In 1996, when on a three month trip in Nepal, I spent a night camping near the Ama Dablam base camp. I will never forget seeing this majestic mountain, feeling the energy and exuberance of a party of climbers who had submitted and imagining one day experiencing this myself. 

 

In 2018, when I decided I would definitely do a climb and combine it with fundraising for MS, my mind went straight back to Ama Dablam. But self-limiting beliefs intervened -  Ama Dablam is a big mountain!!  It is 6812m high and referred to as the ‘mountaineer’s mountain’. It is a very technical climb, with ice and rock climbing at high altitude, and significant exposure. And so I spent a couple of years researching what other mountains I may be able to climb that may bring me the same sense of achievement and be significant enough to make a statement to help increase my profile and this fundraising. 

 

But the more I researched the more Ama Dablam kept calling me (it is, after all, considered one of the most beautiful peaks in the Himalayas), until it became the screen on my phone, the subject of a Facebook post sharing my dream, and then a reality as I took the step to find an expedition that I could join. And so it is, that in late November 2022, I will be making my own push to the summit of this mountain that I feel has been beckoning me for nearly three decades! 

 

While I have spent a lot of time ski touring and snow camping in alpine environments, rock climbing some pretty big cliffs, and several months trekking in Nepal at up to 5400m, in order to be able to climb Ama Dablam, I need to gain a little more experience at high altitude, gain some important mountaineering skills and increase my physical fitness, and so my journey now has a number of distinct parts to it:

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Fitness training- this will include the following

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• Climbing conditioning — pack-loaded uphill hiking, walking, and stair climbing

• Strength training — for the lower body and core

• Cardiovascular training — including both aerobic and anaerobic workouts with and without pack weight (weighing approx. 

• Flexibility training

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Mountaineering skills training

 

This will involve training in – crampon and ice ax technique, self-arrest, setting snow anchors and running protection, fixed line ascension, ice climbing , rappelling, snow anchors & running protection and crevasse rescue

 

Mera Peak expedition (23 days)

 

This expedition is just prior to the Ama Dablam expedition, and will provide the opportunity to trek/cimb to 6461m and practice basic mountaineering skills at high altitude

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Ama Dablam expedition (28 days) - The dream!!

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Fundraising!

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