Home»MOUNTAINS & CLIMBING»2006 AMA DABLAM EXPEDITION

In November and December 2006 9 of us went to attempt to climb Ama Dablam a 6856m (22,500ft) mountain in Nepal. This was my second visit to the Khumbu.

Unfortunately, just as we arrived in the Khumbu valley word reached us that six climbers had been killed in a massive avalanche at Camp 3 (6300m). One Brit, two Swedes and three local sherpas from the village at the foot of the mountain, Pangboche were killed. This put a rather gloomy face on the expedition from the start. We decided to carry on to base camp to see the scene for ourselves. On arrival it became pretty clear that the route had changed and it would not be possible to use camp 3.

I spent a few days mulling over what I wanted to do. For three years I had been planning this trip and to cast away a chance for the summit was a difficult decision. However, after speaking to one of our sherpas, Padawa, who had lost friends and who himself was grieving, and thinking about the effect on my family back home (word of the accident had been "sensationally" spread to the media before any of us had a chance to let folks back home know we were all ok), I decided I would climb on the mountain but I would not go beyond camp 2 at about 6000m. This meant that I had the benefit of some of the best climbing on the mountain but would allay family concerns and, for me, would be being respectful of the recently deceased. Others have different views on this and each of us has to do what felt right in the circumstances at the time. This "felt" right for me.

Our climb entailed getting ourselves acclimatised firstly by load carrying and sleeping to heights up to camp 1 at 5700m. Our base camp was at 4500m which is sufficiently high (approaching the heights of the highest mountains in the Alps) to really feel the effect of the altitude. We then used an Advanced Base Camp at about 5400m, Camp 1 at 5750m, Camp 2 at 6000m and a new (in view of the avalanche) at about 6200m. When we had completed the acclimatisation phase and had a few days recovery at base camp we set off for summit attempts. I spent 6 days on the mountain - eating "ration pack" type foods full of calories and energy. We had to chop ice and melt it to make water for cooking and drinking. All this said, I fully acknowledge that without our support from our sherpas who checked the fixed ropes (we tried nontheless to climb it free without recourse to the ropes, however, the removal of some of the mental "edge" is definitely a factor given the proximity of the ropes however well or badly they are fixed) and set our camps.

By the time I got back to Kathmandu I'd gone 23 days without a bath or shower and was really looking forward to a few beers!

I had a brilliant trip. Yes I didn't summit but I was climbing well, coped with the altitude well, maintained my appetite and was able to sleep at 6000m. All in all, it still had many positives.

This will be a gallery of not only some of the best, but also, of some of the photos that tell the story of our November/December expedition to climb Ama Dablam in Nepal.



NOTE - AS YOU GO THROUGH THE PHOTOS YOU CAN USE EITHER THE SCROLL BUTTONS OR VIEW AS A SLIDESHOW. INDIVIDUAL PHOTOS MAY BE ENLARGED BY DOUBLE CLICKING ON THEM.