Ama Dablam Expedition

After arrival at Tribhuwan international airport Kathmandu, the representative of Budget Trekking will transfer you at your hotel and will brief you about your expedition. Overnight in Kathmandu.

You will meet your trek leader on this day and he would brief you about trekking to Everest base camp. The back office staff will prepare all required permits for your trekking and you will do the last minute shopping for your trekking along with your guide. While our back office staff get ready preparing permits from the government offices, our guides help you get acquainted with the country by taking you to the most happening market in Kathmandu.

The day starts early and as early as 4 in the morning to catch an early flight to Lukla. The flight is completely dependent on the weather conditions of Lukla and at times the flights get rescheduled as well. We have our breakfast in Lukla and embark on the trails follow the stone trail downhill around 45 minutes and walk along with Yak and mules at times. We make our way through beautiful Buddhist communities with prayer flags, chorten and mani. Relatively today’s trek is easy and the the first day on the trails of Everest base camp. We trek for 3-4 hours until we arrive Phakding.

We start strolling on the same undulating trail we had left the earlier day. On this day we walk on the trail, carved on the hills, on the bank of Dudh koshi river. Several times we cross rustic suspension bridges to walk on the left and the right banks. The beautiful river side Buddhist settlement intermingled with sparse forest of Rhododendron, pine and fir is the main attraction of this day. We get the first glimpse of Thamserku 6608m, on this day. The final ascent to Namche Bazaar through sheer, crisscross and pine scented trail is the most difficult section of the day. In this section of the trek you will also feel the thin air kick in. On a clear day Namche offers the distant yet nice view of Mt. Everest

You will take a day off from reaching your next destination and enjoy this day to acclimatize with high altitude. This is an excellent day to explore Namche, its culture and the periphery. Furthermore, the idea is to remain active during the day and not fall asleep, which is why we hike to Syangboche airport. On your way, you will also take the opportunity to visit Khunde and Khumjung where we see the school built by Sir. Edmund Hillary. Once you are done with the acclimatization hike you fall back at Namche. Overnight in Namche.

On this day, the trail initiate with gentle ups and downs but every spur we take towards Tengboche seems to bring the mountains closer. As we make our way on the trails through the forest of Rhododendron we have to keep our eyes open for Himalayan Tahr and Musk Deer. The final 2 hours ascent is the most demanding section of the trek but we encounter water charged mani wheels and view of mountains which helps fuel us to walk further. We arrive at Tengboche which is a wide open grassy flat land where resides Tengboche monastery; famous and one of the largest in the Everest region. Overnight in Tengboche.

From Tengboche you head out on the Everest base camp trail towards Dingboche. From Dingboche the trail branches off to Pangboche. In Pangboche, as our ritual, we visit the village lama and hold a Buddhist ritual for our team members safety and security. Overnight in Pangboche.

We begin hiking towards chhukung after having our breakfast(15,700 feet/4,785 meters). Chhukung is the highest settlement in the valley. Overnight in Chhukung.

On this day you will climb the peak of non glaciated peak named Chukung Ri. Chukung Ri is about 17,600 feet (5,364 meter) and offers a stunning view of the Lhotse face and the huge glaciers filling the Amphu valley. This is a perfect acclimatization trip before you embark on your journey. Finally after returning from the summit you afternoon we return to Chukung. Overnight in Chukung.

After breakfast you embark on the trail to Ama Dablam base camp 14,500 ft (4,420 meters). from chukking. Overnight in Ama Dablam base camp.

On this day you will rest at base camp and meet other team-members and spend the day sorting and organizing equipments and arranging logistics.

Acclimatization is very important and that is what you will do today. You will acclimatize by hiking on the higher grounds to Yak camp and return back to base camp in evening. Overnight in base camp.

This is going to be a busy day. We set up a long and complicated fixed-line practice course on the cliffs and rocks above our base camp. We spend half the day practicing all the skills we will need on the technical sections of Ama Dablam including jumaring vertical lines, technical traverses, rappelling, arm-wrapping, and analyzing anchors and ropes. Overnight in basecamp.

We hike to Yak Camp, this time we will not return back to the base camp but rather sleep for the night.

In this day we climb to the camp 1

Today we are going taste our first technical climbing. We climb to camp 2 with the help of our equipments and drop their small amount of loads and finally return to camp 1 for sleep.

As a part of practice and acclimatization, you will descend down to Camp 1.

You will descend all the way down to the to base camp to rest and get ready for the expedition.

We will enjoy another rest day planning and preparing to scale Ama Dablam successfully.

In this day we will climb to camp 1

We will take rest if needed.

On this trek you will trek beyond camp 2. The climb from Camp 2 to Camp 2.7 is mostly ice and mixed climbing, and includes some of the toughest pitches of the whole climb, including the steep and difficult Grey Tower. Just before reaching Camp 2.7 we cross the mushroom ridge, a series of cornices and ice sculptures glued precipitously onto a knife-edge rock ridge. This section is often referred as an unforgettable section of the trek. Overnight in camp 2.7.

On this very day you will successfully summit Ama dablam. However, please keep that in mind that you will be dealing with extremely high altitude and cold temperature. Generally we do not leave camp until the sun is up and warm, making things warm enough to climb the steep ice and snow to the summit (22,525 feet/6,866 meters). From the top, you may enjoy the beautiful views of the mountains like Everest, Lhotse, Makalu and many more. After brief moment on the top, you will descend to our camp either camp 2 or if possible then camp 1.

From camp 2 or camp 1, where the team decides to call it a day, we head further down to the base camp and settle down to celebrate our victory.

Extra day (optional)

On this day you will leave the Base camp and have a long yet pleasurable trek to Namche Bazaar. Overnight in Namche.

You will trace the same trail all the way back and trek to lukla. The air tickets for the next day will be confirmed by the guide. You can relax and enjoy the modern day amenities offered by Lukla. Overnight in Lukla.

Ama Dablam Expedition | The first step to climbing Mount Everest