SummitClimb Ama Dablam 2005: Dan reporting in again...

Hello to everyone at EverestNews.com.  This is Daniel Mazur calling with a dispatch for the 14th of October 2005 from the SummitClimb International Ama Dablam Expedition.  I’m calling you at about 9:30 in the morning. We’re up here at 6000 meters which is about 20000 feet at Camp 2 on Ama Dablam.   It’s a beautiful morning.  There are really no clouds to speak of, and no wind, it’s very sunny and warm.  We’re up here camped on some rock ledges, so we have some really stunning views of the surrounding countryside and the Himalaya.  We can see Cho Oyu from here, and many other famous mountains. 

Our Sherpa team of rope fixers made it to about 6260 meters yesterday.  They’ve been fixing rope for three days straight.  They’re putting good quality nylon climbing rope on the route which is a bit heavier.  They’ve been working really hard and they’re tired so they decided to go down this morning back to Base Camp and rest.  All of the members are down in Base Camp resting and everyone is well and feeling healthy.  They’re just taking an acclimatization break before they come back up the mountain.  I climbed up here yesterday with Lakpa Konglay, one of our very experienced Sherpas, and the rock climbing conditions were excellent.  We fine tuned some of the fixed rope on the way up. Jay Reilly, our expedition leader, is following today and he is going to fix and replace an additional 450 meters of nylon climbing rope on the route below Camp 2. We’re going to make sure that everything is in really top-notch condition and in perfect shape for our members as well as for the other teams on the mountain who we’re sharing the route with and who we try to get along with very well and have good cooperation so everyone can have a good time and climb in safety.  I think our plan today is to move on up to Camp 3 perhaps if we feel well enough and inspect the route up there and see how things are looking.  I will keep you informed by calling again tomorrow.  Thanks again to everyone at EverestNews.com for this opportunity.

Updates

AMA DABLAM: sometimes spelled: Ama Dablan, or Amadablam, or Amadablan

ASIA'S MOST FAMOUS TECHNICAL BUT CLIMBABLE ROCK-ICE-SNOW CLIMB

Leader: Daniel Mazur, Ama Dablam 4 time summiter, climber-leader-organizer of Everest, K2, and 12 "eight-thousand-metre-peaks", leading together with Jay Reilly, two time Ama Dablam and two time Pumori summiter

Our expedition offers an opportunity to climb this challenging semi-technical rock-ice-snow climb with an experienced team, at an affordable price. We have organized five previous expeditions to Ama Dablam, so our leaders and staff are very familiar with the climb. In October 2003, fourteen of our members and 5 sherpas reached the summit in all safety. It was our fifth successful ascent of the mountain. We were fortunate in that the weather was ideal, the team cooperated together well, our Sherpa climbing staff worked very hard, our equipment functioned well, the food and hot drinks were well prepared, and the route was in excellent condition. Please share in our congratulations to all of the team members and thanks to everyone who helped and supported us, including our generous sponsors. Nepal is indeed beautiful now and the pleasant weather and calm conditions in this very peaceful and happy region made our expedition especially enjoyable.

SOME FACTS ABOUT AMA DABLAM:  Ama Dablam is in the Khumbu valley, near to Mt. Everest, in the heart of the Sherpa area of Nepal, and is considered by many to be the most famous rock-ice-snow climb in all Asia. The name Ama Dablam means Mother’s Charm Box: the high hanging serac located just below the summit resembling the Dablam or Charm Box which unmarried Sherpa women used to wear around their necks. The first ascent of the mountain was by Ed Hillary's Silver Hut expedition in 1961 when Bishop (USA), Gill, Romanes (NZ) and Ward (UK) reached the summit, via the SW ridge, on 13 March after 20 days working on the route. Since then the mountain has received about 500 ascents (not including Sherpas) mostly via the SW ridge.

WHY THE SOUTH WEST RIDGE

Here is what one of our previous top climb leaders (Jonathan Pratt, from Essex, England) had to say about the route:  “The easiest way to the top of Ama Dablam is via the SW ridge, a semi-technical route, and considered to be the standard route. Although there are several other routes on the mountain, they are all very much harder than the SW ridge. The route has been considered to be a safe route, free from objective danger, such as avalanche. It is a varied and interesting route with loads of superb climbing - not just a huge snow slog, unlike other Himalayan climbs. On Ama Dablam, the rock and ice is not sustained but tends to come in short manageable sections.”

NOTE: Please don’t underestimate this climb. Although there is only one 6 metre, 20 foot section of grade British severe, or North America 5.5, (the rest of the climb is known as "scrambling" or "4th class") there are complicating factors which you may not find at home on your local crag and definitely not in the rock-gym. These may include: ice, snow, high-altitude, temperature, weather, exposure, and other factors.

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