small pack. The summit rewards will be equal to the great effort put into our climb, and the views will range from Everest north to Cho Oyu in Tibet and east to Makalu which rises from Nepal's Barun Valley beyond Baruntse. If you've enjoyed climbing at altitude before and would like to apply your skills and experience to this great mountain, give us a call to discuss joining our expedition.