Ama Dablam Base Camp (4650 m)
René, together with two other team members, returned to
Base Camp today at 12h30. They felt that there was too great a risk of an
event (avalanche) occurring near the summit. On 17th October, a massive
avalanche had swept down very close to Camp I, resulting in a number of
climbers aborting their summit attempts. A report from
www.getoutdoors.com describes the
present situation: "The snow slope leading up to the Dablam (the hanging
glacier to the side of the peak) is now sheer blue ice instead of snow, so
it's going to be a little more difficult."
Three members of the Adventure Consultants' team
are moving up to Camps II and III today and tomorrow in an attempt to
summit. A further 3 members are waiting at Camp I hoping to summit
in a few days time. René and his two team members will remain in Base Camp
for a few days and then descend to Lukla before flying back to Kathmandu.
They then plan to spend a few days visiting the Royal Chitwan
National Park, a world heritage site in the south of Nepal
with over 43 species of mammals, 450 species of birds and 45 species of
amphibians and reptiles (Kruger Park, eat your heart out).
