Originaly, by the time we had planned to arrive at Ama Dablam we were to have slept at 5750m on Mera Peak, crossed the Amphu Labsta and also slept at 5600m on Island Peak.  This was all changed by the storm.

 

Instead we arrived at Ama Dablam basecamp having reached 5300m just below Mera peak.  We were essentially starting from scratch and needed to plan our acclimatisation accordingly.

 

We spent 1 day doing a load carry up to Yak Camp at 5400m before coming back down – eating a great big meal and then heading back to up Yak Camp to spend the night, onto Camp 1 at (5800m) and then to either try to sleep at camp 2 (6100m) or touch it then return to Camp 1.

There was lots of snow going up the hill.  This actualy made it easier to get from Yak Camp to Camp 1 as all the rocky terrain was covered and a very significant trail lead us all the way there.

Yak Camp is simply a convenient place to put a camp considering the altitude – it's at the end of a long days walk from basecamp.  The journey from Yak Camp to Camp 1 isn't all that far but does gain another 400m.  This exrtra 400m can make all the difference – it takes a while to get to Camp 1, with heavy breathing and a riocky slabby scramble to finish of the trip.  Camp 1 itself is perched on the side of the ridge with multiple tent sites with rock ledges that allow tents to "just" fit.

The snow this season made campsites a little harder to find but also meant that water was easy to obtain.

Once again we were treated to fantastic views and with the ridge sheltering us from westerly wind – a reasonably warm night …

On to Camp 2 in the next update.