Ama Dablam – Summit!
Our first wave of climbers made it! 6 climbers and 3 Sherpas stood on the summit of Ama Dablam, the first people to achieve the summit this year. The successful team members were Ted, Christy, Dirk, Allen, Alex and Rob, with sherpas Phurba Tashi Sherpa, Dorje Sherpa and Nima Sherpa. The summit was extremely cold and very windy but these folks all made it. Bill — one of our more experienced climbers — made the wise but difficult decision to turn back. All of them are safely back off the summit, with the strongest having already got back to base camp, and the others sleeping in Camps 1 and 2.7.
Our second wave of climbers — Larry, Kiek, Lissa and Adrian plus 3 Sherpas — will start out from C2.7 at 6am on their summit bid. Many members from the other teams on the mountain will also be climbing this route tomorrow.
Congratulations to all our super-energetic climbers and hard-working Sherpas!
Stay tuned for the latest updates.
-Adrian Ballinger, Alpenglow Expeditions – via satellite phone