Ama Dablam and Himalayan con ditions. The Himalaya appear to ...
A m a D ablam a n d H im alayan con ditions. T he H im alaya appear to be getting drier, so relatively easy m ountains are becom ing technically m ore difficult w ith m ore exposed rock and m ore danger from u n u su al avalanching. A m a D ablam (6,812m ) is no longer th e m o u n tain it was before N ovem ber 2006, w hen a huge m ass o f ice broke away at ca 6,500m , above C am p 3, sw ept six clim bers in th eir tents h u n d red s o f m eters do w n the m o u n tain sid e, an d b u ried th em in a m o u n d o f avalanche debris. A ccording to G iam p ietro Verza, a m o u n ta in guide w ho know s th e area well a n d w ho led a sm all Italian team to A m a D ablam d u rin g the spring, the ideal area for C am p 3 is still exposed to ice ava lanches, an d th e large serac on the final ice slope is dangerously frac tured. Sherpas are refusing to cam p u n d er it, and to scale the m o u n tain directly from C am p 2, w ith o u t the usual th ird high cam p, m akes the final su m m it clim b n o t o nly too long for m any clim bers b u t also m ore dangerous. “T he m o u n ta in rem ains th e desired o n e for m any clim bers, b u t now you have to consider th at this b eauty is d em an d in g m ore,” Verza rem arked. Fourteen team s attem pted Ama D a b lam ’s stan d ard southw est ridge d u rin g the p re-m o n soon season. For the first tim e since th e spring o f 1996, n o t one succeeded. Too m any days o f snow fall was th e explan atio n given by som e, b u t m o re said th at bad snow co n d itio n s on the route caused them to ab an d o n their clim bs at altitudes betw een 5,900m an d 6,100m. The only success on Am a D ablam this spring was achieved by tw o A m ericans w ho were looking for difficulty. Aric Baldwin and James C rom ie fo u n d it on their ascent o f the northeast spur and n o rth ridge w ith o u t Sherpas. They slept on the su m m it, w aiting for daylight so they could see if anyone had m ade the to p via the southw est ridge, w ith w hich they w eren’t familiar. No one had, b u t they m anaged to descend safely. In the au tu m n there were 56 team s on the stan d ard route. Som e skipped C am p 3; others pitched w hat they called C am p 2.7 o r 2.8. Still o th er team s established a cam p at the tra d itio n al altitude, 6,300m , b u t as far to the right o f the avalanche p ath as possible. T he leader o f a com m ercial ex pedition w ho used the old C am p 3 site was Luis Benitez,
an A m erican leader o f a m ulti-n atio n al group. He explained that if his clients had tried to su m m it from C am p 2, a large p ro p o rtio n o f th em w ould never have m ade it. They were n o t strong enough to go that distance up and back in one day. A Korean team did skip C am p 3. They left C am p 2 at 6,100m at 3 a.m . and were on the su m m it 15 h o u rs later. T hey stayed there h alf an h o u r and did not get back to C am p 2 u ntil 1 a.m . the next day. Benitez, w ho has led groups on A m a D ablam before, was n o t hap p y ab o u t the c o n tin u ing danger o f falling debris. N ot all leaders agreed w ith th e degree o f his concern, b u t he felt “the hazard level is now significantly higher,” even if C am p 3 is skipped. He believed th at “clients need to be m ade aw are o f th e increased hazard because o f th e seracs th re a te n in g th e route.” T here was an ice avalanche w hile his m em bers were in C am p 3. T hey were far en o u g h to the right o f the seracs’ p ath n o t to get hit, b u t they “felt the blast” from the falling ice. “T he whole D ablam is calving, and eventually all o f it will com e off,” he said. In the m eantim e, until all o f it has fallen off, perhaps the southw est ridge should no t be used by com m ercial team s. But a n o th e r ro u te will require a h ig h er degree o f technical skill. Pum ori, also in the Everest region, used to be included in com m ercial organizers’ offerings, but its southeast face cam e to be widely regarded as avalanche-prone, and there were fatalities. Few venture on it now. T he m o u n ta in ’s safer ridges p resen t technical challenges n o t suitable for com m ercially organized groups. In the spring som e clim bers re tu rn in g from C ho O yu, th e least difficult o f th e w o rld ’s 8,000m m ountains and for th at reason an extremely p o p u lar one, reported th at it too is becom ing harder technically. T he m o u n tain s, like their glaciers, are changing. E l iz a b e t h H a w l e y ,
A AC Honorary Member, Nepal
an A m erican leader o f a m ulti-n atio n al group. He explained that if his clients had tried to su m m it from C am p 2, a large p ro p o rtio n o f th em w ould never have m ade it. They were n o t strong enough to go that distance up and back in one day. A Korean team did skip C am p 3. They left C am p 2 at 6,100m at 3 a.m . and were on the su m m it 15 h o u rs later. T hey stayed there h alf an h o u r and did not get back to C am p 2 u ntil 1 a.m . the next day. Benitez, w ho has led groups on A m a D ablam before, was n o t hap p y ab o u t the c o n tin u ing danger o f falling debris. N ot all leaders agreed w ith th e degree o f his concern, b u t he felt “the hazard level is now significantly higher,” even if C am p 3 is skipped. He believed th at “clients need to be m ade aw are o f th e increased hazard because o f th e seracs th re a te n in g th e route.” T here was an ice avalanche w hile his m em bers were in C am p 3. T hey were far en o u g h to the right o f the seracs’ p ath n o t to get hit, b u t they “felt the blast” from the falling ice. “T he whole D ablam is calving, and eventually all o f it will com e off,” he said. In the m eantim e, until all o f it has fallen off, perhaps the southw est ridge should no t be used by com m ercial team s. But a n o th e r ro u te will require a h ig h er degree o f technical skill. Pum ori, also in the Everest region, used to be included in com m ercial organizers’ offerings, but its southeast face cam e to be widely regarded as avalanche-prone, and there were fatalities. Few venture on it now. T he m o u n ta in ’s safer ridges p resen t technical challenges n o t suitable for com m ercially organized groups. In the spring som e clim bers re tu rn in g from C ho O yu, th e least difficult o f th e w o rld ’s 8,000m m ountains and for th at reason an extremely p o p u lar one, reported th at it too is becom ing harder technically. T he m o u n tain s, like their glaciers, are changing. E l iz a b e t h H a w l e y ,
A AC Honorary Member, Nepal
