The Matterhorn of the Himalaya

by John Wootton

On 4 November 2022 I flew from Heathrow to Kathmandu to join a 31-day expedition to climb Ama Dablam in the Khumbu region of Nepal.

But the story really began more than 30 years before that when I took part in the inaugural Everest Marathon in 1987, organised by the AAC(UK)’s very own Diana Penny Sherpani! There had been all sorts of doom and gloom in the press at the time, including this admonition from the Daily Telegraph: “Marathon madness hits Everest”! No doubt to their disappointment, nobody died and a jolly good time was had by all. I had such a jolly good time, in fact, that I signed up for the 1991 marathon, four years later. One of my abiding memories from both marathons was of the incredible mountain that dominated the skyline, both on the trek up to the start of the race at Gorak Shep and on the way down to the finish at Namche Bazaar. The mountain, Ama Dablam (6812m), was one of the most beautiful I had ever seen - a soaring spire jutting up in splendid isolation. It looked impossible to climb and I never dreamed that one day I might be standing on its summit.

Over the past ten years I have spent a lot of time in Scotland, winter climbing and mountaineering, doing courses at Glenmore Lodge and chasing after my Winter Mountain Leader qualification. In the process I have got to know several of the instructors who work for Jagged Globe on their winter courses based around Glencoe and Ben Nevis. One day I was idly perusing JG’s web site when I spotted that they ran an expedition to Ama Dablam. I was dumbfounded. I made enquiries with some of my instructor friends and they assured me that if I could survive Scottish winters I should be OK out in Nepal! So, I signed up, paid my money and the die was cast…

After arriving late evening in Kathmandu, I flew with the other team members very early the next morning to Lukla (2860m) - reputedly one of the most dangerous airports in the world! We would be spending the next few days gradually gaining height and acclimatising, walking to Ama Dablam Base Camp (4570m). The trails were a lot busier than they had been 30 years previously and, somewhat disappointingly, there were all sorts of establishments proclaiming to be “German bakeries” and “French coffee shops”. Everything seemed to be Western prices too. It was still stunningly beautiful - thankfully. Base Camp (BC) was very busy when we arrived; Ama Dablam is big business nowadays with lots of expedition companies vying for customers. Our guide, Jamie Holding, assured me that most of the expeditions would be gone by the time we were ready for our summit bid and, indeed, two weeks later, after multiple rotations up to the higher camps, we were one of the few teams left.

A few days later we had our Puja ceremony, in which the local lama came up to bless the expedition members and their equipment. This is an essential ritual for the Sherpas and they would not have wanted to venture on to the mountain without it. We also honed our fixed rope skills on the large granite boulders adjoining BC. We would be climbing the SW ridge, which was the route the first ascensionists took in 1961. There would be three camps: Advanced Base Camp ABC would only be used for acclimatisation purposes. The technical crux, The Yellow Tower (HVS/5a), was just before C2 and at nearly 6000m this proved a formidable obstacle. Our final acclimatisation rotation included ‘tagging’ C2 but not actually staying there. C2 is a very small camp site, if you can call it a “camp site”, with large granite boulders teetering above stomach-churning drops. The various expedition companies have to manage and share this resource carefully to avoid clashes. 100 kph winds were battering the summit for the next few days and, indeed, flattened some of the other expeditions’ tents at ABC, but this was followed by a weather window that, luckily, fitted in nicely with our acclimatisation schedule.

So, on 24 November, 19 days after leaving Lukla, nine clients plus high-altitude Sherpas set off for C1. The 1100m of climb was tough as we were weighed down with big expedition rucksacks but the amazing Sherpas (with even bigger rucksacks) made light work of it and had got a welcome brew waiting for us by the time we slumped into C1. It was a short day next day, just 3 hours to C2, which was just as well as we would be getting up at midnight and setting off by 01.00 on our summit bid the next morning! I tried to climb the Yellow Tower free and got about 3/4 of the way up, but the exertion was too much for me and I succumbed to jumaring up the fixed ropes.

Two mugs of steaming black tea were thrust into our tent just after midnight the next morning, 26 November, and an hour or so later, after struggling into our high-altitude gear and trying to get some rehydrated breakfast inside, we were on our way. I was not at all confident about reaching the summit some 900 metres above – it seemed a daunting and nearly impossible task. The Grey Tower (about Scottish grade III) came immediately after C2 and this was climbed in the dark. A stunning dawn was just breaking as we topped out above the Grey Tower on what’s known as the “tennis court”, a small flat area that is sometimes used for Camp 3, but which is prone to avalanches from the gargantuan headwall above. After what seemed like an interminable amount of time jumaring alongside and then past the enormous serac which gives the mountain its name - Ama Dablam or Mother’s Necklace - I was all of a sudden on the summit. I think I was too tired from the exertion and dealing with my freezing extremities (I had a tingling in one finger for several weeks after the expedition) to really take it in or feel much elation. Luckily, one of my teammates had the presence of mind to take some photos otherwise I would have no record of actually standing on the summit!

It was 12.30 now and time to start heading back down. We had to have our wits about us using the fixed ropes as several of them were spectacularly tatty with the filaments exposed where the ropes had been battered by storms. I’d hoped to get back to Camp 2 in daylight but this wasn’t to be and, once again, I had to negotiate the Grey Tower in the dark. Exhausted, I slumped into my tent about 8 pm and, after trying to eat some warm food, fell into a fitful sleep. We headed back down to BC the next morning and a few days later we were back in Kathmandu celebrating our success. I am very glad I took on the challenge and even now, a year later, I still can’t quite believe that I have actually been to the top of Ama Dablam.

Return to the top of this page or to the next Newsletter article or to the Newsletter's Index