I think the photo annual is my favorite issue of a magazine. So it was pretty cool when Christy thumbed through the latest Rock & Ice – The Photo Issue, and stumbled across a familiar image in the ‘Everyman’s Exposed’ section. After a quick doubletake, she tossed the magazine over to me and there was the shot, of Camp 2.7 and the mushroom ridge on Ama Dablam. I had totally forgotten submitting the...
Dirk, Christy and I agreed- if we didn’t see a sleeping bag for a few weeks, we’d be just fine. I say that because when you consider the different camps on the mountain, and their varying levels of comfort (or lack thereof), well, it’s just great to be home. Having a toilet is nice, too. Let’s review. Basecamp ~15,000 ft. Pros- Flat, grassy and dry with direct sun from 7:30am to 5:30pm....
It was October 18th, nine days after arriving to Nepal, that we finished our trek and made it to basecamp. What a spot. The looming west face of the mountain frames the backdrop for the camp and the huge hanging snowfield just below the summit, known as the ‘dablam’ (loosely translated- pendant or charm box), accents it further. As we made our way to our tents, passing through other expeditions...
As we suffer alongside the pool at the Hyatt Resort/Hotel in Kathmandu, waiting to fly home later today, we can’t help but think about how lucky we’ve been. Be it our health, the weather, the ever changing route conditions or Adrian and the sherpas efforts, it seems everything was going right for us. Well let’s add one more thing to the list of good fortunes, our quick escape from Lukla....
Though it has been five days since we’ve summited, there’s still quite a lot happening. We left basecamp yesterday after nearly three weeks there, and will be in Lukla tonight. If the weather holds we should be back at the hotel in Kathmandu tomorrow. We can’t wait to get into a new set of clothes. Once we get home and get a chance to sort through the 1000+ photos we’ve...
“Now we wait.” That begins a prepared update from Ted via sat phone to Aspen at 9:34 p.m. Monday. “Nine days ago, we arrived to Ama Dablam base camp with near perfect weather. We made three trips with loads of gear and food to Camp 1, at 19,000 feet. After spending two uncomfortable nights there, we climbed up to Camp 2, familiarizing ourselves with all of the technical rock pitches, including...
From Dingboche ~14,200 feet- So far, so good. Actually, it’s better than that. It has been a perfect start to the trip. With ideal weather, great food and comfy tea house accommodations, everyone is healthy and having fun. In an effort to acclimatize, we went up Chukking Ri this morning. It took us four hours to reach the snow free summit, above 18,000 feet, with awesome views of the Lhotse Face,...
After flying to Lukla yesterday, and trekking in to Phakding where we spent the night, we made the trip to Namche Bazaar today. Namche, at more than 11,000 feet, is the largest village in the Khumbu Valley. The rest of today and tomorrow will be spent checking it out. So far, everything is great. As an added bonus, Adrian has many of the same staff Russell Brice employed when I was on...
Actually, the yaks aren’t loaded up yet, but they willl be soon. That shot is from Everest back in 2003. I just thought it was fitting for the moment. Christy and I pulled into Kathmandu last night and met up with Dirk. Tomorrow we fly to Lukla and begin the trek in to basecamp. Total time is just over a month to the mountain and back, and the schedule is stacked. Check out the more detailed trip-itinerary. Ama Dablam,...
Gettin’ Ready With our depature for Nepal on Wednesday, we had time for a little last minute trip prep. Our planned route on Ama Dablam is the SW Ridge. As a true hand and foot climbing route, it won’t have any significant “jug hauling”, that is, pulling ourselves up a fixed rope with mechanical ascenders, or jumars. For safety reasons though, we will be clipped in and using an ascender, while...
We met in Aspen in 2000 and have been happily stuck in the rockies ever since, getting out in the mountains every day we can, in every season and by all means possible. Read More
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