Ama Dablam | 2007 SW Ridge

A USA expedition to Ama Dablam in 2007 via SW Ridge, led by Luis Benitez. Summit reached on 2nd November 2007. 17 members recorded.

Expedition Details

Field Value
ID 5822
Imported 2026-03-06 18:04:49.359634
Expedition ID AMAD07310
Peak ID AMAD
Year 2007
Season 3
Host Country 1
Route 1 SW Ridge
Route 2 -
Route 3 -
Route 4 -
Nationality USA
Leaders Luis Benitez
Sponsor Adventure Consultants Ama Dablam Expedition 2007
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 Australia, Canada, Finland, New Zealand, UK
Approach -
Basecamp Date 2007-10-22
Summit Date 2007-11-02
Summit Time 1230
Summit Days 11
Total Days 16
Termination Date 2007-11-07
Termination Reason 1
Termination Notes -
High Point (m) 6814
Traverse False
Ski False
Paraglide False
Camps 3
Fixed Rope (m) 180
Total Members 13
Summit Members 10
Member Deaths 0
Total Hired 4
Summit Hired 4
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(22/10,4600m),ABC(28/10,4900m),C1(29/10,5200m),C2(31/10,5900m),C3(01/11,6300m),Smt(02,04/11)
Route Notes Adventure Consultants Ama Dablam led by Luis Benitez - 12 Nov 2007 The team spent only one night in ABC. The site had no water, so supplies had to come up by yaks. Benitez's policy is to move his members up to each successively higher camps without descending until it is time for their summit push. Then down to rest in BC and up again. Since he had two deputy leaders, he divided the membership into two teams in C1 to make their bids for the summit one day apart, as follows: Team 1: Chaplin, Johanson, Kilpatrick, Wexler and Lhakpa Dorje Team 2: Benitez, Bradley, Comes, Kennedy, Linnola, Robertson, Tootill, Varcas, Dawa Jangbu, Pasang Bhote and Phurba Ridar Bhote (Bradley and Varcas did not join the summit bid on the 4th of November: see below re non-summiting members) Team 1 Team 2 31 Oct. C1 to C2 stayed in C1 1 Nov C2 to C3 C1 to C2 2 Nov C3 to summit to C2 C2 to C3 3 Nov C2 to C1 stayed in C3 because of strong wind 4 Nov C1 to BC C3 to summit to C3 5 Nov in BC C3 to C1 6 Nov in BC C1 to BC Team 1 left C3 for the summit on 2 November at 9:00 am, were on the summit at different times between 12:30 and 2:30 pm and down to C2 at 4:30 pm. Team 2, a slower group, left C3 for the summit on 4 November at 9:00 am, were on the summit at 2:30 pm and were in C3 at 6:00 pm. Some expeditions this season skipped C3 because of the avalanche danger, but Benitez made C3 at the traditional altitude of 6300m but as far as possible to the right, about 500 feet, from the old site because the fatal avalanche of November 2006 had ripped apart the left side of the camp area: half of the C3 shelf was gone now, and there still was some ice coming down from the bottom of the Dablam. "If we had gone from C2 to the summit, 50% of Team 1 and all of Team 2 would never have made it." Benitez said; they were not strong enough to go all that distance up and back in one day. Last spring, some teams Sherpas refused to camp at the old site because of the danger and the ghosts of the Pangboche men killed the previous autumn. This autumn two senior Adventure Consultants Sherpas refused to go to Ama Dablam either because of their wives insistence or of their own volition. Benitez had to recruit two men from the Makalu area who had been with the Adventure Consultants Cho Oyu expedition last spring. Benitez himself was not happy about the continuing danger of falling debris. He felt "the hazard level is significantly higher" even if C3 is skipped. "Clients need to be made aware of the increased hazard because of the ice seracs threatening the route." There was a release of ice while his members were in C3; they were far enough to the right of th seracs' path not to get hit, but they "felt the blast" of wind from the falling ice. "The whole Ama Dablam is calving, and eventually all of it will come off". Perhaps the SW Ridge route should not be used in the near future. But if another route is substituted for it, a higher degree of technical skill would be required of the clients. Non-summiting members: Bradley had been assigned to Team 2, but he only slept in C1 on 30 Oct as found climb too difficult, went down to BC 1 November and helicoptered to Kathmandu same day. Morrison got only to ABC, had to go home because of illness in his family, and left expedition on 29 October. Varcas had been in Team 2, but turned back from C2 on 2 November because the climb was too difficult and went down to BC same day. Sherpa summiters: Dawa Jangbu, 22/4/73, Pangboche, Everest X5, Cho Oyu X1 Lhakpa Dorje, 16/11/61, Sanam, Gudel, Solu, Everest X3, Makalu X3, Cho Oyu X3, Lhotse X1 Pasang Bhote, 19/5/86, Chepuwa-4, Makalu, Everest X2, Cho Oyu X1 [???] Phurba Ridar Bhote (father of Pasang), 1958-9 (2015), Chepuwa-4, Makalu, Everest X3, Cho Oyu X2, K2 X1
Accidents -
Achievement -
Agency Himalayan Guides
Commercial Route True
Standard Route False
Primary Route False
Primary Member False
Primary Reference False
Primary ID -
Checksum 2459024
Year 2007
Summit Success True
O2 Summary None
Route (lowercase) sw ridge

Members

17 recorded members.

Name Sex Year of Birth Citizenship Status Residence Occupation
Luis Guillermo Benitez M 1972 USA Leader Denver, Colorado Alpine guide Details Other expeditions
Edwin Roy Bradley M 1954 Australia Climber Sydney, NSW, Australia Banker Details Other expeditions
David Chaplin M 1962 Australia Climber Sydney, NSW, Australia Farmer & alpine guide Details Other expeditions
Lewis Gomes M 1950 Australia Climber Sydney, NSW, Australia Engineer Details Other expeditions
Neill Philip Johanson M 1959 Australia Climber Sydney, NSW, Australia Architect Details Other expeditions
Terry Glenn Kennedy M 1954 USA Climber Seattle, Washington Physiotherapist Details Other expeditions
Peter Kilpatrick M 1963 USA Climber San Juan, California Contractor Details Other expeditions
Reijo Johannes Linnola M 1958 Finland Climber Vaasa, Finland Physician Details Other expeditions
Mark Forrester Morrison M 1976 New Zealand Deputy Leader Wanaka, New Zealand Alpine guide Details Other expeditions
Timothy James Robertson M 1975 New Zealand Deputy Leader Wanaka, New Zealand Alpine guide Details Other expeditions
Mark Tootill M 1956 UK Climber Rowtenstall, New Zealand Electrician Details Other expeditions
Philip George Varcas M 1975 UK Climber London, England Engineer Details Other expeditions
Andrew Wexler M 1974 Canada Deputy Leader Canmore, Alberta Alpine guide Details Other expeditions
Dawa Jangbu (Da Jangbu) Sherpa M 1973 Nepal H-A Worker Pangboche, Khumbu - Details Other expeditions
Pasang Lama Bhote M 1984 Nepal H-A Worker Hungung, Hatiya-1, Makalu-Barun - Details Other expeditions
Phurba Ridar Bhote M 1958 Nepal H-A Worker Hatiya-1, Makalu-Barun - Details Other expeditions
Lhakpa Dorje Sherpa M 1961 Nepal H-A Worker Sanam, Gudel-4, Solukhumbu - Details Other expeditions

References

2 recorded references.

Expedition ID Journal Author Title Publisher Citation Yak 94
AMAD07310 AAJ Hawley, Elizabeth - - 82:405-406 (2008) -
AMAD07310 - - http://www.adventureconsultants.com/adventure/Dispatches_Archived/ - - -