Ama Dablam. On March 31, Jim Quirk and I arrived at the beautiful Mingbo Valley Base Camp. After an abortive attempt that ended in storm at 21,500 feet on April 4, we regained the southwest ridge on April 8 and bivouacked at 19,000 feet. On the 9th, we climbed the long rock ridge to spend the night at the Red Tower at 20,000 feet. This lovely ridge has solid rock, fantastic exposure and a fair amount of technical 5th-class climbing. On April 10, we reached the summit in twelve hours. The technical crux was the steep, wide crack (5.9) that splits the base of the White Tower. On the upper glacial headwall and past the Dablam it was exceptionally dry and we found hard, brittle ice. Before leaving Base Camp, we made a thorough sweep of the surrounding area, collecting trash. When we arrived at Park Headquarters with two duffels of old cans, we were escorted to the superintendent who graciously thanked us and gave us a certificate of appreciation! This seems to be a rare occurrence. When we also donated our $5.00 “garbage deposit” to the clean-up fund, they were even more pleased. Most teams forfeit their deposit rather than bringing back their trash. I hope more expeditions will support the clean-up effort.

David Nettle, Unaffiliated