It’s a journey into the heart of the Himalayas. Located in the Khumbu valley of Nepal, only 12 km from the summit of Mount Everest, Ama Dablam demands the attention of every passer-by. Soaring ridgelines and super-steep faces guard the summit from all but the experienced climber. From the summit you are surrounded by a vista of peaks like no other, five of the highest six peaks in the world are clearly visible.

The first ascent (via the SW ridge) of Ama Dablam was not made until the mid 1950’s by a strong NZ/USA team. The north ridge fell to a talented French team as late as 1979. In recent years many parties have successfully climbed the mountain, with nearly all ascents via the original SW ridge route. More recently our international guiding director Duncan Chessell has led 5 expeditions to the peak, giving us a very detailed knowledge of the route and logistics required to be succesful.

Our ascent will be made via the conventional SW ridge route, a technical route that requires 3500 m of fixed ropes and three camps above base camp. The climb usually completed in less than four weeks; however we do build in an extra week in case of exceptionally bad weather. The climbing on the route involves pure rock climbing on exquisite granite followed by mixed snow and rock climbing. The last section to the summit involves ice climbing followed by a long steep snow slope: often ropes are employed all the way to the summit. The reasons for this are three-fold: safety, speed and success.