Overview

Mt.  Ama Dablam is considered by some as the most beautiful mountain in the world. Whether you agree with such superlatives or not – it is certainly a remarkable peak that has a particular attraction to any keen mountaineer. Snowy Horizon has plenty of experience in organizing this expedition – a key to success (as well as safety) on the mountain.

The characteristic Pyramid shape led some to call Ama Dablam the ‘Matterhorn’ of the Himalayas and, at least as seen from Namche, there is a certain similarity. The hanging glacier on the southwest face of Ama Dablam resembles a ‘Dablam’- the sacred ornament box worn by Sherpa women –giving rise to the name “Ama Dablam” or “Mother’s necklace”.

Mt. Ama Dablam is located in the Khumbu region to the south of Everest and Lhotse.  As you would expect, that allows for some stunning views during the climb as well as on the summit. The mountain stands above the famous Tangboche Monastery which is traditionally visited by climbers in the region.

It should be stressed that, despite all the pleasant parts, this is in general a demanding climb and participation in an Ama Dablam Expedition demands solid skills of rock climbing, ice climbing, sufficient experience of high altitude and general technical competency. There are steep ice sections to be overcome at high altitude and there are sections of serious exposure which can be particularly challenging. If you have previous climbing experience and wish to participate fully as a team member of an expertly led expedition to one of the world’s most impressive mountain then this Ama Dablam Expedition is the well-suited for you.

The most popular route for climbing Ama Dablam is the Southwest Ridge. The climb is typically done with three camps along the ridge.Camp 3 is usually established just below and to the right of the hanging glacier, the Dablam, so that any ice that calves off the glacier typically moves away from the camp. Nevertheless, a certain risk of serac falls cannot be avoided. As with other mountains in the region, the best climbing months are April-May before the monsoon season and September-October, after the monsoon.

Experience Required:  All climbers need to have good skills on rock and ice climbing and technically competent. We will fix ropes and make use of the existing infrastructure (if any), however, the climbers should possess the necessary skills of climbing through steep rock and hard compact ice without them. We follow the standard South West ridge route (normal route) to the top, as it is consider the safer route with lower objective dangers such as avalanches.

We begin the approach as usual in the region from Lukla (2850m) and then slowly trek through the Sherpa villages along the trail. We take our time to properly acclimatize before we reach base camp and begin the climbing period. We at Snowy Horizon pride ourselves in executing this expedition with a focus on quality as well as safety.

As always, the package can be flexibly adjusted to your requirements (in case you want some additional acclimatization time beforehand etc.) – feel free to contact us any time for suggestions and advice. We’d be happy to take you on this adventure.

Ama Dablam Expedition Base Camp Service

• We provides very professional, supportive and friendly mountaineering logistic services from Kathmandu to the ABC as well as during the Expedition. Our objective is to ensure a good quality, supportive, safe, friendly, stress free and comprehensive service to maximize summit opportunity.
• We provide a comprehensive service organizing all necessary permits, and climbing documentation, travelling logistics including airfares, ground transportation, porters, and other individual services required by mountaineers. On the track to the ABC we organize all required accommodation and food.
• In the Base camp our cook and helpers will prepare and serve three times delicious freshly cooked and plentiful meals a day and will ensure that hot and cold drinks are available 24hrs a day.
• We provide spacious expedition quality personal tents for all our clients.
• We also provide dining tent, kitchen tent, toilet facilities and portable shower facilities and tent accommodation for our staff.
• We provide access to communication including satellite telephone and internet access, and solar panels to charge your batteries.

Ama Dablam Expedition Full Board Service

• In full board Service we provide personal tent and food, which will be prepared by their climbing Sherpa.
• We provide UHF/VHF hand held radios on the mountain to maintain communications between ABC and high camps.
• We provide a personal climbing Sherpa guide to help the clients to reach the summit. Personal climbing Sherpa will set up camp 1, camp 2 and camp 3 including food and fuel provisions, and assist the client all the way to the summit on this technical climb, where one requires a climbing buddy and a be layer. The climb requires cooperation between teams in setting up fixed ropes. Our camp manager and guides will coordinate work with other teams on the route setting.

Approaches to ABC

Approach to the Base camp is short, sweet and beautiful beginning with the amazing flight to Lukla and following Everest Base camp trail through Namche Bazaar to Pengboche and peeling off it just past Pangboche. The Base camp is located at 4200m.

Climbing Routes

The standard climbing route is via the Southwest ridge with typical arrangement of 3 high camps: Camp 1 (5600m), Camp 2 (5900m) and Camp 3 (6200m) with Base Camp at 4500m and High Camp at 5000m.

High Camp is located 150m below the ridge and all other 3 camps are directly on the ridge ensuring a great vantage point for all camps for stunning views.