Ama Dablam 2003
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Ama Dablam (6,856 m), Nepal - 2003 Expedition: participation in a small-scale commercial expedition via Jagged Globe (Great Britain) Expedition leader: Rick Marchant Team: Rick Marchant, Isabelle Santoire, Sandra Rutherford, Arie Vreugdenhil, Henk Wesselius and Katja Staartjes + sherpa’s Pema Norbu and Dawa Tenzing Route: regular route (Southwest Ridge) Top: 9 December 2003, together with Henk, Rick and Isabelle, Pema ans Dawa |
Breathtaking mountain
The Ama Dablam, situated near Mount Everest, is regarded by many as one of the most beautiful mountains of Nepal. In the book entitled High in the Thin Cold Air, Sir Edmund Hillary wrote: “Most spectacular of the lot is Ama Dablam: a colossal rock and ice monolith shaped like a great tooth. The first impression is one of incredulity: ‘This does not exist!’ was the reaction of one of the members of our group when in 1951 we looked up at the mountain for the first time.”
The summit was finally reached on 13 March 1960 by no other than Edmund Hillary and a number of his teammates.
Dutch climbers on the Ama Dablam
Until 2003, only four Dutch nationals managed to reach the top of this mountain: Ray Delaney (owner of the Utrecht-based Kathmandu Outdoor Sports Supplier) in 1990, Robert Eckhardt in 1995 and Frits Vrijlandt in 2002. The same year, the Polish-born Anna Karliczec, who lives in Germany, became the first female Dutch citizen to reach the summit. In all of the cases, the standard route along the Southwest Ridge was followed.
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Climb in the autumn of 2003
After a lot of polishing of the Makalu expedition plans and a period of reflection, Katja Staartjes and Henk Wesselius decided to turn their attention to a lower but technically more challenging peak. They set their sights on the Ama Dablam, and then, together with close friend Arie Vreugdenhil, went in search of a small-scale expedition they could join. This they found through Jagged Globe: besides the expedition leader, the team comprised only two other climbers: Isabelle Santoire and Sandra Rutherford. The team of six followed the regular route and was supported by two Sherpas. Because the expedition took place in late autumn, the team was the only one active on the mountain - considered rather unique by today’s standards.
During this period the weather was stable, although it became colder by the day and the strong winds were relentless. Partly because of this, the summit was scaled from Camp 2 at a height of 5,950 m, a type of eagle’s nest in the shelter of the ridge. Professional mountaineering experiences usually start at Camp 3 at a height of 6,300 m, in view of the fact that Camp 2 is only large enough to accommodate a few tents. But there was no overcrowding for the team to contend with, of course, so there was room enough for all.
Four of the six team members eventually reached the top. But fortunately the entire team made it back to the base camp safely.
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