Ama Dablam: First Summit of the Season, Updated

Polish climber Olga Dobranowski has successfully summited 6,812m Ama Dablam. Dobranowski claims that she did her final push solo from Camp 3, via the ever-popular southwest ridge, although Alan Arnette reports that she followed two Sherpas fixing ropes to the summit. She is the first to climb the mountain, one of the most aesthetically beautiful in the Himalaya, this season.

Dobranowski stood above a sea of clouds en route to the summit. Photo: Olga Dobranowski

Dobranowski braved strong winds at the leading edge of Cyclone Fani to summit on May 4. She then descended to Camp 2 in the nick of time, as the weather became increasingly severe. Finally, on May 6 she finished her descent and trekked down to Namche Bazaar.

Dobranowski admits that she was “blissfully unaware of the approaching Cyclone Fani” during her  push. Photo: Olga Dobranowski

Dobranowski had been climbing to raise funds for the construction of a hospital in the Solukhumbu Valley.