Mt. Ama Dablam Expedition is more than just a climb. 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, AmaDablam demands the attention of every passer-by. Soaring ridge lines 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 the five of the highest peaks in the world are clearly visible.
Mt. Ama Dablam's first ascent (via the SW ridge) was not made until the mid 60'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.
Our ascent will also be made via the conventional SW ridge route, a technical route that requires 3500m of fixed ropes and three camps above base camp. The climbing with thisroute 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. Due to the technical nature of the route, ropes will be fixed for most of the climb above camp one. A good working knowledge of abseiling and use of mechanical ascenders (jumars) is mandatory; prior experience is required.
Objective dangers on the SW Ridge route are minimal, ice cliffs do not threaten it, the snow slopes are generally stable (with minimal avalanche risk), the rock is of good quality and the mountain is below the reach of jet stream winds. The route is extremely exposed and mistakes with rope work can be unforgiving. For this reason, we have a low client: guide ratio and use experienced guides to keep you safely on track. Your guide(s) will be involved in the fixing of rope and the smooth running of the expedition but their primary concerns are client safety, best service and success.
Island Peak "ImjeTse", 6,160meter has an impressive, highly glaciated West Face, which rises from the Lhotse Glacier. In fact, the mountain extends from the South Ridge of Lhotse Shar and is separated only by a small col.
Above this gap is the ridge leading to the summit. From base camp, we will ascend a steep, grassy slope and small rocky steps to high camp. It is necessary to climb a steep, exposed 300 meters of snow and ice ramp to the summit ridge; fixed ropes will be used at this point in an otherwise, non-technical snow climb. We will negotiate a final tricky snow pitch before reaching the summit. Again, stunning views of the surrounding mountains can be seen from the peak, including Nuptse, Lhotse, Cho Polu, Makalu, AmaDablam and Baruntse.
Situated on a large meadow with wonderful views of the Imja valley.
Our first real camp is only one and a half-hours walk above Yak camp. This section is marked by rock cairns and involves boulder hopping and some easy scrambling. We sometimes fix a couple of sections with rope to be used as a handrail.
This section of the route is usually rock climbing only, depending on the season. The granite is high quality and the moves fun, challenging and exposed but “do-able”. We follow a narrow ridge, switching back and forth on each side of the ridge. This is the hardest rock climbing of the entire route. In places the exposure is extreme and you are very thankful for the fixed ropes in place. Whilst it is generally easier not to pull on the ropes all the time if you are finding the going getting a bit too hard you can just rest on the fixed rope. You can also use your jumar to help you over the odd spot of difficulties. Most of the climbing in this section is traversing on the rock, so good rock climbing skills will help you move efficiently and quickly over this terrain.
Camp two: Situated on top of the YellowTower on a narrow platform this campsite is rather exposed and has fantastic views. If you dropped your cup from here it would probably land in base camp!
Now for the hardest snow and ice pitches of the route. We follow a system of steep snow and ice gullies up to join a feature called the Mushroom Ridge. Whilst the ridge itself is not as technical as the gullies leading up to it, the exposure here is palpable. It is a narrow, windy, snow mushroom-like ridge with giant Himalayan peaks in the background. This feature leads us up onto a small plateau at 6300 m, which serves the purpose of camp three.
Camp three: A cold and exposed position is the start of our summit push. The Sherpas will often use a full climbing rope to tie our tents down as the natural shape of the mountain can at times, unfortunately, funnel the wind to this location. It is, however, the only safe flat piece of real estate within the range of the summit.
The initial route is to the right of the huge “dablam” (ice cliff), up a moderately steep slope, which is often iced. Once past this feature, we move toward the center of the face. The angle eases slightly and a couple of tough hours later we emerge on the summit (6,812m). The summit is the size of a tennis court and allows us to move around and take pictures. Five of the world’s six highest peaks are clearly visible, with many other 7000m and lesser peaks filling the gaps.
Day 1
Arrival in KTM, transfer to hotel& briefingDay 2
Half day sightseeing and afternoon equipment checking and fittingDay 3
Fly to Lukla, Trek to Phakding (2,600m)40min flight, 3-4hrs trekDay 4
Trek to Namche (3,440m) 5-6hrsDay 5
Acclimatization day in Namche to Khumjung/Khunde (3,800m)Day 6
Trek to Tengboche(3,905m) 6hrsDay 7
Trek to Dengboche (4,410m) 5hrsDay 8
Acclimatization day in Dingboche up to 5,100mDay 9
Trek to Chukung (4,743m) 3-4hrsDay 10
Acclimatization to Chukung Ri (5,550m), 5hrsDay 11
Trek to Island Peak base camp (4,970m) 4hrsDay 12
Summit attempt of Island Peak (6,160m) and return to base camp 10hrs / to ChukungDay 13
Trek to Pangboche (3,930m)Day 14
Trek to Amadablam base camp (4,600m)Day 15-23
Climbing Period on Mt. AmadablamDay 24
Trek to Pangbouche, 4hrsDay 25
Trek to Namche 5hrsDay 26
Trek to Lukla 6hrsDay 27
Fly to KathmanduDay 28
Free day in KathmanduDay 29
Int’l departure to home Our 6,000m expedition peaks are more challenging than trekking peak climbing trips. Your tough level of fitness is really important for this trip; therefore we strongly suggest preparing yourself for good physical fitness level. You do not need to be an athlete, but a good level of overall fitness is important. Being fit will certainly improve your chances of reaching your chosen summit. As an indication, you should be able to walk 8 km / 5 miles with a maximum height gain of 800m/2,000ft with a 10kg rucksack in 5 hours or less.
In order to get ready for this challenge, you need to be trained at least for about 5 to 7 months to prepare yourself as a strong candidate. You can go to the fitness center every morning for about 2 hours, do hiking every weekend with increasing weights on your pack (i.e. 7kg, 10kg, 13 kg, 16kg and up to 20kg), manage some time for cycling for a couple of hours for 3 or 4 times a week. However, during climbing, there might be little symptoms of altitude illness like mild headache, fatigue, etc. but take it as normal and just drink a lot of water (4 – 5 liters) every day. On this trek, you need to be able to hike 6 – 10 hours over hilly terrain up to 6,000m of altitude with a daypack. On the summit push, extra effort is required walking on ice and climbing up to 10 – 12 hours. We will have porters to carry our heavy camping equipment, food and also the climbing gear.
All of our 6000m expedition trips are accessible to experienced trekkers and those who have done some climbing trips in European mountains in order to take another challenge on the Himalayas Mountains. This trip will be helpful if you want to gain some knowledge about mountaineering and have a future plan to climb the BIG Mountains.
If you have any previous mountaineering experiences and well knowledge about how to play with mountaineering gears, good with rock climbing and ice climbing, will surely increase the chances of reaching the summit and also previous trekking and mountaineering experiences is mandatory but doesn’t require any technical experience. But if you are participating in one the technical climbing peak then you must have well knowledge about how to use the mountaineering climbing gears (i.e. crampon with boot, Ice axe, harness, ropes, jumars, prussiks, abseiling, moving past knots, anchor etc.).Crampons are used for maximum grip and harness and ropes are used for maximum safety during climbing. But for those who have no mountaineering experience and skill but have got tough level of fitness, you will have basic training sessions by our guides about how to use the climbing gears during rest/acclimatization day. So we always make sure regarding the safety of the team and the successful climb of the peak.
We had the best time with the team from Dream Himalaya Adventures they went above and beyond for me and my wife before, during and after our trip I will be 100% returning to do my trips with Dawa and his team
One of the best hiking experiences ever with a very kind trek guide and a motivating porter. The food and accommodation were excellent, and mostly the responsibility of the company towards its clients is remarkable until the end of the trek. Looking forward to travel again with Dream Himalaya Adventures.
Manaslu summit climb expedition - Aug-Oct 2022. Unfortunately we were unlucky with the weather due to crazy amounts of snow and avalanche risk and weren't able to summit but I had a great adventure thanks to Dream Himalaya. Dawa Sherpa and Tendi Sherpa did everything in their power to help our expedition succeed. Dawa Sherpa runs a fantastic company and I would highly recommend his services for any adventure from climbing to trekking in Nepal. He happily answered all my questions in advance of the trip promptly and thoroughly. Tendi Sherpa is an excellent certified mountain guide (IFMGA) which is strong, communicates well and is a pleasure to climb with. All the services provided were fantastic. Base camp was amazing. Comfortable single
Overall we were very satisfied with their services. Dawa really made an effort to fullfill our needs. Top of the cream were services in the base camp. Organization, food, tents and kindness of the personel were on the top level. I very recommend!
Amazing hispitality, excellent and very reliable service, good and diverse food in base camp, very professional and kind stuff!
Very well organised by Dream Himalaya Adventures, they are "Dream Team" for make it the best experience ever. I highly recommend them.
Exellent! Organisation, Technical support, acomodation, food, logistick. From Kathmandu to Koto quick and comfortable transportation, the same on way back.
Very well organised by Dawa Lama & his team . Our guide and porter were extremely helpful . At times our guide suggested slight changes to our itinerary which made it easier for us to approach & get over Thorang La pass. A brilliant trip for Mick & myself, Thanks to Dream Himalaya. On our return to Kathmandu Dawa again looked after us , highly recommended .
We have been trekking with Dream Himilaya Adventures since long and have utilised their services for the last 4 treks. This time for the Everest Marathon - 29.05.2022 we used their services from 16.05.2022 to 04.06.2022, they provided both of us support from Kathmandu to Kathmandu. Though Mr. Dawa Lama Sherpa was on a Everest Summit expeditiion, he made all the arrangements required for us sitting at EBC. Mr. Rajesh from Kathmandu Office was very helpful. As usual receiving us at Kathmandu Airport, taking us to Pashupathi Temple and the to Everest Marathon Event Organisers office to collect all necessary things from them. Flight from Kathmandu to Lukla, Porter Guide from Lukla to EBC through the route we requested for. Mr. Suresh,
We did the trek to EBC in March 2022 with Dream Himalaya Adventures. A trip like this will always have curveballs because of the environment and altitude - that's when you really appreciate people with brilliant local knowledge and the ability to sort thing out. Dawa and team were absolutely fantastic and I unreservedly recommend them to anyone.
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