FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

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What are the requirements to climb Ama Dablam?

Ama Dablam is a technical mountain which will see you repeatedly put into exposed situations. Being comfortable on steep terrain is critical. Further to this, ropework skills and climbing equipment proficiency is essential for your safety. When you're up at 6000m sucking on rarefied air with a big pack on your back, suffering away quietly, it is times like this you need to be 100% confident in what you can do. This confidence is built through previous experience, both on prior expeditions, and at home.

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Ama Dablam is rigged with fixed lines, meaning you are able to tailor your ascent to suit your style (to a degree). Some people will choose to jumar the lines, whereas others will clip a safety line and climb / scramble using their hands. As a result, there is no demand for you to be a superb rock climber, but as above, you MUST be comfortable ascending and descending steep ground in both summer and winter conditions. 

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You're undertaking a high altitude Himalayan peak. Understanding altitude, expedition fundamentals such as campcraft, hygiene and expedition psychology will all contribute heavily towards your success and safety. 

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Finally, you should be very physically and mentally fit coming into the expedition. This includes the ability to endure long days in the mountains with a heavy pack, with as much experience in sub-optimal conditions as you can gather. There are no short-cuts to much of the demands of this expedition, but if you do arrive having ticked all the boxes, you will not only have a great chance of success, but also a great time. 

 

To summarise, at a minimum you should:

- Have experience seconding VS / HVS rock routes

- Have experience seconding grade III Scottish winter routes or higher

- Be able to spend long days in the hills with a heavy pack. This includes moving on rugged / scrambling terrain.

- Have spent multiple days in the winter environment, walking in crampons and operating using winter equipment. There are few greater training grounds than Scotland. 

- Have previous experience at altitude

- Camping experience

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There is no greater feeling than dedicating your time, energy and resources into getting fully ready for an expedition. You may already tick some or all of the above criteria, or you may have a way to go, but with an action plan you can certainly move yourself towards being someone ready to take on Ama Dablam. 

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For a slightly more in-depth view of the  requirements to join this expedition, click here

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​​​​What about Altitude Sickness?

Having concerns about AMS is very natural and it unfortunately unpredictable. Even the experienced could struggle to get over 6,000m if they get ill. We have however designed our itinerary to help us best acclimatise. The fitter you are, the less exhausted you'll get, which in turn has an impact on bringing on symptoms of AMS. These points combined with walking slowly, drinking lots and eating well all give you the best possible chance.​

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What Technical Kit do I require?

This expedition has a rather sizeable kit list, which includes technical mountaineering equipment such as - Climbing Harness, Helmet, Alpine Ice Axe,  Climbing Crampons, Boots good for 7000m, Down Jacket, 2 x Sleeping Bags, Down Mitts - and much more. If you plan on buying all the kit, expect to get spending a fair chunk of cash. Some kit can of course be hired here in the UK, or in Nepal.

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What about the Food and Accommodation?

The food in Nepal is fab. Expect a lot of rice, noodles and vegetables. If you have specific allergies or dietary requirements it may be worth researching what's on offer before committing. Eating well throughout is key to success on such an expedition. Our accommodation whilst on the trek will be teahouses, apart from 1-2 nights that will be spent in tents. 

Should you need to leave the expedition early, any additional accommodation costs will need to be covered by you (or depending on the circumstance, your insurance)

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Do I require Travel Insurance?

Most certainly. Travelling, let alone adventure travel, can throw up all sorts of incidents or circumstances that need to be covered by insurance otherwise you could face a very hefty bill. As a minimum your insurance must cover the dates of the trip, the altitude you are trekking to and helicopter evacuation. Our recommendation for travel insurance is Campbell Irvine

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Do your trips have a minimum required number of participants to run?

Our scheduled trips do. This trip requires 7 people for it to run. We will let you know when it is guaranteed to run and from this point you can book flights. 

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Do I need any vaccinations?

Possibly! Vaccinations can be costly too and should be taken into consideration when budgeting for your trip. The best thing to do is to approach your Travel Nurse for information. 

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What is a non-Emergency Helicopter Flight mentioned in the Exclusions?

This expedition relies on an internal plane flight to start the trek, and to return back to Kathmandu. Delays can occur, and in order to make progress onto the trek, or in order to get you back to your international flight, we can consider the use of a helicopter (if the weather permits). This cost is not covered by LMG Treks & Expeditions, and you could expect to pay anywhere between £300-£600 per flight depending on the group size. 

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Do you organise bespoke trips?

Of course, just get in touch with your group size and we'll offer you a quote.

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Why should I trek with LMG Treks & Expeditions?

For over a decade we've provided fun, educational and safe adventures in the UK through Lakeland Mountain Guides. We've taken our experience and academic education and created a company that has the sole aim of providing amazing, personal adventures abroad. Yes, we're just a small company, but this has two big benefits for you. Firstly, we really appreciate each and every booking we get, and you are not one in a few thousand. Secondly. we're able to, and want to, put the time into helping you get mentally and physically prepared for your adventure. ​

We pride ourselves on being compliant to UK Package travel regulation laws, diligent with safety, and environmentally sensitive. What's more is we create our trips with the customer experience, safety and chances of success at the very fore of our minds. We will often add in extra days for acclimatisation or contingency to achieve these three major factors, even if it makes our trips a bit more expensive. 

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How do we justify the price of our trips?

There's no doubt about it, if you went online you'd likely find a cheaper alternative, but you can't be certain you're buying a like for like product. We get it, these trips aren't cheap, but there are numerous reasons why the price amounts to what it does. Please click here to read deeper into the reasons why. 

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Are you environmentally responsible?

As a company, although small, we will operate responsibly, giving back where we can. One of our best partnerships is that with Trees4Travel. We will plant 2 trees on the behalf of every booking we get, and we will plant enough trees to offset the travel of our trek manager too. Click here to see our Responsible Tourism Policy

We discourage the use of single use plastics on expedition where possible, and are continually thinking of ways to become even kinder to the planet we operate in. 

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More info can be found in our Resources section 

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