Ama Dablam Expedition
Ama Dablam (6,812 m) is the most beautiful mountain in Nepal and, by some distance, the most photographed. Its name mean
Trip Overview
Ama Dablam (6,812 m) is the most beautiful mountain in Nepal and, by some distance, the most photographed. Its name means mother's necklace — the long ridges are her arms, and the hanging glacier below the summit is the dablam, the ornament box a Sherpa woman wears at her throat. It was first climbed in March 1961 by Mike Gill, Barry Bishop, Michael Ward and Wally Romanes, working out of Hillary's Silver Hut, and the south-west ridge they pioneered is still the route every expedition follows.
It is the classic technical Himalayan objective for a climber who is not yet ready for an 8,000 m peak, and it is a real climb rather than a walk with a rope. The ridge gives exposed rock climbing on the Yellow Tower, a long day on the Grey Tower and the corniced Mushroom Ridge, and a final snow slope beneath the Dablam itself. This thirty-day expedition carries two full rotations and three reserve days, because the difference between summiting Ama Dablam and not usually comes down to how many chances the schedule allows.
Trip Highlights
Summit Ama Dablam (6,812 m): The most iconic peak in Nepal, by the south-west ridge of the 1961 first ascent.
The Yellow Tower: Exposed rock climbing in crampons at 5,900 m, the technical crux and the memory everyone keeps.
Two Full Acclimatisation Rotations: Sleep at Camp 1 and Camp 2 before the summit push, the structure that puts climbers on top.
Three Reserve Days: A schedule with genuine room for weather, rather than one chance and a hope.
One Sherpa Per Climber: One-to-one high-altitude support on every section of the route, from base camp to the summit.
Itinerary
A 30-day expedition on the south-west ridge of Ama Dablam (6,812 m), with a full base camp, two acclimatisation rotations to Camp 1 and Camp 2, one Sherpa per climber and three reserve days.
1Day 1Arrival in Nepal – Kathmandu (1,400 m)
Arrival in Nepal – Kathmandu (1,400 m)
You land at Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu (1,400 m), where our representative meets you in the arrivals hall and drives you to your hotel in Thamel.
Rest is the only item on the schedule. Unpack and lay out your technical equipment this evening; tomorrow's inspection goes through it piece by piece and Thamel is the last place to replace anything.
Your expedition leader calls at the hotel in the evening to introduce themselves and set tomorrow's plan. Overnight in Kathmandu.
2Day 2Kathmandu (1,400 m) – Expedition Briefing, Permits and Equipment Check
Kathmandu (1,400 m) – Expedition Briefing, Permits and Equipment Check
The full expedition briefing. Your leader takes the thirty-day plan apart — the approach, the base camp period, the two rotations, the summit push from Camp 2, the reserve days — and then goes through the route itself: the spur, the Yellow Tower, the Grey Tower, the Mushroom Ridge and the Dablam.
The equipment inspection covers boots, crampons, axe, harness, ascender, belay device, screwgates and helmet, and your leader will discuss your climbing history route by route.
Our office lodges the NMA climbing permit and park paperwork with your passport and photographs, and takes copies of your insurance. The afternoon is free. Overnight in Kathmandu.
3Day 3Fly to Lukla (2,840 m) and Trek to Phakding (2,610 m)
Fly to Lukla (2,840 m) and Trek to Phakding (2,610 m)
An early flight into Lukla (2,840 m) — thirty-five minutes from Kathmandu, or a pre-dawn drive to Manthali and a twenty-minute hop in peak season.
The expedition barrels are weighed and distributed to porters and yaks over tea. There is a great deal of it: base camp for a month, three camps of equipment, and the team's share of the fixing rope.
The trail drops north through Chaurikharka and Ghat to Phakding (2,610 m), past mani walls and water-driven prayer wheels. Around 3 to 4 hours. Overnight at Phakding.
4Day 4Trek from Phakding (2,610 m) to Namche Bazaar (3,440 m)
Trek from Phakding (2,610 m) to Namche Bazaar (3,440 m)
Five prayer-flagged suspension bridges across the Dudh Koshi, then a climb through blue pine to Monjo and the Sagarmatha National Park entrance.
Past Jorsalle the Hillary Bridge crosses high above the confluence, and beyond it the trail turns uphill for 600 m of steady work, with a first view of Everest partway up on a clear morning.
Namche Bazaar (3,440 m) has bakeries, an ATM and the last gear shops. It is also where the yak train for base camp is finalised. Around 6 hours. Overnight at Namche.
5Day 5Acclimatisation Day at Namche Bazaar (3,440 m)
Acclimatisation Day at Namche Bazaar (3,440 m)
Climb high, sleep low. The morning goes up to the Everest View Hotel (3,880 m), whose terrace gives the classic view of Everest, Lhotse, Nuptse and — the reason you are here — Ama Dablam.
From this angle the south-west ridge is in profile: the spur to Camp 1, the step of the Yellow Tower, the crest where Camp 2 sits, and the white bulge of the Dablam under the summit. Your leader will trace it.
On to Khumjung and Khunde, then a free afternoon. First saturation readings tonight. Around 4 hours. Overnight at Namche.
6Day 6Trek from Namche Bazaar (3,440 m) to Deboche (3,820 m)
Trek from Namche Bazaar (3,440 m) to Deboche (3,820 m)
Two hours of near-level balcony trail out of Namche, high above the Dudh Koshi, with Ama Dablam directly ahead and growing all morning.
At Phunki Thenga the trail drops to the river and climbs 600 m to the saddle at Tengboche, where the largest monastery in the Khumbu sits facing the mountain. Expedition teams have taken a blessing here for sixty years, and the afternoon ceremony is open to visitors.
A short descent through birch and rhododendron reaches Deboche (3,820 m), quieter than Tengboche and warmer for the night. Around 5 to 6 hours. Overnight at Deboche.
7Day 7Trek from Deboche (3,820 m) to Dingboche (4,410 m)
Trek from Deboche (3,820 m) to Dingboche (4,410 m)
Across the Imja Khola above a narrow gorge and up to Pangboche (3,930 m), the oldest permanent Sherpa settlement in the Khumbu and the home village of many of the Sherpas on the mountain.
Above Pangboche the trees give out and the valley opens into a wide grey trough of moraine and grazing land, with the east face of Ama Dablam directly overhead.
Dingboche (4,410 m) sits among stone-walled potato and barley fields. Around 5 hours. Overnight at Dingboche.
8Day 8Acclimatisation Day at Dingboche (4,410 m) – Nangkartshang (5,083 m)
Acclimatisation Day at Dingboche (4,410 m) – Nangkartshang (5,083 m)
The last acclimatisation day before base camp. We climb the ridge behind the village to Nangkartshang (5,083 m) — steep, non-technical, two to three hours on scree and rock.
Reaching 5,000 m and sleeping 600 m below it is what makes the first rotation manageable. Makalu appears over the eastern ridge, with Lhotse, Island Peak, Taboche and Cholatse around you.
Back for a late lunch and rest, with an evening saturation check. Your leader reviews everyone's readings and trend before committing the team to base camp. Around 4 to 5 hours. Overnight at Dingboche.
9Day 9Trek from Dingboche (4,410 m) to Ama Dablam Base Camp (4,600 m)
Trek from Dingboche (4,410 m) to Ama Dablam Base Camp (4,600 m)
A short day back down the valley and then west onto the moraine shelf beneath the mountain, on a trail used by nobody but expedition teams and their yaks.
Ama Dablam Base Camp (4,600 m) is one of the pleasanter base camps in the Himalaya — grassy rather than rocky, sheltered, with running water and a full view of the route from the mess tent door.
Camp is established properly today: sleeping tents, mess tent, kitchen, storage, communications and toilet tents. This is home for the next eighteen days. Around 4 hours. Overnight at base camp.
10Day 10Puja Ceremony and Rest Day at Base Camp (4,600 m)
Puja Ceremony and Rest Day at Base Camp (4,600 m)
The puja is held this morning. A lama comes up from Pangboche, a chorten is built and juniper is burned, and the climbing equipment — axes, crampons, harnesses, boots — is laid out at the altar to be blessed.
No Sherpa on our team will go onto the mountain before it has been done, and it is not a performance for clients. Rice is thrown, prayer flags go up over camp, and it usually finishes with chang and a good deal of laughing.
The rest of the day is genuine rest and settling in — sorting personal kit, finding out how the mess tent works, and letting 4,600 m become normal. Overnight at base camp.
11Day 11Technical Training and Assessment Day at Base Camp (4,600 m)
Technical Training and Assessment Day at Base Camp (4,600 m)
A full working day on the rocks and ice above camp. Every climber is taken through moving on rock in crampons, jumaring on steep fixed line with a pack, changing over at anchors, and abseiling from hanging stances.
The changeover at anchors gets the most attention, because on the Yellow Tower and the Grey Tower you will do it repeatedly, in gloves, with a long drop underneath, and a slick changeover is worth more on this mountain than raw strength.
Your leader is also assessing. Anyone who needs more time gets the afternoon; anyone who is not ready for the ridge is told here, at base camp. Meanwhile the Sherpas are on the spur, carrying loads to Camp 1. Overnight at base camp.
12Day 12First Rotation – Climb to Camp 1 (5,700 m)
First Rotation – Climb to Camp 1 (5,700 m)
The first time on the mountain. The route follows the long rocky spur above base camp — scrambling, slabs, and exposed sections on fixed line, with a personal load of around 10 kg.
It is not technically hard and it is relentlessly tiring, five to six hours of hands-on ground with the altitude climbing steadily. Most people find it considerably more work than they expected from looking at it.
Camp 1 (5,700 m) is a scatter of tents on a rocky shoulder with a huge view down the Imja valley and, above, the Yellow Tower catching the last of the light. Overnight at Camp 1.
13Day 13First Rotation – Descend from Camp 1 (5,700 m) to Base Camp (4,600 m)
First Rotation – Descend from Camp 1 (5,700 m) to Base Camp (4,600 m)
Down the spur to base camp in three to four hours, abseiling the steep sections and down-climbing the rest.
Sleeping high and recovering low is the entire mechanism of acclimatisation, and the descent is not lost ground. You will feel the difference on the second rotation.
The afternoon is rest, food and fluid at 4,600 m. The Sherpas continue carrying loads and working on the route toward Camp 2. Overnight at base camp.
14Day 14Rest Day at Base Camp (4,600 m)
Rest Day at Base Camp (4,600 m)
A full rest day. Eating properly, drinking four litres, sleeping in the afternoon, and — for most people — reading, playing cards and getting to know the team.
There is equipment work too: crampons checked and adjusted, harnesses inspected for wear after a day of jumaring, and personal loads for the next rotation packed and weighed.
Your leader reviews the satellite forecast in the evening and confirms the timing of the second rotation. Overnight at base camp.
15Day 15Second Rotation – Climb to Camp 1 (5,700 m)
Second Rotation – Climb to Camp 1 (5,700 m)
Back up the spur, and the difference is immediate. Ground that took six hours on the first rotation takes four or five, and the sections that needed thought a week ago are now simply familiar.
That improvement is the return on the rotation and the rest days, and it is the clearest sign that the acclimatisation is working.
Camp 1 (5,700 m) in the early afternoon, with time to rest properly before tomorrow — which is the day the mountain gets serious. Overnight at Camp 1.
16Day 16Second Rotation – Climb the Yellow Tower to Camp 2 (5,900 m)
Second Rotation – Climb the Yellow Tower to Camp 2 (5,900 m)
The day everyone comes to Ama Dablam for. Above Camp 1 the ridge narrows and steepens through slabs and short walls, all of it on fixed rope, until it arrives at the foot of the Yellow Tower.
The Tower is around fifteen metres of near-vertical rock, climbed on an ascender in double boots, crampons and gloves at 5,900 m. In climbing shoes at sea level it would be unremarkable; here, with the Imja valley a vertical kilometre below your heels, it is the most talked-about pitch in Nepal.
Above it, Camp 2 (5,900 m) — tent platforms cut directly into the crest of the ridge, drops on both sides, and nowhere at all to walk to. Three to five hours from Camp 1.
Sleeping here is the point of the rotation and the reason the summit push works. It is also a night nobody forgets. Overnight at Camp 2.
17Day 17Second Rotation – Descend from Camp 2 (5,900 m) to Base Camp (4,600 m)
Second Rotation – Descend from Camp 2 (5,900 m) to Base Camp (4,600 m)
A long descent: abseil the Yellow Tower and the ridge to Camp 1, then down the spur to base camp. Five to seven hours, and the abseils are where a tired party has to keep concentrating.
By the time you reach the grass at base camp the team has slept at 5,900 m and climbed the technical crux of the route. Everything the summit push requires has now been done once.
The afternoon is food, fluid and sleep in thick air. The Sherpas complete the stocking of Camp 2 over the next two days. Overnight at base camp.
18Day 18Rest Day at Base Camp (4,600 m)
Rest Day at Base Camp (4,600 m)
The first of two full recovery days, and they are the most valuable idle hours of the expedition. Two nights at Camp 1 and one at Camp 2 have taken more out of the team than anyone feels at the time.
The routine is unglamorous and it works: eat past the point of appetite, drink four litres, sleep in the afternoon, and stay off your feet.
The satellite forecast comes in each evening, and from tonight the whole camp starts thinking in terms of weather windows rather than days. Overnight at base camp.
19Day 19Rest and Preparation Day at Base Camp (4,600 m)
Rest and Preparation Day at Base Camp (4,600 m)
The last day before the push. Personal kit is split into what goes up and what stays; rope pairs are confirmed; radios, headlamps and batteries are checked; and your leader briefs the four-day summit sequence stage by stage with timings for each.
The Sherpas report on the state of the fixed ropes above Camp 2 — the Grey Tower, the Mushroom Ridge and the slopes under the Dablam — which is the information the go decision actually rests on.
The forecast arrives in the evening and the plan is set against it. If the window is not there, the reserve days at the end of the itinerary are what the expedition waits on. Overnight at base camp.
20Day 20Summit Push – Climb from Base Camp (4,600 m) to Camp 1 (5,700 m)
Summit Push – Climb from Base Camp (4,600 m) to Camp 1 (5,700 m)
The summit push begins, and the spur goes by faster again — four hours or so for ground that took six on the first rotation.
Loads are lighter this time. Camp 2 is already stocked with food, fuel and the tents, so climbers carry personal equipment and little else.
Camp 1 (5,700 m) by early afternoon. An easy evening, as much fluid as anyone can manage, and an early night. Overnight at Camp 1.
21Day 21Summit Push – Climb from Camp 1 (5,700 m) to Camp 2 (5,900 m)
Summit Push – Climb from Camp 1 (5,700 m) to Camp 2 (5,900 m)
A short day by design. The ridge and the Yellow Tower again, three to four hours, arriving at Camp 2 by late morning so the team has the whole afternoon lying down.
The Tower is easier the second time in the way that all of this is easier the second time: you know where the holds are, you know the changeover, and you know it goes.
The rest of the day is spent melting snow, forcing fluid and food, and sleeping badly on a ledge at 5,900 m. Your leader sets a departure time and a hard turnaround time before dark. Overnight at Camp 2.
22Day 22Summit Ama Dablam (6,812 m) and Descend to Camp 2 (5,900 m)
Summit Ama Dablam (6,812 m) and Descend to Camp 2 (5,900 m)
Moving between midnight and one, straight out of the tents and onto the fixed rope. The Grey Tower comes first — a long mixed section of rock and ice, harder in sustained terms than the Yellow Tower and taken in the coldest hours of the night.
Above it the Mushroom Ridge: a corniced snow crest traversed one at a time, spectacular and thoroughly exposed, with the sun usually arriving somewhere along it. Then the final snow slopes, which pass beneath the Dablam itself — the hanging glacier the mountain is named for, and its principal hazard. This is the section that is moved through steadily and not lingered on.
The summit (6,812 m) is a broad snow dome, and the view is the one the whole Khumbu has been arranging itself around for three weeks: Everest, Lhotse and Nuptse to the north, Makalu east, Cho Oyu north-west, and Island Peak, Baruntse and Chamlang laid out below.
The descent is a long sequence of abseils back down the ridge to Camp 2. Twelve to sixteen hours round trip. Overnight at Camp 2.
23Day 23Descend from Camp 2 (5,900 m) to Base Camp (4,600 m)
Descend from Camp 2 (5,900 m) to Base Camp (4,600 m)
Camp 2 comes down and everything goes onto backs — tents, sleeping bags, stoves, rubbish. Nothing is left on the ridge.
Then the whole route in reverse: abseil the Yellow Tower, down the ridge to Camp 1, and down the spur to base camp. Five to seven hours on legs that did sixteen the day before.
Base camp (4,600 m) in the afternoon means grass, running water, a hot meal and the first real sleep in four days. The kitchen crew generally has something better than usual waiting. Overnight at base camp.
24Day 24First Reserve Day at Base Camp (4,600 m)
First Reserve Day at Base Camp (4,600 m)
The first of three reserve days, and they are the reason this itinerary is thirty days rather than twenty-four. On Ama Dablam the mountain does not usually turn people back with storms; it turns them back with a week of wind that a shorter schedule cannot outlast.
If the summit has not yet been reached, the team is either resting for a second push or already back at Camp 1, depending on the forecast and on how much the first attempt took out of everyone.
If the summit went to plan, this is rest — and rest at 4,600 m after a 6,812 m summit day is an unusually satisfying way to spend a morning. Overnight at base camp.
25Day 25Second Reserve Day at Base Camp (4,600 m)
Second Reserve Day at Base Camp (4,600 m)
The second reserve day. Between them, the three reserve days give the expedition roughly a week of tolerance for weather, which is what the mountain's autumn wind patterns actually demand.
In a season where the first attempt succeeded, these days are used to walk out early and bank the time against the Lukla flights, which are the least reliable part of the whole journey.
In a season where it did not, they are the second and sometimes the third attempt, and your leader manages them on the forecast and on the team's remaining reserves rather than on the calendar. Overnight at base camp.
26Day 26Third Reserve Day at Base Camp (4,600 m)
Third Reserve Day at Base Camp (4,600 m)
The last reserve day and the last night under the mountain. If it is not needed for the climb, base camp comes down today: tents struck, loads made up for the yaks, and the site left clean.
That clean-up is not a formality. Everything the expedition brought up — packaging, batteries, fuel canisters, human waste from the toilet tent — goes back down with it, and the NMA garbage deposit is refunded against exactly that.
The chorten built at the puja stays, and the prayer flags with it. Most teams sit out for a while after dinner to look at the ridge one more time. Overnight at base camp.
27Day 27Trek from Ama Dablam Base Camp (4,600 m) to Namche Bazaar (3,440 m)
Trek from Ama Dablam Base Camp (4,600 m) to Namche Bazaar (3,440 m)
Down off the moraine shelf to Pangboche, where several of the Sherpas on your team live, and where the monastery above the village is the oldest in the Khumbu.
Through Deboche and up to the Tengboche saddle, which is where most people stop and turn round for a long look — the mountain from here is exactly the photograph, and it now has your route on it.
The steep descent to Phunki Thenga and the balcony trail bring you to Namche Bazaar (3,440 m): hot water, a bakery, an ATM and a beer. Around 7 to 8 hours. Overnight at Namche.
28Day 28Trek from Namche Bazaar (3,440 m) to Lukla (2,840 m)
Trek from Namche Bazaar (3,440 m) to Lukla (2,840 m)
The last walking day. Steeply down from Namche to the Hillary Bridge, then along the Dudh Koshi through Jorsalle and Monjo, where you check out of the national park.
Through Phakding and past the mani walls, then the final climb to Lukla (2,840 m), which after a month always feels steeper than it is.
The evening is the end-of-expedition dinner with the leader, the climbing Sherpas, the cook crew and the porters, and the point at which the summit bonus and tips are given. Around 6 to 7 hours. Overnight at Lukla.
29Day 29Fly from Lukla (2,840 m) to Kathmandu (1,400 m)
Fly from Lukla (2,840 m) to Kathmandu (1,400 m)
Lukla flights leave early, before the valley wind builds. Thirty-five minutes to Kathmandu, or a landing at Manthali with a road transfer onward when the peak-season schedule applies.
Delays are routine rather than exceptional and can run to a full day, which is why no international departure is scheduled for today. If Lukla closes entirely, a helicopter seat can usually be arranged at your own cost and your leader handles the booking.
The afternoon is free for a long shower and Thamel. Your summit certificate is presented in the evening. Overnight in Kathmandu.
30Day 30Departure from Nepal
Departure from Nepal
The expedition ends today. If your flight is a late one there is time for a last morning in Kathmandu — Boudhanath, Patan Durbar Square, or a slow breakfast on a roof terrace.
Our representative collects you from the hotel and drives you to Tribhuvan International Airport about three hours before departure.
If you are staying on in Nepal, we can arrange Chitwan, Pokhara, Lumbini or a Kathmandu valley tour. Safe travels — for a good many climbers Ama Dablam is the mountain that leads to Baruntse, Himlung or an 8,000 m peak, and we would be glad to talk about any of them.
Inclusions & Exclusions
Lukla flights, airport transfers, Kathmandu hotel nights, teahouse and full expedition camp accommodation, three meals a day throughout, the NMA climbing permit and park fees, an expedition leader with one high-altitude Sherpa per climber, a base camp cook crew, all group climbing equipment, our share of the route fixing, two rotations, base camp power and satellite forecasts are included, while international flights, visa, mountaineering insurance, personal technical equipment, personal gear, city meals, summit bonus and tips are not.
What's Included
Airport pickup and drop-off services in Kathmandu.
Round-trip flight between Kathmandu and Lukla, including the road transfer to and from Manthali in Ramechhap when the flights are operating from there in peak season.
Private airport and hotel transfers in Kathmandu.
Two nights of accommodation in Kathmandu with breakfast.
Accommodation in local teahouses on the approach and the walk out.
Full expedition base camp at 4,600 m with mess, kitchen, storage, communications and toilet tents, plus tented Camp 1 (5,700 m) and Camp 2 (5,900 m).
Three meals a day (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) throughout the trip.
Nepal Mountaineering Association climbing permit for Ama Dablam, Sagarmatha National Park entry permit and the Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality permit.
Government-licensed expedition leader with Ama Dablam experience, with all equipment, wages and insurance.
One high-altitude climbing Sherpa for every climber above base camp, with all their equipment, wages and insurance.
Group climbing equipment: fixed and main ropes, snow bars, ice screws, and anchors.
Garbage deposit paid to the Nepal Mountaineering Association.
Group map, and a comprehensive first aid kit carried by the guide.
Cook and kitchen crew at base camp for the duration of the expedition, with three hot meals a day and high-altitude food and fuel for the camps above.
A technical training and assessment day at base camp on rock in crampons, fixed-rope ascent, and abseiling from hanging stances.
Two full acclimatisation rotations, with nights at Camp 1 and Camp 2 before the summit push.
Our share of fixing and maintaining the route, including the Yellow Tower, the Grey Tower and the Mushroom Ridge.
Base camp solar power for charging, and a satellite weather forecast throughout the expedition period.
A puja ceremony at base camp before the team goes onto the mountain.
Yak and porter transport of all expedition equipment between Lukla and base camp.
Summit certificate issued after a successful ascent.
All government taxes, permit fees, and service charges.
What's Excluded
International flight tickets to and from Nepal.
Nepal entry visa fees.
Travel insurance covering mountaineering to the height of this peak, including emergency helicopter evacuation and repatriation.
Personal climbing equipment — harness, crampons, ice axe, ascender, descender, helmet and carabiners (available to rent as an add-on).
Personal trekking equipment and clothing, including boots and a sleeping bag.
Lunch and dinner in Kathmandu.
Snacks, bottled water, hot showers, Wi-Fi, charging fees, and alcoholic or soft drinks.
Personal technical equipment — harness, crampons, ice axe, belay device, ascender and screwgates — which climbers must bring rather than rent for this expedition.
Personal satellite communication devices and airtime.
Personal expenses such as laundry, phone calls, and souvenirs.
Summit bonus for the climbing Sherpas, and tips for the expedition leader, base camp crew and porters.
Any additional accommodation, transport or expenses caused by weather, an attempt abandoned for conditions, or an early descent from the mountain.
Route Map
Explore the terrain map showing the trek route.
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Altitude Profile
Pricing
Transparent per-person pricing based on group size, covering the services listed in the itinerary with no hidden charges.
Best Time to Climb
October and November is the Ama Dablam season, and it is not a close contest. Post-monsoon the rock of the Yellow and Grey Towers is dry, the ridge is stable, the weather windows are long and the fixed ropes are in place and maintained by the teams on the mountain. Something like nine out of ten ascents happen in these two months.
April and May is climbable and we run occasional spring departures, but the route is colder, the rock more often iced, and there are far fewer teams sharing the work of fixing. Winter ascents happen and are serious undertakings. The monsoon closes the mountain entirely. If you have one season to choose, choose late October, when the ropes are freshly fixed and the weather is at its most settled.
Climb Difficulty & Technical Grade
Graded TD-. The route runs from base camp at 4,600 m up a long rocky spur to Camp 1 (5,700 m) — scrambling and exposed slabs, more tiring than technical. Above it the climbing becomes serious: the Yellow Tower, a near-vertical rock step of around 15 m climbed in crampons and gloves on fixed rope, guards the way to Camp 2 (5,900 m), a spectacular and precarious set of platforms on the crest of the ridge.
Above Camp 2 come the Grey Tower, a longer mixed rock and ice section, and the Mushroom Ridge, a corniced snow crest traversed with the whole Khumbu below on both sides. The final slopes pass beneath the Dablam hanging glacier — the mountain's principal objective hazard — to the summit. Summit day from Camp 2 runs twelve to sixteen hours, and the descent is a long series of abseils.
The rope techniques used on the climb are explained step by step in our guide to fixed rope and jumar skills.
Experience Required & Acclimatisation
We ask for previous 6,000 m Himalayan experience and alpine climbing at AD+ or above. You should be comfortable jumaring on steep fixed rope for hours, moving on rock in crampons, and abseiling from hanging stances while tired. Island Peak and Mera alone are not sufficient preparation; Lobuche East, Kyajo Ri or a season of alpine routes is the right background.
Acclimatisation is where this expedition spends its time. The Khumbu approach through Namche and Dingboche gets you to base camp already adapted to 4,400 m, and then two rotations — a night at Camp 1, and later a night at Camp 2 — build the tolerance for a summit push. Base camp sits at 4,600 m and the team returns to it to recover between rotations, which is why the trip is thirty days rather than twenty.
Travel Insurance
Insurance written for mountaineering to 7,000 m, including technical rock and ice climbing, fixed-rope use and abseiling, is mandatory and we verify it before the permit is issued. Ordinary adventure travel cover does not qualify and we reject it regularly. A national alpine club policy or a specialist mountaineering insurer is what this expedition needs.
Emergency helicopter evacuation and repatriation are essential, with a limit high enough to be useful — a long-line rescue from Ama Dablam is an expensive operation. Helicopters routinely reach base camp and can, in good conditions, long-line from Camp 1 and occasionally Camp 2, but never from the ridge above. We hold your policy number, the insurer's 24-hour line and a named emergency contact from the Kathmandu briefing onward.
Packing List & Climbing Equipment
Double mountaineering boots rated for 7,000 m, technical crampons, a technical ice axe, a -30°C sleeping bag, an insulated mat, a heavy expedition down jacket and down trousers, a full shell, softshell trousers for the rock, technical gloves in three weights, a helmet, category 4 glacier glasses, goggles and a headlamp with lithium batteries and a spare.
The Yellow Tower is climbed in crampons on rock, so gloves you can feel holds through matter as much as the warm ones. We supply all group ropes, ice screws, snow stakes, rock protection and anchors, and our Sherpas fix and maintain the route. Climbers bring their own harness, crampons, axe, belay device, ascender and screwgates — this is a requirement on Ama Dablam rather than a preference.
Frequently Asked Questions
Find quick answers to common questions about the Ama Dablam Expedition.
1Do you use Camp 3?
Rarely, and only when conditions clearly justify it. Camp 3 at around 6,300 m sits directly beneath the Dablam hanging glacier, which has calved onto it with fatal consequences in the past. Modern practice on the mountain, and ours, is to summit from Camp 2 in a single long day and accept the extra hours rather than the extra exposure.
2How hard is the Yellow Tower really?
Around UIAA IV+ in pure grade — moves most competent rock climbers would find straightforward in shoes at sea level. In double boots and crampons, wearing gloves, at 5,900 m, with a rucksack and a thousand metres of air beneath you, it is a different proposition. It is fixed and climbed on an ascender, and it is the section everyone remembers.
3What is Camp 2 like?
Extraordinary and unnerving. The tents sit on small platforms directly on the crest of the ridge, with drops on both sides, and there is nowhere to walk to. Most climbers describe the night there as the most memorable and least restful of the expedition.
4What is the summit success rate?
Between 65 and 75 percent on our thirty-day departures. It correlates strongly with schedule length: expeditions running shorter itineraries with fewer reserve days come in materially lower, because the mountain's weather does not negotiate. That relationship is the main reason we run the long version as standard.
5Is the route fixed by our team or shared?
In the autumn season the fixed ropes are put in and maintained cooperatively by the expeditions on the mountain, and our Sherpas take their share of that work. In spring, when there may be only one or two teams, our team fixes considerably more of the route itself.
6How dangerous is the Dablam?
It is the mountain's main objective hazard and it has killed. The hanging glacier sits above the upper route and calves unpredictably. It cannot be avoided entirely on the normal route, so it is managed by minimising time underneath it — which is precisely the argument for summiting from Camp 2 rather than camping beneath it at Camp 3.
7Do I need supplementary oxygen?
No. Ama Dablam is climbed without bottled oxygen and we do not carry it for climbing. We do carry emergency oxygen with the expedition leader for medical use at base camp and on the route, along with a pulse oximeter and, on larger departures, a portable altitude chamber.
8How much of the climbing is on rock?
More than most people expect. The spur to Camp 1 is largely rock scrambling, the Yellow Tower is a rock pitch, and the Grey Tower is mixed. Roughly half the technical content of the route is rock climbed in crampons, which is why we ask about rock experience as well as ice.
9Can I do Ama Dablam as my first Himalayan expedition?
As your first expedition, often yes — as your first Himalayan mountain, no. Climbers who arrive having climbed a 6,000 m peak and with alpine experience at AD+ do well here. Climbers whose entire record is trekking peaks find the Yellow Tower and the exposure a shock, and we will say so at enquiry.
10What happens between rotations at base camp?
You rest, and it is not idle time — recovery at 4,600 m is what makes the next rotation possible. Base camp has a heated mess tent, a cook crew producing three hot meals a day, solar charging, and usually a satellite connection. Most teams find the rest days pass a good deal faster than they expected.
Gallery
Explore authentic moments, camps and summit views from the Ama Dablam Expedition.
Trekking Guides & Articles
Ama Dablam Expedition Guide: The Matterhorn of the Himalaya — 6,812 m of steep granite and ice on the south-west ridge — technically the hardest thing most Himalayan climbers ever do, and a serious step above any trekking peak.
Pumori Expedition: The Complete Guide — The elegant pyramid over Everest Base Camp that Mallory named for his daughter.
Thamserku Expedition: The Complete Guide — The fluted wall over Namche that almost everyone decides to photograph rather than climb.
NMA Peak Permits and Fees: Climbing Paperwork in Nepal — Trekking peaks, expedition peaks and eight-thousanders all use different permit systems in Nepal.
Cholatse Expedition: The Complete Guide — The mountain that stops people on the trail to Everest Base Camp — a 1,500 m north face above Chola Tsho and a grade D south-west ridge first climbed by Clevenger, Rowell.
Everest Expedition Guide: What Climbing the South Col Route Involves — Fifty days, the Khumbu Icefall, the Western Cwm, the Lhotse Face and the South Col — how a commercial Everest expedition actually works, what it costs.
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Guest Reviews
A world-class team
“I have climbed with operators on three continents and this is the most professional team I have come across. The mountain guides were superb — experienced, patient and genuinely invested in everyone's...
Hanna Wilson
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Tell us the dates you have in mind and roughly what you want out of the trek — one of our guides will reply, usually within 24 hours.
Email Us
info@greencompasstreks.com
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+977 9864379436
Office
Lakeside, Pokhara, Nepal
Office Hours
Sunday – Friday, 9:00 AM – 9:00 PM