Ama Dablam
Ama Dablam was not a mountain that I had known about until I visited Nepal for the first time in 2023. The mountain took my breath away the first time I saw it.
‘Again!? No Michael, please do not climb another dangerous mountain…’
-My Mom.
I was born with a unique nature for risk and adversity; I have also lived a life with influences that have hardened my personality and ambition.
Yeah I have been a bad boy since I was born, always getting into trouble. They say Bad Decisions Make Great Stories, and I can attest to that being true!
I nearly died on Mt. Everest in 2024. I came back from that experience humbled and grateful for the life that I have. So what happened during that time and May 2025 when I threw caution to the wind (again) and got on a plane from New York to Kathmandu to climb another big mountain?
I nearly died on Mt. Everest in 2024. I came back from that experience humbled and grateful for the life that I have.
Frostbite after climbing Mt. Everest
Initially after climbing Mt Everest I had mixed feelings about the risks I took. Guilt and remorse lingered, I felt like god (and my mom) were really angry with me for climbing Mt. Everest. But then almost a year later I felt a cosmic shift, I felt restless, and at the same time a sense of calm and confidence. It might sound ridiculous but I really felt like the mountains were calling me, inviting me to experience the grand energy that is only felt way up high.
My fear of death on mountains changed from a sense of anxiety to peaceful calm.
About Ama Dablam
Ama Dablam was not a mountain that I had known about until I visited Nepal for the first time in 2023. The mountain took my breath away the first time I saw it. I will never forget that moment. I was trekking from Lukla to Everest Base Camp over a 7 day period.
After about the 4th day moving up to higher elevations the climate starts to change, the much larger mountains start to come into view, and then you turn a corner and bam(!) - there is Ama Dablam.
It stands out high above the other peaks when you first see it from about 20 miles away; the shape of the mountain is undeniably majestic. It’s often referred to as the Matterhorn of the Himalayas.
At that moment I didn’t think about climbing such a mountain, it looked far too difficult, so much vertical ice, I just admired it from afar.
Fast forward a year later...
I had successfully climbed Mt. Everest and felt a great sense of confidence to take on new challenges. A friend that I met on Everest (Kia Ravanfar) emailed me saying he would be climbing Ama Dablam and that I should read up on it.
When I looked it up online, I immediately recognized the mountain from memory when I first saw it in 2023. The summary of this mountain reads quite scary. The mountain is very technical, not climbed very often compared to other big mountains in the region, and there are usually no other teams or support on the mountain similar to what is available on Mt. Everest.
Beyond my comfort zone
It felt a bit overwhelming and outside of my comfort zone. I asked Lakpa T sherpa who climbed Mt. Everest with me in 2024 if he would guide me on Ama Dablam, he agreed and from that point my confidence and excitement grew.
"The mountain is very technical, not climbed very often compared to other big mountains in the region..."
Run training for Ama Dablam
I did run training and stairmaster climbs; then ran the Boston marathon in late April 2025 to test my engine. At 48 years old I’ve often felt like I don’t have much leg speed anymore, but I was still able to run sub 3 hours (2 hours 53 minutes) which gave me a lot of confidence going into another big mountain climb.
I flew to Kathmandu with expectations that I would need 2-3 weeks if weather and altitude acclimation went well. I arrived on May 9 and immediately flew by helicopter to Namche Bazaar at about 11,500ft elevation. The altitude didn’t bother me at all, but the jetlag coming from New York and so many work emails keeping me up day and night created a tough first 3 days hiking from Namche to Ama Dablam basecamp.
The weather around Ama Dablam had been very bad for the previous 4 weeks. Lots of snow, high winds, it created unclimbable conditions for all the climbers that had been at the base of the mountain in the month before I arrived. Virtually no climbers had summited, and sadly one climber fell to their death about a week before my arrival. That was quite unsettling.
These stories and past bad weather conditions put me in a frame of mind that I should be happy if I can get just half way up the mountain.
Kathmandu airport waiting room
Hiking to Basecamp
Big sign to Ama Dablam
First sighting of Ama Dablam
Arrival at Camp 1
CAMP 1
My jetlag issues were getting better, I got a decent night's sleep and I said to Lakpa T ‘Let’s Go!’
The climb to camp 1 was more difficult than I expected, mainly due to the altitude lowering my energy levels. I think it took about 6 hours of intense effort, but not to the point where I would create blood / coughing in my lungs. I paced well and the weather was very cooperative.
Later that evening I would have panic attacks in the tent and tremendous headaches. I audibly said to myself ‘I think I need to go back to basecamp in the morning’. But then when the sun came up the next morning and I felt more rested than expected and willing to push to camp 2.
Drone video from camp 1
Climbing higher to Camp 2!
CAMP 2
Climbing to Camp 2 was my first experience climbing vertical rock walls at high elevation.
It was out-of-this-world exciting. I surprisingly did not experience fear, on the contrary I felt love love love. Ama Dablam has a soul. I could feel this mountain inviting me, welcoming me, asking me to come climb and experience the boundless wonder which encompasses this mountain.
Climbing Yellow Tower = Yellow Pants!
Yellow Tower is a long vertical climb on the way to camp 2. I wondered why they called it Yellow Tower, but soon after I started this section of the mountain it was clear to me what the name implied. You are on vertical rock with thousands of feet below you into the abyss. I had never experienced this type of mountain climbing before; and although I was clipped into 2 separate safety ropes, I held onto the mountain with the biggest hug I could muster.
But I didn’t have panic attacks or freeze up like I have read about from other climbers experiences. I think this didn’t happen to me because of the overwhelming feeling of welcoming, I don’t know how to explain it, this mountain and I were in love with each other.
I made it to camp 2 feeling totally exhilarated. The vastness and beauty was incomparable.
Lakpa and one other support sherpa named Pemba set up the tents on the side of the most dramatic cliff camping site I’ve ever experienced and fired up the gas stove for dinner with the finest view in the world.
The weather report for the next 2 days was perfect, but on the 3rd day snow, wind and cold temperatures would return. Lakpa told me we had to move fast, that we would only rest at camp 2 until about 10pm and then start the long push to the summit.
The view from high up at camp 2. Spectacular!!
Above camp 3. Long exposure picture climbing all night.
SUMMIT PUSH
I tried to sleep for a few hours after we ate dinner, and then about 9pm we started to pack up and head up the mountain in the cold dark night.
There were only 2 other climbers on the entire mountain, and they decided to turn back around just above camp 2 for reasons I don’t know. So now we were literally the only people on the mountain, climbing all night in the darkness. But I didn’t feel alone or scared, on the contrary it was one of the most amazing experiences of my entire life. The moon, stars, mountains, the vertical ice climbing, ropes, carabiners, my commando compatriots, we were living the dream. Our DNA from a million years ago pushing us to explore and survive pumped through my veins.
Hour after hour the night sky glowed in wonder. We reached camp 3 which is usually where most climbers spend another night before going for the summit. But we didn’t stop, we were in the zone, it was going to be a long long day.
We reached a momentum spot on the mountain, high above camp 3, above a technical serac, I took some pictures with long exposure.
And then soon dawn started to appear, the sky became a faint blue, then golden, it was magical. I took a celebratory video clip after climbing all night. I was totally completely energized.
The shadow of Ama Dablam was incredible, I filmed another video clip as I struggled to stay warm. The temperature was a lot colder than I expected.
Videos just below Ama Dablam Summit
No one up here but Lapka and I
Very steep
Sunrise way up high 22,000 ft
Caption TBD
No big mountain climbing adventure seems to happen without some level of mishaps;
and at this point there was a bit of a crisis unfolding for me. Pemba was a support sherpa who we asked to come with us on this trip at the last minute.
We thought it would be wise to have additional support to carry food, tents and most importantly an emergency oxygen bottle for me.
Well Pemba was way behind Lakpa T and myself. We were a few hours from the summit and he was nowhere to be found. In hindsight we should have made sure he had a radio, but only Lapka T had a radio. We didn’t know what happened, but the bottom line was Pemba and his supplies were not with us. I looked into my backpack and to my shock I was completely out of food.
Lakpa T had virtually no food as well, he gave me a chocolate bar and said that’s all we got!
About this time the all-night effort was catching up with me and I was getting really tired. Having come directly from sea level in New York just 6 day earlier it was quite an accomplishment to get up to 21,000+ feet without any oxygen or altitude acclimatization. I had to make a choice, turn around or push another few hours to the summit. Of course I threw caution to the wind and we pressed ahead.
SUMMIT!
The summit was something I will never forget.
Just as you crest to the very top of the mountain if the sky is clear you have the most majestic unobstructed view of Mt. Everest.
The sunrise on the summit of Ama Dablam, with Mt. Everest in a pure blue morning sky, just Lakpa T and I experiencing heaven on earth. There are literally no words to describe these moments. On my deathbed I pray that I can find this feeling before my last breath because in these moments life is indescribable.
2 hours below the summit
Summit with Lakpa T
Standing on the summit of Ama Dablam with Mt. Everest in the background. May 15 2025
HALFWAY
When you get to the top of any mountain you’re only halfway. You need to come down.
Most accidents happen on the descent for a variety of reasons. Exhaustion, lack of calories, run out of oxygen, wobbly legs which leads to falling, avalanche.
I was well aware of the danger, and my lack of calories and being at 22,500ft without oxygen hit me like a ton of bricks. Lakpa T knew I was very tired and encouraged me to make it back to camp 3 and then we’d take a rest. I was really falling through a trap door, I needed calories, I was dizzy, feeling totally exhausted. What I didn’t realize in the moment was the altitude was the big issue. I needed supplemental oxygen and I needed it fast.
A BLESSING
Pemba apparently had stomach problems and was throwing up; so he turned around sometime that night around camp 3. But lucky for me when he turned around he left the extra backpack clipped into the main rope. The backpack had the oxygen and food. I was saved!
I put on the oxygen and in milliseconds I felt better, it was remarkable the change having pure oxygen hit my bloodstream. I thought I had very low blood sugar and needed to eat asap, but after having the oxygen I had no feelings of hunger and my energy came back immediately.
From this point onward we descended with confidence. The weather couldn’t have been better. The views burnished into my mind forever.
Ama Dablam Camp 2 on the way back down
Returning to basecamp after a successful summit
Ama Dablam post summit view
Summary wrap of my Ama Dablam climb
Caption TBD
Ama Dablam is a mountain that I fell in love with.
I predict I will return again sometime in the future.
Thank you Ama Dablam, Thank you.