In the past few weeks, two new speed records have been set on Ama Dablam (6812 m): Tyler Andrews rushed from base camp to the summit in 3 hours 52 minutes and back to base camp in a total of 6 hours 20 minutes. Chris Fisher secured the Fastest Known Time from Pangboche to the summit (6 hours 44 minutes) and back (11 hours 20 minutes).
The shapely Mistress Dablam in the Nepalese Khumbu region is a popular expedition destination. Favourable conditions on the 6812 meter high mountain have enabled undertakings of various nature: From new routes in the rarely climbed west face up to new speed records on the normal route. The achievements of the two Americans fall into the latter category Tyler Andrews and Chris Fisher, who set two impressive speed records.
New Fastest Known Time from Base Camp
Ultra runner Tyler Andrews, who already holds numerous speed records in Nepal and three weeks ago Manaslu in a record-breaking 9 hours and 52 minutes, beat the Fastest Known Time from Base Camp to Ama Dablam on November 3rd.
He reached the summit exactly 3 hours 52 minutes and 33 seconds after he started from base camp. He was back at the starting point after 6 hours 20 minutes and 30 seconds. An absurdly fast time when you consider that rope teams usually take two to three days to climb Ama Dablam via its southwest ridge.
The previous record for the round trip base camp-summit-base camp was set by the Frenchman Matheo Jacquemoud just over a year ago. His time: 6 hours and 23 minutes.
record time Pangboche-Ama Dablam return
Chris Fisher, a professional mountain endurance athlete, did not start his speed climb at the base camp, but in the village of Pangboche, further down in the valley. From there it is 12 kilometers and over 3000 meters of altitude to the summit.
Fisher completed the route in 6 hours and 44 minutes. He needed 11 hours and 20 minutes for the round trip. This significantly beat the existing Fastest Known Time of his friend Tyler Andrews (7h 4min, 13h 18min return).
It was quite a challenge and I'm incredibly happy that I beat Tyler's FKT, even though I missed my personal goal by quite a bit.
Chris fisher
Firstly, he had been lying flat for three days before his record attempt, which made it impossible for him to explore the entire route and acclimatise to higher altitudes. "Secondly, on the way down I managed to get stuck in a huge traffic jam, which cost me about 60 minutes."
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Credits: Cover picture Charlie Hammond | Unsplash