Ama Dablam Expedition Dispatch
November 14, 2015 – Brent’s Summit Report
Mid-morning on the 8th, we walked by the juniper burning at the base of our Chorten at Base Camp and started our climb to Camp I. The strategy was to move to our first camp on the Southwest Ridge using as little energy as possible, since there would be another four days ahead on our summit push. “Slowly, slowly” was our mantra as we took nearly six hours to climb the 3,900 feet to Camp I.
The following day took us along the spectacularly narrow Southwest Ridge of Ama Dablam to our Camp II, which is precariously perched on a rock outcropping at 19,600 feet. The climbing between the camps is spectacular with tremendous exposure. The route takes vertical steps and weaves in and out of gendarmes for its entirety. The climbing culminates with a 70-foot vertical pitch through the Yellow Tower that is anything but easy at altitude. At Camp II, the team hit a speed bump. Johanna had been battling stomach issues since Camp I, and the antibiotics were having no effect. If you can’t stay healthy, you can’t climb at altitude, and Johanna made the very difficult decision to descend the following day.
The next morning, a truncated team of Palden, Brent, and Jen started the move to Camp III. The beginning of the climb was through 500 feet of steep rock on the Grey Tower and then made a transition to steep snow and ice. Once through the Grey Tower, the climbing follows the Mushroom Ridge, which precariously drops off both to the right and left. The climbing entails both rock and ice movement. Finally the climbing pulls around a large serac and leaves you on top of an exposed shoulder below the “Dablam”, (the “Jewel Box”), at 20,500 ft. The three of us crammed into one tent and planned on leaving by four in the morning. High winds buffeted the tent on a regular basis, giving the feeling of sleeping in a snare drum, but they were intermittent enough to try for the summit.
After melting snow for water and eating breakfast, the team was moving in the cold and dark by 4:30. Climbing by the surreal orb of headlamp, the route moves to the right of the Dablam and onto the steep fluted summit snowfields. Jen’s toes were getting alarmingly cold at the two-hour mark, and since the sun was hours away, the team decided to stop and take actions. As simple as it sounds, taking boots off and placing cold feet on a warm stomach is all that is needed to bring life back to toes. Brent and Palden sacrificed their stomachs in the name of Jen’s toes. Once warm, the team kept moving over the steep snow and ice. The final pitches brought the climbers into the sun and literally onto the summit of Ama Dablam. Hugs and smiles and relief and photos taken with the postcards from Lama Ghashi are all part of the summit ritual. The views from here are amazing – Everest, Nhuptse, Lhotse, Makalu, Toboche, Cholotse can all be seen in panoramic view.
While summiting is an option, descending safely and in control is mandatory. Two hours after leaving the summit, we were back in Camp III after battling high winds on the descent. A quick break to eat and hydrate and the team was moving to Camp II. The movement down was equally as technical as the climb up. The team finally made it back to Camp II after 12 hours of continuous movement. A bit of re-hydration and then sleep met the team quickly.
Early morning light at Camp II found the team up and moving down the mountain. Six hours later, the team was back in Base Camp after five days of physically and emotionally taxing climbing to the top of one of the most beautiful mountains in the world.