Bonita Norris on the summit of Ama Dablam
Bonita Norris and Jon Gupta – both regular writers for Trek & Mountain – summited Nepalese peak Ama Dablam (6812m) on November 17, 2011. Climbing on separate expeditions, Norris reached the summit at 11.45am, five days after leaving base camp and was the first of her team to reach the top. Jon, meanwhile, was climbing alpine-style, and reached the summit at 2.45pm after setting off from Camp 1 at 4:15am the same day.
Bonita said:”I made a pact with myself last year that I would return to Khumbu to attempt Ama Dablam. Looking at it from afar it is simply a beautiful mountain and a great route requiring a fair amount of skill to climb.” After sustaining injuries on the descent of Everest, Norris vowed to climb Dablam without incident, and was accompanied by climbing Sherpa Lakpa Wongchu – who also joined her on the record-breaking Everest expedition: “On the summit Lakpa and I were alone – it felt like we had the whole mountain to ourselves. We sat down with Everest right behind us and I finally got to thank him properly for helping to save my life after exactly 18 months to the day when he helped me down Everest when I was injured. It was a moment I will never forget.”
Related links
www.karrimor.com/team_blog/