Ama Dablam | 2003 SW Ridge

A New Zealand expedition to Ama Dablam in 2003 via SW Ridge, led by Luis Benitez. Summit reached on 3rd November 2003. 12 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field Value
ID 4413
Imported 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID AMAD03321
Peak ID AMAD
Year 2003
Season 3
Host Country 1
Route 1 SW Ridge
Route 2 -
Route 3 -
Route 4 -
Nationality New Zealand
Leaders Luis Benitez
Sponsor Adventure Consultants Ama Dablam 2003 Expedition
Success 1 True
Success 2 False
Success 3 False
Success 4 False
Ascent 1 -
Ascent 2 -
Ascent 3 -
Ascent 4 -
Claimed False
Disputed False
Countries Netherlands, Switzerland, USA
Approach -
Basecamp Date 2003-10-22
Summit Date 2003-11-03
Summit Time 1430
Summit Days 12
Total Days 0
Termination Date -
Termination Reason 1
Termination Notes -
High Point (m) 6814
Traverse False
Ski False
Paraglide False
Camps 3
Fixed Rope (m) 400
Total Members 9
Summit Members 7
Member Deaths 0
Total Hired 5
Summit Hired 3
Hired Deaths 0
No Hired False
O2 Used False
O2 None True
O2 Climb False
O2 Descent False
O2 Sleep False
O2 Medical False
O2 Taken True
O2 Unknown False
Other Summits -
Campsites BC(22/10,4200m),ABC(28/10,5500m),C1(29/10,5850m),C2(01/11,6000m),C3(02/11,6350m),Smt(03/11)
Route Notes Teams showed up at BC in 3 waves and this team happy to be among first wave. If all had shown up, would have been impossibly crowded; it was bad enough when Koreans put C2 right in middle of trail and was necessary to unclip from rope until Moffat fixed rope around them (Koreans demonstrated lack of space for camp platforms). Emerson reached C1 and then got a stomach "bug" and left BC 2 Nov; Couglin went to C2 but went no higher because of exhaustion and retreated to BC. Calling from the summit of Ama Dablam "That's right, the summit!" The Adventure Consultants team reached the top of the Ama Dablam at about 2:30 pm Nepal time today and expedition leader Luis Benitez whipped out the satellite phone to call in the good news. "Every body is felling really, really good. We're taking pictures, eating chocolates, slapping each other on the back.... we've got a great view of Everest and just enjoying each other's company before its time to go down. So .. we did it!" And befoe Luis hung up the phone, the guys sent up wild cheer of excitement live from the summit of Ama Dablam. The team has since filed a second audio dispatch to report that they are now safely back in C3 and will return to C1 tomorrow. Luis reported that team members Joe and Hamish had remained in BC, unable to make the bid due to stomach bugs and other ailments, but the guys were all on the summit in spirit.
Accidents Emerson stomach problem; Coughlin exhaustion
Achievement -
Agency Himalayan Guides
Commercial Route True
Standard Route False
Primary Route False
Primary Member False
Primary Reference False
Primary ID -
Checksum 2457470
Year 2003
Summit Success True
O2 Summary None
Route (lowercase) sw ridge

Members

12 recorded members.

Name Sex Year of Birth Citizenship Status Residence Occupation
Luis Guillermo Benitez M 1972 USA Leader Boulder, Colorado Alpine guide Details Other expeditions
Silvan Colani M 1974 Switzerland Climber Hong Kong Bank employee Details Other expeditions
Joseph Michael Coughlin M 1959 USA Climber Peyton, Colorado Engineer Details Other expeditions
Lawrence Bradford Draper M 1973 USA Climber Rochester, New York Student Details Other expeditions
Hamish Emerson M 1974 New Zealand Climber Queenstown, New Zealand Cameraman and director of documentary film production company Details Other expeditions
Matthew Andrew Kitchin M 1968 New Zealand Climber Spotswood, Victoria, Australia Journalist Details Other expeditions
Steven David Moffat M 1972 New Zealand Climber Hawea Flat, New Zealand Alpine guide Details Other expeditions
Lindsay Harris Peak M 1971 New Zealand Climber Takapuna, New Zealand Manager of ski manufacturer's representatives Details Other expeditions
Abraham Van Poortvliet M 1969 Netherlands Climber Delft, Netherlands Safety engineer Details Other expeditions
Phu Tashi Sherpa M 1972 Nepal H-A Worker Pangboche, Khumbu - Details Other expeditions
Ang Pasang Sherpa M 1966 Nepal H-A Worker Pangboche, Khumbu - Details Other expeditions
Lhakpa Dorje Sherpa M 1961 Nepal H-A Worker Sanam, Gudel-4, Solukhumbu - Details Other expeditions

References

0 recorded references.