Ama Dablam: Cifelli & Team Summit and return home
Ama Dablam doesn’t need an introduction — it’s the mountain that makes everyone stop mid-trek, pull out their phone, and say “what mountain is that?” It looks impossible, like a granite shark fin dropped into the Khumbu. And we got to climb it. After a few weeks of hiking, acclimatizing, and a lot of time perfecting our tea-to-oxygen ratio, our team made a summit push. We climbed to Camp 1 at 19,000 ft followed by Camp 3, then up to the summit. We skipped the infamous, and smelly, Camp 2 to avoid the cramped "sleeping" and opted to climb the Grey Tower in the daylight with No Crowds!!
We left Camp 3 in the wee hours of the morning due to the wind whipping across the seemingly near vertical wall facing you. We needed the sun to start making the air warmer, though the face doesn't get sun for quite some time in the mornings. The fixed lines started right out of camp, and we got into a rhythm quickly — one step, one jumar, a deep breath, repeat. The climbing from Camp 3 is the kind of terrain that keeps you smiling even while your legs burn. It’s steep, exposed, and wildly scenic — you look down and realize how much of the world is way below you. A few hours later, we were standing on the summit — some wind, blue skies, and the type of view that doesn’t feel real until you’re back at basecamp scrolling through your photos thinking, “oh yeah, that actually happened.”
We had opted to head all the way back down to basecamp after our climb, which made for a long day, but a worthwhile endeavor, nonetheless. A hot meal, a mattress, a warm dome, all after summitting one of the most iconic peaks on earth. We got back in the dark, but damn was it worth it.
Ama Dablam always lives up to the hype, a mix of gritty weather, unreal scenery, and the kind of that technical climbing that makes you grateful for strong ropes and stronger people.
Huge thanks to our Sherpa team, the staff at basecamp, and everyone back home following along.
Until next time,
RMI Guide Dominic Cifelli
Comments (2)
Congrats to everyone for getting up and down safely, great pictures. Well done Dominic!
Posted by: Barry Milne on
Photos look crazy epic! Thanks for sharing!
Posted by: Some guy from Puyallup on