Ama Dablam – October-November 2025 – A photo diary
14-20 October (To Ama Dablam Base Camp)
An enjoyable and sociable trek from Lukla to Ama Dablam Base Camp, including two acclimatisation (or ‘rest’) days at Namche Bazaar and Pangboche. Working for Adventure Peaks, I had a great group of five clients and three climbing sherpa guides.
21-22 October (At Ama Dablam Base Camp)
Rest, acclimatisation and training at Ama Dablam Base Camp followed by our Puja ceremony.
23-27 October (First Rotation)
The first ‘rotation’. This started with load-carrying up to ‘Yak Camp’ and Camp 1, before moving up to Camp 1 to sleep. We then had a day climbing up to the base of the Yellow Tower (which amounts to reaching Camp 2 in terms of altitude).
However, we were well aware that the timing of the weather was not on our side. We had to descend to Ama Dablam Base Camp before the heavy snow of Cyclone Montha hit us.
28-31 October (At Ama Dablam Base Camp)
Four days stuck at Base Camp waiting for the snow of Cyclone Montha to stop.
Sadly, this messed with our acclimatisation plans. One or two days at Base Camp was planned (and would have been fine) but by the third day we really should have been heading back to higher altitudes on Ama Dablam. Sadly, this simply was not possible.
1-4 November (Ama Dablam Summit Push)
The summit push.
- 1 November – We moved to Camp 1 and sadly the first of the clients decided that he didn’t feel strong enough and turned back to Base Camp.
- 2 November – We continued onwards to Camp 2, but before the Yellow Tower a second client decided he needed to stop. We now had 3 clients, 3 climbing sherpas and myself at Camp 2 for the final attempt. (Really pleased to see that we were obliged to use WAG Bags above Base Camp).
- 3 November
- At 23.00 (2 Nov) we set off from Camp 2 for the summit. A couple of hours into the climb, after the Grey Tower another client felt he couldn’t continue and descended back to Camp 1 with a climbing sherpa.
- At around 04.30 we reached Camp 3 – two clients, two sherpas and myself. Recognising that I was a little slower (and almost 30 years older) than the younger guys, I felt their best chance of success was continuing with the climbing sherpas at a 1:1 ratio. So off they went, while I waited at Camp 3.
- At around 06.00 a fourth client called it a day, and descended with his sherpa to join me at Camp 3.
- Happily, our one remaining client summited Ama Dablam at about 10.00.
- By the end of the day, he was back at Camp 2 while everyone else had descended to Camp 1.
- 4 November – Everyone returned to Base Camp at different times through the day.
5-6 November (Return to Lukla)
With a looming deadline for international flights, we trekked back quickly from Ama Dablam Base Camp to Lukla in two days.
