Ama Dablam 2007 Dispatches

November 25, 2007 Heading to Lukla

From Stu in the US office, 6:45am EST Chris checked in a few minutes ago to update us on the team plans and to let us know that they are all safe and sound in BC enjoying more of Ratna's great food! After breaking down C2 and making their way down to C1 they made the push all the way back to base camp yesterday. The Yaks are scheduled to arrive tomorrow and they hope to fly from Lukla on the 28th back to Kathmandu. As they have a few extra days now in Kathmandu Ratna has apparently offered to take them on the down hill mountain bike ride from the top of Nagarkot which is described as "an exciting 900m descent by single-track trail". It seems the opportunities for adventure in Nepal hardly cease with the mountains let behind!

November 23, 2007 Second team Summits!!

From Stu in the US office, 5:30am EST At about 11am local time Chris, Angus and Tsering stepped onto the summit plateau and were treated to a clear view fo the mountains which surround Ama Dablam - Everest, Lhotse, Nupste, Makalu, Pumori, Island Peak and more! We congratulate them all for a great climb! The phone rang several times during the climb as Chris reported in on the progress of the November team and it was great to hear how well they did in making it from C2 to the top and back in a round trip of 13 hours. Chris said that they left at 2am on a calm clear morning under the light of a full moon and had perfect conditions all the way to the top. They were alone on the mountain all day and enjoyed the climb fully with great conditions and fine weather. They are all tired and happy sitting now in C2 brewing up a final freezedried supper before returning to Ratna's great food at BC. Over the course of the next few days they will remove all the remaining tents and gear from c2 and c1 and prepare to leave BC on the 25th to head back out towards Lukla. They are scheduled to fly back to Kathmandu from lukla on the 31st but will likely move that up and we will let you know the plans as they unfold. With the addition of Angus, Chris and Tsering we have now had 13 of the 17 team members of our two trips this autumn reach the top. Over the past three years we have had 33 members reach the top and we look forward to a great season again next year! We are very thankful for the phenomenal work done (as always!) by our climbing sherpas, Lhakpa and Tsering, our cook Ratna, the BC staff including Siddhi, Pasanag and Utra, and for the unbelievable support we receive in Kathmandu from our ground agent Nima T. Sherpa. We are also very grateful to EUREKA! for providing us with tents for the expedition which we used with great confidence in the toughest of conditions and locations. The Fifth Season Exo and K2 X-T tents worked phenomenally well and we can't wait get in them again in a few months on Aconcgua, Ecuador and next summer on G2, Broad Peak and K2!

November 22, 2007 Second team already topped out on Island and a summit bid on Ama Dablam under way!

From Stu back in the US office, US Thanksgiving Day 8am est The US office (Stu) is finally back home and after our troubles with Thuraya it is nice to have the easy access of DSL to get our site rolling again. In the next few days i will add a trip report and loads of pics from the trip so stay tuned. I have also added back in some reports that were written but we could not post to the site. In the meantime you can follow the latest efforts of our smaller November team as they make a push for the top tonight! I am just off the phone with Chris and have the good news that he and Angus and Tsering are off from C2 for the top in a few hours time. Scott has been fighting a stomach bug since the start of the trip and had to call off his summit bid for now. The successfuly began the trip with a great run up Island Peak and are hoping that the weather will continue to hold for them until they are done with Ama Dablam. While i was in transit back from nepal Scott Kress haas been getting his own technological problems sorted out and has his thoughts up and running at myeverest.com . I am sure you will enjoy his personal thoughts reactions and encourage you all to have a look there. More news as we have it from Chris, Angus and Tsering!

November 7, 2007 Summit report

From Stu in BC SUMMITS! A lot has happened in the last days while we have been high on the hill without our sat phones and solar chargers and we are glad to share with you that everyone is now down safe and sound off of all climbs we have been on. On the 4th between noon and 2pm stu mac, stu rem, merv, tsering, ben and jay topped out on the summit on an extraordinary clear and warm day and had the summit to themselves for the entire time. on the 5th ash, meaghan, lhakpa, ernie and mark followed suit and summitted between noon and 1 and once again enjoyed a summit to themselves on a second clear and perfect day. these summits came with loads of awesome climing and exciting descending in conditions which made careful attention to technique a must. whenwe are back in town we will put up a full report with pics so stay tuned! our islabd peak climbers made it to high camp but as they attempted the summit they decided to turn back with the human chain making an unsafe scene. they returned to pangboche today with a good effort made. Over the next days we will all be making our way to meeting up in Namche and flying back to Kathmandu on the 12th. there have been some delays with bad weather but today saw much clearer weather and we understannd flights are back on schedule again. W e send our best to everyone and are glad to be heading slowly homeward feeling happy and full of great memories of shared adversity, challenge, success and friendship....not to mention full of ratna's amazing pizza & fried chicken! more in the days ahead!! stu from bc

Looking down onto the C3 camp as we descend from our glorious summit day!

November 5, 2007 Summits!

From Dave in the Perth Office Stu called in this morning to report the following: All climbers are at base camp, 9 of 12 summitted. 4 trekkers are to climb Island peak tomorrow then all will meet at base camp on the 8th. They'll all go to Lukla together on the 9th and fly out. I guess there have been some delayed flights at Lukla because of crummy weather, hopefully they'll be out on schedule. Dave

Returning from the summit with a spectacular view just about to head under the dablam itself

November 2, 2007 Moving up to C3

From Stu in C2 This morning jay, stumac, merv, tsering, ben and myself will head up to c3 on a clear blue day and hope to summit on the 3rd. mark, meaghan, and ash will come up to c2 today and hope to top out on the 4th. ernie, steve and lhakpa will move up from c1 tomorrow and hope for the summit on the 5th. troy continues to have troubles with his chest cold and is still hopeful for island peak. noel came down to bc after a final carry only to find an old knee injury act up so badly he decided to rest a few days and tgen begin his hike out. we enjoyed noel's company very much and wish him safe journey.he hopes to catch a flight out to kathmandu on the 3rd. The trekkers have reached dole and will now split up as trish, mark, narelle, john, linda, jen mcd will head to namche and all but linda on to kathmandu on the 4th. chris, jim,vand matt will head to island peak and karen will head back to bc to await merv! more news in the days ahead! cheers stu

View To C2 from the Gray Tower

October 31, 2007 News From Advanced Base Camp

From Stu in advanced base camp First and foremost everyone is safe and sound on both the climb and trek. We have been having great difficulty with our Thuraya system and thanks to Tom at explorersweb.com we have an alternative system using contact 3.0 http://www.humanedgetech.com/expedition/fta2/ The climbing sherpas have established camp 2 and most members will be in camp 1 tonight. A few members have had some sickness and are behind the main team. Noel is at base camp and hoping today to come back to advanced base camp, Troy is in Pangboche and on his way back to base camp today and Ernie will be making a carry to camp 1 today and moving up tomorrow. At present a group of 4-5 will move to camp 2 on the 1st with intentions to summit on the 3rd. We will see how everyone feels in the morning tomorrow and confirm members in the first wave then. Our weather continues to be spectacular, the route in good shape and we are looking forward to getting on to the technical part of the climb. a lot of hard work so far and the rewards ahead! The trekkers meanwhile have made it to Everest base camp and crossed the cho la yesterday. Today they will pull into gokyo for a well deserved two night stay . Yana had a severe headache at gorak shep and she and Jen descended to dingboche to avoid any more high passes. Yana was able to spend a few nights with troy in pangboche as he was staying low to kick an upper respiratory cold. Jen joined Steve for a night at base camp and accompanied him on a carry to advanced base camp. Yana Troy and Steve when they get off the hill. Well thats all the news for now and we hope you can keep up to date now with our adventures in the high Himalaya! Stu

Merv working his way across the slabs between C1 and C2

 

October 29, 2007 Advanced Base Camp

From Stu in advanced base camp Stu called yesterday via a patchy sat phone connection to confirm what we all suspected - the PDA and comms system has gone a bit crazy and doesn't want to work at the moment. We can just see the guys cursing and muttering in the mess tent as they spend hours fiddling with a recalcitrant piece of technology whilst surrounded by the beautiful rawness of mother nature! It was a quick call that kept dropping out, but we do know Stu is at advanced base-camp, while the rest of the climbing team are a little further down the way comfortably ensconced in the green meadow of the main base-camp. Everybody is doing fine and are in good health and spirits. Chris says there is a trekker (Yana) with headaches. Her and Chris are going to see the doctor in pheriche then chris will send the plan for her to let us know. All other trekkers are well. We hope to have more detailed information to release shortly Dave Hancock - Perth

October 22, 2007 Hello from Thyangboche!

From Stu in Thynaboche Hi from Thyanboche monastery in the heart of the Khumbu. I write on a glorious blue day with Ama Dablam and Everest to my left here at the Thyngboche cyber cafe. We have a majority of members heading up to BC today with a few people taking a rest day at Deboche. Both Jay and Noel came down with a bit of a cold yesterday and were both feeling better but still under the weather this morning and decided to rest for the day before coming up tomorrow. They are joined by Meaghan, Linda, Mark, Jen McD, and Jim who will all enjoy the fine day ambling amid the rhododendron forest and likely taking in a late afternoon meeting of the monks at the monastery. we hope that all of them will arise early tomorrow and join us at BC for a huge lunch! The rest of the members are either still sipping tea in pangbiche or already working their way up the steep incline to our spacious base camp at the base of ama dablam where we are all looking forward to a few easy days before the climb. We had some wonderful days on the 19th and 20th in Namche exploring the kumjunh, kunde, and thomo areas including the hills, monasteries and bakleries! On the 20th I was treated to a wonderful birthday supper with an enormous cake and some bottles of wine, bars of chocolate, a note from my family members, and a thanks. The day had been spent ascending 4200m Kunde Ri with Noel, Jay, Ash, Merv, Stuart and meeting up with Troy at the everest bakery in Kumjung. Overall it was truly a special day with some wonderful people. Other members and spent the day tromping over to thomo and visiting the monastery and enjoying the sites and sounds of Namche and the Saturday market. Our trek from Namche to Deboche went quite easily and the members all seem well acclimatized and enjoying the schedule. The second full day out of Namche proved a critical day for a few people feeling under the weather and made the trekking day quite straight forward for all of our members yesterday. More from BC tomorrow evening and hopefully we will report a full complement of 24 members enjoying a fine sun set at BC. cheers til then, stu

October 19, 2007 Hello from Namche!

From Stu in Namche We have been blessed with perfect weather since we landed at Lukla airport and have been enjoying three days of walking and acclimatizing and everyone has done very well so far. While no one has had any serious maladies we have had a few odd stomach gurgles and mild headaches which are a usual part of any large group trekking to namche. fortunately no one has had anything last more than a short time and everyone has been taking walks and taking part in the activities. We arrived at the airport in Kathmandu at 6am after an early start and found the process quite orderly in comparison to last year and without major challenges found ourselves all in the terminal enjoying hot coffees and enjoying people watching. After a 2 hour delay due to clouds in Kathmandu we were cleared for takeoff and enjoyed a spectacular flight to Lukla with the mountains largely cloud free. the landing as always came as a wonderful shock to first time arrivals as the near vertical seeming runway suddenly appeared and we had landed before we had any chance to plead with the pilot to avoid hitting it straight on! After sorting our bags and orienting ourselves to the days trek ahead we took off in to the bustling town of Lukla and took our first steps on the long journey to Everest base camp for half of us and towards to top of Ama Dablam for the other half. A pleasant walk through the lush valley took us an hour past Phakding to our campsite next to the waterfall at Tok Tok where we settled in for the evening and a great dinner put on by Ratna and his crew. The general consensus was that the sleep that night was the finest most of us had had in weeks if not years and we readied for the demanding climb to Namche that day. For most of it was a day of stops at tea houses and a luxurious lunch by the river that we will look back most fondly on. The 800m rise to Namche involves a long stretch with no discernible relief from the constant incline. Fortunately half way up the clouds cooperated and most of us had a superb first view of Everest looming over the Nuptse/Lhotse wall. We pulled into our camping site by the Sherpa History Museum and were treated to hot tee and cocoa followed by a fine dinner. After another sleep that could not be beat our members took off for a variety of walks today including simple ambles to the monastery in Namche to the classic Kumjumg Everest Bakery. Nearly everyone got high enough to get a great view of Ama Dablam and Everest not to mention Tawoche, Nupste and Lhotse. The anticipation for the trekkers and climbers was heightened significantly with these objectives no longer a distant dream but now a goal within reach. That we saw numerous orange tents at c3 and climbers on the route is also a great sign that Ama Dablam appears to be in shape for us this year! When we met for tea and supper tonight it was clear that the day of acclimatizing had left everyone pretty tired and ready for sleep. By 8pm the mess tent was empty and headlamps already being turned off in preparation for a second day of acclimatizing here in the Namche area. at least 4 members are headed off for Thame and the Thame monastery and 9 or more for the kunde ridge for a higher but shorter day. with the second day of acclimatizing we are hopeful that everyone has felt strong at this height and we are ready to move on to Deboche on Sunday. Thats all for now, we send our love to all of our family and friends and we are thinking of you all. stu - from Everest Cyber cafe, Namche, Khumbu, Nepal

October 17, 2007 Leaving for Lukla

From Stu in Kathmandu It is 4:45 am and we are just about to gather for a 5am breakfast and head to the airport! This may seem a late start to the members that made their way to Nagorkot yesterday at 3:30am but most of are finding it plenty early! I can smell the milk tea brewing and bags being dropped by the door and hiopefully in 15 minutes we will have a full entouraage of 24 eager and groggy members ready to go. We have been haveing a great time in Kathmandu seeing the sites (including baktapur and nagarkot yesterday) and shopping for the trip and the time to get it under way is really upon us. Today we will fly at 6:30am up to Lukla and trek towards namche staying near Phakding and then on the 18th climbing up to Namche where we will drop you all another note. cheers til namche! stu

October 16, 2007 Preparing to leave Kathmandu

From Stuart McElroy in Kathmandu The team have all arrived in country and we met as a group for the first time last night! It was great to meet the people we are going to be spending the next four or so weeks with. There is going to be about 24 of us (12 climbing 12 trekking) so there are plenty of faces and opportunities to mingle. Stu also gave us a good introduction to what the trip is likely to hold, particularly the next few days. Earlier in the day Stu finalized the peak permit process with a meeting with the 'Ministry' and this morning Elizabeth Hawley dropped by in her blue VW beetle to collect information regarding the climbing teams objective and members. For some of us it was an unexpected suprise to meet 'the foremost authority on climbing in Nepal' ! Weatherwise, well it has been raining on and off for most of the day with the occaisional thunder but hopefully it will clear soon and not cause too much delay to the early morning flights to Lukla. Almost time to get the show on the road!

September 28, 2007 whereabouts uypdate!

Hard to keep track of al of our members just now but at last count we have.... Chris, Tsering and Meaghan moving to C2 on Cho Oyu Ben on the annnapurna circuit in jomson Trish and Narelle in Darmsala And maybe most critical Lhakpa heading into BC already with 1000m or rope to begin fixing the route along with a few sherpas from other teams. This is an exciting time for all of us a with barely 2 weeks til we all meet in KTM. A number of members will be arriving early and enjoying the sights and sounds of Kathmandu and at least one member has plans for a pre-climb rafting/kayaking trip. Assistant trek leader Linda Heuman will also be in 4 days ealry and is offering opportunities for visits to religious and cultural sights as well as teachings with local llamas. Her first planned event is a talk on the 13th at 10am with Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche after a visit to the Bodhanath Stupa. A nice lunch afterwards overlooking the stupa will top of a fine morning! Final training runs, final shopping trips and lots of good bye hugs for our loved ones all that remains between now and lift off! A few thoughts for the day from my years at Ourward Bound "a ship in harbour is safe, but that is not what ships are built for" William Shedd "to venture causes anxiety, but not to venture is to lose one's self....and to venture in the highest is precisely to become conscious of one's self" Soren Kierkagaard "the trick is what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable or we make oursleves strong. the amount of work is the same..." Carlos Castaneda "life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all" Helen Keller

Yaks on the highway from namche to base camp!

 

September 17, 2007 Gear and food supplies already on the way to Namche!

Making sure that we are ready well ahead of time a great deal of our gear and food has already been flown up to Lukla and is one the way to namche. What is more notable is the personal care and attention Nima takes with our trip. Rather than remaining in the office he makes the trip himself to Lukla to ensure everything goes smoothly. From Nima now back in kathmandu: "I just flew to Lukla this morning with all the camping gear and food for Amadablam Expedition Team members and Trekking Team members. I sent 46 load of gear on to Namche and stored nearly 15 loads at Lukla." For the last two years Nima has joined our team on the flight to Lukla and the trek in to Namche and he makes sure that the services meet his high standards. Joined this year again by sherpas Tsering and Lhakpa and head cook Ratna we are a well seasoned team and looking forward to getting to the climb! We do still have a few spaces available for the october and november climbs and 3 spaces for the trek so let us know!

September 12, 2007 First member already arrived in Kathmandu and bound for Annapurna Circuit!

Our first member to arrive in Kathmandu is Ben Kane and he is going to use the 4 weeks ahead to take a jaunt around the Annapurna circuit and see the sights and sounds of Pakara. We will keep you up to date as he drops us notes and are excited to have the trip under way with his arrival. He was met at the airport by our ground agent and good friend Nima Sherpa and brought to the Hotel Marshyangdi in Thamel and has written to us the following note: Nima Sherpa, Su-Swagatam Trek"As for my plans, well I met Nima this morning and what can I say? He is a true gentleman, so helpful, kind and obviously very much respected. He helped me buy a sleeping bag and a down parka, so now I'm pretty much all set, save for a few small items that I've yet to realise I've forgotten. I'll be heading off in a couple of days to do the Annapurna Curcuit, and Nima has given me all the info I'll need for the trek and was quite thorough with me on the acclimatisation schedule. So, I should arrive back in Kathmandu around the 5-6 of October, but I might add a few extra days here and there to soak up the time and possibly arrive closer to the 15th. Nima will send some of my kit out (anything I'm not trekking with) with the rest of the group gear in a few days, so there'll be a bit of spare weight for anyone that is travelling heavily. Gees, its getting so close. I'm a tad anxious now, I can't imagine how I'll feel when I get my first glimpse of Ama Dablam. Surely will be mind over matter at that point. " Our first view of Ama Dablam from KumjungI think Ben expresses how all of us feel as we arrive in Kathmandu as we anticipate seeing our objective for the first time. Ama Dablam does live up to its reputation in being an awe inspiring peak as it rises up and dominates the view so so many days. Seeing it for the first time it appears near vertical and makes for weak knees! Only as we near the mountain and being to lcimb it does this sensation diminish and the reasonableness of its cliffs and slopes show themselves. Just so you can all have a sense of what our climb may look like here is itinerary from our 2005 successful ascent. It was nearly identical in 2006 with the same summit day! Oct 17 fly to Lukla Oct 18 trek to Namche Summit slopes and C3 from the mushroom ridge in 2005October 19 rest day namche, walk to Kumjung October 20 Acclimatization day Namche Oct 21 to Thyngboche and sleep in Deboche Oct 22 arrive BC Oct 23 rest Oct 24 carry ABC Oct 25 move to ABC Oct 26 carry to c1 and return to BC Oct 27 rest BC Oct 28 to ABC Oct 29 to C1 Oct 30 rest C1 Oct 31 carry c2 Nov 1 move C2 Nov 2 move to C3 Nov 3 summit and return to C3 Nov 4 return to C1 Nov 5 return to BC Nove 6-9 spare days Nov 10/11 return to Lukla Nov 12 Fly back to Kathmandu With good luck all members will be within a few days of this. We leave from Lukla on the 12th of November and with luck there will be some spare days for a quick ascent of Island. Last year 4 members attempterd Lobuche with 2 topping out. This year we'll have a go at Island and next spring offer an introductory island peak/Lobuche trip for those looking to venture into the Himalayas and expand their alpine skills. We already have a Tarpu Chuli trip for next spring and autumn and will be adding Mera in as well. Please let us know if any of these trips sparks your fancy! stu

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