November 2020

Ama Dablam 2020

First Rotation – Camp 1

Today the Ama Dablam team moved up the mountain on their first acclimatization rotation. They will spend two nights at Camp 1 (5800m). Here is team member Moe Al Thani with today’s dispatch, courtesy of his Instagram feed: @moealthani:

Hey! This is Moe Al Thani calling you from Camp 1.

It was a very, very long day – over 7 hours and we gained altitude of over 1000m. It’s been a long day and we’re a bit tired. But we have high spirits and that’s what’s important. We’re going to get a bit of rest and we have a beautiful view of the mountain. We are going to spend the night here.

Tomorrow we are going to head to Camp 2 (5980m) and then back to Camp 1 for the night. I’ll keep you all posted with whatever happens and we’ll see you all soon.

Good night!

In addition to these expedition dispatches, you can also follow our teams as they make their attempts on the world’s most formidable mountains on:

– Amazon Alexa devices with the Madison Mountaineering Flash Briefing skill:

Enable the skill and add to your flash briefing to hear Garrett Madison’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions

– Instagram:

– our Garmin inReach Mini powered real-time tracking map:

https://madisonmountaineering.com/maps/ama-dablam-2020/

November 4, 2020/0 Comments/by Garrett

Ama Dablam 2020

Acclimatization Continues

Tibetan Prayer flags fluttering here at Ama Dablam base camp

The acclimatization continued around base camp today. Tomorrow the team will head up on the first rotation. Team member Chase M. provides a recap of the day in this expedition dispatch from Ama Dablam base camp:

Hello there! This is Chase Merriam from the Madison Mountaineering Ama Dablam expedition. I’ll be giving you all a brief update on how the trip has been going so far.

So today, we had a short acclimatization hike with some fun scrambling up to about 5000m. And after that, we were organizing our equipment for tomorrow’s climb to Camp 1. The climb tomorrow should be pretty gradual in between 6 to 8 hours long. The whole team is feeling really good and are ready to see the upper mountain in person.

Thanks for listening!

In addition to these expedition dispatches, you can also follow our teams as they make their attempts on the world’s most formidable mountains on:

– Amazon Alexa devices with the Madison Mountaineering Flash Briefing skill:

Enable the skill and add to your flash briefing to hear Garrett Madison’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions

– Instagram:

November 3, 2020/0 Comments/by Garrett

Ama Dablam 2020

Training at Ama Dablam base camp

Today, team member Jenn D. provides the expedition dispatch with an overview of the training at Ama Dablam base camp:

Hello, this is Jenn calling in for Madison Mountaineering’s Ama Dablam expedition team. We had a great day today!

After breakfast, we gave our crampons, ice axes, and mountaineering boots to the sherpas to carry up to camp as they departed today to set up Camp 1 and start working on the fixed lines. We spent the morning working on technical skills, getting comfortable with the fixed lines ourselves, the ascenders, and rappelling. We got back to base camp, we ate lunch, and then everybody rested a bit. I washed my hair and stoled the generator for an hour because, apparently, hair blowdryers take up a lot of power. The crew kind of self-entertained until dinner, where we got another meal fit for royalty. The heater in the tent ran out of fuel, so we were quickly brought back to reality.

We are living in tents, peeing in a dirt hole in the ground, and sleeping with water bottles to stay warm. The team is doing great, ready for one more rest day, which is Garrett‘s birthday, before we head to Camp 1.

Blessed to be out here living in a mountain wonderland.

In addition to these expedition dispatches, you can also follow our teams as they make their attempts on the world’s most formidable mountains on:

– Amazon Alexa devices with the Madison Mountaineering Flash Briefing skill:

Enable the skill and add to your flash briefing to hear Garrett Madison’s daily audio expedition updates on select expeditions

– Instagram:

November 2, 2020/0 Comments/by Garrett

Ama Dablam 2020

Active Rest Day

On their first full day in base camp, the Ama Dablam team had a very active rest day. Expedition leader, Garrett Madison, brings us up to date with today’s dispatch:

Hello, this is Garrett calling in from Ama Dablam Base Camp!

We had our first full day here in Ama Dablam base camp, and we did our puja ceremony this morning. It went very well. We had a Lama come up from Pangboche and conduct the ceremony. After lunch, we went up on an acclimatization hike about 1,000 ft. above base camp. We had some great views of the surrounding peaks in the afternoon as the clouds rolled in, and then we came back down. We are just looking forward to dinner here tonight in camp.

Tomorrow we’re going to do a little bit of training and get ready to plan our first foray up the mountain. All well here at Ama Dablam base camp. It’s quiet, peaceful, beautiful, and we just feel so blessed, so lucky to have been able to come here to Nepal and go on this wonderful trek and climb.