We started our journey to Camp 2 on Monday November 9th @ 10:21am. We made it to C2 at 2:30PM and spent the night. After eating and tea, we prepared our bags for our departure to summit at 10:30PM.
After filling our water bottles, we set out around 11PM. It’s very windy. We were on fixed lines right out of camp 2 and 1st faced the grey couloir. It was mixed rock and ice climb straight up. Crampons and 8000 meter boots made rock climbing tough. There were narrow bridges with drops 1000s of feet.
After 3 hours we got to camp 3. The wind howled and was relentless. It continued like this the duration of the climb. Fixed lines lead from here up 45-80 degree slopes. It was 2-4 steps at a time before gasping for breath in the thin air. Winds blew ice and snow in your face the whole time.
Just below the summit dawn broke and the sky turned red. By 7:05am, 8 hours after starting, Pasang Daa Serpa and I were standing on the summit. WE DID IT! We reached SUMMIT of AMA DABLAM
After 20 minutes of celebrating and some pictures, we headed down eventually all the way back to base camp by 8:15PM.
The long walk from camp 1 to base camp was peaceful. Jetta, the assistant cook camped all the way up to help with brining down the gear and brought us beers! Jetta, Pasang Dava and I walked back in the start lit night with a crescent moon among the silhouette of Himalayan peaks in silence.
I had to think to myself, this is true living!
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