Ama Dablam

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Ama Dablam

The classic view from the southwest
Elevation 6,812 m (22,349 ft)
Prominence 1,041 m (3,415 ft) [1]
Location
Ama Dablam is located in Nepal
Ama Dablam
Location in Nepal
Location Khumbu, Nepal
Range Khumbu Himal
Coordinates 27°51′40″N 86°51′40″E / 27.86111°N 86.86111°E / 27.86111; 86.86111Coordinates: 27°51′40″N 86°51′40″E / 27.86111°N 86.86111°E / 27.86111; 86.86111
Climbing
First ascent 1961
Easiest route rock/snow/ice climb

Ama Dablam is a mountain in the Himalaya range of eastern Nepal. The main peak is 6,812 metres (22,349 ft), the lower western peak is 5,563 metres (18,251 ft). Ama Dablam means "Mother's necklace"; the long ridges on each side like the arms of a mother (ama) protecting her child, and the hanging glacier thought of as the dablam, the traditional double-pendant containing pictures of the gods, worn by Sherpa women.[2] For several days, Ama Dablam dominates the eastern sky for anyone trekking to Mount Everest basecamp.

Ama Dablam was first climbed on 13 March 1961 by Mike Gill (NZ), Barry Bishop (USA), Mike Ward (UK) and Wally Romanes (NZ) via the Southwest Ridge. They were well-acclimatised to altitude, having wintered over at 5800 metres near the base of the peak as part of the Silver Hut Scientific Expedition of 1960-61, led by Sir Edmund Hillary.[3]

Ama Dablam is the third most popular Himalayan peak for permitted expeditions. The most popular route by far is the Southwest Ridge (right skyline in the photo).[4] Climbers typically set up three camps along the ridge with camp 3 just below and to the right of the hanging glacier, the Dablam. Any ice that calves off the glacier typically goes left, away from the camp. However, a 2006 avalanche proved otherwise. A climbing permit and a liaison officer are required when attempting Ama Dablam. As with Mt. Everest, the best climbing months are April-May (before the monsoon) and September-October.

Contents

[edit] Notable ascents

Mount Ama Dablam
  • 1961 Southwest Ridge (VI 5.9 60deg 1500m) FA by Mike Gill (NZ), Barry Bishop (USA), Mike Ward (UK) and Wally Romanes (NZ).[5]
  • 1979 Southwest Ridge SA by Martin Boysen (UK); Tom Frost, David Breashears, Greg Lowe, Jeff Lowe, Peter Pilafian, Jonathan Wright (all USA), and Lhakpa Dorje (Nepal) reached the summit on 22 April in blizzard conditions, as part of a well-financed climb-and-film expedition. Doug Robertson and John Wasson (both USA) reached the summit the next day.[6]
  • 1979 Lowe Route on the South Face (VI AI4 M5 1200m), FA Solo by Jeff Lowe, 30 April 1979.[7]
  • 1979 North Ridge (VI 5.7 70deg 1600m) by a large French expedition led by Louis Audoubert placed 14 frenchmen and 4 Nepalese Sherpa in three groups on the summit over three days, 21-23 Oct 1979.[8]
  • 1981 Northeast Spur to North Ridge (VI 5.7 70deg 1500m) by Tim McCartney-Snape, Lincoln Hall, and Andrew Henderson (AUS).[9]
  • 1983 East Ridge (VI 80deg 1500m) by Alain Hubert (Belgium) and Andre Georges (Switzerland).[10]
  • 1984 Southwest Ridge solo by Naoe Sakashita (JP).[11]
  • 1985 Ariaki-Sakashita on the west face (VI 5.7 65deg 1400m) by Masayuki Ariaki and Naoe Sakashita (both JP).[12]
  • 1985 Northeast Face (VI mixed 90deg 1400m) winter ascent by Michael Kennedy and Carlos Buhler (both USA).[13]
  • 1996 Stane Belak Šrauf Memorial Route on the northwest face (VI 5.7 AI5 A2+ 1650m) by Vanja Furlan and Tomaž Humar (both from Slovenia), which earned them the 1996 Piolet d'Or prize.[14]
  • 1996 North Ridge Austro-German alpine-style ascent by Friedl Huber, Max Berger, Louis Badengruber, and Roman Dirnbok.[15]
  • 2001 Northwest Ridge (VI Scottish 7, 2000m) by Jules Cartwright and Rich Cross (both UK).[16]
  • 2011 Southwest Ridge, first successful Indian expedition led by Ameet Singh (34, Pune India) and team mate Ved Parkash (36, Gurgaon India), They summitted on 6 November 2011.[17]

[edit] 2006 Avalanche

From Camp I

On the night of 13/14 November 2006, a large serac collapse occurred from the hanging glacier, which swept away several tents at Camp 3, killing six climbers (3 European, 3 Sherpa). Eyewitness testimony indicates that Camp 3 had not been sited in an unusual or abnormally dangerous spot, and that the serac fall was of such magnitude as to render the specific placing of the tents at Camp 3 irrelevant.[18]

[edit] In popular culture

A representation of Ama Dablam was originally used by Invesco Perpetual as its branding logo within UK. It has since been adopted by the INVESCO group of companies as its worldwide signature.

For its soaring ridges and steep faces Ama Dablam is sometimes referred as the "Matterhorn of the Himalayas."[19]

[edit] References

Ama Dablam (right), Lhotse and Mt. Everest (left)
  1. ^ "Ama Dablam". Peakbagger.com. http://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=10651. Retrieved 2009-03-01. 
  2. ^ Kennedy, Michael (March 2005). "Mountain Profile: Ama Dablam". Alpinist Magazine (Jackson, WY, USA: Alpinist LLC) (X): 22. ISSN 744705744080. 
  3. ^ Kennedy, Michael; Michael Ward (March 2005). "Mountain Profile: Ama Dablam". Alpinist Magazine (Jackson, WY, USA: Alpinist LLC) (X): 26. ISSN 744705744080. 
  4. ^ Kennedy, Michael (March 2005). "Mountain Profile: Ama Dablam". Alpinist Magazine (Jackson, WY, USA: Alpinist LLC) (X): 27. ISSN 744705744080. 
  5. ^ Kennedy 2005, op. cit. page 26
  6. ^ Frost, Tom (1980). "Ama Dablam's South Ridge - Climbing and Filming". The American Alpine Club Journal 1980 (New York, NY, USA: American Alpine Club) 22 (53): 445–453. ISSN 0065-6925. 
  7. ^ Kennedy 2005, op. cit. page 28
  8. ^ Kennedy 2005, op. cit. page 28
  9. ^ Kennedy 2005, op. cit. page 28
  10. ^ Kennedy 2005, op. cit. page 31
  11. ^ Kennedy 2005, op. cit. page 31
  12. ^ Kennedy 2005, op. cit. page 33
  13. ^ Kennedy 2005, op. cit. page 34-36
  14. ^ Kennedy 2005, op. cit. page 37-38
  15. ^ Kennedy 2005, op. cit. page 31
  16. ^ Kennedy 2005, op. cit. page 39-41
  17. ^ "City mountaineer summits Ama Dablam". The Times of India. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/City/Pune/%0A%09%09City-mountaineer-summits-Ama-Dablam/articleshow/10965975.cms. Retrieved 2011-12-03. 
  18. ^ "Ama Dablam avalanche testimony". MountEverest.net. 2006-11-17. http://www.mounteverest.net/news.php?id=15299. Retrieved 2006-11-24. 
  19. ^ Bo Parfet, Richard Buskin, Die Trying: One Man's Quest to Conquer the Seven Summits, p. 205

[edit] External links

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