Mt Ama Dablam - Visual Tour

Mt Ama Dablam (6800m) - technical peak.
The short of the story was that, it was a TOUGH mountain requiring more rests and acclimatization trips to high camps.  As we're not yet well-acclimatized (slower than most), we estimated a 22h+ summit day due to C2 overcrowding (i.e. we have to take off from C2, summit and back all the way to C1), but given exhaustion when we arrived in C2 - we decided against it.  I think at least 3 more days could have allowed us to tackle the last 700m (from C2).

Well, the mountain will always be there - we can always go back... =)

Why we climbed Ama Dablam?
My personal intent was to promote a more technical version of climbing with the hope of inspiring (thru video/ photos/ stories) the next generation to climb more difficult, "walled" peaks.  The hope was that, Filipinos would soon start the "K2 project".  K2 (Godwin-Austen peak) is the 2nd highest peak, but more difficult and dangerous than Everest.   I believe that the next worthwhile project by Philippine mountaineering groups is a climb on K2.  We're done with Everest, with 7 Summits, and the way to climb the 14 peaks of 8000m family is to target the most difficult of them all -- K2!
With Ama Dablam as a 'primer' and a known training mountain for such, we hope to show what high-altitude technical climbing is about, and hopefully, lure our more 'extreme' climbers to climb such peaks.
Get on it, climb on!



Pictures may tell you a thousand words... so here are some..

Mt Ama Dablam from a distance, approach to BC

BC as seen from upper hills

resting at lower C1 (aka "Yak camp"), we stayed here on our 1st carry up

looking down at climbers going to C1

at C1, it was a long, hard day...

Steep on some sections, but unlike big walls like Carstensz, this mountain is significantly high making one's technical climbing skills severely hampered by thin air endurance.

Walls, cliffs, knife ridges...

C1 at night... it didn't seem like this tent was dangerously perched on a pile of rocks...

climbers traversing a wall below 'upper Camp1'

No Easy Day - steep going at ANY part of the higher slopes

myself at C2, the peak "seems near" :)

the route to C2 were all along the steep knife ridge -  falling not allowed!

high above C2, climbers (lower left) can be seen tackling the section before C3.

resting at C2, you could see the other tents were pitched dangerously on the ridge (no choice really)

C2 and Peak at night... (well, just after last light and my cam has no night shot capability)

the last 700m is not a easy climb... C3 (below the ice fall) is a dangerous place, and all approach are vertical. There's always a NEXT TIME!!